101 Ways to Save Money on Your Wedding
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About this ebook
Barbara Cameron
Barbara Cameron has a heart for writing about the spiritual values and simple joys of the Amish. She is the best-selling author of more than 40 fiction and nonfiction books, three nationally televised movies, and the winner of the first Romance Writers of America Golden Heart Award. Her books have been nominated for Carol Awards and the Inspirational Reader's Choice Award from RWA's Faith, Hope, and Love chapter. Barbara resides in Jacksonville, Florida.
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Book preview
101 Ways to Save Money on Your Wedding - Barbara Cameron
101 WAYS TO
SAVE MONEY
on Your
WEDDING
Barbara Cameron
9781605506326_0002_001Copyright © 2009 Simon and Schuster
All rights reserved.
This book, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced in any form without permission from the
publisher; exceptions are made for brief excerpts used in published reviews.
Contains material adapted and abridged from The Everything® Weddings on a Budget Book,
2nd Edition, by Barbara Cameron, copyright © 2007 Simon and Schuster.,
ISBN 10: 1-59869-418-9, ISBN 13: 978-1-59869-418-5.
Published by
Adams Media, an imprint of Simon & Schuster, Inc.
57 Littlefield Street, Avon, MA 02322. U.S.A.
www.adamsmedia.com
ISBN 10: 1-60550-632-X
ISBN 13: 978-1-60550-632-6
eISBN: 978-1-44052-059-4
Printed in the United States of America.
J I H G F E D C B A
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
is available from the publisher.
This publication is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information with regard to the subject matter covered. It is sold with the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering legal, accounting, or other professional advice. If legal advice or other expert assistance is required, the services of a competent professional person should be sought.
—From a Declaration of Principles jointly adopted by a Committee of the American Bar Association and a Committee of Publishers and Associations
This book is available at quantity discounts for bulk purchases.
For information, please call 1-800-289-0963.
Contents
Introduction
PART I: YOUR FIRST DECISIONS
Chapter 1: Making a Budget
1. Envision Your Wedding
2. Build Your Priority List
3. Give Yourselves Enough Time to Plan
4. Working with Your Budget Team
5. Determining Your Budget
6. Provide an Extra Expenses Fund
Chapter 2: Set the Foundation of Your Wedding Day
7. Determine the Size of Your Wedding
8. Set the Wedding Date
9. Decide on the Location
10. Working with a Wedding Coordinator
11. Approach and Interview Vendors
12. Get Smart about Contracts
PART II: CHOOSE THE BEST SITES
Chapter 3: Choose Your Ceremony Site
13. Considering Different Types of Sites
14. Think about Seasons and Timing
15. Take It Outside
16. Think about a Private-Home Wedding
17. Plan a Destination Wedding
Chapter 4: Find Your Perfect Reception Site
18. Research Sites Well
19. Look at Traditional Ballrooms
20. Look at Church Reception Halls
21. Look at Alternative Sites
22. Consider an At-Home Reception
23. Take Advantage of Seasonal Pricing
24. Work with In-House Vendors and Their Rules
PART III: PLANNING THE CELEBRATION
Chapter 5: Plan for Smart Catering
25. Think about Sit-Down Dinners
26. Plan a Classic Cocktail Party
27. Bet on Brunch
28. Handle the Off-Site Caterer Issue
29. Design Twists on Cheaper Foods
30. Include Pricier Foods, but Smartly
31. Choose DIY Menu Items
Chapter 6: Designing Low-Cost Drinks
32. Cheer for Champagne
33. Set a Limited Bar Menu
34. Set a Limited Bar Time
35. Serve Nonalcoholic Drinks
Chapter 7: Select Your Wedding Cake
36. Choose a Simpler Design
37. Decide on Low-Cost Flavors and Fillings
38. Choose a Cake Topper
39. Look for Cake Alternatives
PART IV: CHOOSING YOUR WEDDING WARDROBE
Chapter 8: Select Your Wedding Dress for Less
40. Establish Your Style
41. Know Where to Shop
42. Consider Heirloom Dresses
43. Borrow a Dress
44. Investigate Online Sources
45. Order a Custom-Made Gown
46. Save Elsewhere
47. Save on Alterations
Chapter 9: Save on Accessories
48. Save on Shoes
49. Find an Inexpensive Headpiece and Veil
Chapter 10: Set Your Beauty Budget
50. Arrange a Trial Run
51. Do Your Own Makeup
Chapter 11: Money-Savers for the Groom and His Men
52. Research Tuxedos
53. Find Groom’s Discounts
54. Save with Suits
55. Decide on Informal Outfits
Chapter 12: Buy Budget Bridesmaid Dresses
56. Research Styles
57. Take Advantage of Seasonal Sales
58. Shop Prom Dresses and Formals
59. Save Them Money on Shoes
60. Find Budget-Friendly Accessories
Chapter 13: Find Budget Deals for Child Attendants
61. Shop Smart
62. Add Twists to Their Party Clothes
63. Find Bargains on Baskets and Pillows
PART V: FIND SAVINGS ON WEDDING ESSENTIALS
Chapter 14: Save on Invitations and Print Items
64. Select Inexpensive Save-the-Dates
65. Choose Less Expensive Invitations
66. Order at Discount Sources
67. Make Your Own Invitations
68. Avoid Embellishments
Chapter 15: Save on Flowers
69. Trim Expenses with Your Floral Order
70. Research Flowers
71. Find Florist Savings
72. Think Smaller
73. Use Alternative Flowers
74. Give Flowers Double-Duty
75. Design Single-Flower Bouquets and Centerpieces
76. Design Boutonnieres and Corsages for Less
77. Plan for Kids’ Flowers
78. Find Alternative Flower Sources
79. Dream Up DIY Savings
Chapter 16: Make Memorable Music
80. Find Great Musicians
81. Decide on a Deejay vs. a Band
82. Depend on Your iPod Playlist
83. Plan Personal Performances
Chapter 17: Choose Transportation for Less
84. Practice Limousine Smarts
85. Look into Alternative Transportation
86. Use Your Own Car
Chapter 18: Arrange Photography and Videography for Less
87. Get Referrals
88. Choose Smaller Packages
89. Skip Professional Albums
90. Plan DIY Photos and Video
Chapter 19: Finding Favors and Gifts on a Budget
91. Find the Best Place to Shop
92. Make Your Own Gifts
PART VI: HANDLING ADITIONAL EXPENSES
Chapter 20: Save Money on Extras
93. Hand Out Tips
94. Be Smart with Insurance
95. Build Your Personal Wedding Website
Chapter 21: Budgeting for Pre-Wedding Parties
96. Build Your Guest Lists
97. Plan an At-Home Party
98. Explore Your DIY Options
Chapter 22: Finding Honeymoon Savings
99. Research Locations
100. Go Off-Season
101. Go All-Inclusive
Resources
Introduction
Congratulations on your engagement! You’re about to enter the exciting time of planning your dream wedding, and you may already have some of your biggest wedding wishes in mind. You might also be concerned about what this wedding is going to cost. You’ve heard the statistics. The average wedding costs over $25,000, and that’s just the average wedding! Friends and family who have planned their own weddings recently may have struggled with their budgets, stressed about money, and perhaps even wound up eliminating some of their dream wedding elements. But this doesn’t have to happen to you!
You might not be aware that there are many, many ways that you can plan your dream wedding for less money than you’d expect. All it takes is some insider information from the wedding industry, and you have that insider information right here in your hands! So you’re going to find out how to make choices that can save you 50 percent to 70 percent off your purchases. You’re going to find out where to search for the perfect wedding gown, sites, photographers, videographers, entertainers, and more. And you’ll find out exactly how to time your searches to earn even bigger discounts.
When you follow the tips in this book, you may be able to get your dream wedding for half the price or get twice the wedding for your available budget! You won’t have to sacrifice quality or the most important parts of your day, and you’ll soon find that looking for bargains is actually fun . . . and can become a group activity when your friends and family help you find the perfect resources.
In the end, you’ll achieve your dream wedding without any of your guests knowing where you cut corners, where you got creative, and where you made better choices for your budget. And most importantly, you’ll be among the brides and grooms who enjoy their wedding planning process, because you won’t be frightened or stressed about making expensive mistakes with your wedding planning. Warnings are included here to save you from the most common budget missteps.
Ready to start planning for less? Let’s get started.
PART I
Your First Decisions
CHAPTER 1
Making a Budget
Which comes first, the wedding vision or the budget? That’s entirely up to you! When building a wedding budget, as overwhelming as that can be, start with a vision of your dream wedding, and then make the financial decisions based on how to achieve that vision. You might want to look first at your available money, and then decide on the elements of the wedding based on what you can comfortably afford. When you’re just starting out on your wedding plans, you will most likely find that wedding expenses are way more costly than you expected, and you may—at first—consider cutting some of your most wished-for wedding elements out of your big day. You would have loved to have a designer gown, for instance, but how could you possibly get one on such a modest budget? Before you make any decisions or rule any plan out of your wedding dream, start first with the big decisions that are going to shape your wedding planning experience. You may find that you have more money to work with than you thought—such as with parents’ contributions—or that your partner agrees with you on not wanting a $5,000 wedding cake . . . so you can certainly afford that designer gown now! These first few steps are designed to get you talking about your financial constraints and freedoms, your priorities, and who’s going to help you bring your wedding dream to life.
1. Envision Your Wedding
Knowing what each of you wants is the first step in planning your wedding. Do you envision a big, formal wedding with a sea of roses, a five-course dinner, and an orchestra, or a more modest, informal outdoor wedding with you in a sundress holding a bouquet of wildflowers? Does your fiancé want a small wedding with just family? Or does he want to take the family off to Hawaii for a tropical fantasy wedding? Before you can make any wedding plans, and start to talk about paying for them, be sure you’re united in your vision for the big day, or that you have mapped out where each of you will compromise your expectations to suit the other’s wishes.
These steps will determine how and where you spend your money. Imagine what a relief it would be if both of you want an under-fifty-person guest list! Imagine how thrilling it would be when you both say, Sit-down dinners aren’t really what I have in mind
and realize that you can save 70 percent off the reception by planning a brunch or luncheon. It’s only through discussing your wedding wishes that you can start the process off with big victories for your budget. You might begin thousands of dollars ahead of the game! That is, if you can agree on your wedding vision. Be prepared for wedding planning to require communication and compromise. It’s a genuine team effort. So have a detailed discussion of how big a wedding you want, how formal, and any wished-for wedding elements, so that you can find beautiful ways to get those things for less.
Your smartest first step is to sit down together in front of your home computer and surf the Internet, visiting your favorite wedding websites and the sites for your favorite bridal magazines. Grooms say they enjoy looking at photos with their brides, and this initial evening of idea-hunting often turns into a few dozen printouts of reception styles, menu plans, wedding cake images, and other wedding vision–defining graphics. While looking at these photos and printing them out to show to your future vendors, take notes on what you want, what you don’t want, where you can use an idea that’s a no for him in another party such as your bridal shower, and also talk about what you saw and experienced at other weddings that you do or don’t want for your own Big Day. Again, establish right now that you don’t want the things other couples spend thousands of dollars on, like a sit-down dinner with lobster tails, filet mignon, and endless sushi bar, and a raw bar to rival most Oscars™ parties. No, that’s so not for me!
will free you from the high-end menu and you’ll also find out your partner agrees. That’s the best way to start forming your realistic budget.
BRIDAL BONUS In wedding budgets, there is the reception, and then there is everything else. The reception can cost up to 60 percent of the total budget. This includes the price of renting the reception hall or space itself as well as providing food and beverages for your guests.
2. Build Your Priority List
Ask yourselves which features of the wedding are important to you. Each of you should make a list of your most wished-for wedding elements and then star the two or three items that you feel are the most important to you, the ones you’d be willing to spend a larger chunk of your budget on. Is it the ceremony itself? The reception? The wedding dress? Flowers? Think about it. Star those high-priority items. Number them, if you wish to rank them further. And then compare your two lists to see how your priorities measure up. How closely do