With the average wedding in the U.S. costing about $19,000 for 200 guests, wedding saving tips are one of the topics TeamWED is asked to cover most often. You’ve probably heard that the average wedding costs $30,000, but the truth is that the oft-quoted figure includes everything from $50 weddings to $500,000 weddings and includes wedding rings and honeymoons, so it’s not a great indicator of what most brides are spending. We’ve found that something between $10,000 and $15,000 is what most of the couples we know are spending on the wedding itself. And we’re not talking about tacky budget weddings, either. These are chic affairs with all the trimmings! That being the case, we thought it high time to share some more wedding saving tips with our faithful readership. Enjoy!
1. Trim Your Guest List: When you need to save money, the easiest way to do so is to have a smaller wedding, and that means trimming your guest list. If you’re against the idea, ask yourself whether you really need to invite your mother’s old boss or the girlfriend you haven’t really spoken to since third grade.
2. Ask For Help From Friends and Family: Do you have a brother who is an awesome wedding DJ? Can your cousin take beautiful photographs? Did your grandmother take a cake decorating course at the Y? If you don’t think they’d mind too much, ask them if they’d be willing to donate their skills to your wedding in lieu of a wedding gift.
3. Cut the Cake: Big, tiered wedding cakes cost a lot of money. Decorated sheet cakes? Not so much. Brides and grooms who can’t live without a tiered cake can get a small one for cutting and serve guests from a larger sheet cake kept out of sight. Or skip the wedding cake altogether and serve wedding pie or wedding doughnuts.
4. Opt for Buffet Refreshments (or a Luncheon): Having servers circulating with trays and serving dinner can get expensive, especially if you’re having a large wedding. Guests typically don’t mind serving themselves, and buffets allow people to take what they want. You’ll pay a little more for food because a buffet requires slightly more food per person, but you can cut out a lot of hired help.
5. Keep Invitations Simple: Big, oddly-sized envelopes with lots of sheets of cardstock will require more postage to send, so stick to single sheets of cardstock in a standard size. One stamp per invitation will be all you need. Oh, and don’t think you can save by using smaller invitations, since smaller envelopes can also require more postage.
6. Shop Online For Your Wedding Dress: Deals abound online, so buying a wedding dress online might be the way to go. Once upon a time, buying a wedding dress online was a risky proposition, but now it’s totally normal, and about as safe as buying in a bridal salon. Just remember that you’ll have to find someone to do the alterations and you’ll have to find somewhere to store it before the wedding.
7. Get Married On Friday or Sunday: Saturday evening weddings are the most common, and thus the most costly. Wedding venues and wedding vendors want to fill the space on less popular days like Friday evenings and Sunday afternoons, so they’re usually willing to offer a discount. Be aware, however, that you may have to ask for a discount directly because they’re not going to just put it out there.
8. Skip Anything Labeled Wedding: Adding the word wedding to a product or service usually adds 15% or more to the price, so if you’re shopping for things that could be used at other kinds of events or parties, try to buy all purpose products.
9. Have a Dry Wedding: Booze costs money. Nix the booze. People may be surprised at the omission at first, but they’ll get over it and have a good time.
(Photo by neate photos)
Visit USABRIDE.COM for an incredible selection of wedding jewelry, wedding accessories, bridal headbands, wedding veils, and now bridesmaids dresses at the best prices you’ll find on the Internet.
Best Price on Sandals All-inclusive Honeymoons
Get the guaranteed best prices on Sandals all-inclusive or best price on Beaches all-inclusive luxury honeymoons from Paradise Getaways! No one can beat their prices – not even the big Internet travel sites! Sandals is offering some of the best prices on honeymoon and destination wedding packages right now. Call Tami Santini, destination wedding planning expert, today at (877) 686-0397 or visit Getaways in Paradise online.
Wedding Reception Entertainment
iShare Spots is the perfect wedding reception entertainment solution for your wedding. iShare Spots allows you to share special memories with your wedding guests. Standing almost 7 feet tall, it’s a dazzling alternative to the old “projector and screen multi-media presentation.” Visit their website to see it in action.
Convenient online shopping for wedding favors, wedding cake toppers, and all types of bridal accessories is just a click away at Crazy for Weddings (.com). You will find some really special and fun things for the bride and groom at Crazy for Weddings. Take a look at our "Just Married" signs that will help you decorate a car, or find the perfect wedding gift to personalize and give to a bride and groom on their special day.
Wedding Contract Advice from The Wedding Professor
Known across the matrimonial world as The Wedding Professor, Richard Cadieux has been a certified wedding consultant since 2002 and has lent his expertise at more than 500 weddings. Most brides-to-be have little to no experience negotiating contracts, which means much of what is promised to them by wedding vendors never gets put into writing. Consequently, those brides-to-be risk not only being taken advantage of, but also being left without any legal recourse. But The Wedding Professor’s new eBook changes all that and puts the power of negotiation into the hands of brides and grooms, who are the customer and who, in most cases, are making quite significant investments. If you’re a bride or groom looking for wedding contract advice, and think it’s a smart idea to protect yourself and your money, visit his blog today.
