I have SO many brides on a budget that contact me JUST for this
reason. "We have $10,000 to spend; can we do it?" "Absolutely," is
always my answer, AS LONG AS YOU ARE FLEXIBLE. Then, we work together
to prioritize, find a suitable venue, negotiate with vendors and go
from there. Consider getting married on a Friday or Sunday or even a
Saturday afternoon. Venues and Vendors will always happily work with
you on these days when it comes to $$$$. Besides, no couple should
stretch themselves thin for a wedding; it will cause too much
stress and too many unnecessary arguments, guaranteed! The article below breaks down more ways to cut costs on your wedding day so
you and your fiance can save some funds for a home or a rainy day.
For my Budget Bride who wants the wedding of their dreams without BREAKING the BANK, here is some great advice from The Knot:
From creating your wedding budget to saving without sacrifice, we'll show you how it's done.
This
story is an independent product of the editorial team at The Knot. Our
writers and editors have not been influenced by advertisers in any way
in the creation of this content.
Whatever
your budget, you don't have to resort to DIY bouquets to come in on
target. Follow these three tips to have a chic wedding without
sacrificing one iota of style.
1. Decide What's Most Important
Pick
your top three priorities and allocate a little extra money for them
(i.e., gown, catering, and band). Next, pick the three things that come
lowest on your priority list (maybe style, flowers, cake, invitations),
and budget accordingly.
2. Cut the Guest List
We
know it's tough, but one of the fastest and most effective ways to
lower your wedding cost is to pare down the invitees. Get out that red
pen! At $100 a head, taking 10 guests off the guest list saves $1,000!
Also consider the size of your wedding party: Gifts, hair, and makeup
are cheaper for two than for ten.
Knot Note: Having
trouble figuring out which guests to cut? Make a rule and whittle away.
Rule #1: If you have never spoken to, met, or heard the name of a
particular guest, they get cut. Rule #2: Anyone whose bedtime occurs
before 9 p.m. will miss the cake cutting anyway, and probably won't
have the best time. (All under-12 year-olds get a no) Rule #3:
Significant others? Consider someone worthy of an invite if he or she
is currently living with or has been in a relationship for more than
one year with the friend you want to invite.
3. Pass on Pricey Details
Glamorous
details on items that you're indifferent about spike costs without
adding any fun to your day. Free yourself of the pressure to upgrade
and instead make honest choices based on what you want. As a general
rule, before you sign a contract, look through the itemized list of
what you're buying and, ask yourself, "Will anyone notice if we don't
do this?"
4. Consider Printing Costs
Having two shades
of ink on your invitation might match your color scheme, but it can
also add massive printing costs; square invites require extra postage.
5. Get a Smaller Car
Town Cars will shuttle your wedding party to the reception just as effectively as a Hummer stretch limo.
6. Skip the Special Effects
If you're happy with simple wedding pictures, pass on options like sepia tones, multiple exposures, and split frames.
7. Substitute Less Expensive Flowers
Choose
flowers that are in season, and pick locally grown flowers rather than
blooms that need to be flown in from afar to reduce costs. For example,
if you exchange Black Magic roses for more reasonably priced, deeply
colored dahlias in all your bouquets and table arrangements, you'll
save about $4 a stem. If you were planning on having five roses per
bouquet and 10 per centerpiece and have a wedding party of five gals
and guest list of 150 people, you could save $700.
8. Simplify Your Menu
Reduce
the number of overall dinner courses (making three courses fabulous
costs less than serving five individual courses) and keep your menu
simple. Stick with the specialties of the season and region.
9. Save the Good Stuff for Later
Have
the caterers bring out the fancy Dom Perignon for the toast, but then
switch to a less expensive champagne for the rest of the night -- no
one will ever see the bottle or know the difference.
10. Pare Down the Cake Extras
Order
a small, fabulous cake that's exactly what you want and, in the
kitchen, have several sheet cakes of the same flavor cut for your
guests. And stay away from tiers and (time-consuming) handmade sugar
flowers or special molded shapes. Have your caterer decorate each plate
with a flavored sauce instead. Forgo fondant: Buttercream frosting is
tastier and less expensive.
Written By: Liz Zack of The Knot
