Most brides out there need to not only plan their wedding but must plan their wedding on a budget. I came up with some simple ways you can save money on your wedding, and I hope you find them helpful! I'll add more later but these are some good ones to get you started
Keep in mind anything that has the word "wedding" attached to it will have a markup
Specific wedding products and services are often heavily marked up, and many times you can find a similar product or service for less. For example, if you're looking for private lessons for your first dance, you don't need to go with a studio's 'wedding dance' private lessons, which can run you around $200 per hour. If instead you opt for ballroom dance private lessons, you will get comparable material but often at about half that cost (or even less). Another example the cake: your wedding cake doesn't have to be a 'wedding' cake. You can buy a beautiful three-layer cake for less money than a traditional wedding cake.
Feel free to keep things simple.
Remember your guests are here for you on your special day. You can pare things down a bit without any adverse affects. As an example, I have been to one wedding where chicken, steak, and lobster were available. However, the food really was not that good. But we didn't mind. Another wedding I went to had the most delicious chicken dish which also happened to be the only choice. It was really yummy, but again did we really care? The magical wedding day overshadows it all. As another example you don't necessarily need to go with any specific flowers. Check to see what is in season to get the best prices.
Instead of purchasing, think if you can borrow or bargain to get items for your wedding.
Can you borrow a fancy sports car for transportation? If you own your own business (like website design) can you barter with a wedding vendor to trade services? You might find there are quite a few skills you can use to bargain with. If you are flexible on vendor choice feel free to barter skills with all your vendors and see which one bites.
Shop around for good deals as you would any non-wedding item
There are many online auction sites these days, not just eBay. Amazon is another great place to look as they are starting to sell just about anything and everything. Google the world "wholesale" along with what you're looking for, e.g. "wholesale flowers". Don't forget award makers and corporate promotional item makers. They specialize in personalizing many different items.
Forget looking at this season's wedding dresses. Feel free to look at last season's gowns.
Unless you are a fashionista or your friends are fashionistas, no one will really know this year's look compared to last year's look or even the year before. Prices will definitely be lower for previous year's styles. Many dressmakers will sell last year's styles on eBay.
Book your venues early. Avoid the "desirable" times.
Reserve early for the best prices, a year in advance if you can as most of the time you can then lock in a lower price. Venue prices do increase each year. When booking your venue and hiring all the people involved, consider holding your wedding in the off-season to reduce costs. You can also have your wedding on an off-day, which is pretty much any day other than Saturday. Evening weddings tend to be the most expensive, so think about having a daytime wedding. You can have a perfectly elegant brunch reception that your guests will remember for years to come.
Be minimal in your choices of vendors and services and then expand.
A great example of being minimalist is the photographer. At the very least you could just put out cameras and have your friends take photos. However, if you want professional photos, than all you really need are the negatives or a DVD of the digital prints. You will get the quality of the photographer but no prints or wedding albums to pay for. You can always make those on your own once you have the prints. Another "minimalistic" idea is to try to get back as much as possible from what you bought. Is there a non-profit that has a band or DJ you can hire where your payment is tax deductible? Are you able to donate the flowers to the church and have a tax deduction?
My last tip is actually from Erica Yoon's Amazing Wedding Planning ebook. I included it because I think it's a fun honeymoon idea. (Check out my website for more of my recommended wedding planning books and wedding planning ebooks).
"If you want a fun, exciting and cheap honeymoon, go to Las Vegas, Nevada. If you've heard about all the cheap gourmet food and services, I can tell you that it's true. I happen to live just outside of Las Vegas, and it has so many gourmet foods and services that I love to jump in the car and hit the buffets for dinner."
This idea is great because you can have a fun, inexpensive honeymoon and save money while you're at it. And I love buffets, especially the ones in Vegas.
Those are my tips! I hope you found some that you can start using right away to save you money on your reception. Congratulations and good luck with the planning!
Keep in mind anything that has the word "wedding" attached to it will have a markup
Specific wedding products and services are often heavily marked up, and many times you can find a similar product or service for less. For example, if you're looking for private lessons for your first dance, you don't need to go with a studio's 'wedding dance' private lessons, which can run you around $200 per hour. If instead you opt for ballroom dance private lessons, you will get comparable material but often at about half that cost (or even less). Another example the cake: your wedding cake doesn't have to be a 'wedding' cake. You can buy a beautiful three-layer cake for less money than a traditional wedding cake.
Feel free to keep things simple.
Remember your guests are here for you on your special day. You can pare things down a bit without any adverse affects. As an example, I have been to one wedding where chicken, steak, and lobster were available. However, the food really was not that good. But we didn't mind. Another wedding I went to had the most delicious chicken dish which also happened to be the only choice. It was really yummy, but again did we really care? The magical wedding day overshadows it all. As another example you don't necessarily need to go with any specific flowers. Check to see what is in season to get the best prices.
Instead of purchasing, think if you can borrow or bargain to get items for your wedding.
Can you borrow a fancy sports car for transportation? If you own your own business (like website design) can you barter with a wedding vendor to trade services? You might find there are quite a few skills you can use to bargain with. If you are flexible on vendor choice feel free to barter skills with all your vendors and see which one bites.
Shop around for good deals as you would any non-wedding item
There are many online auction sites these days, not just eBay. Amazon is another great place to look as they are starting to sell just about anything and everything. Google the world "wholesale" along with what you're looking for, e.g. "wholesale flowers". Don't forget award makers and corporate promotional item makers. They specialize in personalizing many different items.
Forget looking at this season's wedding dresses. Feel free to look at last season's gowns.
Unless you are a fashionista or your friends are fashionistas, no one will really know this year's look compared to last year's look or even the year before. Prices will definitely be lower for previous year's styles. Many dressmakers will sell last year's styles on eBay.
Book your venues early. Avoid the "desirable" times.
Reserve early for the best prices, a year in advance if you can as most of the time you can then lock in a lower price. Venue prices do increase each year. When booking your venue and hiring all the people involved, consider holding your wedding in the off-season to reduce costs. You can also have your wedding on an off-day, which is pretty much any day other than Saturday. Evening weddings tend to be the most expensive, so think about having a daytime wedding. You can have a perfectly elegant brunch reception that your guests will remember for years to come.
Be minimal in your choices of vendors and services and then expand.
A great example of being minimalist is the photographer. At the very least you could just put out cameras and have your friends take photos. However, if you want professional photos, than all you really need are the negatives or a DVD of the digital prints. You will get the quality of the photographer but no prints or wedding albums to pay for. You can always make those on your own once you have the prints. Another "minimalistic" idea is to try to get back as much as possible from what you bought. Is there a non-profit that has a band or DJ you can hire where your payment is tax deductible? Are you able to donate the flowers to the church and have a tax deduction?
My last tip is actually from Erica Yoon's Amazing Wedding Planning ebook. I included it because I think it's a fun honeymoon idea. (Check out my website for more of my recommended wedding planning books and wedding planning ebooks).
"If you want a fun, exciting and cheap honeymoon, go to Las Vegas, Nevada. If you've heard about all the cheap gourmet food and services, I can tell you that it's true. I happen to live just outside of Las Vegas, and it has so many gourmet foods and services that I love to jump in the car and hit the buffets for dinner."
This idea is great because you can have a fun, inexpensive honeymoon and save money while you're at it. And I love buffets, especially the ones in Vegas.
Those are my tips! I hope you found some that you can start using right away to save you money on your reception. Congratulations and good luck with the planning!
About the Author:
Stop by Kennly Yakamoto's Wedding Planning site where you can find out all about how to be your own wedding planner.
0 comments:
Post a Comment