Wily Money

Who ever said that a great wedding had to be expensive?! It really bothers me how companies hype up wedding receptions to make the bride feel like her day will be a failure if she doesnt spend $20,000.00! So, I’ve decided to fight against this faulty way of thinking. Let me just highlight some articles from the Sunday paper’s “Bridal Guide 2007″ to just show you how crazy its gotten.

The article Get Your Groom On suggests buying the book “Well Groomed” by Peter Scott (for 16.95) to better assist the bride in including the groom in wedding planning decisions. Sorry, but you don’t need a book to know how to be considerate of your spouse. Besides, there are a ton of free web sites that can give you tips. Peter Scott recommends: “Whatever amount you’ve budgeted for the booze, add 20 percent. And then another 50 percent. Now youve got an accurage number.
Or what about the article “The Best Wedding Gift Ever” that lists recommended prices for wedding-goers. Co-worker/distant friend or relative: $25-$50. Close Relative or Friend: $50 to $100. Youre a member of the wedding party: $100 to $150. Unique gifts to dazzle the bride and groom include: buying the couple stocks and bonds, buying them backstage passes to their favorite band, a bunch of lottery tickets, paying off some bills, hiring a personal chef for a day, etc, etc, etc! Wow. Whatever you do, please, PLEASE, don’t follow that recommendation.

You know what? I would go on, but I don’t want to poison your mind further! Let’s just get to the good part. The how to save money part.

Here are some ideas to make your special day just as special…at a lower price.

First, decide what is important to you. Maybe you don’t care about the food, but you really want a nice dress. I suggest saving in one area so you can splurge on what matters most to you. I also suggest making a budget before you make any more financial decisions. Decide what you are willing (and able) to spend and go from there.

Buy flowers wholesale. Places like Costco can give you georgeous flowers for a great price. You could have a friend be in charge of this department to take the stress off you.

Rent your dress. You will save a lot of money and not feel guilty everytime you look at that big box at the top of your closet that you have not pulled out in 7 years. If you can’t find what you like as a rental, buy your dress and sell it online after the wedding. I know, some of you like to think that you would like to keep your dress for sentimental reasons, but thats what pictures are for!

Get volunteers to supply and pass out the refreshments. My friend did this. She asked all of her friends to bring a special dessert. Sounds tacky, but it turned out great! Instead of a table full of boring food, there were plates and plates of different options. The men went wild! And everyone was excited to be able to help her out! And the food was really good, too.

Have an original wedding luncheon or dinner. You could try pot luck, bbq, buffet style, etc. Remember uniqueness makes memories!

Have a small guest list. If you have your heart sent on a fancy wedding or reception, but don’t have the money, keep it small. The smaller your numbers, the lower your expenses on almost everything!

Have you or a friend do your make-up. I know, shocking isn’t it? But think about it, you know what you like better than anyone else does. I have had so many guys say they were shocked (in a bad way) when they saw their brides for the first time on the wedding day. They all said things like, “she was caked with makeup,” or “I didn’t recognize who I was marrying.”

Have a talented friend do your hair. Please notice the word talented. Only ask someone that can give you guarenteed results. I did this and I do not regret it. It was so much fun getting to sit with my friend before the wedding and just talk and laugh while she styled my hair. What I great memory.

Borrow wedding items from your friends. Know anyone that was recently married? Ask if you can borrow their tiara, veil, or shoes. My friend, Kelly, was delighted to let me borrow some of her things. It definately made the wedding more special for her and for me.

Have a friend or family member take pictures. If you have your heart set on pro. pictures, hire someone to take pictures of the actual wedding. Then, get friends to do the rest. You would be surprised how many people do photography as a hobby and would love to help you out. My sister-in-law took a lot of our pictures and they turned out beautiful! She knew our family better, anyway, and knew exactly what kind of pictures we would want!

Have the reception at a church. They are cheaper or even free! There are some beautiful churches out there and they are fun to decorate!

With decorations, LESS is MORE! Be creative! I recently went to a wedding where there were very few decorations, but the simplicity of the setting was beautiful! A vase on each table with a few flowers. It was really pretty. I also went to a wedding where there were pictures in frames on each table. There were also disposable cameras that the guests could use.

An outdoor wedding needs less decorations than an indoor wedding. You have nature doing most of the job for you.

Instead of hiring someone to decorate, rent items yourself and have friends and family assist you.

Make your own invitations. Think about it. No matter who makes them, you still have to address and stuff the envelopes. Go to a whole sale paper store, they usually have a lot of options for invitation paper. Also, buy your thank you notes at a wholesale provider. They are A LOT cheaper!

If you want to go really, really cheap, do e-vites for those friends that have e-mail.

For a wedding picture in the invitation, get it printed at Costco or Sam’s Club. You can save over a hundred dollars getting them printed at those places. If you are really, really, REALLY cheap, you might not send a picture with the inviation at all.

Don’t worry about wedding favors. I didn’t and my wedding was beautiful without them! I don’t think anyone even noticed.

Forget about buying your bridesmaid’s dresses. I told my bridesmaids (all 8 of them!) my colors and they put something together on their own. My bridesmaids all got together and bought matching outfits, but I have been to weddings where everyone wore something different that matched the colors. It is fun and unique to see what people will come up with!

Fake flowers are usually cheaper than real. I had my heart set on live flowers for my boquet. I decided that my boquet would be real and I made fake boquets for my bridesmaids and flower girls. Anyway, fake flowers last longer.

Forgo the gifts to the bridesmaids and best man. No one at my wedding noticed. I have been a bridesmaid many times and have only once recieved a gift. You know what? I did not even think about it until right now. I was just excited that I got to dress up and have fun.

Ask a friend to make your wedding video. It can be their wedding gift to you.

Don’t worry about the booze. Have fun without it! Blast up the music, dance, talk, etc. You don’t need beer to have a good time.

Attend a bridal fair. Crazy, huh? You are surprised a said that because bridal fairs usually cost money. However, you can get a lot of discounts and put your name in to drawings for free stuff. And usually, they give out  a lot of free stuff: paid honeymoons, free wedding videos, gift certificates, etc. I even won something when I attended!

Go to the library for inspiration. Do you know how many bridal magazines are at my local library? A LOT! Why pay money for a magazine, when you could have access to 300 for free?

Have a friend or family member be the DJ. Its a lot more fun to have a college buddy or even your own dad be in charge of the music. You’ll get a lot more laughs. Besides, friends and family are more likely to know your style.

Go to discount stores for guest books. Try Ross or stores that are similar.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, September 18th, 2007 @ 5:56 pm on the category Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.