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I know I do! I've somehow managed to get a photographer for 7 hrs, a dj for dinner and all night (5pm-2am), and a decorator (full ceiling, all tables, headtable) for a grand total of...
$1700
I'm super pumped about the bartering, wheeling and dealing I've been doing.
Anyone else want to brag about the dress the got on sale, the used decorations, etc. they found? This stuff can be stressful so let's celebrate our victories!
We got a great deal on our photographer. I posted an ad on Craigslist looking for a photographer who fit our needs within the budget we were working with and I got a reply from a man asking us to give his son in law a chance. I visited his website and the pictures were exactly what we were looking for. We wanted a photojournalist feel and he had it.
When we booked him he had recently moved to the area and was working on his local wedding clientele. He agreed to shoot our wedding for $900 which included 8 hours of coverage, full rights to the images, all edited images on a disk and a password protected online gallery. Now, his packages start at $2000! I think we got am amazing deal.
I posted a small photo recap today so you can see his calibur of work...
http://boards.weddingbee.com/topic/mini-pro-pic-recap-of-our-107-fall-themed-wedding
Im feeding 250 people an amazing menu for under $5.00 per person!
I got all my invites and reply cards and thank you cards AND programs and menus for under $50.00.
My site was $8,500.00 for JUSt the rental. we got it for $3,000.
we got unlimited hours photography, 2 photographers, a CD with everything on it. An album with 80 prints in it and a couple of big prints for $2500 ( very cheap in the bay area) the guy has been in the biz over 20 years.
And i ( no joke) drive to Michaels EVERYDAY to use my 40% off ONE item coupon plus my 15% teachers discount. CONFESSION I sometimes drive back at night to buy another item with another coupon. Being frugal is a disease lol!
hehehe... i love it.
ok, well we saved $1400 on the venue since we are getting married on a Weds evening...
we are choosing casual buffet dinner and cocktail seating so we're able to feed 60 guests for $4000 (including wine with dinner)
My brother, father, and step-father are doing photography and video- free!
A pro DJ friend is giving us a deal- $400.
Bought a bargain dress from DB online - $400 (includes slip)
Bought personalized magnet save-the-dates for 70 cents each...
and there will be many, many other ways that we intend to save money. under 10k challenge, you're on!! (yes, including rings and honeymoon!)
I bought my shoes for $39 at Marshall's! They was my first 'bridal' purchase.
We are getting a great deal on our venue by having our wedding on a Friday, and Thursday night is free. We get our venue from Thurs afternoon through Sat morning for $1000 less than the Saturday night only price. Our venue is amazing and super affordable, for about the same price that we would pay for an empty venue space in the city (our venue is in the mountains) we are getting: ceremony site, reception site, champagne toast, housing for 70 people for two nights, a bridal prep suite, a groom's prep suite, bridal sleeping suite, catering, cake, full bar, tables/chairs, linens, event coordinator, staff, parking, no closing time, and a level of game rooms (wii, rockband, pool, cards, shuffleboard, ping pong, air hockey, karaoke, etc.) They will add on the rehersal dinner for 30 people (including $300 in alcohol) for $1500.
We may do "self" videographer with fiance's art/film school friends to save on a videographer.
My uncle is our officiant, we will just be buying him a gift, no officiant fee!
Also, the salon where I bought my dress is hemming my dress for free (it fits perfectly otherwise) and gave us a decent discount on the veil!
Still need to find a DJ (have a recommendation for a friend of my aunt), a photographer, shuttle for additional guests (no drinking and driving allowed!), and our honeymoon (which we are doing a honeymoon registry).
Lots of deals for us! Tip - Work with talented friends. :)
-All day videography for $150 ($1500 value) - he is just starting his business and wanted to use us for marketing. I work with his wife.
-8 hours of photography for $1400. We were supposed to only have rights to 50 edited images, but since she was late sending us the disc, she gave us rights to all 1,000 + images! - Former co-worker/friend who is an incredible photographer.
-Makeup and Hair for $125. Again a talented friend with a makeup business.
-Dress for $300
-Shoes for $40
-Reception music $0. We used an iPod and it was perfect for our small wedding.
We splurged on food, drink, ceremony music, and invitations.
My best deal so far, all day limo service that will also be used as a shuttle service to/from hotel to the venue for all guests staying at the hotel, for $250 (valued at $1600). Photobooth=Free! 18% off our DJ for being an educator and mentioning his Yelp ad and 5% facebook discount for our photographer.
My veil was $20, from eBay.
BM Dresses are $50, also from eBay.
Awesome venue for $200!
Great photographer for $1295.
Catering for $15 a plate.
DJ for $250.
We are doing good!
wow! those deals are amazing & i'm definitely jalous of some of them!
i got a couture dress worth $4000 with alterations and the veil for only $700
6 hours of photography with full rights to all edited images for only $250 (she went to school with my brother)
i'm feeding 100 people for $450 (not including drinks)
my venue with ceremony and reception space, tables chairs and linens for $1500
all of my flowers for the bouquets centerpieces and everything only $200
total budget for the wedding and honeymoo $6000!!
if i didn't know how to bargain shop, i don't know if we'd even have a wedding!
We got some pretty great deals so far.
-We got free engagement photos from a photog we found on WB
- a free photo book from shutterfly that we used for our ephotos,
-free save the dates from vista print,
-we got an amazing deal on our catering 37.50 a person for a 3 course sit down meal and open bar all night
-FI found the perfect wool/cashmire tux by one of his fav designers for $173 at Macys (sale price plus coupons) marked down from $600
$4400 e-ring for $410 (FI worked at a jewelry store that was going out of business)
$1200 dress for $450 (designer that was going out of business, bought the sample)
Clearance shoes for $20 that are THE MOST COMFORTABLE shoes I've ever put on
I WON a free e-pics session from a local bridal magazine. Same photog for wedding at regular price, but he's already gifted me a personalized hanger for booking. Awesome, because I was going to buy one for myself anyway!
I will be getting napkins, invites, programs, and other paper items at cost (a friend of the family works for a rental business)
My hairdresser is doing my hair for $35 and all my bm's for $25
I'm DIY'ing my makeup because I can do it better than anyone else...I found sephora pallets of eye shadow/line/mascara for my BM's for $10 a piece. My good friend sales Lia Sophia jewelry and is gifting me my jewelry.
My headpiece, wedding photography, church/reception venue, food, flowers (which my mother is DIY'ing) are all pretty much not NOT on sale, but I'm IN LOVE with all the deals I've got so far!
I LOVE THIS THREAD...I wanna hear more deals
@Angelz_love: I never knew you could get a teacher's discount! Do you need a card? Or you just show your faculty ID? (I need to find my ID in that case, misplaced it a month or so ago.)
I am so jealous of you girls! While I was reading this I just kept saying "How?!?! How?!?!" FH probably thinks im absolutly crazy! We got a free engagment shoot, from a beginner photographer, but they werent all that great.. and I got my dress for almost 50% off, it was a sample. But other then that My Vendor, photographer, food are ridiculas amounts of money. I need to learn how to bargin shop!
I'm getting my hair done professionally for $35. We are getting 8 hours of photography with full right to the images for $800 and videography of the whole evening for $100. I bought 50 broaches for a broach bouquet for $60 including shipping (this will only be a deal if I figure out how to make the broach bouquet). And I got a self designed SILK wedding dress with a train for I think it went a little over $600 from here http://www.facebook.com/pages/Shades-of-Pale-Bridal-The-Little-Velvet-Box/196879553692866?sk=wall&filter=12 oh and the broaches are from ebay. I will try to find the seller's name but anyone interested can search for "lots" of broaches and buy them all together for a lot cheaper.
I haven't booked much yet so don't have a lot to post yet.
Free photos from Walgreens for the table numbers (framed pictures of us in different cities/countries we've visited). Order online today you can get 25 free & a free calendar! Earlier this week it was 40 free, so keep an eye on it.
Cheap: Looking at booking a DJ for $500 for 5 hours. He'll set up two stations for us (one at cocktail hour, one at reception) for no additional charge and my brother will be MC.
Negotiated:
Venue: Free champagne toast, discounted bar that saves us $1200 plus gives us an extra hour.
Dress: Still expensive, but got $35 taken off in addition to 15% off that weekend.
-Won a one-of-a-kind dress for a designer (would have retailed for about $6,000)
-Won my Save the Dates from a blog
-Won my invitations from another blog (from Minted)
-Won a hair piece from another blog
-Got shoes that retail for $250 for $8 at a J. Crew Sample Sale
-Got bridesmaid dresses that retail for $250 for $30 at a J. Crew Warehouse Sale
-Used Heartsy (a Groupon for Etsy) to get a crystal ribbon hair band for $15 (retail was about $50), a few pieces of art for free, and hand stamped "Mr." and "Mrs." forks for something like $4 (retail was about $20).
I splurged on a few things (venue, photographer, food), but got very lucky with a number of things.
Our venue is going to cost us a whopping $125 :) We get it the day before for no charge to decorate and we don't have to use any specific services. That's a plus for getting married in a teeny tiny town!
DIY Invites - $30 for 100, including wax seals
2 dozen mason jars given to us by FI's father
Antique books at a second hand shop for 10 cents each for table centerpieces.
$25 e-pics done by a friend.
Our budget is around $2000 and we should be able to hit it on target!
$3 (a piece) chivari chairs.
$450 photbooth for 4 hours with unlimited prints, cd, flash drives, and double prints to make a scrapbook.
My dress, bolero, and bag -$300
Veil 2 tier with ribbon edge and pearl accents - $1 from ebay
Necklace and earrings - borrowed
Shoes - $1 garage sale
Bouquets for 2 bridesmaids and me - $30
Centerpieces - $5 for ribbon (mason jars were free, and my mom had a ton of tea lights)
Photography - Free, my aunt is a professional photographer
Cake - free, my cousin owns a bakery
We got a photographer for $800 whose packages usually start at $1600 and she said she is ours all day unlimited hours... what a savings!
We got a DJ for unlimited hours for $600 because he's a friend of a friend and doing this outside his entertainment company to save us money!
We got our flowers for the bouts, bouquet, for the bridesmaids lanterns, the petals, a wreath for the ring bearer specially made and the branches for our centerpieces from the florist for $275 total.
We don't have to rent a car because my friend is driving us around in his Camero.
I got a $4000 dress for $2000 and a veil for $20 since it was from a boutique.
I don't have to pay to get my hair, nails or makeup done because my grandmother is paying for that!
We got the catering including all the dishes and everything we need, plus the cake, fancy cheese and fruit and drinks all on one bill for $3000 and that includes the set up and serving, my grandmother is also paying for this!
The best deal of all is the venue though... we got the reception hall for $400 plus a $75 cleaning fee all day long and the day before to decorate this includes tables and chairs and the chairs match our colors! We decided to have our wedding on stage on the 1st floor so they added a small fee for that and we can have everything in one place... without having to rent chairs or anything like that YAY! =)
My dress originally retailed for over 3k, and I bought the sample for 950!
I got my veil from an etsy seller for $40
I booked our HM with a groupon and saved us about $900
My best friend's aunt is making my dress for $100. Huge money saver!!
I like this thread...it will help me look on the positive side of how much money we've SAVED instead of what we've spent :p
-STDs, menus, brochure programs, rehearsal dinner invitations, TY notes, personalized pens, personalized notebooks and notepads for BMs, personalized stickers, personalized return address labels, return address stamps: Free from Vistaprint--only paid shipping!
-Bought Brides DIY invitation kits from Michaels on sale
-Flowers: 200 bulk roses from Sam's Club: only $140!
-Found a consignment shop that sold new veils--mine was $45
-All of the candy buffet and centerpiece glassware was between $1-$3 apiece at Dollar Tree or Goodwill
-Friendor did our e-pics for $50
-Created our own photography package by adding an extra hour and a second shooter; booked early before prices went up!
-Venue--almost free! I used to work there
Whew, I feel better now! Back to wallowing about all the money we ARE spending...
I got my $4235 Rivini dress for $699 at the Running of the Brides. $25 bridesmaid dress from JCrew that retails at $175. Havent done too much else yet so that's the best I can report! LOL
Hair- Free
Makeup- $50 for trial and day of together
Shoes- $30 off Jessica Simpson shoes
STDS- $70 for 250 STD postcards
Hair is being done by my old manager
Makeup is being done by my cousin who went to cosmetology school!
Hey I see you live in Ontario, Canada. Can you give me the contact info for your photographer and decorator. My email is mariejeanbaptiste21@yahoo.ca
I love this thread!! We are all so bargain savvy :)
Dress- Found my $4,000 dress for $1700, but actually heading to Kleinfeld's sample sale to see if it's there for less!
STD's & Invites- My FI is a graphic designer so we designed them ourselves and theyre perfect! My sis is a photographer so we got to order the paper thru her and we got amazing quality linen paper for almost nothing :) ooh yeah!
Photography- This is pretty awesome... my sister is an awesome professional photog so we got our engagement pics for free! Then her good friends are also wedding photographers so they are doing our wedding, more engagements, and bridals for free as well!! We are just paying for their flights to New Orleans which we get a discount for since FI works for Skywest Airlines. So we also get all the prints, books, canvases, etc for cost since we are working with my sis and her friends! Here are their websites so you can see the beautiful photos they take :) ofmyaffection.com & shannonkaedingphotography.blogspot.com And here is 2 cute pics we put on our STD...
Catering & Venue- We managed to get one of the best caterers in New Orleans, the Brennan family, to cater our reception for $40 a person including booze. This is an amazing deal in New Orleans lol. Since we also used their venue we got it for free and then our ceremony site only cost $350 :)
OOT Bags- Got an awesome deal on super cute canvas bags for our OOT bags from the weddingchicks.com.
A lot of decor and everything I am DIYing so I am constantly on the hunt for good deals and coupons :)
HOORAY for saving money!!
I am proud to say that I am actually UNDER our $3000 budget on our wedding. I had budgetted $800 for my dress, I found one I loved on a china site for $187, and that included a tiara and veil. I budgetted $600 for flowers, I found a fantastic vendor on ebay who is doing all my (silk) flowers for $336.00. I budgetted $150.00 for bridesmaids and groomsmans gifts, but again, thanks to eBay, those totalled $117.00. We are having our wedding and reception at our church, and the fee for that is a mere $250.00 Our organist fee is $140.00. My very talented neice-in-law is designing, and making our wedding invitations as her gift to us-so those are free, except for postage. I had budgetted $1200.00 for catering, but for our 100 guests, it will now cost $899.00. My sister offered to pay for the cake, as her wedding gift to us, which saves us $300.00. I was able to get some linen and vases from another bride for $50.00, and I had budgetted $100 for these things. We wisely decided no alcohol at the wedding, in lieu of an "after party" at a local bowling alley and bar after our reception, for the party crowd. No out of pocket cost there, as people can buy their own drinks, and we don't have to feel guilty about it. My nephew is going to DJ for us, and we are renting a sound board for that, but that is only $60.00. We are doing faux-to booth, for the cost of props and software, that is $80.00 (compared to 800.00 to have a professional photo booth, I think that is great!) The tuxes we wanted were $170 each at Men's Wearhouse. Due to some calling around, I was able to find the exact same tuxes for $99 at a small town tux place about 10 miles from my FIs hometown, so that was a big savings to the guys in our wedding party. And the best part of that deal is that the grooms tux is free! Yay! We are getting matching titanium wedding bands from a vendor on Etsy, for $40.00, which is way under what we had budgetted for that. I am wearing shoes I already have, and at this time, I am planning on doing my own own hair and make-up. So we have gotten our $3000 budget down to $2159.00. That gives us just over 800.00 we can put towards our future house, or a honeymoon.
This is a great thread! Here are just a few of our deals:
Hair & makeup (includes trial and day-of): $75
Shoes: $20 at Marshall's
Food: $11.95 per person (practically unheard of in the Bay Area!)
Reception venue: FREE (my parents' gorgeous house and yard)
Ceremony venue: $600 (again, practically unheard of considering it was a California winery--most run upwards of $3000)
Music: $200 to rent speakers and a microphone, and our very musically talented friend put together our awesome playlist.
Flowers: $300 (I did them myself and bought a ton of flowers from the SF flower mart)
Wedding video: FREE (a gift from a friend)
Cake: $150 (thanks to a friend of a friendor)
Favors: $60 for homemade granola
DH's 3-piece suit: $250 (50% off at Macy's)
DOC and emcee: FREE (my aunt and uncle volunteered, and they were perfect!)
DIY photo booth: Approximately $40
And that's all I can think of for now! But it's totally doable to get the things you want for your wedding for a great deal. And by saving elsewhere, you can splurge on other things (we certainly did!).
Because we're getting married off season (end of November), we got our venue, which includes a room for the ceremony, the hall for the reception and dinner for 20 (5 course meal, prime rib mmmm with a snack of sandwiches, pizza squares and drinks later in the night) decorations included for a grand total of $1700!
My dress was last season and was on sale (second dress I tried on - I was in and out in half an hour, the other girls there wanted to wring my neck I am sure) and we paid $500.00 exactly after taxes
Invitations were DIY and I think I paid about $20 for all of them (I used a coupon for Michael's that I had laying around)
My pride and joy however is my wedding band. It is a .33 carat white gold eternity band and is an antique and I won it on eBay for $129 plus shipping! I was over the moon! It was appraised at $660!!!!!
Because we're getting married off season (end of November), we got our venue, which includes a room for the ceremony, the hall for the reception and dinner for 20 (5 course meal, prime rib mmmm with a snack of sandwiches, pizza squares and drinks later in the night) decorations included for a grand total of $1700!
My dress was last season and was on sale (second dress I tried on - I was in and out in half an hour, the other girls there wanted to wring my neck I am sure) and we paid $500.00 exactly after taxes
Invitations were DIY and I think I paid about $20 for all of them (I used a coupon for Michael's that I had laying around)
My pride and joy however is my wedding band. It is a .33 carat white gold eternity band and is an antique and I won it on eBay for $129 plus shipping! I was over the moon! It was appraised at $660!!!!!
Dress Budget was $2,000 - found the dress I loved for $550.
Amazing custom hangers from fellow Bee and Etsy shopkeeper: Worked on trade - products for products
Amazing invitations from Etsy - $250 after small trade for my Etsy products
Hair & make up for me, 4 bridesmaids and my mom, plus trial for me - trade items from my brick & mortar candle shop for salon services
Cathedral length veil with blusher $29 with free shipping
Brand spanking new Nina Unilla shoes tht retailed for $69 for $16.
Two-tone (light grey and charcoal) convertible bridesmaids dresses - $75 each
Gorgeous florals - $500 thanks to small business relationships
My ring was free - Grandma
My alterations, which were quoted over $400 from David's Bridal? $30.
My jewelery was on sale at Dillard's - paid less than $20
Hair was $25
Makeup was $10
Food was at cost
Beer was at cost (We brewed our own)
I'm sure there was more but these were my favorite deals. :)
I found all our centerpiece flowers for 80% off at Michaels!!! I was definitely excited since I just decided to stop in the other day looking for something else.
I found my gorgeous dress for $250, when it was originally $1,300! (Does need a ton of alterations though... eek!)
My FSIL is hand sketching our STDs for us for free.
My photographer was just $1550 for 2 photographers day of and incredible photos.
Also, since we are having a brunch reception, we are saving $10 per person on food and drinks are included.
I work at a florist during the summers and they will be doing my flowers basically at cost for me!!
So I have been on the "hunt" for the cheapies and came up with this.
Hall for reception $400 at a Catholic church some friends attend.
Catering for 150 people $500. Thank goodness for an awesome friend of mine.
DJ $300--he also includes the uplighting. So my uplighting is free :)
Invites $25 Bought program paper at Michaels for $20. Cut in half---wala!
Table setting-- placemats (Records) Free thanks for my FIL's being horders!
Centerpieces-Maybe $10. Again FIL's being Horders. :)
Candy buffet- $150.. Halloween candy minus the Chocolate and gummies.. Exp. 2013. Wedding 2012. I only spend $50 but I'm adding in chocolate and gummie prices. Got the bowls for Free.
All in all, including honeymoon, we are looking to spend under 4k. It's going to be amazing.
Oh I forgot, a childhood friend does photography-$200 for all pictures on CD, and Copyright. :)
The biggest deals that I'm very excited about is the free band and DJ- My uncles are very talented, free cake- My cousin is a professional baker (specializes in cakes), invitations which I will be making myself, the invitation kit was only $5, and venue, which we got for free because my fiance works for the owner of that ranch. I also have a lot of family and friends coming up to me and telling me that they would like to help us in purchasing the drinks, beer, cups, etc. 
I just found a great deal on his wedding band from DealFind.... 70 bucks for a Tungston ring worth 250 dollars!
we got an amazing deal on our band - we paid 2600 they play for 7 hours(a GOOD band in the city costs around 4000 so i consider this a great deal, i work where they play)
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