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Money Saving Tips
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Hire
a Wedding Consultant. She will help you stick to your budget and know
where you can get the best deals without compromising quality of
service.
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Host
your wedding on a weekday. Vendor prices are usually lower.
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Choose
in season blooms that are locally grown.
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Select
a small hand tied bouquet. It will be easier on your budget, more
sophisticated and easier to carry.
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Choose
small, delicate corsages for the mothers and boutonnieres for the gentlemen.
Herbs, dried flowers, leaves, berries and fabric are attractive and
inexpensive.
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Use
your bridesmaids bouquets for centerpieces at the reception or try a single
color or type of blossom. Doing so will eliminate the need for a larger
piece, because this type of arrangement will appear fuller.
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Bring
your alter and pew decorations to the reception site.
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Don't
decorate every pew with flowers. A few well-placed bows or tulle swags with
sprigs of ivy will do the trick.
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In
fact, decorating just every other row in the from section of the church, and
perhaps the back row, is generally the most attractive and cost-effective
approach.
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Select
thermography over engraving for your invitations. It gives the same affect
and is less expensive.
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Keep
the number of inserts down to a minimum. The more inserts you have the
higher your printing and postage costs will be.
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Instead
of a champagne toast use white grape juice
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Consider
a buffet over a sit down dinner. Buffets usually cost less than a sit down
meal.
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When
selecting your menu, make sure to consider what's in season and what is
locally grown. Doing so will decrease your expense.
Financial
Responsibilities
It doesn’t seem fair, but it is true. Planning the most romantic event
of your life begins with the least romantic detail: establishing the budget.
According to tradition, the bride’s family shoulders almost all of the
financial responsibility for the wedding. However today, the groom’s family
and the couple themselves often make significant contributions. No matter what
your situation is, establishing the budget early in the engagement is crucial.
Before you make any major decisions, come up with the total amount you can spend
on the wedding.
The following percentages will give you an idea of how much you can afford to spend;
if you splurge in one area, be prepared to cut back elsewhere.
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50%
Reception (includes cost of the site, food, drink, service, rentals, and
cake)
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10%
Bride’s attire
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10%
Music
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10%
Photography
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10%
Flowers
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10%
Miscellaneous (includes invitations, transportation, and favors)
Certain fundamental decisions affect the cost the most: How many guests
are you inviting? What time of day and week is the wedding? How formal will it
be? What kind of meal will you serve? The most expensive wedding, for example,
is an evening affair with a sit-down dinner. However a brunch, lunch, or tea is
less expensive because the food is usually lighter, less alcohol is consumed,
and the party is shorter.
Taking
care of some of the wedding preparations yourself is enjoyable and economical;
making favors and place cards, for instance, can be a project for the bride and
her bridesmaids. But do not take on more than you can handle. Stick to things
you know: If you are an avid seamstress and want to make your own dress, by all
means do so. But the morning of the wedding is no time for a bride or mother of
the bride to be icing her first wedding cake.
Who
Pays
The
following is the traditional breakdown of who pays for what part of the wedding.
Just remember there are no hard-and-fast rules.
Bride’s
Family:
- Invitations
and announcements
- Bridal
consultant
- Bride’s
gown and accessories
- Transportation
for the wedding party from the ceremony to the reception
- All
floral arrangements; bouquets, boutonnieres, and corsages for the bride’s
family and attendants
- Photographs
and videography
- Music
- Hotel
accommodations for the bride’s attendants
Groom’s
Family:
Bride
and Groom:
Bride:
- Gifts
for bride’s attendants
Groom:
- Marriage
license
- Officiant’s
fee
- Bride’s
bouquet
- Boutonnieres
and corsages for groom’s family and attendants
- Bride’s
engagement and wedding ring
- Gifts
for groom’s attendants
- Gift
for bride
- Hotel
accommodations for the groom’s attendants
- His
own attire
Attendants:
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Planner
Ceremony
Reception
Parties
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