what are some things you can eliminate at your wedding to save money?

Question

I am not having a bridal party.

Answer 1

Not having a wedding party is one. Wedding favors, no one but the older women will notice that you didnt give them out & they'll be the only ones that care. No liqour, make it a cash bar so guests pay for their own drinks. Your guest list is a big one. Trust me, when you send the invite, put a limit on their rsvp card. Decide what you absolutely do not want to cut. I splurged on my photography, but had my step dad video my wedding. I made my own invitations but had custom made shot glasses for favors. Fake flowers, no matter how nice they may look, are terrible at a wedding. But if fresh flowers are not important to you, thats a big money saver. There are several corners you can cut. Fresh flowers for your bouquet , but make a small artificial flower bouquet to toss. If you're having a small wedding, burned cd's or your ipod with a sound system will work. Have an afternoon reception or a friday reception. Thats several thousand dollars you can save. Good Luck!

Answer 2

Don't bother decorating the venue if it is nice enough. I don't understand pew bows and tulle everywhere. An afternoon wedding would cut down on food--just fruit and veggie trays should do. A less formal wedding means you and your bridesmaids could get dresses in a department store, there should be sales after prom season is over. Some styles may be a little "young," but I should hope there will be some classic styles offered. The men could wear suits. Instead of bouquets, just use a single flower. Check out Hobby Lobby and Micheal's for sales. I got my veil at Hobby Lobby for 5 bucks and sewed sequins on myself, attached it to a platic hair comb and eveyone loved it. I don't know what the guest list looks like, but you could trim it if you had to. Consignment shops are bound to have less expensive dresses.

Answer 3

A few money saving suggestions:
1. don't do favors
2. DIY...do as much as your can yourself or enlist the help of friends/family for any special talents they may offer
3. Adjust the time to early-mid afternoon (between lunch and dinner) and just serve h'ors deurvs instead of dinner
4. Dont provide alcohol, do either cash bar or none at all
5. keep things simples...not too elaborate in decorations. Simple and casual can still be very elegant and most of the time less is more!
6. Use things like Ribbon that you can buy in large quantities and that will go far for your style and decor
7. 'Something Borrowed' Use this part of the old saying and embrace it. Look to family or friends for items from their weddings (e.g. veil, jewelry). This can be sentimental and cost efficient!
8. Keep your guest list small. This can be challenging, but it helps cut costs a lot!
9. Hand-deliver hand-made invitations
10. Look around and research options before making decision on anything

Hope these help!

Answer 4

You can decrease food costs by having a luncheon or having small snacks only so by having the wedding at 1 and the reception at 2 you won't have to do a whole meal for them. Also, you can do a small cake for just the two of you and cupcake tray for the rest. You can skip the alcohol and serve regular drinks. You can cut back on florals by ordering in bulk from certain companies and putting the bouquets together yourself. And you don't need favors either, or chair covers etc. Have the wedding or the recep in a park and you won't have to worry about cost of a hall. For a dj, do you have an ipod, get some speakers and make your own list and just plug that in. Or, you can just elope and that'll save you lots of money just kidding ( ; though i'm sure you want a ceremony etc. There are a lot of ways to cut back, visit brides.com and it provides lots of helpful tips

Answer 5

Almost anything you want to have at your wedding can be done but with a less expensive price tag.
If you know someone with a nice, good sized yard (and if you are comfortable asking) and have the wedding and reception there instead of renting a place. Or see about a nice local park.
As many said, do your own flowers. It is not hard and you can usually find what colors you want at your local Walmart or Michaels. If you want a bridesmaid or two have them carry a single large bloom tied with ribbons and lace. Also, instead of having them wear trditional formal wear, find similar semi traditional clothing.
You can go with a theme that lends to less money also. For example, use a country wedding theme. Use mason jars with flowers for centerpieces or for a luau theme use leis as favors. The wedding party clothes could go with these themes..denim skirts and pants for a country theme, hawaiian shirts for luau.
Photography and videography can be done by a family member or friend.
Don't go with a traditional wedding cake..do cupcakes, donuts, sheetcake or individual cakes for each table (which also serves as decoration).
If you want the unity candle, buy skip the ones at the bridal stores and buy a pretty one that goes with your theme elsewhere.
Favors can be made by you also...make your own Hershey wrappers, a pretty votive wrpped in tulle, kisses in the spoon, etc.
Instead of a traditional guestbook...get a picture mat and have everyone sign in on. Then you can use it with your favorite wedding photo.
The reception doesn't need to be catered. Depending on the time of day you have your wedding can lend itself to the types of food you have. Sandwiches and chips or a buffet. Subway, Fazoli's and some KFC's offer party catering size dishes.
Music can be CD's or again put a friend or family member in charge of keeping the music going. Or check your local college for students in photography or music to provide these services cheaper.

Answer 6

You don't have to have favors. If you do a buffet, there is no need to have escort cards or place cards for arranged seating. Save-the-dates are only necessary if you are having a destination wedding or if the majority of guests are coming from way out of town. We decided not to have a videographer so we could put more towards the photography. I wouldn't reccommend skipping professional photography. After the day is over, all you have left to remember it by are your pictures. I would say by eliminating just those few things, you can save at least $2500 depending on how many guests you have.

Answer 7

well you can still have a bridal party and not spend to much. just ask each person to pay for their own stuff..minus the bouquets. Bridal parties make for nice pictures and its fun planning with your closest buddies and its also a nice way to show ur love and appreciation for close friends by including them in ur special day.
That said, you can cut costs by
getting flowers at wholefoods or online at growers.com.
You can hire a friends friend to DJ or use an ipod.
You can ask a friend to bake your cake if you know someone..its alot cheaper than at a bakery.
You can use fake flowers for ur centerpieces or cheap ones.
Forget the favors. USE EBAY for miscellaneaus items.
You can also make ur own invites which can be done beautifully if ur creative. Hope this helps.

Answer 8

well i don't think that you should eliminate your bridal party. you should have at least one person on each side. but we eliminate wedding favors. guests won't realize that they didn't get one and the ones that did notice won't care. we eliminated the limo...we are just using cars that are all the same color. and the only flowers at the wedding are going to be my bouqet and the bridesmaids. the groomsmen are not having any. we also elimated a videographer, and the getaway weekend bachelor & bachelorette parties. instead of placecards we did a list of table seatings, and i made my own invitations ...they looked 100x better then bought ones and they were a 1/3 of the cost.

Answer 9

It really depends on your own wishes and desires. Eliminating the reception would save you a TON of money, for example. What are the things that you absolutely "must have"? Make a list of the "must haves" and work around them. Legally, all you must have is the bride, the groom, the marriage license, an official and two witnesses. Above and beyond that, everything is extra.

Answer 10

1st thing about saving $ for a wedding is not taking the 1st thing that comes along..

do research.. I am assuming you mean the attendants? Why?

as for what to cut from a wedding.. It depends on how informal you want it to look..

you dont need a dj during the ceremony.. find someone you trust to do music. or see if you have some friends that can sing really good.

favors arent a neccesity.. but if you want them do something simple..

you dont have to spend a crap load of $ on clothing.. believe me brides spend way to much on some of those dresses.. you can find some great ones in areas that you wouldnt believe.

Answer 11

I think you should have a bridal party, even if it's a small one. Your dress is one thing, you only wear it once, then it goes in a box forever. Get married at the beach or public park. (just came from one on the beach, it was sooooo nice) Have a pvt party with just family and your bridal party after the wedding.