Your Wedding in This Economy

We are all feeling the effects of today’s economy as it slowly starts to trickle down. Planning a wedding during this economic down turn can be tough, but it can be done!

First things first, as with any wedding, you need to set a budget, and stick to it! Sit down with your fiancé and talk about what is important to the two of you on your big day. Make sure you allot more money towards these items and cut back on others. Talk with your parents, discuss with them if they will be giving any money towards the wedding. Make sure the amount is clear to all, so you don’t plan for a larger figure and have to make up that money in the end.

Here are just a few ways to save:

Hire a Wedding Planner:
I say this, not because I am one, but because Wedding Planners can save you money! A trained and experienced Wedding Planner is going to have a lot of contacts with the vendors in the area. They know what vendors fall into which price range. This alone will save you a lot of leg work, and after all, time is money. Wedding Planners also receive discounts from vendors for their clients due to repeat business. This discount is one you are not likely to get if you call up a vendor and book them on your own. Negotiating contracts is another big benefit a Wedding Planner can offer you. They have the knowledge of where different types of vendors may be able to shave off a few dollars here and there without the vendor losing money.

Your Date:
Consider having your wedding in the “off-peak” season, which for most vendors would be November – April, excluding December. Also consider having your wedding on a Friday night, Saturday mid morning or Sunday. Your venue is going to be more flexible on these days compared to a Saturday night because of the high demand. Plus, for a Friday night wedding, it leaves you the rest of the weekend to enjoy with your new hubby and friends and family from out of town!

Food & Beverage:
Your Reception is going to take up about 50% of your budget, so this is where you can look to cut back a little. One option is to scale back on the guest list. This will allow for a more intimate reception between your closest friends and family. When it comes to the dinner portion, you can scale back on the number of courses served to save costs. Most importantly, be flexible! Sometimes buffets are not cheaper, so talk to your caterer, discuss all your options and see what they can come up with for you.
When it comes to the bar, consider cutting back the number of hours you offer open bar, or think of offering your guests the option of beer and wine and cash bar for liquor. You can really save on the price per person if you cut back on the liquor options.

Your Dress:
Something that is becoming more and more popular is brides buying their wedding gown used! There are a lot of stores that offer second hand, or shall we say “vintage” wedding gowns for half the cost of a brand new gown! If you can get the same dress at half the cost, and have it be just as beautiful and no one would know the difference, then why not?!?

Paper Ensemble:
Get creative! Make your own paper ensemble. There are a lot of invitation sets that you can buy and print on your own that can look just as good as some of the designer invitations. You can also design your own menu and seating cards. Now if you are not the crafty type, put your bridesmaids or family to work, using their talents to help in the assembly of your paper ensemble.

Flowers:
Choosing flowers that are in season will help to keep your flower cost down. Talk to your florist about your color scheme. They should be able to give you different types of flowers that will fit into your budget and color scheme. Also, if you are using floral arrangements at your ceremony, reuse these arrangements at your reception.

Borrow:
See if there are any heirloom pieces that can be, or that are passed down from generation to generation. Some common items are cake knife and server, champagne flutes, unity candle holders, garter etc. There are other certain items that you will probably use for your wedding day that you will never pull out of the box again, or have no interest in saving as a “keepsake.” If there are friends or family who have recently been married, see what you can borrow from them. For example, ring pillow, flower girl basket and a card box.

Cake:
Who doesn’t love wedding cake?! However, at your wedding, how many of your guests are actually going to eat that expensive wedding cake? A way to save here is to have a smaller decorated cake to display and cut, then ask your baker for sheet cake to serve to your guests. They will never know the difference! A lot of the expense for the cake comes from the time and creative talent in decorating the cake, adding those gum paste flowers and the rolled fondant.

These are just a few quick ways that you can save on your upcoming wedding. I could go on, but then this blog would get even longer than it already is! Hopefully these tips can help you stick within your tight budget, and help inspire you to build off these ideas and make them your own!

-Erinne