Ways to Save on Your Wedding Day

This morning, I received an email from a Young Designs client. The Mother of the Bride forwarded me an article by Vanguard. I thought it was worth sharing with all of you, whether you are planning a wedding or not, you can get something out of this. Those of you who are in the wedding planning process, you know how expenses add up (and much quicker than you think), so if you're Bride trying to meet your budget, hopefully this might help you.

If you’re getting married soon, congratulations! It’s a joyous event to celebrate with family and friends.
Quick question: Is one of you a saver and the other a spender? There seems to be one of each in every marriage. And opposites—although they may attract—may also create some financial challenges.
Whatever your differences now, you’ll find that you’ll be happier if you can agree on goals together, and pull together to reach them.
Your wedding is probably your first opportunity to plan together.

Here are some good questions to answer together:

• Have you set a budget for it? (It can get pretty expensive if you leave costs open-ended.)
• How will you pay for it? (If you’re lucky, your parents may assume some of the cost.)
• Will you be going into debt to finance your big day? In that case, how long will it take to pay it off? (It’s better not to start off your life together overloaded with new debt.)
  The typical wedding today can cost about as much as a new car. But you can make the event both memorable and more affordable with some simple suggestions.
  

Ten ways to make your wedding more affordable

1. Trim your guest list. This is one of the quickest ways to tame expenses. Do the math: If your wedding costs $125 a head, cutting just eight guests saves you $1,000.
2. Save on engraved invitations by asking about thermography. This printing technique results in raised letters, and it costs far less than a copper-plate engraving.
3. Get married on a Sunday and have a brunch. It’s much less expensive than a sit-down dinner on Saturday night.
4. Have your wedding ceremony and reception in the same location. You won’t have to decorate two spaces with ribbons and flowers, and you’ll save on transportation.
5. If you’re planning to serve alcohol, stick with beer and wine. You’ll save plenty by nixing mixed drinks.
6. Strike dessert from the menu. Your guests will be served slices of your wedding cake.
7. Cut the cake cost. Want a mulitiered showpiece for the photos? Ask the baker to fashion the bottom tiers from Styrofoam coated with icing. Then serve guests sheet cake made from the wedding cake recipe.
8. Rent a historic house or botanical garden for your wedding. Your township parks department may rent scenic locales for less than the cost of a hotel ballroom or banquet hall. (Ask if they have kitchen facilities or the catering costs could rise.)
9. Omit party favors. Do you remember any party favors from past weddings? If you have 125 guests, omitting a $3 box of chocolates or monogrammed matchbook will save you $375.
10. Choose flowers that are in season. They’ll be less costly than forced blooms.

To see the article click here.

My Thoughts: If you are on a tight budget, decide what is the most important feature of "your" wedding. Don't worry about others opinions. What do you want? Then make sure you include that in the budget and eliminate something that doesn't matter to you as much. Example: If you are a bride that isn't big on flowers, incorporate other decor elements for your reception decor. I agree with the article on many of the points, some I would never chose for me personally, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't chose it, if it works best for you.

What do you think about this article??? Likes/Dislikes? I love your feedback so leave a comment below. And feel free to email me any wedding consultation questions you have at Shawna.YoungDesigns@yahoo.com. Good Luck if you are in the planning process! If you aren't, I hope that there was something you could take away from this article.