my fiance and i have contacts that can provide music and the cake so that should not be a problem, however as i was looking at websites there're lots of expenses we need to cover.
my wedding is until sept. 2008 so there's time for plans and to save up money.
i dont plan a big wedding but not a small one either. i want an average reception and a church ceremony. i dont plan on having bridemaids. we plan on inviting no more than 200 ppl.
2006-12-02 16:45:20 · 21 answers · asked by Anonymous in Family & Relationships ➔ Weddings
Here are a few ideas:
1. Have the wedding and the reception at the same location (1 rental price)
2. Have a cash or no bar
3. Get one limo and have it pick up only you or have a member of the family or a friend of the family organise the cars for the day and have that person ensure the cars are clean and on time.
4. Get your flowers from Safeway (honest they do good work I used them and got a gorgeous bouquet) Keep the flowers to a minimum. Buy bulk ribbon and have the men decorate the pews with the bows you make by twisting wire around the center of bows.
5. Rent a place that provides tablecloths and candles so that you can avoid having to decorate a hall. It can actually cost more to do it yourself. The cleanup alone can take hours and most people jam out at the last minute leaving the wedding couple with a big headache.
If you are doing it yourself have a pot luck and have everyone bring their favourite dish. Have one person organise who is bringing what so you don't end up with 10 bean cassaroles.
Then everyone brings their own dishes home. For the sake of the occassion you can ask friends to bring good dishes and they can work out how to get 250 plates etc to the hall.
6. Have a garden wedding and rent chairs, fold down tables and a big open tent. Have the ceremony AND the luncheon in the same place. The food can come out of the kitchen of the home with the garden you are using.
7. I would suggest if you do not have any bridesmaids or matrons you will have to enlist the goodwill of friends to do the work. Both of you will be busy with the dress etc
8. Buy your dress 6 months ahead MINIMUM. Look in stores for clearances and buy in winter before the new spring lines come out and after the winter ones have been ordered. If you are a sample size you can save hundreds, even thousands.
Believe it or not, I saw a evening gown at Sears of all places, all beaded up and gorgeous and it could be special ordered in white (only 185) be creative and shop in other than bridal stores start looking for the dress EARLY
9.Save Save and SAVE
10. Ask guests to donate rather than give gifts and take your honeymoon with the money given. Also make arrangements for a weekend in a wonderful hotel. Most have romantic or wedding weekend packages that include meals, spa etc.
11. The cheapest way to do it is to elope to a carribean all inclusive vacation spot. Most let you marry after 48 hours, 24 if you pay a little extra. Come back and send announcements and invite everyone you were going to have at the wedding to your home or the home of parents or a friend with a large house. Buy deli, cheese, fruit, dessert trays and get lots of pop, coffee and tea. Ask everyone to come and share in your joy. If the family is religious, say your vows with the priest or pastor right there in the livingroom in front of everyone. If done correctly, it can be a wonderfully romantic and surprise way to do it. Conversely, you could tell everyone you need them at the house and that they should expect the unexpected. Then do the ceremony just like I described with the deli trays and all. Just reverse the order and take off on your honeymoon.
Although it lacks the sparkle and pomp of most weddings the love and warmth such an occassion has far outweighs the headaches of the 10 to 50 k fairy tale turned nightmare. Heck buy a car or house instead. The best weddings are the ones where people who love each other gather to celebrate that love. One does not need a lot of money for such a declaration. Think outside the box and save.
11. Take only one night after wedding but coordinate holidays on your first anniversary and head to the Sun or Europe!
I hope these ideas help. Congratulations
2006-12-02 17:32:01 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Start saving now! Im the planning process too and we started a savings account this past January and add the same amount every payday. We have enough for a few deposits.
You can start with a joint savings account and put money away each pay period, look around and compare prices. Try to book vendors early and try to get 2006 or 2007 proces since many things go up at least $1000 each year. We are getting married on June 21, 2008 and have started looking for venues, we even have one hotel wedding cordinator offer us 2006 prices that will help us save. Honestly, I lied to some people so that I can get venue prices because at first when I told them my date, they didnt even want to give me a price. I say check prices so that you can know what you are expecting and realize it will be more when it is close to your date.
You can also DIY a lot and it will save you $. Ask for help from family and friends, have sponsors or padrinos (Hispanics and Asians have this custom) pretty much family helps.
We are planning to pay the venue ourselves which is the most expensive part of the wedding, but we will be asking for help from our families. We are in L.A. and the wedding packages are pricey! We are planning for a little more than 200 people, and so far we have seen $45 plates per person which I dont think we are doing, other caterers are cheaper.
Sorry for the long answer, but just look and compare, goodluck!
2006-12-02 19:08:27 · answer #2 · answered by Veronica 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Plan to have the wedding at a time of day when the reception following the ceremony will be in the afternoon. You are not expected to serve a full meal or full buffet at this time of day. You can have a dessert reception. ALL DESSERTS. It's great. Simple can be beautiful. You have time to find a wedding gown at very low cost. Get on the internet! Bouquets are beautiful, but sometimes a single rose or lily can be very romatic. I have also seen brides carry family bibles to the altar. Some churches have reception rooms and you really to need to reserve the church and reception area as soon as possible. Depending on your location, September is not too late in the year for an outdoor reception. Some parks have lovely areas for receptions - who needs a hall? Lakesides are beautiful as long as young children are watched carefully. Ask your friends to be in your houseparty. You should designate the head of the house party and explain to her that you are not having bridesmaids but really appreciate it if she would be the head of your houseparty. Most freinds are glad to help. I cannot stress enough that simplicity can be beautiful. People tend to overdue and stress over details that make no difference at all. LESS IS BEST! Sometimes it pays to hire a consultant unless you have confidence in a friend to oversee the plans. YOU DO NOT NEED TO BE IN CHARGE OF YOUR WEDDING. YOU NEED TO ENJOY IT. You tell the consultant or friend what you want and trust that they will do the best they can to get it that way - and if they don't - so what nobody will die and your wedding will be beautiful anyway. Good luck.
2006-12-02 17:14:32 · answer #3 · answered by Kat 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Check out the Bridal Outlets, like David's Bridal or some other ones, they have beautiful, modern and inexpensive prices for some expensive gowns. The headpiece can be purchased there also or have someone make one for you. A wreath of flowers and baby's breath with a small veiling attached is always nice. Rent a nice tux for hubby to be and don't try and pick the exclusive ones. Have family or friends decorate your reception and church, go to a party outlet for anything you may need there. You may still have to rent the candleabras or a few extra pieces but you can shop around for those also. A huge expense would be the wedding album and photo album or videography. I would not try to get family or friends to this unless they are profiecent in photography. You don't want to end up with poor pictures or nothing to show in the years to come. The reception can be just o'herves or finger foods. If you have any family or friends that are great cooks there ya go for that expense also. Of couse, you still should make arrangements for payment for the reception. They might just say it is your wedding present or just to pay for the food only. Stick with a plainer invitation and standard writing as not to boost the expense on those. If you are not getting married until 2008, start right now by putting your gown, headpiece and accessories such as bra, slip, shoes, stockings and jewelry on layaway as you go.
2006-12-03 01:14:41 · answer #4 · answered by Patricia H 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
congratulations on your engagement!
I'm getting married too, and like you, want a decent wedding without paying over the odds for it. After trawling through some websites I came across a few ideas which you may find useful too:
photographer: we're having him shoot the whole day and eve and he'll give us all the photos on cd so we can make up our own album and not have to pay extra for prints etc (neither will our guests for that matter!)
Flowers: you don't need them on the tables, just get lovely storm vases with candles or even just tealights. they look so pretty with all the glassware and create an atmosphere. As for the church, does it really need wedding flowers if there are already general flowers there anyway?
dress: try the sample sales... I bought mine and my one bridesmaid's dress in a sample sale. Full prices, the total would've been £950, but I paid £300.
Shoes: Just bought a lovely, brand new satin pair on e-bay! am waiting for them to arrive, if they don't fit I'll just resell them.
Cars: don't spend masses on cars, you're only in it for a short while anyway... we've booked black cabs instead.
Favours: what are they all about?? such a waste of money, don't bother!
Another thing you could think about is exchanging services. Could you provide a service to the potential supplier in exchange for them supplying you that specific part of the wedding? For instance, if you're a graphic designer, you could do a deal with the florist that they provide you with your bouquet and a pedestal for the church in exchange for you designing them a mini marketing leaflet??
best of luck with everything! :)
2006-12-02 22:59:44 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Hi - weddings can really stress you out if you are not careful. Mine cost me less that $1000 and it was beautiful.
We found a lovely small church and spoke to the minister. He agreed to preform the ceremony for as little as a $100 donation. Then catered our own food. Set it out as a buffet style. We hired a local hall and did the decorations ourselves. We also borrowed extra microwaves from Friends etc to reheat some food and our parent and family all chipped in to reheat etc
We made sure the local hall had tables, crockery, cutlery etc which most do for an extra charge. We paid a $500 bond on the hall which was returned when we cleaned up and handed back the keys.
We had a great day and everyone really enjoyed the atmosphere. We were delayed in leaving for our honeymoon because we stayed back and helped to clean up but it was worth it as we saved heaps and had a great time.
Good luck for your future and at least you have time to plan we did it all in two months.
2006-12-02 17:35:06 · answer #6 · answered by kellz_car 3 · 1⤊ 1⤋
do it yourself crafts!!
My best friend and i are having the best time making almost everything we can from the invites (which were GORGEOUS btw) to the favours, the decorations etc etc... The wedding is in 2 months and i am beyond excited to see it all come together. My best friend and i get to spend fun time together crafting and everything is CHEAP (to make, not looking b/c trust me people will be impressed!!)
The various Dollar stores are perfect for supplies or Michaels craft store has $1 bins that hooked us up with TONS of ideas!
I am very proud of the creativeness i have discovered...i can't wait to show it off...and what a better way than the wedding when everyone is already impressed with me ;)
2006-12-02 18:05:10 · answer #7 · answered by liarssuck 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I think it is all the little "extras" that add up to a fortune at the end of the day, so question every little extra (i.e., arrangements on tables, gifts for guests, etc.). It is a plus that you are not having bridesmaids (altho bridesmaids are supposed to pay for their own gowns, shoes, etc.) you would have to supply flowers. Shop around for limos, if you don't need a limo or limos better yet (try to plan everything close by). Set a budget, stick to it and be realistic.
Remember - a wedding is a big party for one day and marriage is supposed to be for a lifetime.
2006-12-02 16:51:53 · answer #8 · answered by Gina 1 · 3⤊ 0⤋
There are a lot of ways to save on your wedding. Do the decorations yourself, party favors (buy in bulk online), get family members or volunteers to set up the reception, decorate the church, print your own invitations or programs. One of the biggest expenses is catering. Check around, compare prices...do you know of anyone that does this kind of business you can cash in a favor or get a discount? Dont allow the catering to provide alchohol/champagne..they will charge you an arm and leg..purchase it yourself bulk. Get one person to bartend. You can rent table linens etc. Do your own floral arrangements or instead of having flowers at the reception use trees decorated with lights, tulle, fabric and use other things on the table centerpieces such as floating candles..for a romantic feel..instead of flowers. Or just put rose petals scattered on the tables.
2006-12-03 01:55:19 · answer #9 · answered by Phoenix 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I came across a ebook where the author, Stephi Stewart reveals how she beat the wedding industry at it's own game and made her dream wedding come true, saving over $10,000 in the process. Inside the book she demonstrates step-by-step how any bride can take control of her wedding, avoid industry scams, get insider prices and much more...
She also offer a free ecourse....
Visit http://www.klikks.com/wedding_resources
2006-12-05 16:42:56 · answer #10 · answered by angerina 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋