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By Lei Lydle
Founder and Editor
Last Updated: 11/12/2005 9:18:05 AM |
I had a very large wedding (350 guests) and had to cut corners a lot to be able to afford it. Following are a list of ways I saved on my own wedding:
- I chose a reception site (Atlanta Contemporary Art Center) that allowed me to bring in my own caterer (Carole Parks Catering) and alcohol
- One of my husband's co-workers designed wedding cakes as a second job and so she designed and delivered our wedding cake for free as a wedding gift.
- I chose a 4-piece dance band from Athens that was a lot less expensive than many Atlanta bands.
- I bought my dress off the rack at Bridals By Lori for 1/2 off the original price.
- I made my own veil for a total of $16.
- I skipped the programs (not a good idea).
- I hired a photographer and a videographer from my hometown. They came as a team and were much less expensive than most Atlanta wedding photographers. (This was a bad idea - they both got lost in Atlanta and missed a lot of the reception.)
- I bought budget wedding invitations at Party City and skipped the engraving.
- I made the bridesmaids gifts.
- I chose a florist from my hometown however this did not end up saving me any money on florals.
- I worked with the caterer until I was able to get the menu I wanted for only $16 per head.
- I skipped the hair and makeup trial run. Although the makeup looked great, I wasn't overjoyed with the 40's style updo that I ended up with. It was my fault not the stylists (Jamison Shaw Hairdressers) because I did not do a trial run and I did not make it absolutely clear that I wanted something simple.
Most of these ideas allowed me to save however several of them turned out to be bad ideas as I noted above. Oh well!
How Did You Save On Your Wedding?
Please be sure to tell us below!
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Christy from Mountain Brook, AL says... |
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Having family/friend contacts in the wedding business helped us out a lot! One of my father's friends owns a print shop, so we were able to order the napkins, match books, invitations, reply cards and customized bookmarks for a wedding with 450 guests for all less than $1000!! Also, if you use vendors that your church/reception site recommends - you will must likely get a great discount. For example, our church is one of the "super churches" in Birmingham (known for having thousands of members), so they had their own videography department. We were able to use three different cameras during the ceremony and a videographer for the rehearsal dinner, wedding and reception (including editing) for all less that $875!! We went all out on the weddings cakes, food and flowers - but we did save on bringing our own alcohol to the reception. We went to Sam's Club and spent about $250 and had enough alcohol for all the guests who attended the reception without ever running out. Lastly, we decided to do sparklers for our good-bye's from the reception. I highly recommend using these because they are inexpensive and were beautiful in all of our pictures. One word of advice - buy them in bulk off the internet off one of the fireworks wholesale outlets - you will save a ton!
Wedding Date: 8/2/2003 |
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Posted: 1/7/2004 |
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Cub Bride from Chicago, Il says... |
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Here's a few ideas we found to save money and still have the Chicago Wrigley Field wedding we wanted:
* Non-traditional locations are key! Wrigely's Stadium Club didn't charge a room rental fee. And the staff is wonderful to work with. Guests loved the location as it was just when the Cubs had lost the 2003 playoffs.
* Look for a dress from a non traditional outlet. Found one at Nicole Miller for $300 that needed NO alterations!
* Cake: don't order a traditional wedding cake! Order the rounds as you would for a birthday. You can get more flavors and be unique in how you display them. We found 3 antique milk glass cake stands that looked spectacular next to our fruit and cheese display.
* Food: a non-traditional menu! Asian food saved us a great deal of money!
* Location: obtain a parks department permit for a great location such as the Lincoln Park Conservatory. The only possible setbacks here are you cannot bring in chairs. Great for a short, intimate ceremony. We had 100 people.
* Invitations: www.paper-source.com. And there are multiple locations in Chicago. GREAT ideas and "kits" for assembly. Our invitaitons with postage were $300. And they carried our theme we wanted to convey!
* DON'T SKIMP! on photographer. This is where we blew the budget! Find one who includes the following in the package (less muss later): on-line access to the photos for your guests, a disk of photos, allows you to take ownership of the negatives.
* Band: negotiate! Our band came down to $100 over our budget for a DJ! Well worth it.....we were thinking we'd get a great cheesy wedding band. What we got were professionals who wanted to add to their resume that they'd played Wrigley Field!
* Transportation: for a true city experience, have taxis lined up to take your wedding party and guests to the reception. They don't mind the $7 to get them to a great dinner!
* Centerpieces: do them yourself. Did 15 for a total of $461. 3 vases, 1 each with candle, fish and bamboo. Had extra to decorate the room. Ikea has great $ saving ideas for containers, etc.
* Flowers: see if you can find a florist who will work independently of a shop. We saved hundreds going this way: 9 bouquets, 20 coursages/boutinneers for $500.
Wedding Date: 10/18/2003 |
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Posted: 1/6/2004 |
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Jen from Chicago, IL says... |
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*We made our own Save the Dates, which were easy to do and several people wanted to know what company we used. The key was to give ourselves plenty of time to decide, organize, written, assembled, and sent out. I can't believe how much we saved compared to having them made at a stationary store!
*The Save the Dates went so well that we decided to make our program. The key to success on the StD was that we had plenty of time. Let me tell you that the month before your wedding you do NOT have plenty of time ! It was rushed and stressful! They were nice--a 6 page booklet with a ribbon--and cheap (I think 200 programs were less than $75), but I would definitely do that differently!
*I booked a lot of my vendors before the end of the year (my wedding was in May) before their new year rates went up. Our DJ was on the cusp of making it big in the business and we got in right before their rates skyrocketed. So, we got an outstanding company for a lot less.
*I found some of the best vendors, but used their least expensive package. For example, I got an excellent photographer, but I didn't need the 100 rolls and 2 days worth of pictures. What I did get was enough absolutely incredible shots from a very respected place without the pricey packages. I also went to a very reputable florist--gorgeous flowers! Because they were so breathtaking (not a flaw!) and beautifully arranged, I didn't have the need to have cascading flowers from huge vases coming down on the reception tables. I had short bowls filled to the brim and tightly packed--beautiful--without the cost of something over the top.
*I got my shoes at a department store. I thought about getting them a cheap shoe place, but remember you have to wear them. However, I wasn't about to go boutique with them because I threw them in the box when we were leaving the hotel and they're still in there.
*I paid a little more for my dress, but because it was so elegant, I didn't wear any jewelry on my neck or wrist and went very simple for my veil. I'm sure it evened out money-wise, and the look was stunning.
Wedding Date: 5-31-03 |
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Posted: 1/6/2004 |
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Virginia from Chicago, IL says... |
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My biggest budget saving tip is on flowers. I decided to keep it classic - red roses. I called Costco because they sell two dozen for $12.99 all the time. I could order them. They gave me the phone number or their Chicago supplier. I called them and they were wonderful. They had 24 dozen FRESH, beautiful long stemmed red roses waiting for pick up in the back room of Costco on the morning of the wedding. All for about $300!!! I purchased vases at hobby lobby and my good friend (designated wedding coordinator) placed them throughout the room and also cut some down for the individual vases at each place setting. I saved thousands of dollars doing it this way. Then I had a florist do my bouquet, bridesmaids bouquets and booteniers.
Wedding Date: 12/29/02 |
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Posted: 1/6/2004 |
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D. W. from Atlanta, GA says... |
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Well, for starters, I made my own programs using Microsoft Word and an HP Laserjet printer from home. I bought the program paper to print on from Office Depot. My now mother-in-law had some experience in making flowers and bows and had taken a course on it and had done flowers for her daughter's wedding, so she did all the flower arrangements and bouquets. I saved some more money by using several Christmas bows I found in Big Lots at $1-2 each to use down the aisle instead of having to buy so many flowers. For my table centerpieces, I used small clear glass vases with marbles in the bottom, three stemmed flowers, and gold streamers for each setting. The bride & groom and wedding party table centerpieces were done up more extensively, of course. Also, the use of stringed Christmas lights adds ambience, but don't overdo it. I don't know how much I saved in this, but I ordered my attendant's gifts and party favors from theknot.com. I also think I saved money by ordering my veil, bridal shoes, and accessories from on-line as well. Some of those prices were ridiculous in the brodal stores. My last note of advice is "anything that you can tasefully do yourself, do it." Have fun!
Wedding Date: October 19, 2002 |
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Posted: 8/25/2003 |
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JM from Atlanta, GA says... |
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Don't spend money on favors. No one misses them and they're such a waste of time and money! You're feeding your guests, giving them plenty to drink, and offering a chance to dance the night away with great music and a happy atmosphere. In my opinion, favors are completely unnecessary!
I did spend a little extra on our programs, which several people said made a nice keepsake. We wrote a long note to our guests on the back of it, as most people do, and many people were very appreciative of that. I thought of the programs as our favors.
Wedding Date: 6/7/03 |
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Posted: 8/12/2003 |
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O.C. from Savannah, Georgia says... |
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- Both my husband and I live in Atlanta and looked endlessly for a reception site and chapel that was (1) what we were looking for & (2) in our budget. Even though we found places that would do, we were never completely satisfied and all the other vendor prices were getting out of control. We changed the location to save money. My advice is "Get out of the HIGH PRICE CITY." Have a destination wedding or just one still in Georgia but outside the metro area. Guests son't mind getting away and those that can't - who cares. Less to pay per head. So, we had our wedding in Savannah - the town and all the vendors were less expensive and it served as the prefect place for a simple classic southern wedding (which is what we wanted). Find a town that you love and everything will fall into place - even the prices. There are many places other than Atlanta to see the beauty of the South. In Savannah, the caterer was cheaper (by several $1,000 dollars), the site rentals were cheaper, the cake was cheaper, the videographer was cheaper. And it all was the same quality sometimes even better.
- My unlce is a DJ in Atlanta so he traveled to Savannah for the wedding.
- We chose an invitation vendor in Lawrenceville which saved us several $100 than the pricey Buckhead Paper places.
- Our centerpieces were 7 potted herbs and garden roses. Various sizes - which served as guest favors as well. (Great idea - but guest who left early starting taking the herbs and so the tables didn't look prefect towards the end of the night).
- Because of all the savings in Savannah, I was able to fit in paying for my bridesmaids dresses. Then I didn't have to fell bad making htem pay for a $200 dress they will never wear again.
- I made the programs (with help from a local printer friend & Martha Stewart Magazine)
- My SAVE THE DATE's were Savannah Post Cards
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Wedding Date: 3/8/03 |
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Posted: 8/12/2003 |
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Samantha from Snellville, GA says... |
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The best thing we did to save on our wedding was we had it on Sunday. We were abe to get most services for lower rates than they charge on Saturday. We still had the rehearsal on Friday and had suggested activities for guests on Saturday so it worked out well.
Wedding Date: 4/27/2003 |
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Posted: 8/5/2003 |
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