I still remember the first time I realized the true power of my wife’s money saving skills. On our wedding, my wife probably saved us an amount in the five digits. As a result, we had an spectacular wedding that cost pennies on the dollar. Do you want to know how to save money on your wedding as well? This article is for you.
Picking the Venue for Your Wedding
One of the most important decisions you will make for the big day is the location of your banquet. Are you looking for a venue that has great views, or are you more of an indoor person? Before you look at go to each location to ask for pricing, figure out your preference so you can rate it against the prices you are quoted.
One of the tricks that people seem to use is to give you an ultra low price to grab your attention. As you inquire further, everything will seem to cost extra. Forks? Add X to the total. Want fish instead of beef? $$$. That’s why it makes sense to go to the venues several different times. On the first visit, let them give you the sales talk so you get a feel for what’s available and to get a quote. Then gather all the information and figure out what you’d like in your wedding. Once you have a general idea, make a list with everything you’d like for the wedding and go back and ask for a price. Otherwise, you will never be able to compare apples to apples.
Wedding Planners vs Wedding Coordinators
There are wedding planners and there are wedding coordinators. The planners help you plan the wedding before the wedding, while the coordinator will help you organize what happens on the day of the wedding. Most wedding planners will do both, so make sure you know what exactly you are paying for. For those who have budget concerns, do not use a wedding planner because everything can be done yourself. However, coordinators are money well spent because he/she will help make sure all details are executed on the day of the wedding. Do you really want to be worrying about whether the flowers arrived or the tables are setup? Furthermore, paying for a wedding coordinator means you can bounce ideas off of the person, which means more help on the planning side.
Saving on Wedding Dresses
Vera Wang dresses are amazing but not everyone can afford owning one. For those that don’t mind, renting wedding dresses may be for you. Before you commit, make sure to ask around to find a reputable company to rent from to avoid hassle. Also, rentals should be available to be picked up a few days before and they should also be adjusted (to a limited degree) to fit you. Also, make sure you understand the terms (if it gets damaged for example) and see what your liabilities are. If at any point you aren’t comfortable with the company you are dealing with, go somewhere else.
Photographers and Videographers
There are people who will take photographs for free and there are ones who you can spend the rest of your life working for because they charge an arm and a leg. Look, good photography is worth every penny as you will be looking at your wedding pictures for years so find a person who can take those types of pictures. Anything more than that is probably too much for you if budget is a concern.
Video is another story and it all depends on how many times you are going to actually watch the show. Once? Twice? Maybe even ten times in your life. Balance your budget accordingly.
How to be Cheap on Flowers without Getting Caught
Flowers make everything look better and vendors know this. That’s why they will charge you extra if you tell them it’s for a wedding. Instead, talk to your wedding coordinator and your married friends to see if they know of wholesale flower markets where the vendors themselves go. If there are ones around your area, you can just go there and buy them yourself. They usually look like the Costco for flowers, and everything is so much cheaper.
Makeup Specialist
Some brides like to change clothes during the wedding, which means different makeups. On our wedding, we actually flew someone from Taiwan over here to help us and it still turned out cheaper than hiring one in the states. Why? The artist in Taiwan charged for the entire trip while everyone here wanted to be paid every time he/she picks up the brush. On the big day, we didn’t have to worry about being nickle and dimed, not to mention that she followed my wife the entire day was fixing my wife’s “look”.
Obviously, not everyone have access to people in a different country but do you have a friend who is in the industry? Try asking around (like your hair stylist for example) to see if there are anyone who can help.
Chairs, Ribbons and Others
Where do you get deals? Forget wedding places. Look for party shops for ribbons, furniture rental places for chairs and everything that has nothing to do with getting married. Be creative. Any vendor that tailors their business to that big day will overcharge, guaranteed.
Save Money on Wedding Favors
The most creative and cheapest wedding favors are actually ones that you make yourself. Rev up your creativity and don’t be lazy. If you really don’t want to make them though, here is a great wedding favors stores that you want to check out.
Anything Else
Off the top of my head, these are some of the ways you can save money on your wedding. Are there anything else you are wondering about? Comment below and I will add to the article.
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{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
Thanks for the tip. Renting your bridal gown certainly make sense today.
I always felt that wedding location is more for show than for everyone to enjoy the big day. If you have tons of money, the a Ritz Carton wedding may make sense but is it really worth the $100k for one day?
For us I bought the wedding dress rather then renting as it was very much cheaper.(Rental cost $800 while buying only set me back by $200) I managed to get it at factory outlet price. We DIY the flowers for the church, wedding car and bouquet as we managed to get from the wholesellers.
I bought a dress on ebay and had it altered. It’s new with tags and less than 250$ including alterations.
Uhh…the place where florists get flowers are called ‘wholesale houses’. In my experience (as a florist’s daughter) they generally only sell to businesses just like other wholesalers. Or at least none of the 3 or 4 around here do. The greenhouses don’t either for that matter.
Assuming you find one that does sell to just anyone (if you’re not getting taxed I think that’s illegal, btw), remember you will probably have to buy in bulk. While roses come just a few dozen to the bunch, filler, greens, floral foam and most other staples come in huge bunches and boxes.
Also remember that you’ll still have to arrange everything yourself. When you buy from a florist, you are paying for skill as much as the flowers.
I also agree that many places mark up for weddings. I also have to point out that it’s because brides are picky, cranky, and way more work than they should be. In floral work, much of the ‘wedding tax’ is the need to buy more flowers so that the florist can use only the best quality. Heaven forbid those white roses should be anything but pristine.
THAT said, I offer an alternative for cheap wedding flowers. Get them from your grocery store. A lot of grocery stores do full service (drop off, set up, pick up) weddings. They’re generally cheaper than more of a boutique florist. You’ll want to shop around with this as there’s a larger variety in skill. Ask to see pictures of their past work. Otherwise, it should be fairly similar to any other florist where you sit down and have a consultation.
Another thing that can save you money is sticking with just a few different flower types. The more variety, the more flowers (in bulk) the florist has to buy. Unusual flowers can sometimes cost more and out of season flowers always do. Going with wide open roses will mean you have to use fewer of them and they’re older roses that won’t last as long which can net you a deal as well. Pin on corsages are sometimes smaller and cheaper than wrist corsages. (Use two vertical pins from inside the clothing. One from the top straight down into the stem and one from the bottom straight up. Counter intuitive, but works best) Any decorations with same day set up will cost more. Aisle runners are stupid unless you’re outside and really need one. I could probably go on, but I’ll stop now.