What are some ways to save money on a wedding?

Question

My friend just got engaged and their parents aren't going to be able to assist much finacially. What are some ways for them to save money and still have a nice wedding?

Answer 1

Go get the book Bridal Bargains. I'm sure there are other books out there with good ideas too, but this one seems to have it all.

Major thoughts:

* Get married "off season" and on Friday evening or Sunda afternoon.
* Have a less expensive reception: cake-n-punch, appetizer, buffet, BBQ
* Do things yourself, or find family and friends with talents to "gift" you with elements of the wedding - photgraphy, music, cake, centerpieces, etc.

Answer 2

Borrow, borrow, borrow! You can help your friend, by helping her bargain shop. I gave my friend Cathy a beautiful wedding for under $400. Your friends are going to have to realize that they can't have a formal elegant wedding on a tight budget. If you spend all the money on the dress, then you have a pretty dress and nothing else. But they can have a beautiful wedding for a couple of hundred dollars. Dollar world and dollar tree stores are carrying more and more things for weddings.
First of all, find out how much you have to spend. Does the couple have friends who would help out, instead of giving gifts.
The most important thing in the wedding is the cermoney where the couple join together. Flowers can be purchased and made up into bouquets. The wedding dress can be her Mother's or Aunt's gown or even just a simple dress off the rack. Does someone sew? She could have a dress made. Ebay or David's bridal...$99....or go to JC. Penny's and look on the discount racks. My friend got married in a beautiful off white dress, another friend had a pretty white blouse and long skirt that flowed.
Have the cermoney at their church or in someone's backyard. No costs there. Have cake and punch. You don't have to have a big feast, weddings have become money makers for florists, bakerys, restuarants, and dress companies. The most romantic wedding I have ever been to was held in the backyard of the groom's family. They were married under a tree. She wore a skirt and blouse from K-mart clearence rack, she wore my earrings, and she made her bouquet from her Mother's flower garden. I carried a single rose and wore a blue dress, bride's favorite color. We had cake and punch. And to this day it was the prettiest and most romantic wedding I have ever been to. Because you could feel the love and there was no stress and pressures of a big wedding.
Put your thinking caps on! How about the park? Who knows who that can make the cake? Does anyone have any hidden talents. What about a Christmas wedding? Decorations are ready provided. Have fun with the ideas. There are no real right or wrongs. It's going to be work, but then every wedding is.
I am so happy that she has a good friend. If you nearby, I would let you borrow the flowers from my daughters wedding. I have the most stuff left over, that's what I am saying see who has what , you will be surprised on how much you can save. The bride might not have the fairy tale wedding with all the fluff and pearls, but she can have one that means a lot more to her, because friends like you helped her make it possible........
God bless you all......................

Answer 3

Invite less people. 50 guests treated well are much better than 150 treated like cattle.

Find a beautiful location that doesn't need much decoration.

Use flowers that are in season and if you are getting married in the town where you currently live, consider using flowers from Safeway or Costco.

Remember that no one cares if you used cotton or linen tablecloths. No one will remember if you had 3 or 4 flowers in your centerpieces. But, they will remember how you looked, the food they were fed, the amount of fun that they had, and how happy you (the couple) looked.

Wait for a Michael's coupon and buy your own votives and candles and decorate with them.

Skip the wedding coordinator and work on things yourself. Ask your reception site if they have any vendor recomendations.

Serve a signature drink and a red & white wine instead of having 5 different beers, an open bar, and dozens of wine to choose from. This can help keep your costs MUCH lower. You still need to provide alcohol (unless it's against your moral values), but shrinking what you pay for is a great way to go. Have fun with the signature drink. Have "Melissa's Mojitos and Tom's Tea" or "Alison's Appletini and Greg's Gin Martini". Or, pick something that relates to the two of you. Your first date was a mexican restaurant, have margaritas and pacifico. You got engaged in Paris, have French Kisses and Champagne.

I highly recommend not skimping on the food, photographer, officiant, and site. Here's why:
1. In 30 years, your memories will be faded but your photos will still be there. Having a professional photographer (not a friend, not a student) will help capture those moments beautifully and help keep your memories strong. Your dress will yellow, your bouquet will degrade, but those photos will be something that your grandchildren and their grandchildren will be able to look at and dream about.

2. Food - your guests are just that, guests. They have taken time out of their life to witness your most important day. They have spent the time and money to give you a gift. Respect them. Don't force them to eat terrible food and pay for their drinks because you dreamed about a big wedding. Your guests will stay longer and have a better time with a belly full of thoughtful and tasty food.

3. By having a beautiful site, you will need to do less decorating and you will always have a special memory. Your wedding will be more interesting than 1000 others the guests have been to and your photographs will be that much more beautiful.

4. Your officiant makes or breaks the ceremony. You don't want someone who drones on or can't be understood. You don't always want to remember how the officiant needed a shave, smelled like scotch, or forgot the ceremony. You want someone professional who will work with your needs 100%.


Good luck to you! : )

Good luck to you!

Answer 4

* A 3-tiered presentation of cupcakes instead of a wedding cake (looks the same if arranged correctly and tastes a lot fresher than stale wedding cake)

*Ebay wedding dress or design her own (everyone seems to know a seamstress that can help with this for a LOT cheaper than retail)

*Bridesave.com also has great dresses

*Make your own table favors (a lot of people are doing this these days!)

*Cut down the guest list. A logical rule of thumb is that if someone (INCLUDING family) has not even met the bride/groom's future husband/wife, then they have no business being there. Family or not, it's just not right. Especially if the couple has been together for a long time, like 4-6 years. Also, only allow people to bring guests if they are married or engaged. No teenage dates or kids..

*Artificial floral arrangements (Pier One has some AWESOME calla lillies that can fool anyone) Plus they don't wilt!

*Outdoor BBQ for the rehearsal dinner...also becoming very popular these days.

*To save money on the honeymoon, they now have honeymoon registries where instead of getting kitchen appliances and dishes at the bridal shower, people can purchase activities to do on the honeymoon, such as a day of jet-skiing, or a whale watch cruise, etc.. I think some of these registries will even allow people to chip in for the flight and hotel. It's a great concept if the couple has been living together for a while and already has enough items for their house.

Answer 5

Two of the most expensive things are photography and videography. Instead of hiring a professional for $1000+, ask a friend with a good camera/video camera to do it for you. They should do it for free and make it their wedding gift to you, or either charge you for costs only.

Also, watch your reception costs. It's much cheaper to find a place that will allow you to bring some of your own food. The rest you can have catered. If the church is big enough, have the reception in the fellowship hall or even gym and get friends/family to help with the food. Most people (if you're close to them) would be flattered if you asked them to make their specialty _______ for your wedding. (My mom makes great cheese rings, for example.) If people realize you're struggling, they'll probably even offer to help by doing whatever little thing they can.

SKIMP on invitations. No one cares about them anyway; they're just paper. Make sure you do it properly and beyond that, consider it a huge way to save money. DON'T put in RSVP cards and SASE's, because people won't send them back anyway and you'll end up wasting all that postage.

That's all I can think of right now! Pick a few things that you feel are important to splurge on (a dress, maybe) and skimp on everything else!

Answer 6

We just got married in July of this year and saved a ton by using silk flowers (which were absolutely beautiful) and having the ceremony outdoors at a great park. (If the ceremony is outside you won't need decorations) Also, try shopping for accessories online. A couple good sites are: BridalBargainFinder.com
customweddingsolutions.com
bridaldresssale.com

We had the wedding of our dreams on a very tight budget. Be creative and don't be afraid to ask vendors for discounts if you buy more than one item from them. We saved a few hundred buy buying severak items from the same place and asking for "package price".

Good Luck!

Answer 7

1. Make the invitations yourself. Several stationary stores (including the big chains like Staples) sell invitation sets that you can make on your computer for a fraction of what an invitation company would charge.

2. Make your own centrepieces instead of renting them and then you also have a way to get rid of them at the end of the night with the "centrepiece" game.

3. Create your own bouquets, corsages and boutonnieres. They don't even need to be made from real flowers so you can do this months in advance.

4. If you have anyone in your family (or your fiance's family) that is talented in something like photography or cake decorating or DJ, ask them if they would be interested in the job. You would want to pay them for their services but it will be cheaper than going with a professional.

5. Create your own guest favours instead of buying them from a supplier. It will take some time but it will be more unique and special.

Answer 8

Well my husband and I paid for our wedding and we were very young and I was expecting so we had a VERY limited budget ..
First of all we keep our wedding very small . I had a maid of honor and a best man and my little sisters were the flower girls and my little brother the ring barior.. I bought my dress from a second hand store . ( you have to remeber that the person generaly only wears it one day ) I bougt it for $20 and had it dry cleaned and it was a total of $30... as for my husband he wore a nice suit instead of a tux ..
We had the wedding at my parents back yard .. My aunts and my husband family all helped to make the food .. we did not have a D.J I made several mixed CDs that played through out the day ..I made my own vail and flowers ( I used silk flowers) I also made my own cake ... It took alot of time but it was worth it .. And I had several people ask me to do ther wedding after it was all over the day turned out beautiful and we were in loved and married which was all that really mattered at the end of the day ,,,,, Good luck and Best Wishes on your new life toghther

Answer 9

My daughter is getting married soon, and I think so far most of the answers are really sweet....
We saved a lot on do it yourself things also. The wedding is going to be outside, I made her flowers, pew bows, birdseed bags from tulle and ribbon bought at Wal-mart.We also bought the following at Wal-mart: invitations, flower-girl baskets, toasting glasses, guest book and pen set,cake knife and server. I bought an inexpensive white basket, lined it with white satin material and wrapped the handle with satin ribbon to hold birdseed bags. I am using a small side table(a table slightly taller than an end table) wrapped with a white sheet and tied with a tulle bow for the guest book table.
Also available at Wal-mart are cake toppers and other wedding decorations.
If she or her fiance don't belong to a church where they want to get married would her parents or the groom's parents be willing to have the wedding in their backyard? Reception there?
Try to minimize the wedding party and guest list, without hurting someones feelings. Go with a maid of honor and a best man. After she chooses her colors, ask the intended maid of honor if she might a prom dress in that color that would be appropriate for the wedding.
For the rehearsal dinner do something inexpensive such as a spaghetti dinner with salad and garlic bread. Let everyone bring something. For reception have finger foods and one traditional wedding cake; again let everyone help.
If she doesn't mind having a used gown check with a Christian mission store, of course it will have to be cleaned and maybe altered, in this case she would do better to get one for $99 at a bridal shop. My daughters gown needs a slight ajustment and steamed, this will cost us around $90 and that's at the bridal shop we bought it from. When you find a gown you like make sure you get the price of the gown including any alterations in writing.
Tell your friend Congradulations and Good Luck.
Please tell her not to get discouraged, this should be one of the happiest times of her life.

Answer 10

Tell them to honor the parents -- pay for it all or elope. Weddings are silly, overpriced and just plain wrong to drag other people's emotions and money into a money pit.
Idea: Bride, Groom and parents meet out of town somewhere very nice -- get married (the holy bond, NOT wedding) and the couple stay awhile on vacation. Saves tons of money, no hurt feelings, no stress and it could be very private and classy. All good memories to begin a life together vs how are we going to pay for the cake.