This is the kick off article for our blog! Ten ways to save on your wedding, but really this goes across the board into other events as well! Enjoy and come back weekly for more tips!
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Whatever your budget is, you don't have to resort to DIY bouquets to meet that magical number. Here are 10 simple tips to have a perfect wedding without giving up an ounce of style.
1. Decide What's Most Important
Pick your top three priorities and allocate a little extra money for them (i.e., gown, catering, and band). Next, pick the three things that come lowest on your priority list (maybe style, flowers, cake, invitations), and budget accordingly.
2. Cut the Guest List
We know it's tough, but one of the fastest and most effective ways to lower your wedding cost is to pare down the invitees. Get out that red pen! At even $20 a head, taking 10 guests off the guest list saves $200! Imagine what $100 a head looks like? Also consider the size of your wedding party: Gifts, hair, and makeup are cheaper for two than for ten.
3. Pass on Pricey Details
Glamorous details on items that you're indifferent about increase costs without adding any fun to your day. Free yourself of the pressure to upgrade and instead make honest choices based on what you want. As a general rule, before you sign a contract, look through the itemized list of what you're buying and, ask yourself, "Will anyone notice if we don't do this?"
4. Consider Printing Costs
Having two shades of ink on your invitation might match your color scheme, but it can also add massive printing costs; square invites require extra postage. Can you find a super cute DIY design?
5. Get a Smaller Car
Town Cars will shuttle your wedding party to the reception just as effectively as a Hummer stretch limo... or skip it all together?
6. Skip the Special Effects
If you're happy with simple wedding pictures, pass on options like sepia tones, multiple exposures, and split frames. Also... ask around! Chances are you are in relationship with a photographer and don't even know it!
7. Substitute Less Expensive Flowers
Choose flowers that are in season, and pick locally grown flowers rather than blooms that need to be flown in from afar to reduce costs. For example, if you exchange Black Magic roses for more reasonably priced, deeply colored dahlias in all your bouquets and table arrangements, you'll save about $4 a stem. If you were planning on having five roses per bouquet and 10 per centerpiece and have a wedding party of five gals and guest list of 150 people, you could save $700.
8. Simplify Your Menu
Reduce the number of overall dinner courses (making three courses fabulous costs less than serving five individual courses) and keep your menu simple. Stick with the specialties of the season and region. And ALWAYS stay true to who you are!
9. Save the Good Stuff for Later
Have the caterers bring out the fancy Dom Perignon for the toast, but then switch to a less expensive champagne for the rest of the night -- no one will ever see the bottle or know the difference. We went without altogether! Do you really want to pay for Uncle Joe to ruin your big day?
10. Pare Down the Cake Extras
Order a small, fabulous cake that's exactly what you want and, in the kitchen, have several sheet cakes of the same flavor cut for your guests. And stay away from tiers and (time-consuming) handmade sugar flowers or special molded shapes. For us however our cake was one of our top three must haves! My cake was PERFECT, molded sugar flowers and all!
Just a few tips! More to come in the weeks to follow!
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