Every bride has a budget. Here's a few tips on how to stretch your wedding bucks to go farther.
1. Forget about 'going platinum.' Yeah, I said it. I'm not telling you not to have a beautiful wedding but let's be realistic here for a moment. If you have a $10,000 budget you're not going to be able to make it look like you've spent $100,000. Period. But, just because your wedding isn't dripping with jewels and all your guests aren't sipping dom perignon doesn't mean it isn't great. You may not be able to turn $10,000 into $100,000 but with a few sly price cuts and some savvy negotiating you might be able to make it look like you've spent $25,000 (yes, that's possible.)
2. Hire a wedding planner- no I'm not just saying that because that's what I happen to do. Think about this: You're getting married once hence you'll bring in business to wedding vendors one time. A planner does several weddings a year. A vendor, such as a florist would be more willing to provide a discount on her services through a planner because she knows the planner will then recommend her to future clients and she can recoup the expense. Not only can a wedding planner give you discounts on great vendors you would normally be unable to afford, but she/he also has knoweledge of all the venues in town and can find the perfect one in your price range. Not to mention saving you from all of the stress the day of.
3. Try to find a venue that has an all inclusive package. What I mean by that is look for a location that offers the wedding dinner, drinks, cake, hall rental, etc all in one price. This is a great way to save a little cash if you shop around and find the best package.
4. A lot of people will tell you that one great way to save money is to bring in your own alcohol. While in fact it is a good way to save try finding a place that allows that and if they do oftentimes they require licensed bartenders to serve it which can definitely eat away at the money you've managed to save. Your best bet to saving when it comes to drinks? Choose a beer, wine and soft drinks only option, forget the champagne toast and have guests toast with whatever they're drinking (trust me, no one notices), serve signature cocktails and soft drinks only (guests are typically so in love with your creativity they forget about not having beer and wine..really), close the bar during dinner and an hour before the reception ends (this is also a good way to help guests get a chance to sober up).
5. Get married in the off season. You will definitely save money by doing this and also have the opportunity to hire places and vendors that would normally be booked.
6. So your hall comes with white/ivory table linens and you'd like to spice them up but don't think you can afford full length rentals? Why not rent overlays instead? It's a great way to add some color to your space.
7. Choose flowers that are in season. It makes a difference, trust me.
8. Don't add time consuming and labor intensive hors d'oeuvres to your cocktail hour. This will eat up your budget and really isn't all that worth it. Choose less pricey options instead.
9. Reuse Recycle. Shop around on websites such as bravobride.com and recycledbride.com to get great deals on wedding dresses, decor, ceremony items, etc all from recently married brides. When you're done using them, resell them to the next engaged gal :)
10. Get married on any day but saturday. Saturday is the most popular day for weddings and will always be in high demand from other brides. Vendors will also charge more for a saturday wedding then they will for a friday or sunday wedding.
How NOT to save money
1. Having a cash bar.
2. Cutting your photography budget (seriously, this is the one momento you'll have of this day.)
3. Making guests pay for thier own meals (if you really can't afford to feed them dinner cake and champagne is a sweet option)
4. Trying to make your own wedding cake- unless your a pro (yeah, because you have nothing better to do the night before your wedding.)
5.Not having a rehearsal. (you'll regret that one..big time)
Have a beautiful wedding!!
