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This isn’t so much a frugal tip as it is a smart tip for any couple getting married, you will often reserve a reception area or order flowers or set up any of the various wedding services months (if not more than a whole year) in advance and it’s not uncommon for a vendor to go out of business before your big day. So, it’s wise to contact the vendor every few months to check their temperature and make sure they’re still in business and still have you on their books (mistakes happen all the time, even big ones). You don’t want to find out the night before that the reception hall burned down or the videographer went bankrupt, you’d much rather find out as soon as possible so you can resolve the situation.
Doesn’t that look a lot like a rose? Well, it’s a ranunculus and it’s not actually a rose but it sure looks a lot like an open rose doesn’t it? Well, it looks a lot like an open rose but is remarkably cheaper. For all you trivial buffs, the ranunculus has its origins in the Middle East and is commonly called a “Turban Buttercup”. As for colors, the ranunculus comes in three color groups: reds, pinks, and yellows. They’re also available during February and March when roses are the most expensive, making them an excellent alternative if you’re getting married in the Spring.
You won’t “trick” anyone into believing their roses, if that’s what you’re thinking, but if you don’t mind having something a little cheaper that looks similar, give the ranunculus a whirl.
If you’re going with the pay as you go method when it comes to the bar (where you pay what your guests drink), consider springing for a keg instead of individual bottles. Just as it was in college, a keg of beer, even with the location markup, will be far cheaper than a keg of beer. When you go to negotiate with the location with respect to the bar, mention that you want to get a keg (you may have to provide a tap if they don’t have one) instead of going with individual bottles.
Ounce per ounce, champagne is the most expensive alcohol beverage - even more expensive than the most top shelf liquor. Even with the cheapest champagne, this rule of thumb still holds true. Plus, champagne isn’t even that good! 
So, on your wedding night, consider using champagne (or even a non alcoholic apple cider) for toasts only.
I know it seems kind of overly frugal but ask the reception hall to box up the meals of guests that never made it to the reception. It really is unfortunate when guests RSVP and then don’t show up (they usually won’t do this on purpose) but you can take a little bit of the sting out of it by asking for the reception hall to box up the meals that go un-served. If you’re paying $100 a head and ten people don’t show, at least you’ll have ten prime rib dinners waiting for you instead of a big empty $1,000 hole.
Now, be prepared for the reception hall to reject your request for the meals to be boxed up because of health regulations but if you’re persistent, you might be able to walk away with at least a little something.
A rule of thumb is that the reception will account for 50% of your wedding costs and one of the most common techniques for reducing your wedding bill is to reduce the number of guests attending your joyous day. However, cutting guests may not save as much as you think and here’s why.
A reception hall will have a number of fixed costs such as the rental costs of the location, the catering staff, lights, etc; that the hall likely accounted for whenever they quoted the price per guest. So, when you go back and inform them that the number of guests will be pared down, they may come back and inform you that the cost per guest will increase.
So, be prepared not to save as much money as you thought if you decide to go the route of reducing the number of guests you invite.
If you’ve ever received a wedding invitation in the mail, you’ve likely seen photo stamps. Photo stamps are stamps with a picture of the happy couple and they’re all the rage these days. Now, you might think to yourself how photo stamps are probably really expensive and how you’re not really looking for that but before you dismiss it, Stamps.com has a really good offer on the table that will save you on postage.
When you sign up, Stamps.com will give you $25 in postage, a free scale, and $5 worth of supplies. The free $25 in stamps will send 64 letters (or 32 invitations and reply envelopes).
Now, onto the PhotoStamps. All you need to do in order to print up PhotoStamps is to upload images to the Stamps.com website and place your order. Unfortunately, the stamps are far more expensive than their actual worth. A single sheet costs $17.99 and has only $7.80, a markup of $10.19!
So, if you’re really thinking about getting PhotoStamps, you might as well get $25 off. There are other options, however, that may be worth investigating.
You’re reading that correctly - find a venue that’s currently undergoing renovations. Now, why would I recommend such a ridiculous idea as to find a reception hall that’s being worked on? It’ll be covered in plastic sheets, plaster, and all sorts of construction goodness that will prevent you from really seeing what the end product will be. You’ll have to worry that the place won’t be complete in time to actually hold your wedding or your reception, you’ll have to worry that it won’t even really look like what their plan says it’ll look like, and you’ll have to put down a sizable deposit even though all those concerns are still plainly visible.
So, why would I even recommend doing such a thing? Because no one else will and a hotel loses money whenever its rooms go unused, conference and dining rooms included (if not especially). So, by looking past the scaffolding, you can snag yourself a really good deal by looking at venues under renovation. There is risk with this strategy but you can we rewarded for taking that risk.
Wedding favors are nice, whether it’s some candy, a candle, or some other trinket, but they will probably collect dust on some forgotten shelf until it’s time for you to move. Now consider this alternative: make a donation to a worthy cause instead of buying wedding favors. Let’s say you have 200 guests, if you would’ve spent about $5 per guest on wedding favors, consider donating a thousand dollars to the [insert name of a worthy charity here].
When everyone gets to their table, you could leave a note saying a donation was made to the charity or just mention it in a toast. Some people may be upset they didn’t get a candle or some candy but they’ll probably get over it.
It’s estimated that the photographer and videographer will run about 10% of your total wedding budget and so it should be at least second on your list of things to investigate trimming (the first being your guest list). One of the ways you can cut costs on a photographer and videographer is to hire them for the ceremony only. For the recording folks, a large portion of their costs has to deal with the hours they spend taking photos and video and so if you can trim that down, you can trim down their costs. Having great photos and video footage of the ceremony is crucial, something that you likely will regret skimping on, but cutting out photos and videos of the reception probably won’t be missed too badly, but that’s a personal decision.
