Save Money on Your Wedding

Why you should consider smaller wedding

admin — Thu, 10 May 2012 16:30:42 +0000

We all dream about the perfect wedding with a beautiful dress, flowers, cake, and receptions, but when we have to stay within a budget, some parts have to be trimmed. It doesn’t matter how much you can save on the dress, flowers, cake, if the reception size is large, you can still go over the budget. So consider saving money on the reception by inviting less guests. You can have an outdoor reception instead of a fancy restaurant. But the caterer still charges by person. The best option is to invite less guests.

Make a comprehensive guest list that includes everyone you would like to invite. Then start trimming from there. Keep in mind, it’s you wedding. So you get to choose the guests. A smaller wedding can be as perfect as a large one. In fact, you probably won’t have a chance to greet everyone any way.

Schedule your wedding during off season

admin — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 20:11:17 +0000

June is the most popular month for weddings. Most brides wait for the perfect weather to have an outdoor wedding and reception. If you’re planning on a more traditional church service and indoor reception, you can really take advantage of the off season discount. During October, November, and January, February, the business is very slow for many services. You’ll be surprised to find out how much discount you can get by having the ceremony in these months. Especially in January when most people are paying off their holiday debts.

Your cake decorator, floral arranger, musicians, photographers will all be very glad to have any gigs. Bargain and keep them employed. If you’re planning on hotel or resort reception, they also offer big discounts in off season. Get several quotes and shop around for every service. Don’t go for the first one. You’ll be able to compare prices later and make your decision.

How to save money on the beautiful wedding cake

admin — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 20:09:02 +0000

We have to admit it, the wedding cake is a crucial part of the wedding ceremony. No bride wants to cut a sheet cake or have the pictures taken next to a tiny tiered cake. But how much money are you willing to spend on the cake? Many frugal couples have used fake tiered cake for the pictures but served sheet cake to the guests. If this is not something you want, there are other ways to save money on the cake. Number one, don’t use the caterer for the cake. Ask around to see whether a family member, a friend, or someone in your church can decorate the cake for you. Or find a freelance cake decorator.

There’s also another place that many people don’t want to order their wedding cake from. Your local grocery store. Since they’re afraid the grocery store wedding cake is too generic. But not always. Talk to the baker and see what options you have. It’ll definitely save you money since the grocery stores don’t add much overhead to their cakes.

Cutting down guest list is the single most important way to save money

admin — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 22:02:14 +0000

Most caterers and restaurants charge by person when it comes to wedding reception. So if you run the numbers, you’ll see that trimming down the guest list from 150 to 100 will save you twenty-five percent. It’s understandable that your parents probably want to invite their friends, and your in-law’s friends, you will want to invite everyone you like, but the list gets big that way.

Start with the absolute list first. And build from it. You also need to give a max number. So if the list goes overboard, trim it down. Even money is not a problem, can you possibly invite several hundred people to your wedding and spend time with each one? So someone will be left out. When the budget is tight, just stick to a small family wedding. You probably can get by with a guest list of fifty that way.

Ways to save a lot on your wedding cake

admin — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 20:28:35 +0000

A perfect wedding cake is probably the most important part of your wedding next to the wedding dress. You can easily expect to pay anywhere from $3 to $9 per person for your cake if you hire a professional cake decorator. If you have 150 people on your wedding list, you kind of figure out how much that will cost you. You can try to save by going for the simplest and least expensive cake. But do you really want to do that?

Many brides have come up with creative ideas that help they trim the budget and yet still have this beautifully designed cake. Number one, you don’t need to hire a professional cake decorator. At least not the ones that have a shop or store. Because they have markups. Find a freelancer who doesn’t own a shop will cost you much less. Number two, does anyone in your family decorate cakes? What about your friends? People in your church or other communities that you belong to? Let the word out and people will help.

Number three, get a quote from your grocery store. Now the bigger grocery stores all offer bakery services. Their prices are usually reasonable. You can also go for a non wedding cake and finish the touch up yourself. There are many ways to save on the wedding cake, don’t limit yourself to the most convenient places.

Saving money on wedding flowers is a practical way to lower costs

admin — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 21:21:11 +0000

We all know that flowers and floral centerpieces and beautiful bouquets play an important role for your wedding. Most brides will not cut corners when it comes to those two. But what about all the other wedding flowers? If you don’t plan ahead, the flowers will cost up to $2,000 or even more. Some brides are opting for silk flowers instead of fresh cut ones. But you don’t have to settle for silk flowers. There are many ways you can cut the costs and still have your romantic wedding.

Number one, get married off season. June is the busiest season for weddings. So have yours earlier or later. Have it on any day except Saturday. Because everyone gets married on Saturdays. Buy seasonal flowers instead of the meaningful ones. Lastly, do it yourself. Don’t hire a florist. Pick up all your flowers from the wholesale or the farmer’s market. Talk to local farmers and find out who supplies flowers. I know a bride who planned a beautiful wedding with wild flowers. They all came for free!

Save Money on Your Wedding Photography is possible

admin — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 19:21:26 +0000

You want to capture every moment of your big day, so the wedding photography is very important. Also it is a major expense when you plan the wedding budget. If you can cut the expense, it’ll save a lot of money. However, you don’t want to go cheap on the wedding photography. Because a good photographer can capture the moment an amateur can not. That being said, an expensive photographer doesn’t guarantee ideal photos. The least expensive freelance photographers have done many every lasting photos. Many brides have chosen to use two photographers for their weddings, one for still shots and the other one for videos.

There are many great freelance wedding photographers who work from their homes. They will be able to reduce the fees since they don’t have to pay for an office. Also select your wedding day on any day except Saturday. If you’re getting married in high season such as June, the Saturdays will be busy for the photographers and they will be less likely to cut a deal with you. Another option is to only have the photographer take formal photos during the ceremony. The the rest of the photos can be taken by your family and friends. I have seen many brides choose this option. At least the videos can be done by a friend.

Keep in mind that budgeting is the best way to save for a wedding. Purchase a wedding planner as soon as the big day is set so you can ample time to pull everything together.

Tips and tricks to pay off the wedding debt

KevinC — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 06:34:57 +0000

Wedding comes with a heavy burden of perfection and perfection comes at a high price. Therefore, the couples plan and organize 6 months before the wedding for flawless arrangements. But how many of us really plan a budget for wedding? There is no prize for guessing, as we all are aware that none of us seriously plan a budget to manage the wedding expenses. Once they come out of their wonderland after marriage they are shocked to find the accumulated wedding debts. You should try to relax and avoid blaming each other for incurring debt. Make sure that you solve your financial problems by enrolling in debt relief programs otherwise it might ruin your personal relationship.

3 tips to pay off your wedding debt for a debt free future:

1. If you have default on your payment and incurred overwhelming credit card debt then you should seriously work on paying off the owed amount. Make sure that you pay little more than the minimum balance so that you can pay off your debts effortlessly. Prepare a budget to save extra money and use it towards paying off your debt. Prepare a list of the debt you owe to the creditors according to the descending order of the interest rate. Once you paid off the debt on top of the list move on to the next debt and continue the process until you completely eliminate your debts. You can also negotiate with the credit card companies to lower the interest rate on the principal balance.

2. You can negotiate with the photographers to lower the package if you have not paid yet. You can ask the photographer to provide you an online digital copy of the photographs. This will help you save expenses on the album cover. When you are working on paying off your debt make sure that you reduce your expenses to eliminate your debt. If you have extra sealed packages of napkins, decorating materials or other items you bought can be reimbursed by returning it to the store.

3. The couples should prepare a stringent budget plan in order to stay within their means. When you are working on paying off your debt then make sure you curb your expenses otherwise it might lead further into debt. Unless you pay off your debt avoid going for dinner in posh restaurants. Try to cook sumptuous dinner at home instead of dinning out. Remember that frugal living can help you overcome this stressful financial situation. You can save considerable amount of money by using coupons in the departmental store while buying things for daily use.

Cutting guest list is the best way to cut wedding costs

admin — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 20:35:44 +0000

We know that weddings are expensive. If you’re lucky that you’re the only daughter in your family and your parents have means to pay for it. But many young women are going to pay for their own weddings, at least part of it. So how do we cut down out budget and still have a beautiful wedding? Most of us would like to have a full reception. The costs all depend on the venue. Fancy hotels will be a lot more than a backyard reception. But it doesn’t matter how you bargain down the price per guest, it’s the number of guests that really matter. At $50 per head and with 200 guests, you’re looking at $10,000 just for the reception alone. So if you can trim down the guest list t0 150, it’ll be $7,500.

But of course you’d like to have more guests at the ceremony. So decide which one is more important to you. There’s also another idea to cut down costs is to have the ceremony and reception in one place. Some churches will let you use their facilities to have the reception. A reception of that style will cut down the cost dramatically.

To trim down the guest list, you need to remember that it’s your wedding. So build the guest list around you and your fiancee. Both side’s parents will have some important people to invite, but you don’t need to invite your mother-in-law’s best friend.

Create a Wedding Saving Jar

admin — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 15:14:37 +0000

Do you remember your piggy bank? Do you remember how excited you felt when you finally had it filled and opened? You can do the same with your wedding saving. Get a large jar and start putting in spare changes and small bills today. It’ll go a lot faster and easier than you think. Of course it’s going to pay for the entire wedding but it’ll help paying for the flowers, dress, and photography.

It depends on how much time you have until the big day. If you just got engaged and the wedding is two years away, you’re going to save a lot. Get your fiancé, family, and everyone who would like to help involved in this. Just loose changes.

The sooner you start and the more people who are willing to help, the faster and more you will save. Instead of doing a bridal shower, why not get your close friends involved in creating saving jars? Let us know how much you are able to save by the big day!