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Wedding Attire |
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- Most of the big bridal shops have huge sales once a year,
which are typically held at hotels or other venues like wedding shows. Look
in your local paper or ask a wedding planner to find out what time
of the year the sales are held.
- Think about looking in unconventional
places to buy bridesmaids gowns. Go
shopping for them during prom season and after New Years Eve at department
stores or online. A bridesmaid's gown can be inexpensive and doesn't have to come from
a bridal shop.
- Many menswear shops will let your groom rent his tuxedo
for free or provide a discount if his groomsmen rent their tuxes there.
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Invitations |
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- Save postage and additional paper cost on your wedding invitations
by forgoing the inner envelope reply card and asking guests to reply
online or by the telephone.
- Avoid oversized or bulky invitations since
this greatly increases your postage costs.
- Skip ordering the reception
cards, have the reception information printed on the bottom of the invitation.
- Instead of paying extra for your invitations to arrive assembled,
buy a few bottles of wine, gather friends and have an invitation assembly
party! Just don’t
spill the wine on your invitations by accident.
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Flowers |
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- Having flowers flown in will raise your costs so only use
only in season and readily available flowers.
- To get the best prices,
order your flowers from an online wholesaler. Keep
in mind, however, that you will be responsible for all of the preparation,
trimming and storing them, as well as arranging the flowers the day
of the wedding.
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Cake |
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- Buy a smaller decorated cake for wedding photos, and have a plain
sheet cake in the kitchen to serve guests. On average, twenty percent
of guests don’t eat wedding cake.
- Choosing butter cream or cream
cheese instead of expensive fondant is another way to keep
your cake inexpensive.
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Reception & Ceremony |
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- Talk to your favorite restaurant to see how much it would
cost to rent a private room or even the whole place. This is an option
that works best during non-peak hours, as the restaurant might not
want to lose their busy weekend crowd.
- Avoid planning your event during
typically busy times like June or around
Valentine’s
Day. During the “off season", many places will work with
you on the price.
- Earn frequent flyer miles for your honeymoon by paying
wedding costs with a credit card. Just make sure to pay the balance
in full each month to avoid interest charges.
- Find one location for
your ceremony and reception to avoid having to provide transportation
between venues.
- Skip the champagne and let guests toast with what they
are already drinking.
- Reduce the length of your reception,
and don't announce a last call for drinks.
- Book in advance since last
minute bookings are usually more expensive due to the extra work involved
to coordinate everything.
- Hire a student quartet to play during
your ceremony or cocktail hour. Check with local colleges and universities.
- For inexpensive wedding favors, bake cookies or make your
own sachets filled with Jordan almonds.
- Using an online budget
tracker to keep your wedding finances in order and help control overspending.
- It costs merchants an average of 2% (or more) to process
a credit card transaction so pay cash for all or part of the more expensive
components of the wedding and ask for a cash discount.
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