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Honestly, Walmart has saved me so much money. I spent today pricing things out between Walmart and Michaels as far as paper, bags, accessories, etc. Walmart BLOWS Michaels away in terms of price. I got 150 sheets of heavy (110 lb) cardstock at Walmart for $5.59 and I'm going to use that for the favor tags, the welcome notes, the bathroom basket notes, etc. I was going to go to Michaels and their paper is .59 per sheet! I found initial charms for half off and I found "double-heart" stickers to close our invites - 60 for 2.97 compared to 25 for 2.99 at Michaels. I found 50 mini treat bags for 1.97 at Walmart and ribbon is so much cheaper there too. And the mini trial size things of mouthwash, lotion, etc, are awesome for my bathroom baskets. :)
I bought custom made dresses for my entire bridal party and both mothers, as well as my wedding gown and a second Trash The Dress Gown from 1koo.com. The dresses are beautiful and were about $100 each including shipping. My wedding gown was $150 and my TTD gown was $89. My flower girl's dress was $35. None of the dresses need alterations as they were custom made to our measurements.
I bought my veil from Veils by Lana on ebay and paid $14.99 for a chapel length corded edge single layer veil.
one of my dearest friends got married in 2006, and she sent me all her votive holders for mine (waste not want not???)
i'm also wearing the same shoes for our hawaii wedding and our SoCal wedding
i got a great deal on ebay on bulk battery-operated tealites for our reception
havent done too much else since we moved our church wedding from feb 09 to aug 09...
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I was going to get my hair and makeup done at this "fancy" upscale spa. $65 for an updo for me and my stepdaughter, add in my trial, makeup, ect. I was looking at a total of around $300.
My fiance goes somewhere very small and close to our house. He pushed and pushed me to go there. Finally I agreed to a trial. I fell in Love!!! Now my total cost $100. And I only have to travel 5 minutes instead of 1/2 hour.
Thank you baby!
My biggest savings (so far) have been the dresses! I bought my Maggie Sottero dress used off the knot boards for $250. And I bought my bridemaid dresses for $45 each at their after Christmas clearance! (reg. $150!!)
I got the paper to line my invitation envelopes on clearance at www.marthastewartcrafts.com and they have TONS of other amazing stuff for really cheap!
I got my $6,000 designer dress for $250 at the Filene's Basement running of the brides sale.
I bought 100 Japanese lanterns and bulbs from another bride for $250 including shipping.
I made my save-the-dates myself for $1 each based on a design that sells for $9.75 each.
Booking things in advance can also save money because you can lock prices in! I've saved thousands by booking items in 2007 for my 2009 wedding:)
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I purchased 66 favor boxes on clearance from the Martha Stewart Crafts line for $11, and a whole lot of stuff. Yay for clearance!
And, I definitely second jma19 on Wal-Mart- the ribbon is soooo much cheaper!
Asking for cash discounts from the various vendors we have booked. It never hurts to ask. My FI and I have saved close to $1k for paying certain vendors in cash.
my wedding planner! her fee was great and she's already saved us thousands. =)
I found my dream $595 Jimmy Choos that I had tried on and contemplated for days on at a sample sale for $138 but then the store was having a 50% sale and because I had a coupon, I saved another 20% so I paid a total of $50 for my shoes! WOOT WOOT! I was meant to wear these shoes!
Bridesmaid dresses from Ann Taylor were purchased for $59 each, coordinating sashes for $5, free shipping (I think they were discontinuing the style and having an extra sale as well.)
Ivory chapel length veil with cut edge for about $50 from Veilshop.com.
I purchased two Gartner invitation kits on Ebay for $15 each (includes invitations & response cards with envelopes along with programs, placecards, and menu cards). Afterwards, I found the Bee and the Gocco, and I wish I would have make them myself from scratch. But I have managed to dress up the kit by DIYing snazzy envelope liners, kraft paper address labels ala Martha, map enclosures, ribbon accents, etc. Total will be around $100 for everything. :)
And my most recent and exciting purchase--Gocco for $60 off Craiglist!!!
I got a FREE wedding planner! She had advertised on Craigslist, saying she was just starting her business and wanted to do a wedding for free to build her portfolio. I figured, why not? She's been a HUGE help since we are planning from out of state. She will visit venues and take photos for us, etc. I'm really glad we found her.
My rental company wanted to charge me 20 dollars per table for a lace table runner but I found an 10 inch wide lace trim on www.laceheaven.com that was 1 dollar for 3 yards. 42 dollars later, I have perfect lace runners and I get to reuse the material later.
My florist! I hired a florist from the flower district in downtown LA -- I got all of my flowers including: 18 centerpeices, 4 bridesmaids bouquets, my bouquet, 6 corsages, 10 boutnineers (sp), and arbor flowers for $695! All arranged and delivered.
My photographer! She was just opening her business & posted on Craigslist and we booked her for a third of what she is charging now =)
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To date, I received the best deal for my STDs. I used Vista Print's discounted coupon (250 standard postcards for $19.99) and saved a bundle! It's also $.26 for domestic postage.
Ribbon! I'm lucky enough to live relatively near an Offray Ribbon Factory. I drove there and got this:
That's
FIFTEEN 20yd spools, three 80yd+ rolls, and about another 40yd roll for a grand total of $5.47.
It doesn't get better than that.
To compare, a 3/yd spool of the purple ribbon at Walmart costs $1.97. I got 80yds of the same ribbon for 35 cents.
I got the most amazing deal on my wedding dress! The dress is from the Platinum line by Priscilla of Boston. It retails for $9,000 but I got it at a sample sale for $855!! It's a size 4 and fits perfectly. It was only worn once by a runway model but I am having it dry cleaned anyway. I am still in shock that I was able to find a dress like that in my price range.
http://priscillaofboston.com/dress_detail.jsp?search=pl175&sfid=50447&f=
My best deal so far was winning my wedding planner in a contest. She's helping me from start to finish AND finding me fabulous deals AND decreasing my stress ten fold. And I haven't had to pay a penny!
Moral of the story: JennyBryde likes to brag. No! Enter every contest!
@jennyBryde-- I second your advice, seriously girls enter every contest you possibly can find!
One of my biggest deals was that i won FREE engagement photos price at a 350$ value. We got three 8x10, four 5x7 and three 4x6. I also won 50% off a hall price (but i didnt end up using it because we did not get along with the even coordinator of the hall and we just werent "feeling" it
Bubbles from The Dollar Tree-small white bottles-a dozen in a box for $1! I also got a great deal on my dress bc I went with something a bit more informal for our morning wedding-the style, fabric and cut were perfect...as was the price at $198! Floor length, flutter sleeves, tiny bit of a train, criss cross bodice-it's lovely.
Yes, I agree on the veil, maya514! I want to make my own birdcage veil, and something about veils tells me that....they aren't...that...hard...to...do. So why spend hundreds of dollars?
We definitely saved by booking our vendors a year in advance. Our photographer cut $400 of of our total cost as an incentive to pay off our balance before the first of the year (definitely jumped at the chance to do that!). We also saved by booking our caterer a year and a half in advance.. the price per plate jumped $5.00 (!!) from last winter to this winter.
Another big savings for me was buying the jewelry for my bridesmaids. I wanted to get them each a nice strand of fake pearls. I knew Claire's typically has great sales and the first time I went in there, I got $15.00 glass pearl necklaces (they have a nice heavy weight to them and a knot in between each pearl, so they look and feel like the real thing), for $1.00 each. I was so excited I nearly hugged the sales associate!!
I've also been watching for deals and have snagged up little accessories when things go on sale at Michael's and Target. I got nice, big white lanterns for 75% off and have also found some great deals on candles (Watch Hobby Lobby for candles.. they seem to run a 50% off candles and holders about every month or so).
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I want my wedding to be beautiful but I also don't want to spend a rediculous amount of money.
So I'm wondering if everyone can share the best deals they found on wedding things so far.
My biggest savings was my dress - bought 2nd hand on ebay for less than half the sticker price. Amazingly the owner was my size and height as well so I didn't even need to get it altered.
I also got great deals on a headband and a veil from Weddingbee!