How to Save Money on Your Wedding (Without Looking Like You Did)

Your wedding is a one in a lifetime event. It is a celebration of your commitment and an expression of who you are as a couple. And if you are like many brides, you’ve dreamed of this day for a long time and know exactly what you’d like.

But in this economy, every bride is looking for ways to trim her wedding budget. And to help, I’ve created a list some of my favorite ways to cut your wedding costs – without your guests being the wiser.

Save Money On Your Wedding

Save on the Wedding Ceremony

• Use flowers in key areas only (like the altar or place where you will say your vows). This is where all of your guests eyes will be, and where the majority of your photographs will be taken.

• Have your florist create hand-tied bouquets for you and your bridesmaids. They are less expensive than wired ones and every bit as pretty.

• Use your wedding party flowers again at your reception. Bouquets can make amazing centerpieces at your head table. And they look gorgeous surrounding your cake.

Food and Beverage Costs

• Have your wedding at an “off-peak” time (Thursdays, Fridays or Sundays, and in January – May). Because these times are less popular, the caterer’s cost per person and the required guest count will be lower.
• Butler passed hor d’oeuvres can actually be less expensive than buffet style (because guests tend to eat less of them). Ask your caterer about your options.
• Create a signature drink (made with non-premium alcohol) to save on bar costs. Give the drink a personalized name to make it unique.
• Reduce your cocktail hour by 15-20 minutes. None of your guests will notice. And your bar bill will be less.
• Skip the champagne toasts – few guests really drink it. Or if you want to include it, try Prosecco, a sparkling Italian wine that tastes like champagne – but is much less expensive.

Save Money on Wedding Flowers/ Centerpieces

• Use fewer, larger tables to reduce the number of centerpieces and linen rentals required. Create tables of 10 instead of 8. (Use larger tables that guests aren’t crowded).
• Consider less expensive flowers like carnations, baby’s breath or gladiolas. These blooms tend to be 1/3 the cost of roses and look very dramatic and impactful when used in large monochromatic arrangements.
• Give your florist a long list of flowers you love and those you don’t. Then give him/her flexibility to use the most cost effective/ seasonal flowers from your list. Flexibility equal savings.
• Buy your own vases from places like Pier1 or Ikea. They can be less expensive than what your florist carries. (And you’ll be able to give the centerpieces away at the end of evening if you’d like).
• Ask your florist for ideas about including non-floral items that add impact while lowering cost. A vase filled with lemons or limes can be quite striking.

Save Costs on the Wedding Cake

• Save by using a faux cake. They are absolutely beautiful and your guests won’t notice the difference (you can still cut it).
• Or order only enough cake for 75% of your guests (more guests than you think actually don’t eat the cake).
• Another option is to have a smaller cake (tall but smaller cakes have great impact) and then a second “kitchen cake” which is cut and served to your guests (who will never notice).

Saving on the Wedding Attire

• Of course, I have to mention the savings associated with a preowned wedding dress! Whether you buy a preowned dress or sell your new gown after your wedding, you can expect to save up to 50% of the retail price. That is hundreds or potentially even thousands of dollars that can be used on other wedding costs (or towards upgrading your honeymoon).
• Rent your jewelry. You can actually rent beautiful necklaces, earrings, bracelets and more for you and your wedding party – all for a very reasonable rental fee.

This is a guest blog post by Josie Daga, founder of PreOwnedWeddingDresses.com, a website she created to help brides buy and sell designer wedding dresses. You can also find her on her own blog, Facebook and Twitter.

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• Wedding Ceremony Materials – For Creating The Special Day Unforgettable (frommyexperience.com)
• Decoration Ideas for a Home Wedding Reception (homeandgardenideas.com)

Keep Your Wedding Costs Under A Thosand Dollars

People frequently complain about being engaged forever because they don’t have the money to get married. Not only is this misleading, it is far from the truth because it is really easy to get married very cheaply. In fact, you can get married at the courthouse and not pay very much money at all! On the other hand if a reception is important to you and you would like to celebrate your wedding with family and friends it will take a few more dollars to have one. For as little as a thousand dollars you can have the wedding you have always dreamed of. Sure, you might not have the bridal jewelry made of diamonds and platinum. You can have a wonderful wedding that you will always remember and you won’t need expensive limousines to do it.

Let’s start off saving money by getting a bargain on a dress and pay less than $100. There are many bridal shops that sell off the rack wedding gowns for as little as $99. Shop around and find a dress you love. Remember, too, that your bridal jewelry will make your dress even more beautiful and special. If possible, shop for dresses with your bridal jewelry so you can get the full effect.

The next way to save money is to buy plain, gold bands for the bride and groom. Bridal jewelry that is simple can be affordable. You can buy both bridal jewelry bands for as little as $250 and sometimes less if you shop around. You can add more extravagant bands later on when you have more money. You can always give bridal jewelry as a gift for a special occasion like an anniversary.

Find a photography student willing to shoot your wedding for $100. Many will be delighted at the opportunity to make a little money and practice their craft. The priest or pastor will also cost around $100. You will need to serve refreshments of some sort and the easiest way to save money here is to have family members and friends each bring something. You can ask for menu items to get what you want and many people will be willing to help you find ways to save money. You may want to buy a wedding cake and if you choose a simple one from a bakery it will cost around $100.

If you get married on your own property, that will be free. A church can be very low cost-sometimes as little as one hundred dollars and if you are a member sometimes nothing for members. So, if you are a member of a church get married there!

Flowers add a tremendous value to the wedding. Believe it or not but you can buy some beautiful flowers at your local super center and then arrange them yourself. Less than one hundred dollars will be enough to buy the flowers for a lovely wedding. Have family or friends contribute green leaves or other green plant cuttings.

Even after buying everything so far you will have only spent about 75 percent of your budget. Take the rest and brainstorm on choosing something else to add to make the day even more special-perhaps ballons or butterflies. Choose real invitations or take the free route and invite by email. Now that you can see how easy to have a nice wedding for a very low cost spend some time coming up with some more fun ways to spend the money.

Related articles

• 5 Cool Bridal Wedding Registries Couples Will Love (verybestsites.com)
• Fairy Tale Weddings Part 2 (weddingsetups.com)
• Wedding Trends for Style and Budget (budgetawedding.com)
• Weddings Dress Bargains That Will Have Brides Skipping Down the Aisle (dailyfinance.com)

Do I Need Wedding Insurance?

Most weddings cost far more than you would spend on a decent saloon car. It’s unthinkable that you would drive your brand new car without insurance cover, yet so many couples take a bigger financial risk by not insuring their wedding costs against the risk of total loss. By comparison to cars, house content, possessions, valuables, etc., wedding insurance costs very little for comprehensive cover. The relatively small premium for wedding insurance will give you peace of mind as you plan for your wedding.

Wedding insurance policies give a wide range of cover for many eventualities that could affect your wedding day. However, it is unlikely that small, irritating events would be included in the cover, such as rainfall, cloud, etc. but stronger weather forces that affect the wedding day almost certainly would, such as floods, landslides, earthquakes, etc. If adverse weather or other unpredicted events were to cause your wedding or reception venue to close or become inaccessible then your wedding insurance policy would provide a suitable level of cover. The same policy would cover unpredictable events with the wedding car supplier or the caterer or even if the bride or groom should sustain an accident which caused the wedding to be canceled for the planned date. A low premium insurance policy to cover all of the wedding day suppliers and events will compensate for those unexpected situations that can leave you seriously out of pocket.

Don’t Forget to Plan for Wedding Insurance Early

When you start to plan the wedding arrangements most couples wouldn’t consider including insurance as a part of their list – but you should! When you have set your wedding date and you start to book the suppliers for your wedding you are starting to make financial obligations for the big day – at that stage you should have your wedding insurance in places as well. This will give you a maximum period of cover for your insurance fee as well as adequate cover should anything go wrong in the period leading up to your wedding day that may leave you financially disadvantaged.

Wedding Insurance Policies

Most wedding insurance policies are similar, both in price and in the level of cover that they offer, but it’s still worth shopping around to find the cover that best suits you. The internet and insurance brokers are a great source of information for the levels of cover offered by different companies. A good policy will include cancellation (but unlikely that this would include a change of mind!), the wedding rings and other wedding jewelery, wedding dress, the Groom, Best man and bridesmaid’s outfits (if you are hiring formal attire, then check the insurance requirements), venue(s), caterer, transportation, florist, personal accident for the Bride and Groom if this affects your wedding plans, personal liability, wedding cake damage, photographer (including destruction of the wedding photographs), wedding gifts (ensure that cash and vouchers are included).

The insurance cover for your honeymoon should be arranged separately from the wedding insurance. Your honeymoon would normally be covered by travel insurance, generally arranged at the same time as making your travel arrangements. However, you may wish to consider that the travel insurance would not normally cover cancellation as a result of your wedding plans having been disrupted, so you may want to include cover for this with your wedding insurance policy or take out separate cover for this specific risk.

Peace of Mind for Your Wedding Day

Planning and organizing your wedding can be a very enjoyable experience, leading up to one of the most exciting and important days of your life. No one expects things to go wrong, and they rarely do, but you should have the reassurance of wedding insurance to give yourself peace of mind over any unexpected or unpredictable events that could disrupt your wedding day. When you start to plan your wedding day and book the suppliers, take out your wedding insurance policy at the same time. This gives the maximum period of cover and means you can concentrate on your wedding whilst you have the reassurance that the whole event is covered by your wedding insurance policy. Enjoy planning for the big day and your wedding day itself – congratulations, it’s one of the most enjoyable days of your life.

Article by Steve Shaw, of wedding services and information. The website offers advice and information on organizing and arranging your wedding.

Photo by lemonjenny

Five Wedding Planning Mistakes

Just as with any big show, your wedding day will not be perfect – but that’s okay. While you cannot plan ahead for every little detail or problematic situation that may arise, you can arm yourself with some helpful advice to be prepared at all times for any potential wedding mistakes. But before you begin planning your special day, consider these five biggest wedding preparation and planning mistakes that amateur ‘wedding planners’ often make.

1. Not Budgeting Costs

It’s hard to believe, but true – many couples do not create a budget when it comes to wedding preparation and end up in a deep hole of debt. The very first thing you should do to avoid disastrous (and bankrupting) wedding mistakes is devise an itemized budget, allowing for the necessary requirements, such as a venue for both the ceremony and reception, food and drinks, flowers, favors, decorations, etc. If anything is left over, either use this money for your honeymoon or spend it on something a little more frivolous, like a horse drawn carriage for your departure from the reception. Read more