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You can get as extravagant or as simple as you want when it comes to invitations (just remember that it accounts for a minor part of your wedding budget, bigger dollars can be saved elsewhere but every little bit helps) and when it comes to printing it, engraving is the most expensive option. A cheaper alternative is to print the invitations yourself and with where printing technology is, and the quality of the paper you can buy from a stationary store, you can print very nice invitations from home and save yourself a few dollars.
Our first wedding cost cutting tip is a pretty well known one to anyone who has even though about weddings and that is you should cut out live cocktail hour music, if not cut live music all together. If you want live music, don’t get it during the cocktail hour because your guests will be chatting it up for that time anyway so their music will fall on deaf ears. Instead, play a Frank Sinatra CD (Try The Very Best of Frank Sinatra, a two-disc set of Frank’s very best) and save yourself a few extra dollars.
As for the rest of the wedding, skipping live music all together will not save you as much as you think because the alternative is a disc jockey, which aren’t cheap themselves, but will save you a couple dollars in the long run. Also, you can avoid tricky audio issues like feedback (since the microphone won’t be used too often) and bad singing (since it’ll be pre-recorded!).
As you go to establish your wedding budget, it’s important to be cognizant of how much each piece of you your wedding should cost. If the benchmark for how much your reception should cost is 30% and you’re spending 40%, perhaps you’re neglecting other aspects of your wedding. Or, it could mean that the reception is important to you, more important than the other parts, and so you’re willing to splurge and cut back on other parts of the wedding. Either way, it’s important to make educated decisions, not haphazard ones. What you’ll find next is a list of each piece of your wedding and approximately (remember, this is merely a rule of thumb) what percentage of your total budget most couples spend.
Another way to look at this list is to discover where you should focus your penny pinching energies. You will see below that the “everything else” category only counts for 10%… that includes invitations, save the date mailings, gifts, etc. Finding ways to squeeze a few cents out of that won’t be as effective as looking for deals on reception halls or attire.
Reception: 50%. The reception is the biggest piece of your wedding budget since it’s the one most dependant on the number of guests you invite. The church will hold as many as it will hold and you won’t need to donate more simply because another seat is filled, you will with the reception. In addition to paying for the food and drink, some places may charge a flat reception hall fee (if you look hard enough, some places will throw in the reception hall for free if you have a minimum number of guests).
Attire: 10%. A big piece of this 10% will be the bride’s gown and the groom may consider buying a tuxedo if they plan on going to many more black tie events in the future.
Photographer, Videographer: 10%. Part of the Big Three vendor spends on your big day, the photographer and videographer will be spending 8 hours filming and photo’ing plus all the post-wedding editing and cropping, which is why the costs will amount to a fat 10%.
Flowers & Decor: 10%.
Music & Entertainment: 10%.
Everything Else: 10%. Yep, everything else includes the ring, invitations, gifts, cake, etc. Everything else will cost as much as flowers & decor, as much as music & entertainment, as much as photographer and videographer.
From “The Knot’s Guide for the Groom.”
Even though everyone working with you on your wedding day will have been paid before they showed up, you’ll still have to tip them. So, how do you know how much to tip the photographer? Or the officiant? How about the parking attendants and the bartender (if you have a bar)? The rule of thumb of 20% just won’t cut it so here’s how you should approach it.
Wedding Coordinator: No tip is expected, but you can send them a thank you card or some other small gift.
Officiant: $100 - $200, given by the best man.
Transportation (Bus, Limo): 15-20%. Check that a gratuity isn’t already included.
Parking Attendants, Valets: About $1 per vehicle, given to the supervisor beforehand. Be sure to inform your guests that gratuities were already provided.
Coatroom & Restroom Attendants: $0.50 - $1.00 per guest. Check that a gratuity isn’t already included.
Musicians: $20.00-25.00, but no tip is expected.
Photographer & Videographer: $20.00-25.00, but no tip is expected.
Banquet Manager or Maitre D’: $200-$300, but check that a service charge or gratuity is not already included.
Caterer & Waitstaff: This only applies if the catering isn’t offered by the reception hall you’re in. Consider how many waitstaff you have and calculate a tip that way, then throw a little extra to the catering manager.
Bartenders: 10% of the final bill, be sure to check that a gratuity is not already included.
You Won’t Need To Tip… the business owners of the services you provide, the florist, the baker, the bridal shop, invitation or party rental companies.
From “The Knot’s Guide for the Groom.”
It’s sometimes difficult to invite a friend and ask them not to bring a guest (that is to send an invitation to your friend and not to ‘your friend and a guest’) because one usually thinks that an invitation, by default, is for you and a guest (a date, if you will). The problem with that is if everyone you invited brought a guest, the cost of holding the wedding would increase tremendously.
To be entirely honest, I think every guest would understand if you merely extended an invitation to him or her and not to an accompanying guest (we can all understand how much a wedding costs). Now, if your friend is married or has a serious boyfriend or girlfriend that you know, if might be difficult to pull this off and its recommend that you invite them both. It’s not worth the grief of inviting one and not the other. However, if the financials really are that tight, then just invite one as they will likely understand (if they are your friend, which they should be if you’re going to invite them!).
Simply send an invitation for your friend and then follow it up with an email after you’re certain they’ve received it. Explain that you are looking to keep the costs of the wedding manageable and that you mean no disrespect but you only invited the friend and not a guest. If you are good enough friends with them to invite them to your wedding, they will likely agree. Don’t be afraid to broach the subject!
Instead of including a reply card or second envelope with your invitation, consider asking all (or at some) of your guests to RSVP online or via the telephone. This will save you a little money in terms of postage, reply cards, and envelopes; but it also reduces paper waste and clutter on your end. You will have tons of papers from various places that you don’t really need reply cards to help you become more confused. When you get the cards you will likely enter them into an Excel spreadsheet and then discard the cards, so skip the cards entirely!
Most folks usually have access to a computer and can shoot off an email (or if you are computer savvy you can setup a form online that they can access). If they don’t have access to a computer, not entirely uncommon, then a telephone call is possible too. If you don’t want to force your guests to call you, then you can always just add a reply card to a smaller subset of your guests that you think won’t have easy computer access.
You won’t save a ton of money on this, probably less than $50, but every little bit counts!
I read a tip about putting disposable cameras, around two, on each of the dinner tables in lieu of hiring a professional photographer and I have to say that’s a ridiculous way to save money. Putting disposable cameras on each of the tables and having your guests take action shots is a great way to augment professionally taken photographs but it certainly isn’t a replacement, unless you really don’t care about photos at the reception (then it’s a perfectly good idea!).
Here are several reasons why a disposable camera is a bad idea (when used to replace a professional photographer):
- Camera Use Will Be Low - It’s likely no one has done any studies but the number of photos actually taken with the disposable camera probably won’t be particularly high. It certainly won’t be 100% and if photos of the reception are important to you then it certainly would be too big of a risk to take, don’t you think?
- Photo Quality Will Be Low - Unless you discover super high quality digital disposable cameras (at which point you’re no longer really saving much money anyway), the photo quality will be low.
- You Won’t Have Digital Copies Too - Chances are a professional photographer will take the photos digitally and your disposable cameras won’t.
Now, disposable cameras as a means of augmenting a professional photographer is a great idea because you can get so many more candid shots. A professional photographer can only take one photo at a time but an army of your closest friends, after they’ve been drinking heavily, can take a whole slew of photos!
Where should you go to buy disposable cameras? I personally would recommend eBay if you’re looking to save some money and willing to sacrifice on film quality.
Tips to save money on your wedding cake:
1) Order a smaller fancier cake that can be used for the cake cutting ceremony and is on display during the reception. Then serve your guests after the cake cutting ceremony the smaller cake and from sheet cakes made from the same recipe.
2) On the same track as tip #1, use dummy cake layers. They are layers that are decorated as your cake but are used just to make the cake look taller and larger. (So people don’t realize that you are serving them from sheet cakes.)
3) Order a square shaped cake; they provide more pieces than a round one.
3) Use real flowers to decorate the cake. Not only are they more beautiful than sugar flowers they are much less expensive. Just make sure your guests don’t try to eat them!!
4) Order a smaller cake and supplement dessert with multiple types of cakes and desserts. After cutting the cake, place the wedding cake on the dessert table surrounded with lots of other choices. This way all your guests will have a choice of what type of dessert they would like to eat.
5) If you have an on-site caterer talk to them about also baking your cake. This will provide less stress for you and could help you save some money on the cost of the cake.
6) Borrow a friend or family member’s cake topper. Don’t feel shy about asking; just remember imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. This can also be counted towards your “Something borrowed, something blue”!
7) Take into account the season in which you’re getting married. If you are having an outdoor summer wedding, keep your cake as cold as possible because the heat may cause the cake to melt! Any additional care needed for your cake can add to your overall costs at your reception site.
Last but not least! Eat cake that you enjoy, just because its cheaper doesn’t mean that you have to get it. You can afford to get the cake that you really love, just remember some of the above tips to keep it within your budget!
Just like when playing cards, don’t show all your cards when shopping for florists. A few tips that I think will be your best bet at saving money when shopping for flowers:
1) Don’t bring your mom on your first trip to price the florist. Florist will assume that your parent are paying for the flowers and will show your more expensive arrangements.
2) Don’t wear your bling bling engagement ring; be discreet if you are willing to spend a large part of your budget on flowers.
3) Borrow your friend’s oldest cars (and I’m not talking about the 1965 Mustang…) to drive to the florist. I read in Bridal Bargains a story of a woman who was shopping for flowers with her florist as another bride pulled her Mercedes into the parking lot. The florists got excited at the sight of an expensive car and started to immediately talk about how they could charge her more!!
4) Tell the florist that you are hosting a retirement party or a family reunion to get the best deals on centerpieces. As soon as you say ‘wedding’ the dollar signs flash before their eyes. Although I don’t recommend trying this tip when shopping for bouquets. I’d be a bit worried if your florist believes the retiree is carrying 24 ‘Black Magic’ roses as she enters the party!
5) I think one of the best tips when shopping for flowers is to be flexible. If you are getting married in November, don’t insist on tulips and hydrangeas; be comfortable with suggestions of camellias and narcissus. A great tool is “Wedding Flowers in Season,” it lists all the flowers in season and also those flowers that are available year round.
Good Luck!
Welcome to the Bridal Bargains Blog, hopefully your future source for ideas on how to save as much money as you possibly can when planning for your big day. Remember, money can’t buy you happiness and spending top dollar on everything doesn’t guarantee your big day will go off without a hitch. It’s about being smart with your money and finding the best deals (without cutting corners on quality) so that you can be happy on the big day and for many many years thereafter.
