7 Easy Ways to Budget & Save Money on Wedding Expenses!
When a budget amount is set for wedding expenses, it’s quite easy to spend more than usual for necessary and/or optional services. When I got engaged, I chose to wait at least a year before the wedding. My fiancÃ?© said that was okay with him, too. We ended up setting a date for 13 months later. Not only did I feel it was important to the health of our future marriage, but to enjoy the time together just being engaged. I also knew it would give me ample time to plan for the big event without the extra stress of an untimely deadline.
We didn’t have much money, as we were mostly paying for the wedding ourselves. I figured I could utilize my creative talents to my advantage. However, just because I’m the creative type doesn’t mean that anyone who isn’t can’t create their own novelties, too. Asking for help from friends and family members helps, too. Believe it or not, many are flattered and willing to help out and want to be a part of the event planning.
From many quotes I received for flower arrangements, center pieces, photography, wedding programs, video services, etc., I decided to put my thinking cap on and create my own. Keeping in mind that many couples decide to have some sort of theme for their special day, one should take the theme idea and go from there. The best way to go about this is to do a keyword search online or even just look up the theme keywords in a thesaurus for ideas.
1.) Our wedding took place in Clearwater, which was a neighboring town of our then, current home area of Tampa, Florida. We decided on a “beach/seashore” theme. A friend of mine offered me some previously prepared, tall, plain bamboo stalks that were intertwined together in a circle shape which created a vase-like look. So, I decided to take those bamboo stalks and attach small and medium seashells to them with a glue gun. I then attached other theme items such as nautical netting, seahorses, and small starfish. A few seashells I easily gathered from the beach for free, but the other items were purchased at a local craft store for less than $40 total. I now had my unique centerpieces matching our beach wedding theme.
Another idea is to create table number cards relating to your theme. I used names such as the dolphin, the starfish, the manatee, etc. When I helped a friend of mine with her wedding decorations, I created table cards according to her theme of leaves and trees. So, I made each table the name of a tree instead of using numbers. Table one was the Chestnut table, table two was the Burch table, etc. I had the name, a picture of the tree, and a short description about it on each card.
2.) Next was the concern of the photography expense. Luckily, my step mom is an amateur photographer. She really enjoys taking pictures and owns a decent camera. She offered to take the pictures at the wedding and my sister-in-law taped much of the ceremony and reception with her personal video camera. For payment, I insisted on making their time, effort, and kind gestures our wedding gift and would refuse anything else from them. We also purchased about 2 to 3 disposable cameras per each guest reception table. This way, for a low cost fee, your guests can be your photographers and also be given something to do and be a bigger part of your special day! Besides, guests may catch more intimate and/or interesting shots that a professional photographer may not!
3.) Wedding programs aren’t necessary, but they not only give the guests something to do while waiting for the ceremony to begin, but also provides them with the knowledge of who and what the wedding party personally means to the happy couple. Also, it gives the couple the chance to thank and acknowledge other efforts involved in making the event a success. It really doesn’t take much to create your own wedding program with the average computer and printer. The outside should contain the names of the couple and a symbol of love relating to theme of their wedding. The inside could contain a personal thanks to the parents and/or siblings for being there for them and can also include some childhood memories. The other side can contain a list of the wedding party, such as the maid of honor, the best man, the bridesmaids, groomsmen, and ushers.
Example: Joseph Smith��Best Man and brother of the groom
Mary Jones�..Maid of Honor and lifelong best friend of the bride
Simply write it up and print it out using card-stock paper (thick paper.) You can even use a color scheme and/or special designed paper and buy it in bulk. It’s not very expensive. In fact, I spent approximately $13 on the paper for my wedding programs.
4.) Addressing your own invitations is another way to save money and is pretty easy to do, too. If you or a friend have nice handwriting or can do calligraphy, you’re going to save yourself a bundle. Most home computer printers come with templates of sizing envelopes for proper printing. Even if you choose to handwrite the envelopes and you don’t have the best handwriting, using a printer or calligraphy pen can make all the difference in the world. And, for the cost of only either a printer cartridge or a calligraphy pen and inkwell.
5.) Quotes I received for flower arrangements seemed outrageously high in cost. Besides, if one thinks about it, yes, fresh flowers smell great for the night, but that’s nothing a few scented candles placed on the table can’t fix and can also save you about 95% of the cost of using fresh flower arrangements. You can also buy a scented oil and dab it onto the silk flowers. An appropriate sized bottle will cost you no more than $5. As far as the brides maids bouquets, it is very easy to create them on your own using silk flowers. Another benefit is that you and your bridal party can keep them forever. Your local craft store has pre-made bouquets available for purchase right off the shelf and if you choose to make your own unique arrangements, you can very easily purchase the supplies you need and the specific silk flowers you want. (This also helps to do this when you want to continue with your color scheme.) I created my own bridal arrangement and my bridesmaids’ bouquets for less than $100 in supply costs. If I hired a professional to create what I did on my own, (I used silk Lilies, Orchids, and roses) it would have cost me over $570 and would have died within a day or two.
6.) One of the biggest expenses a bride is faced with is the wedding gown. If one has the money to throw away $1,000 to $5,000 dress, well, more power to you. I, as the majority of brides, do not have that kind of money to throw away on a dress. You will only wear it once and you could use the difference from the money you saved for investments, the honeymoon, paying off debts, or even putting toward the down payment of a new home. Yes, it is one of the most important days of a woman’s life, but there are other possible “most important days” of life. Would you consider buying an infant baby blanket for $300 for the birth of your first baby? If you’re Madonna or a Trump, then maybe. But for the average person, there’s no way you’d even consider it. So, ponder other options for shopping for a wedding dress. Some dresses in stores are put on the “discontinued rack” but not necessarily because they’re damaged! It is mostly for the fact that the manufacturer has discontinued the design. I have seen numerous dresses in perfect condition that were originally worth from at least $800 to $2,000 selling from $200 to $600 on a discontinued rack.
Another idea is one I took upon myself. I found a beautiful, brand new dress, never been worn, and in MY size (which is hard to find since I’m only 5 feet tall and 100 pounds) that I purchased it from a store on E-Bay for $250! I took it to a local tailor for a few minor adjustments and wound up wearing a wedding gown that numerous wedding guests told me it looked as if I must have spent well over $900 on. Obviously, no one was any the wiser of the truth except for my best friends, my fiancÃ?©, and my parents! (Well, and now, you!)
7.) There are more things to consider that will save you money. It is very easy to be taken advantage of by vendors whom seek your business, but using common sense is your best defense. Think about some of these things…
A.) Do you really need an upgrade for your wedding cake that will cost you an extra $350? Where could you spend that $350? Maybe to a credit card debt? Think about how long that wedding cake will be in tact. Once it’s cut up and served, no one will even know the difference if it had expensive added detailed decorations or not.
B.) Do you really need to pay your clergy person and extra $100 to $300 to be at the rehearsal? Unless you’re inviting them to the rehearsal dinner, it really isn’t necessary. It is especially unnecessary if your ceremony will take place in a church or synagogue. If not, he or she can be briefed that day on how the proceedings will go beforehand. Basically, all he or she needs to know is when to proceed to the podium and when to exit. They should be introduced to the participating wedding party, too. All that may take no more than 10 to 15 minutes. Since you will be busy getting ready, have a parent or best man take care of that for you.
C.) Keep in mind that many wedding vendors know that you’re vulnerable and they know you want only the best for your special day. They will also try to convince you to upgrade services. Often, they will show you different “packages” they offer. You may hear something along the lines of, “For an additional $250, we’ll provide the guest book and table with fresh flowers upon it!” Be smart! For less than $20, you can buy a beautiful guest book and most banquet halls will provide you with a table to place it upon at no cost. When you do hire a service, consider negotiating costs. They want your business, so many of them will be happy to work with you.
You may be doubting whether or not you can craft many of your own decorations if you’re not the “creative” or “artistic” type. If so, think again! I never created a flower arrangement in my life before my own wedding. Nevertheless, I knew the money I could have spent on such things would have added up to thousands of dollars in which I could spend on the real important things. With spending a little time and using a bit of creativity, I could save myself a bundle of money and be even prouder of the results because I created it. Hence, making it even more perfect and personalized than paying a stranger to do it. Plus, I knew it would be exactly as I wanted.
My best advice is to shop around for all wanted services, give yourself plenty of time between your engagement and wedding date to prepare, and trust yourself that you can and will most likely surprise yourself with your capabilities of creating many of your own wedding accessories. You can save over 70% of the cost of hiring a professional and add that personalized, extra touch that most couples are seeking in the first place.
Marriage should never be a matter of how classy the wedding can be and how much you can impress your guests. It is about the commitment you both are making and the bond you are sealing in front of your closest friends and family. Yes, it is a day you’ll remember forever, but when money is an issue, as it usually is for the majority of couples starting out a new life together, think about the Monopoly money mindset I mentioned earlier. Relate it to your wedding plans and remember the logic and sense behind each dollar spent that can be put toward a reasonable cause. You can cut corners and still have an elegant event.
Understand that no matter how elaborate or simple the occasion, you are making the ultimate commitment to the person you will spend the rest of your life with. Regardless of how perfect or flawed the wedding finally turns out, you’ll never forget the real, true meaning behind it all.
