So… My fiance (will be 22) and I (will be 21) are trying to plan our wedding in the finger lakes region of New York, where we live for August 8, 2009. I will be just out of college and he will have one year left, so the budget is VERY tight we are paying for almost all if it ourselves, my mother offered to give us $1000 as the wedding present. We would love to get married on cayuga lake, or at one of the falls, but most places are too pricey. Does anyone have any unique ideas and money saving tips? I'm getting very discouraged. I don't need anything extravagant, just simple, beautiful, and unique.
The following tips will DEFINITELY save you money:
Getting married on any other of the week other than Saturday.
If finances don't allow you to purchase a designer wedding dress, consider renting. Look at it this way, if you're the type who wouldn't even consider wearing your mother's dress, why do you need one collecting dust in the closet.
Never mind buying an expensive silk gown. Stick to polyester blends. They're cheaper, don't wrinkle as much and are easier to clean.
Most of the big bridal shops have huge sales once a year, usually held at hotels or other big venues.
Go shopping for bridesmaids' dresses during prom season and after New Years.
There's nothing written in stone that says you have to buy your bridesmaids dresses at a wedding shop, and generally your prices will be a bit cheaper elsewhere.
Shop for those pretty little wedding shoes in the summer, when white shoes are on the shelves of every shoe and department store, or you'll have to buy them in a bridal shop and pay their prices. Shop in the afternoon, your feet swell during the day and they'll also be swollen on your wedding day. FB prime advice … try "Payless".
Men's Tuxedo rentals are pretty much all the same price no matter where you go. The thing to check on is the condition of the suits and accessories.
Unless you plan on keeping your bouquet on display in your home, don't bother with a duplicate to toss.
Instead of tossing your whole bouquet, just pick one flower to throw.
Silk flowers save you a lot of money and they're already preserved. The Bride can have fresh flowers, but there really isn't any need for everyone else to go fresh.
If you're using flowers in your centrepieces, decorations or large altar arrangements, go with silk. Would be nice if your guests could actually use the centrepieces that they just won again.
To decorate the head table and save money buy vases, line them up and place the bouquets in them on the table and place votives in between.
Before shopping for candles and candleholders anywhere else, be sure to check out a couple of dollar stores.
Dollar stores and chains like Wal-Mart and Zeller's also carry many items that can be used to decorate your ceremony or reception locations.
Check with your florist or garden centre to see if you can rent plants, some places do.
Kill 2 birds with one stone and use your guest favors as your centrepieces.
To make your invitations more personal and less expensive, do them yourself. There are a number of paper stores and websites availabile where you can find original ideas and ways to make your own invitations.
Order your invitations over the Internet instead of a printing shop (it's a little cheaper).
Order a plain invitation from a company and decorate it yourself. All you need is a hole-puncher and some ribbon and/or parchment paper.
Buying a cake made with different flavoured tiers will save you money as you wouldn't necessarily require a dessert table.
To get away with not paying a cake cutting fee at your venue, purchase their sweet table but serve your wedding cake for dessert. This means you'll have to do your cake cutting as soon as your wedding party does their entrance. The staff will take the cake away and have it cut and plated in time for dessert.
Buy a plain wedding cake and decorate it yourself with silk or fresh flowers.
Biggest tip - hire a photographer that gives you your negatives, that way you can make as many copies of pictures from your wedding day as you want without having to order them from your photographer.
If you choose a photographer that does not give you your negatives, always find out how long they keep your negatives on file and if you can obtain them when they are ready to discard them. Most photographers in general don't keep negatives past a couple of years. If your photographer still won't give you the negatives after that point without charging you money, I would question the ethics of the vendor.
$1000.00 for a photographer is a great price but if they charge $40.00 for an 8 X 10, where's the savings.
If a package includes a couple's album and 2 parent albums, ask how much that same package would cost without any albums. Sometimes it's worth the savings to buy your own albums elsewhere and sometimes it's better to take the albums offered by your photographer.
Unless you're doing a formal shoot at the bride or groom's house, you don't need a photographer there. Your wedding party and family will have their cameras out anyway.
A great idea and one that many are using now is, putting a disposable camera on every table at the reception. Then you'll only need to book your photographer for the church, photo location and maybe to take a few detailed shots at the reception venue.
You don't need your photographer to stay until 1am. Once the bouquet and garter tosses have taken place, there are no more major events to shoot. Your 1st & last dances look the same on film.
There is no rule anywhere that says, "You have to have a stretch limousine." The smaller the car the cheaper.
Other than the car and uniformed chauffeur, you really don't need any other extras.
You can also save money by renting your vehicles from Budget, Hertz, etc. They all have new model luxury cars, sports cars and SUVs.
You really don't need the limousine to take you home after the reception. Late-night pick-ups cost $100.00+
Before the ceremony, have the limo pick up the bride and her bridesmaids. The groom, groomsmen and parents can take their own vehicles to the church. After the ceremony, the bride and groom can take the limo and the bridesmaids can hop in the groomsmen's cars.
You may already know someone that owns a Cadillac or Lincoln, a fancy sports car or for fun a Beetle or an antique car. Give this person a call.
Some couples need more then one limo. If this is the case for you, compare the cost of 2 to 3 limos vs. the cost of 1 limo bus or Chartered Bus.
As for as music ~ common sense: the least amount of people providing a service, the cheaper.
Ceremony - An organist is cheaper than a string duo, which is cheaper than a trio
Reception - A DJ is cheaper than a band
The least amount of extras the cheaper. Lighting, smoke & bubble machines, other props, costumes, give-aways, fireworks, the list is endless, all cost money. It's up to you.
A really expensive package doesn't mean that your party will last longer or that your non-dancing guests will feel the need to shake their booty for the first time in their life. But a crappy DJ or band will ruin your reception.
Save money on wedding planning by assembling invitations by hand and by playing recorded music. Get more money saving ideas with tips from an event coordinator in this free wedding planning video.
Jeff Zaiger shows us how to do the “Cha Cha Slide” with a little help from the audience.
Mindi talks to us about working with your vendors and giving them as much information as possible.