Good ways to cut costs on a wedding...know any, I am getting killed here???

We have already cut the limos out, a friend is officiating the wedding for free %26amp; the bridesmaids are purchasing their own flowers since I am not making them buy certain bridesmaids dresses. Any suggestions on where to cut costs in other places?

Good ways to cut costs on a wedding...know any, I am getting killed here???
- don%26#039;t spend lots of $$ on favors..most people leave them behind anyways


-make your own wedding centre pieces


- make your own invitations


- have a buffet if it%26#039;s cheaper then a sit down meal


- have a friend or relative take your wedding photos.. i know lots of my family took awesome wedding photos (plus they tend to get the candid shots that a pro. wouldn%26#039;t..)


- have a cash bar instead of an open bar (it will also help to keep people sober during your special day)


- have a friend provide you with music (make lots of cd%26#039;s ahead of time...)


**check out ebay for items you might need. i got my cake server set, my cake topper, my favors, my garter, unity candles..... all off ebay (for cheaper then i could find anywhere else!!)


- check out places like the $ store for stuff. some carry decent ring bearer pillow, decorations, guest books....


- if you know someone who is good at organizing flower boquets ask them to do your flowers for you.. buy them in bulk at costco or somewhere and then make what you want.. my sister did that for me and it saved me over $2000 in flowers!


- have a friend or family make your cake (or cupcakes) it will be more personal and save you $$$


TAKE YOUR TIME and decide what you NEED vs WANT...
Reply:The biggest chunk of your expenses is the food. Have a buffet or a lunch (get married earlier). Only serve champagne for the toast, have a cash bar or temporary bar (beware some people see as tacky), small show cake (to cut) and sheet cake in the kitchen that%26#039;s eaten. Try to get married %26quot;off season%26quot;.
Reply:Do you know someone who%26#039;s a photographer? Maybe a dj? My good friend is an amateur dj and comedian so it worked out perfect that he%26#039;d dj and mc our wedding. Also, I%26#039;m having an afternoon wedding (lunch time), so that cut costs too.
Reply:Don%26#039;t bother with the wedding.
Reply:Use the internet to shop around a lot. My wife found a ton of good prices by shopping around. It does take time to do but it is worth it in the end.
Reply:The #1 way to cut costs of a wedding is to reduce the guest list.





Other than that, my advice would be to DIY as much as possible!
Reply:You can ask someone who has a nice digital camera to do the photos, go to the $99 sale at David%26#039;s Bridal for the dress. You can just carry one flower instead of a whole bouquet (and yoru bridesmaids can too as a matter of fact - like in Friends when Monica gets married). You can just do Hershey%26#039;s kisses wrapped in that netting so that shouldnt%26#039; be too expensive for favors. And you can get invitations this week at Michaels%26#039;, only $20 per $50 invitations.
Reply:-Cut on the guest list


-Cake from walmart


-DYI print at home invitation from walmart or AC moores


-No favors, no programs


-Buy decor online (www.orientaltrading.com)


-Centerpieces from Dollar general


-Have a dry reception. No alcohol. Just a toast (to cut even more costs, toast with sparkling cider)


-Have a brunch reception, or cake and taost reception, dessert reception, or hors d%26#039;ouvres reception, where only finger food and cake would be served.


-Have it at mid-morning or mid-afternoon , so a full meal is not expected.


-A DYI BBQ is budget friendly.


-Use a fellowship hall at the chuch were your family attends, VFW or local park.


-Use plastic ware instead of real chinan an linens.





Good luck
Reply:Don%26#039;t bother with favors. Get your wedding cake from a grocery store--it will be much cheaper that average, but still yummy.
Reply:My sister is engaged, and is having this same problem.





*A buffet is one way to majorly cut down the price...Especially if the food is made by a friend/family member (her fiances father is a chef)


*Rent a dress. The only reason you should buy one, is if you want to keep it for sentimental reasons, or for your children%26#039;s wedding. You can still buy dresses for cheap though.


*Dont buy gifts for the wedding party.


*Keep reception favors simple, or none at all.


*Student photographers will capture your wedding on film much cheaper then a %26#039;professional%26#039;, but with great quality too!


*Whole-sale and DIY (of course not all yourself, get as many people to help as much as possible) are the biggest ways to budget cut.





Congrats hun, and good luck!!
Reply:you could have family and friends help that way you dont have to hire a bunch of people. if theres someone you know who likes to cook and is good at it then let them make the food for the wedding. and if you know someone who can decorate well that is willing to help then get them. thats how my sis had her wedding. pretty much all she payed for was the dress.
Reply:Hi and congratulations!





There are many ways to save:





~ Make your own (or at least print your own) invitations. You can get a box of 50 for $25 at Target, even less at Walmart and Michael%26#039;s if you use their coupon. There may be other discount stores where you live also.





~ Take advantage of any %26quot;Dollar%26quot; Stores in your area. Get the guest book there.





~ Make your own centerpieces very cheaply. Again, at dollar stores or Walmart you can find cheap bowls. Fill a little with %26quot;colored glass gems%26quot; (at those stores as well) and float some candles (again, at dollar stores and Walmart.)





~ Photography: This is usually a big expense but one that you may possibly want to keep. If all your local professional photographers are really out of site price wise, and if you live near a campus, see if there is a photography student that is willing to do this. They will be lots cheaper than a professional.





~ Reception: Have a buffet.


~ Cake: Get it at a grocery store, Costco, or Walmart. These are just as yummy as bakery ones (and, actually fresher!) OR, have someone make cupcakes from a cake mix.





~ Don%26#039;t try to do everything YOURSELF! I read once where a girl enlisted all those that said %26quot;if you need any help, let me know.%26quot; She said is was the best wedding as EVERYONE had a stake in it. Maybe you can do something like that.....if someone is willing to make the cake as their gift....let them. Someone willing to do the centerpieces as their gift....again, let them! You could go on and on to include food to photography, to the DJ!





~ Favors: Don%26#039;t do them, unless it is something really cheap....like a few Hershey Kisses wrapped in tulle and tied with a small silk ribbon. Favors most definitely should be eliminiated if you are on a tight budget.





There are lots of ways to save. Go to:


http://www.frugalbride.com/





Good luck!
Reply:whether the wedding is huge, or small, extravagant or simple, it doesn%26#039;t matter, at the end of the day you are still married! all you really need is the preacher, the bride and groom, and a couple of rings! the rest is all expendable.


so, my honest advice is to go to the minister and ask if he will marry you in his office, or the j.p., or if you are a little more adventurous - elope!


if you want more than that:


cut your guest list to close family and friend


do everyone a favour and cut out the favours for guests. no one will mind!


the more formal the wedding - the more it costs cancel the caterers and do a very simple reception


- wine and cheese


- or wine and desserts


these are both ideas you can do yourself - right down to homemade wine!


have your reception at home, whether its your home, your parent%26#039;s home, or a friend who has the space.


if no one does, then what about the church%26#039;s social room or


rent a hall as opposed to a fancy hotel


any of your friends good with a camera? get them to do your wedding photos


keep your gown simple - you don%26#039;t need a $$$$$$$ wedding gown. keep your girl%26#039;s gowns simple as well


simplify your flowers - don%26#039;t have huge expensive bouquets -opt for each girl carrying a perfect single stem rose, or whatever flower you are using - you could carry a single flower as well


get the men into regular suits instead of tuxes and make their boutonnieres a single mum tinted to match your flower [you tint them by adding a few drops of food colouring to the water they are sitting in]


there are lots of ways to simplify your wedding, your costs and your stress.


good luck sweetie and have a happy life!
Reply:If you have a local college in your area, call %26amp; speak to the Photography Dept. You can save big bucks by hiring a student who is about to graduate. Go straight to the source on what you want. If you cut out the middle man, you will save. Example.... I went to a local vender for wedding invitations. What we wanted was in a Carlson Craft book for about $180.00. I went online with Carlson Craft %26amp; found the same invitaions for about $77.00..... Good luck..
Reply:I did an relatively inexpensive wedding (~8,000). We kept the guest list small - inviting only close friends and relatives (40 people). Also, we did a Chinese style banquet that worked out to about 15 dollars a person - a 10 course meal that was fabulous (my husband is Chinese). Perhaps look for other options besides 80 dollar a plate prime rib! ;) We contacted a local art school and posted an ad for a wedding photographer - we just had to pay for the films/development.





The men wore suits - which they already owned. The bridemaids/matron of honor selected any dress in pastels they liked.





Kept flowers to a minimum using sprigs of orchids.





I made my wedding dress - less expensive and MUCH classier than anything I could find in bridal boutiques (*gag*)
Reply:Save money on favors by just using something edible, like candy in clear bags. Most packaging gets discarded and most favors are not used. Look on the internet especially on ebay for materials you can buy in bulk.





If there is time, edit the menu a bit. Cut down on decorations if you can. You can use tealight candles on the tables with smaller floral arrangements instead of large and elaborate arrangements. Try to use less expensive flowers.





If you can get someone you know who has experience taking great photographs, have them take some photos at the wedding. Work with your photographer; perhaps there are some options there.





You don%26#039;t say when the wedding is and I hope you have plenty of time to find other shortcuts. If the invitations haven%26#039;t gone out yet, see if you can cut corners by ordering them online or through a catalog instead of a %26quot;middleman%26quot; who, of course, will charge more.





Congrats and good luck.
Reply:I know that I printed my own invites. That cut a lot on cost. I just bought some plan invites at Hobby Lobby when they had their 50% off sale and I spent $45 on invites, response cards and envelopes. Plus I used fake flowers for me and made my own arangement. Also I did alot of the decorating myself so that I wouldn%26#039;t have to hire someone. I didn%26#039;t do favors because it was just going to be too much and I don%26#039;t know many people that actually keep those things! I had a friend take all the pictures so she cut me a deal. I got the cake from a local grocery store (it was really good!) and used M%26amp;M%26#039;s instead of nuts and mints. Just some ideas! Hope this helped!
Reply:Ask family and friends to cook the food. This will cut down on catering expense. Rent your own tables, tents and chairs and have a lawn reception.





(Me, personally, I%26#039;m going to the courthouse, cutting out any and ALL expenses LOL.)
Reply:Lots of great ideas above, and I don%26#039;t know if I can think of a single one that hasn%26#039;t been mentioned. However, you should not under any circumstances do a cash bar. These people are your guests. If you invite guests to your home, you would never charge them for alcoholic beverages. It should be the same at your wedding.





In addition, I would caution you about asking people to do something for free, for example if you know a photographer or florist. These folks have to make a living too. I can understand a barter: e.g. you do their taxes, and they do the photography for free minus materials. But asking people to do things for free that they normally do for a living could be considered mooching. Not that there aren%26#039;t circumstances, where you can%26#039;t ask, but proceed very cautiously.
Reply:If you are getting a DJ, only book him for the minimum 2-3 hours. Then once he is there pay him extra to stay. This is cheaper because this money goes directly into his pocket so it is less than if you book him for say 5-6 hours. (That is what we did, saved us $250.00). We were also able to do that with the photographer but that was because we a photographers assistant doing the photos.


Also, you can handmake a lot of the favors rather than buying them which saves on money. Same goes with centerpieces.


We also had the reception in the backyard of my parent home which saved tons of money. We got a tent, built a floor using plywood (which we later resold and made back 80% of the costs) rented tables, chairs and a bautiful archway, and got plenty of food platters from our local store, fried chicken, ham and two potatoes and saved about $10,000.00 than what the local venues wanted. Plus people loved the atmosphere and the fact that it was a little more relaxed and not stuffy.


Good Luck!
Reply:My husband and I had our wedding during the day, the ceremony was at 10:40 am and the reception started around 1:30.. Since we didn%26#039;t have much money to spend on unnecessary things we bought my husband a black suit (no tuxes, since it was not this formal), his best man also wore only a black suit he owned.. your husband will have opportunities to wear this suit forever;





My sister, who was my Maid of Honor bought her own dress, I gave her freedowm to buy whatever she wanted in exchance..





One of my aunts is very good at baking so I asked her to bake a wedding cake for us - you would have never known that it wasn%26#039;t a professional wedding cake; other relatives brought cake and pastries as well





We designed the invitations ourselves; we bought marble paper, ribbon and my Dad designed the invotation on the computer





My sister volunteered to design the table cards, and they were just amazing





The restaurant we had our reception at offered complementary deco service with flowers and centerpieces





We didn%26#039;t give out wedding favors since most people leave them behind anyways (who wants champagne glasses or napkins with our names on them??)





My husband plays in a band and the pianist volunteered to play at our wedding for free (open bar)





I think we saved quite some money on all that, the wedding reception itself cost us about $840 for about 30 people
Reply:My sister recently tied the knot and she did a lot of cost cutting. For instance, she had the wedding in her back yard. I%26#039;m not sure the postition you are in but she just had to have it @ home. Not a lot to spend there!! Instead of having the wedding catered we had certain people bring covered dishes and trust me, we had a lot of leftovers!! The maid of Honor and brides maids all purchased their own dresses and we all did our hair and make-up ourselves! We also had about 6 people bring digital cameras instead of hiring a photographer...and the pictures came out great. Another idea is to purchase throw away cameras and put them on each table to have your guests take pictures. This is a great way to save money. Good Luck!!
Reply:It cost us maybe $500 on our wedding. My aunt (who is a notary) married us, bought a prom dress for me that looked like a wedding dress, went to a craft store for all the wedding stuff. Flowers, bubbles (instead of rice or bird seed) and rented an outside place to actually have the wedding. Talk to your church about having the reception at there bingo/meeting hall and some of the people there maybe the ladies there will cook some food (they did for us)
Reply:Cut out the booze. Cut the guest list. Cut the DJ and have a friend do that with a laptop or Ipod. Do a buffet instead of sit-down dinner. Drop the favors (unneeded). Don%26#039;t pay for guests%26#039; hotel stays. Don%26#039;t give expensive gifts to the wedding party. Fake flowers instead of real ones. Only have a cake reception or hors d%26#039;oeurves instead of a meal. Have the wedding during the %26quot;off-season.%26quot; Have the groom wear a nice suit and tie instead of a tux.





Best wishes!!!
Reply:Elope then have a nice party later.



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