Saving Money on Your Wedding in this Economy

We are all bombarded with news about the country's growing deficit. It's not looking to good with talks of hundreds of billions of dollars being added. What can you do to still plan a beautiful wedding and keep some cash in your pocket?


Develop a budget and update it with each major purchase - Yes, this is the first step. You need to map out a plan for how you plan to spend your money and since most go over budget add a 10% cushion to the bottom line. As you spend money in each category make adjustments. If you decided to email a save the date instead of mailing it, move the postage and printing costs you saved to flowers or another category where you may need more money.


Do not accept quoted fees from vendors. Vendors want your business and are feeling the pinch as well. Don't insult them or prevent them from making a profit (it is there livelihood), but ask how the price can drop or scan their services for things that are not important to you. For example, do you need all those designs on your cake? Will anyone miss a champagne toast or
can everyone just toast with the drink they have at the time? Do you need a stretch SUV or would a traditional stretch do just fine? Do you need a second photographer or can everything be shot well by one? Identify areas for negotiation and ask for what you want!


Take advantage of gently used wedding items. Hit the internet to look for items that you need for your wedding. Rent items instead of purchasing them. Scour EBay, Craigs List, and wedding boards for vases, candles, and anything else. Our boutique offers several items for rent
as well.


Here are some other ideas to save more cash!

Wedding gown - Do not get your dress altered where you purchased it. Seek out a tailor/seamstress in your area with experience altering wedding gowns and you could save a lot!

Find a gently used gown at a website like Once Wed where you can find fabulous, previously worn wedding dresses at low prices.

Or go to a high end bridal salon and browse through their samples. You can save hundreds of dollars this way.

Dessert - Does your catering package include dessert? Remove this from the package if you are offering wedding cake as well and you will likely get back $1 to $2/person. After hors d'oeuvres and dinner, most guests are satisfied and I find that dessert and cake goes to waste. Offer just the cake and save money. Additionally, tell your baker that your count is 10-20 persons less than it is. There is always more cake left over than what is needed because not everyone eats cake. If your count is 150, request cake for 130. At $4/slice, this will save almost $100.

Wedding Shoes - Forego the $200 pair of shoes, especially if your gown goes to the floor because most of the shoe will not even be seen, and look for beautiful and affordable shoes at places like My Glass Slipper for around $60 and save a bundle.

Photographer - Do you have your eyes set on one of the top photographers in the area, but cannot afford the fee? Photography costs are mostly made up of time on the wedding day and their post-wedding time cleaning up your photos and putting your album together. Why not hire a photographer and pay for their time and the creation of a high resolution CD, versus purchasing an album. You can create your album on your own with one of the popular websites like My Publisher and Shutterfly, to name a few. That will save hundreds of dollars. Or if you do not have the desire to create your own album, obtain the high-res CD and then ask the photographer for a great lab where you can have your album created at a future time with some of your wedding gift cash...If you still want the professional album, see if you can drop the hours that your wedding is covered by the photographer...this may save you a little as well.

Wedding site - Look for places where you can have both your ceremony and reception in one location. This may save you on transportation costs as you will not have to rent a limo or car unless you absolutely want to.

Transportation - If you do have a limousine, instead of having it sit and wait for you, try doing a one-way transfer. This is when you rent a limo to transfer you from one location to another. You will have to do some work and compare pricing, but often times this works out to be cheaper. Another option is to go for the classic stretch limo versus an SUV. You still arrive in style and save money at the same time.

Favors - It is nice to let your guests know that you are thankful that they attended your wedding. This does not have to be costly or cost anything at all. A personalized note inside their escort card or seating card expressing why they were invited and how delighted you are that they came will mean far more than candy or other item that you provide.

The bottom line is in this economy, your dream wedding does not have to be a dream deferred. Just think outside the box and you can have a beautiful wedding and save hundreds to thousands of dollars in the process.