Author: David Fishman
Wedding flowers are one of the biggest parts of any wedding budget, so saving money on them should be a top priority for any bride and groom. To save on money and to keep within your budget you should consider buying the flowers wholesale. Especially when the flowers are in season like spring it is a great time to purchase wholesale because of the stock of flowers. Remember to check your arrangement in a mirror with you holding it so you would picture how it would look like to someone else's view. This is a new generation and silk wedding flowers are the rage.
White wedding dresses come in a wide variety of shades of white; you want to make sure that the flowers that you choose will coordinate with your wedding dress so you should match it with a swatch. Professional florist know accent the flowers just so, so they will attract attention to you in the way that you want. There is no shame in learning from the success and failures of others and doing so will generally save you a lot of grief. Your florist will help you with which flowers are seasonal if you are still unsure as to what to go for. Your local florist can recommend the many colorful options available. You are in for a pleasant surprise at your local florist. Florists can customize flowers to what ever you like, these fresh flowers with professional cutting them will make your bouquet outlast any store bought flowers.
The bouquets can be the same color as the bride's bouquet or a different color. Bouquets can also be fashioned by keeping in mind the family tradition. Any good wedding florist should have at least a few sample bouquets they can show you. If no live bouquets are available, however, be sure to look through the photo book the florist has. Ensure that gift bouquets are ordered for the mothers. Problems arise because of last-minute flower substitutions due to weather or transportation issues, which may be more expensive. Women find themselves making last-minute decisions about changes to their arrangements, often without seeing what the revised bouquets will look like. Spring flowers make attractive centerpieces for tables and rooms. Bridal bouquets can be prepared with them.
The best way to evaluate how and where to allocate your wedding budget is to determine exactly what your priorities are. These days, 4 out of 5 couples pay for their own wedding and it helps to know how your budget should be broken down. It is with the budget that you can set realistic goals for your wedding and whether or not if your budget is realistic to your finances.
Since summer is the most popular time for weddings, it is very important to decide in advance the type of wedding flowers wanted by the bride. Since the florists are bound to be busy with many other weddings, the bride should be sure of her choices. Florists will also deliver all the flowers to your destination. Flowers in the center of the table always makes a good center piece, your guest will want to take these home and make your wedding day memorable. Most wedding florists will have a portfolio of photographs from past weddings, and they should be happy to share this portfolio of past work with potential customers. Most established florists are not one-man shows but a huge network of florists in different places.
Choosing The Proper Wedding Flowers On A Budget
Five Ways To Save On Wedding Flowers
Author: Tiffany R. Wright
I'll admit my bias up front: I love flowers. And not just any flowers, I love expensive flowers. Peonies, burgundy cymbidium orchids and mini calla lilies are among my favorites. When I was planning my own wedding, I tripled this area of my initial budget. Several brides share my love of flowers and that makes it all the more difficult to stay on budget. Even brides that do not share my extreme love for flowers want beautiful weddings, and your florist will play a huge role in that. As a general rule, flowers should account for 10-15% of your overall budget. Here are some tips to help to stay at or below that number while still having beautiful wedding flowers.
1. Do it Yourself
Yes, you can create your own wedding flowers. There are several online and local wholesalers where you can buy flowers in bulk for substantially less than what you would pay a florist. You should plan to receive your flowers 2-3 days prior to your wedding and have adequate space in your refrigerator to store them. If you are ordering too many flowers to fit into your fridge, air conditioning your home will suffice. Simple hand tied bouquets are relatively easy to create and you can gather bunches of flowers and place them in vases to create centerpieces. My advice with DIY flowers is to keep it simple! You are not a trained florist, so do not try to create more complicated arrangement that you find online or in magazines. Keep it simple. Also, a word of caution: if you are a perfectionist and want perfect arrangements, hire a florist. As a novice, you're likely to make some mistakes and slight imperfections will exist. If that is not acceptable to you, it's best to hire a professional. Also, it's a good idea to do a test run before the real thing.
2. Use a delivery service
There are new delivery services, most notably Pro Flowers, which will arrange your wedding blooms and deliver them, already assembled, to your door 1-2 days before the wedding. They have several flower varieties and several packages to choose from at amazing prices. You will have to do a little work with this option. You should have vases prepared for the centerpieces and holder vases to hold your bouquets until the wedding. On the wedding day, you will have to designate someone to set up the arrangements. Several brides are nervous about this option because they worry that the flowers will not show up in time. Pro Flowers has a built in safety measure to prevent no shows. If your flowers do not arrive on the scheduled date, Pro Flowers has contracts with thousands of local florists that will assemble and personally deliver your flowers prior to the wedding.
3. Reuse, Reuse, Reuse
Slash hundreds from your florist bill by reusing arrangements throughout the day. Your ceremony altar arrangements can become a part of your reception décor, your bridesmaids bouquets can become centerpieces and your bouquet can become an arrangement for your sweetheart table. You can also ask your florist to reuse aisle arrangements from the ceremony as centerpieces during the reception. You may have to pay a slight labor fee for the arrangements to be moved and recast as centerpieces, but it will be much less than paying for both.
4. Stay in season
Different flowers are in season at different times of the year. If a flower is out of season, it does mean that you cannot have it, but it will be substantially more expensive. There are some flowers that are expensive all year round. These include mini calla lilies, tropical blooms and certain orchid varieties. Ask your florist about what flowers are in season for your wedding day and stick with those.
5. Cut back
Ask yourself what you really need and what you can do without. Do you really need pew bows? A pomander for the flower girl? An arrangement for the place card table? A floral cake topper? None of these things are necessary and can be replaced by other decorative items. Cut back on the excess and stick to the bare necessities.
Budget Silk Wedding Flowers. Save yourself a Bomb on Your Wedding Budget
Author: Peter Clark Author Ranking Silver
Planning a wedding? Have you checked out the price of wedding flowers yet? If not you're in for a shock. But if you use budget silk wedding flowers you can save heaps and still have great looking wedding flowers.
It's quite a debate isn't it? Do you use silk wedding flowers, or real wedding flowers? Well the cost certainly suggests that it's better to use silk wedding flowers, because budget silk flowers for your wedding are dramatically cheaper than real flowers.
Particularly if you buy right. How do you buy right? Online.
Now of course you can't really buy real flowers online. Yes you can ORDER them online, but usually they will be delivered from a local destination. However with silk flowers there's no problem transporting them so you can buy them from a supplier that can ship them to you wherever you are, at a great price. Provided you buy right of course.
If you buy budget silk wedding flowers online you'll slash your wedding budget. Flowers can be a huge part of any wedding budget, and so if you're struggling to cover all your costs then you need to make some savings, and silk flowers is a great way to do so.
And forget the impression that many people have that silk wedding flowers look tacky and second rate. Modern silk flowers look as good as real flowers when you're guests arrive, and they usually look much better than real flowers when your guests leave.
That's because real flowers wilt. The petals fall off. They droop from lack of water if the stem doesn't quite reach long enough. And within a couple of days they've pretty much had it.
Silk flowers, on the other hand, look as good at the end of the day as at the beginning. And they look as good a week later, and a month, and so on. If the bride wants a keepsake from her wedding day her silk flowers will look good for years to come.
And if you're a fan of a certain type of flower, and want them for your wedding, you're a little stuck if they aren't in season when your wedding is planned. Want Tulips in January? Forget it. Unless you use silk tulips, in which case you've got plenty of options.
And even if they are in season, you may well find that the color you want is hard to get. Not if you're buying silk wedding flowers.
So if you're in the process of planning a wedding, consider using budget silk wedding flowers. Firstly you'll dramatically slash your budget, which is a good thing. And secondly they will look equally as good at the wedding, or reception, as real wedding flowers. And there's lots of other good reasons too.
Check out budget silk wedding flowers for a budget saving at your wedding. You won't regret it.
8 Tips for Saving at Least $3000 On your Wedding Budget
Author: Ron Hel-Or Author Ranking Bronze
So you're finally getting married? Congratulations! This should be one of the happiest days in your life. But to be honest - it's also going to be one of the most costly days in your life. If you haven't figured it out yet - weddings are expensive. The cost of a wedding can very from $5000 to even $100,000 and more, if you're really rich and willing to put in that kind of money. The average wedding in the US, though, costs about $20,000 (for around 150 guests). A hefty sum, especially for a couple that is young in most cases, and doesn't really have that kind of money to spend.
So, is there anything we can do to lower the costs of a wedding?
The truth is that there is a lot we can do to lower the cost of a wedding. Let's cover a few of the areas in which we can do that, and in many cases reduce the price in thousands of dollars.
So here's out list of tips. Take a look and see if you can borrow these ideas and use them:
Tip no.1: Have the wedding done off-season. Most of the weddings are done in April-August. So why not get married in September?
Tip no.2: Have the wedding done off-season. Most of the weddings are done in April-August. So why not get married in September?
Tip no.3: If possible, try to have the wedding in the late afternoon instead of the evening. The reception halls are less expensive in the afternoon, and since the reception is a big part of your expense, the savings will be notable.
Tip no.4: Choose a week day instead of a weekend day. The days of the week are less expensive than the weekends.
Tip no.5: The location of the wedding can be very significant in terms of price. Maybe you can do the wedding in a city nearby which is less expensive.
Tip no.6: The wedding dress - remember, it's only worn once, so spending thousands of dollars on it is not the most reasonable thing to do (but many of us do it anyway...). Try a creative solution that costs less. One idea is to order a wedding dress online and make alteration. In many cases this will cost much less.
Tip no.7: Make the wedding favors yourself. It can be fun, creative and less expensive.
Tip no.8: Enlist your friends to help. Do you have a friend who knows how to photograph? Do you know someone who can design your invitations? Does the bride have a friend who can do her makeup and hair?
The main idea in trying to cut down wedding costs is to be creative. Try to think of ideas that will help you reduce the costs. Who knows - maybe you'll save enough to use that money for a house down payment!
Wedding Planner Career - Tips on Preparing the Wedding Budget
Wedding Planner Career - Tips on Preparing the Wedding Budget
Author: Lisa Paredes Author Ranking Blue | Posted: 17-05-2008 | Comments: 0 | Views: 6 | Rating: (53) Article Popularity - Blue (?) Got a Question? Ask.
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Once you have gotten a basic idea of what the couple is imagining, you can begin to figure out how much the couple's dream wedding will cost, and how much money the bride and groom (or their families) are planning to spend.
Obviously, not every couple has unlimited funds to plan their nuptials. A good wedding planner will be able to take the couple's picture perfect wedding and scale it down to size as necessary to fit their budget. However, the budget will definitely influence many of the couple's decisions about the wedding. There are two ways to determine the cost of the wedding. The couple's first option is to set the budget and plan the wedding accordingly. The second option is to plan the couple's dream wedding and figure out how to fund the affair later.
Factors that will affect the cost of the wedding:
- Date and Time
- Formality
- Number of Guests
- Food
- Flowers, Music, and Photography
- Ceremony and Reception Venues
- Location
You will quickly learn ways to manipulate these factors to cut costs as necessary. The bride and groom must be able to prioritize their wish list. If the couple's dream wedding is a black-tie affair in June with a catered, sit-down meal for 500 people in an expensive hotel ballroom, the couple better have a lot of cash or be ready to make some compromises. A good budget will take into account every aspect of the wedding. Your role is to help the bride and groom find ways to choose the most important elements and downscale in 30 other ways as necessary. The black-tie affair in the fancy hotel ballroom could cost significantly less if the couple chooses to have the wedding during an off-season month or day (think a Friday night in April or November) or has a late-evening reception with drinks and dessert. An open bar, designer gown, live music, or elaborate floral arrangements are all expensive options that can be scaled back to cut costs -- unless the couple is set on that specific detail. Odds are the bride and groom are not the only ones with big ideas for their big day. Parents and families on both sides will likely have their own idea of what the wedding should entail. If the couple's parents are footing a large portion of the bill, remind the bride and groom that their parent's opinions should be taken into consideration.
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Factors that will affect the cost of the wedding:
- Date and Time
- Formality
- Number of Guests
- Food
- Flowers, Music, and Photography
- Ceremony and Reception Venues
- Location
You will quickly learn ways to manipulate these factors to cut costs as necessary. The bride and groom must be able to prioritize their wish list. If the couple's dream wedding is a black-tie affair in June with a catered, sit-down meal for 500 people in an expensive hotel ballroom, the couple better have a lot of cash or be ready to make some compromises. A good budget will take into account every aspect of the wedding. Your role is to help the bride and groom find ways to choose the most important elements and downscale in 30 other ways as necessary. The black-tie affair in the fancy hotel ballroom could cost significantly less if the couple chooses to have the wedding during an off-season month or day (think a Friday night in April or November) or has a late-evening reception with drinks and dessert. An open bar, designer gown, live music, or elaborate floral arrangements are all expensive options that can be scaled back to cut costs -- unless the couple is set on that specific detail. Odds are the bride and groom are not the only ones with big ideas for their big day. Parents and families on both sides will likely have their own idea of what the wedding should entail. If the couple's parents are footing a large portion of the bill, remind the bride and groom that their parent's opinions should be taken into consideration.
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You've met the guy, he's popped the question, you've set a date. You've also set a budget. And now you're biting your nails, wondering how you'll ever meet it. Relax. We've got some great tips on how to save a little cash and get ready for your big bash!
Did you know that those eleven ounce bottles of Evian you drink everyday can really add up? Well, they can. To a total of $50 each month. For that kind of cash, you could buy a tiara made of freshwater pearls. As a less expensive alternative to purified water, try a Brita filter. It attaches directly to the tap on your kitchen sink and filters your water for a crystal clear finish. A one-time purchase of only $30.
Consider the grande mocha cappuccino that you order each morning. That quick pick-me-up can add up to $120 each month! In a year's time, that money could be spent on a gorgeous satin wedding gown. Sample General Foods International Coffee instead. Sold at your local grocer's, these great tasting coffees come in lots of yummy flavors like cinnamon chai, dark raspberry, and lite mocha. One canister of these nine ounce coffees costs about $4 (and you can make it with your pure Brita water).
You and your fiancé enjoy going out to the movies every now and then. Especially now, as it helps distract you from all your wedding planning woes. But the cost of tickets, popcorn, and soda can add up to $70 in just two trips! You could buy a beautiful bridal bouquet at that price. A cheaper choice is a Netflix membership. This online video club lets you rent an unlimited amount of movies for just $16.99 per month. It's still a great stress reliever and you don't have to worry about the obnoxious guy behind you on his cell phone!
There are also your monthly copies of Cosmo, Vogue, and (shh) Teen Beat. These can add up to $140 over the course of a year! That's equal to the cost of a designer tuxedo rental. Instead, turn to the internet for the latest and greatest celebrity gossip. With sites like eonline.com, tmz.com, and perezhilton.com, you'll have the juiciest news and hottest trends right at your fingertips. And it's absolutely free!
Now you have a better prospective on how to spend. So take a deep breath, smile, and stop biting your nails. Because multiple pre-wedding manicures can add up too!
These are just a few ideas of how you can save. however if you want to really get productive and save you must get organized with a list and a guide from some one who has done there homework. One of the things about budgeting for a wedding is the that you don't have to re-invent the wheel many have gotten married before you and have written successful guides One of those guides can be found By following the link in the author box and let me tell you this the guide found there is a must read for anyone even thinking about getting married! The tips we have mentioned here are ok but the tips in this guide will save you big time.
Planning of the Wedding Budget
Author: Aileen Nelson Author Ranking Blue
The planning of the wedding is very complicated process which will take much time, efforts and money. The planning process must be arranged beforehand. One of the most important aspects of the wedding planning is the wedding budget. How must you plan it to avoid the mistakes and to save the money?
First of all, you have to determinate with all expenses which are connected with the wedding ceremony. To manage your expenses you have to make a list of essential items. To avoid the omission of necessary and important items, you have to learn the bridal magazines and special wedding websites. If you will follow this recommendation, you will not miss anything.
After the preparation of the list, you have to plan the wedding budget. There are many factors which can influence on the size of your budget. In the beginning, try do compare the sums which you want to spend and which you can spend on this impressive and important event of your life. To make the right decision, you have to determinate with the main items and priorities. Some of the items can be over the budget and may be you can refuse of them.
The next thing which is very important is the amount of guests which you plan to invite. Try to count how much money are you ready to spend per one guest. After it, count the total sum. Do not forget about such expenses as invitations and wedding favors. To control the budget you must have limit of the guests. If your budget is tight, you can have the small wedding party and to invite only close friends and relatives. In the same time there is such category of guests as important people. Do not forget to invite them if you want to avoid the problems in the future.
You will have to rent the hall to arrange the ceremony and the party. The size of the location depends also on the amount of the guests. In the same time, there are some items which are not connected with the amount of the guests. These items are: the dress, the gowns, music, photography, etc.
Planning Your Wedding Budget
Money is the number one thing that married couples fight about. But do you realize that the tension surrounding money begins long before the happy couple say 'I do?' Wedding costs can rapidly escalate out of control which is why it's so important to begin the planning by devising a realistic budget. And once you've got the numbers crunched, it's equally important that you both stick to the budget.
And while a wedding budget doesn't sound all that glamorous, it doesn't have to be a bad thing. In fact, planning your wedding without a budget is almost guaranteed to land you into serious financial debt. What's the key to success? As it will be throughout your marriage, open, honest, two-way communication is an absolute must.
Newly-engaged couples must talk about how each envisions his and her special day. Women work on the assumption that guys don't care about the details but that's not always true. It is, after all, the man's big day, too and he has a family to please as well.
Once the excitement of the engagement wears off, go somewhere quiet and talk about what's important to each of you in regards to your wedding day. Listening to your partner's opinion is as important as talking so be sure to do both. Then, make a list of what you both want (to arrive in a horse-drawn carriage, lobster, renaissance theme, color scheme, etc.) and what are absolute necessities (for example a photographer, caterer, rings, etc.). You're going to use this information when it's time to allocate your budget.
Once you both have an idea of what's important, it's time to crunch the numbers. You've got to determine how much money is available now (for example, in savings accounts, stocks/bonds, real estate, trust funds), how much you'll have to commit to saving from your regular income streams, and how much you can realistically expect others to kick in. Depending on how far out the actual wedding date is you may want to consider opening a higher-interest bearing account for the money so that it can earn interest.
When considering what others may be able to put towards the cause it's really important that you don't make unrealistic demands. Take whatever others are willing to contribute graciously and try not to belabor the issue. Getting angry or disappointed in the amounts you are being given isn't a very mature way of handling the situation.
When you know where the money's coming from and how much is coming, you'll know how much you'll be able to spend. Now make another list of all wedding-related expenses and allocate a dollar amount or the percentage you're willing to spend next to each item. This will help when you're actually contracting for these services. Remember that if you exceed your budgeted amount in one category, you'll have to scale back another so your budget will stay balanced. Because budgeting is so very important for most couples, you'll find that wedding budget worksheets, software and other tools are available everywhere, so go find one and start using it right now!
Creating A Wedding Budget
Before you start planning your wedding, you should sit down with everyone involved with the financial aspects. Set a budget rich enough to give you what you want but affordable enough to not break the bank.
If you don't have a budget set from the start, you'll have a difficult time holding on to your money. It's easy to spend an extra hundred here and an extra hundred there. If you limit your spending, you'll be less tempted to spend and more able to focus on what you want and need more wisely.
Here are some pointers for creating an affordable wedding budget.
Who's Paying?
Traditionally, the bride's parents were in charge of paying for the wedding. Times have changed quite a bit, though. While the bride's parents sometimes still pay for the wedding, it is just as likely to see the couple pay for their own ceremony or have financial help from parents on both sides.
If you aren't able to pay for the wedding yourself, then sit down to have a serious discussion about what is going to work. Depending on your financial situation, you might assume family will help pay for the wedding, but even if you're positive of that, show your family the courtesy of asking if they'll pitch in.
The average wedding costs over $20,000 these days, and it might be intimidating to ask for such a large amount of money. You might want to prepare a plan that details how much you'd be willing to chip in, what your budget is, and what type of help you'll need or the specific expenses you'd like your family to pitch in for.
Sometimes parents contribute a certain amount of money or offer to pay for certain items such as the wedding dress, the catering, or the entertainment. Look into splitting the budget up as much as possible to have everyone willing to contribute put in an equal amount towards the event.
Setting Your Budget
The budget always depends on the amount of guests that you're inviting to the wedding. A general rule of thumb is that you should prepare to pay $100 for every guest on the invitation list. If you're having a large amount of guests, you may receive a discount per head as opposed to paying full price per person for smaller weddings.
Taking Care of the Basics
You shouldn't just make a wild guess at how much you're willing to spend on your wedding. Instead, set the approximate amount of budgeted dollars per guest and then put together a list of everything you'll need to buy with that money.
By creating a detailed financial plan, you'll know how much you can spend on every aspect of the wedding: catering, decorations, transportation, dresses, photography, etc.
You might want to splurge in one area and you may find that with a detailed plan, you can easily save some money in another area of your wedding. By finding out what's important to you and planning things carefully, you'll give yourself a better chance of staying within your financial means.
Look around or ask friends that have been married before what expenses they had and what costs their wedding day incurred. Sometimes you'll realize that your numbers aren't very realistic compared to what people who have gone before you have spent. It's better to find out in the planning stages than when you're actually heading off to make your purchases.
Prioritize
When you make detailed plans, prioritize what's most important to you. Make sure to communicate with your partner so that you both end up getting what you want instead of feeling ripped off or resentful. Rate every item's priority on a scale of 1-5, with "1" being your top priority and "5" being one of the least important items. This helps prioritize wants versus needs and helps you stay on track with your budget.
Ways to Save Money
There are always tricks to saving money on your wedding package. Sometimes you can find places that offer catering, decorations, and a reception room for a low price when bundled together. Other times you'll find a photographer that also offers videography for a discounted rate. By finding bulk deals or making connections, you'll be able to minimize excess costs.
You'll also want to find out if you have any friends or family members willing to help out for free. Sometimes you might know a person capable of doing all your photography as a wedding gift or you might know somebody willing to volunteer as a decorator.
There are many ways that you can save money, but most of the trick in cutting costs is thinking creatively and resourcefully. By finding out what is most important for your wedding, you'll be able to spend money on what matters and save on things that are less important.
Stick to It
Once you've set a budget, stick to it no matter what. Don't plan to be frugal from the start - be realistic. Instead of trying to spend too little and create problems when you overspend because of true cost, you should plan for costs as truthfully as possible. It's no fun having financial pressures because you didn't spend enough time planning properly. Overshooting the budget not only causes arguments in the couple, but it is also a sign of poor choices.
While it's true that this is your only wedding, it's not true that you have an unlimited amount of money available to blow on the event. It's easy to upgrade items for a couple of hundred dollars, and some vendors will push you to do so. But if you take every vendor's advice and don't follow your budget, you'll never find your available money to be enough.
Don't stress over your purchases. Instead, spend what feels comfortable and that is within your means. Have fun finding the pleasure in the ceremony and not in the extra (and expensive) trimmings.
Quick Ways To Salvage Your Wedding Budget
Your wedding is one of the most important days of your life, and of course you want to splurge a little to make it special. But sticking to your budget is important too, especially if you don't want to start your life together neck-deep in debt.
The first step is to identify what's most important to you, spend on what matters, and cut corners on the things that don't. This differs from bride to bride. Some ask a friend to take the pictures but spend an open bar and a big band-others want professional photographs, and schedule a lunch reception because it's less expensive than a dinner menu.
If you're not sure what your priorities are, ask yourself these questions: what do I want to remember about the wedding? Is it "my guests had the time of their life" or "I had the dress of my dreams"? Take your cue from there.
Also, buy a notebook and write down all your expenses related to the wedding, and have all your receipts in a file. Aside from the obvious costs like ordering the invitations, don't forget the incidental expenses like having all of them mailed. Every month, review your tally of costs with your fiancée. If you find that you have gone over your budget, then rein the expenses in.
Here are some ways you can cut corners:
Flowers - Explore other ways of decorating the church or reception tables: Seashells, scented candles, balloon bouquets. Always use flowers that are in season.
Photography and Videography - Don't order the wedding album or frame-you can do this yourself at a later time, when you're not as deluged with expenses. You can ask a friend to do the videography, or approach a college or university film club. Most film students would be happy for a chance to earn a little extra on a weekend, and won't charge as much as a professional cameraman.
Reception - Adjust the time of your reception so you can serve brunch or tea instead of lunch or dinner. You can also order separate meals for your suppliers (e.g., band, host), or a children's menu for any young guests (they'd be happier with hotdogs, anyway). Another way of getting big bargains is to look for those that offer "special packages" that include the cake, food, use of the venue itself, and even extras like limo service.
Souvenirs - Make them yourself, if you have the time. For example, place several chocolate kisses into a small tin, while the more artistically inclined can make very inexpensive frames from materials in a crafts store. Or you can kill two birds with one stone, and ask a friend to take "studio" shots of your guests against a special set-up in the corner. Give them a copy of the picture to take home as a souvenir, while simultaneously compiling an album.
Cake - If you really want a high-tiered cake, you can always ask for mock Styrofoam layers so you get the impact but don't spend on something that most people won't eat, anyway.
For more information on wedding budgets and many other aspects of wedding planning, you should check out our Ultimate Wedding Planning Toolkit. It contains everything you need to ensure that your wedding plans run smoothly...
5 Wedding Budget Tips
The modern bride and groom reasonably expect to pay $30,000 for their wedding day celebrations. Venue, food, entertainment, flowers, dresses, rings, cars, favours...it all adds up. The 'Bridal Magazine Mentality' convinces you all this stuff is essential if you're to have any kind of 'proper' wedding.
But what do you really want? Do you need all this wedding stuff? Is there any reason it has to be this way, other than 'Bridal Magazine Mentality'? I know expectations of family and friends often influence wedding decisions, but the frugal bride and groom should stand their ground.
Decide what's important to you and your partner, and scrimp and save on the rest. No one will notice and you'll feel financially safer and more secure. Here are five ideas for simple and alternative ways to carve the wedding budget to shreds.
1. BYO Alcohol
Find a venue that allows you to bring in your own alcohol. You'll save thousands. The venue mark up on beer, wine and spirits often exceeds 200% of the retail price, and some venues will charge a corkage fee per bottle as well.
Community halls and historic homes often allow you to provide your own alcohol. If you keep an eye on booze specials throughout the year you can stock up in advance, and the cost won't seem nearly as high. If you order in bulk from a local bottle store they often allow you to return unopened drinks for money back.
2. Skip the Full Meal
A full sit down dinner can cost anything from $20-200 a head. Instead, why not have a lunchtime picnic reception with cold cuts, sandwiches, cakes and scones? What about a classy cocktail and nibbles party? I've heard of some couples who've had a late ceremony - 8pm or so - followed by a desert reception. Trust me, in the midst of all that chocolate, not one guest complained about not having a full meal!
3. Buy Dresses Online
I found my dream wedding dress in a bridal shop for over $2000, resisted the urge to fork over half our wedding budget for it, went home and brought the exact same dress online for a few hundred dollars.
When buying online I can't stress enough to have your measurements done BY A PROFESSIONAL. Also, it's helpful to visit bridal shops and try on several styles of dresses to see what suits and what doesn't. Try on dresses even if you hate them, because you never know what you'll fall in love with.
4. Enlist the Help of Friends
I know you're an independent bride (or groom) and you want to do it all yourself, but your friends and family want to help. Honestly. Your aunt the cake maker would LOVE to make the cake, your friend the fashion designer would be honoured to sew the bridesmaids dresses. Your brother's band can't wait to play the reception.
One of the coolest things about weddings is how everyone comes together to pull the event off. They're much more fun as a team effort. Your friends and family love you and they want to help. Be gracious and thankful, and they will feel proud to be part of your day.
5. Look for Student Photographers
Ring up your local art school and place an ad for a student photographer. Many students relish the opportunity to shoot for their portfolio. They have access to professional equipment, darkrooms and image manipulation software. They're enthusiastic and keen to prove themselves.
Ask to see previous work before you hire any photographer. Look at how well the photographer captures people and portrays emotions. Look at their use of colour and composition. Discuss your ideas and sign an agreement. Make sure you have all the details in writing.
When I hire any student and they do good work, I give them a letter of recommendation as a way of saying thanks. These letters are often worth more to them than money.
I hope I've given you some creative ideas for slicing your wedding budget. I'm sure you'll think of hundreds more once you release yourself from the 'Bridal Magazine Mentality'. I wish you and your partner all the best for your celebration!
Wedding Budget Challenge
As you plan your wedding, the most important task you have is to set your wedding budget. Weddings are expensive events. The average cost of a wedding in the America is more than $20,000. The honeymoon is not calculated in the cost. Although $20,000 sounds like a lot of money for a one-day event, keep in mind that it is an average and a many weddings cost significantly more.
No wedding budget is ever too big. It is your budget not your imagination that sets the limits of what you can or can't do on your wedding day. Formal weddings in hotel ballrooms or other trendy wedding reception venues will require a much bigger budget than a reception held at your parents house. Normally, formal weddings are more expensive because everything about them is expensive such as the food, music, etc.
The summer months are the most popular and most expensive months of the year to get married. Due to the high demand during the busy wedding season, hotels and other wedding reception venues can ask higher than usual prices. If you must have a summer wedding, expect to pay a premium.
The more guest you invite to the wedding, the more money you'll spend. You have to calculate your food budget based on a per-head cost for food and liquor. The type of meal you serve your guest is limited by your budget. For instance, seated dinners are more expensive than a buffet style dinners.
Some locations are more expensive than others. Certain cities such as New York and Los Angeles can be expensive, but far away places can be just as pricey due to high travel costs and the lack of competition.
Don't worry if your wedding budget doesn't cover everything you can dream of. It may require compromises, scheduling changes, or simply begging for more money, but even with a small budget you can plan a beautiful wedding.
Developing the wedding budget is challenging, and the bride and groom should work on it together. If your parents are footing part of the expenses, you have to involve them in the process too. Traditionally, the bride's family covers most of the expenses. Today, such tradition is not necessarily relevant. The bride and groom normally pay for most of the weddings.
Budget Silk Wedding Flowers. Save yourself a Bomb on Your Wedding Budget
Planning a wedding? Have you checked out the price of wedding flowers yet? If not you're in for a shock. But if you use budget silk wedding flowers you can save heaps and still have great looking wedding flowers.
It's quite a debate isn't it? Do you use silk wedding flowers, or real wedding flowers? Well the cost certainly suggests that it's better to use silk wedding flowers, because budget silk flowers for your wedding are dramatically cheaper than real flowers.
Particularly if you buy right. How do you buy right? Online.
Now of course you can't really buy real flowers online. Yes you can ORDER them online, but usually they will be delivered from a local destination. However with silk flowers there's no problem transporting them so you can buy them from a supplier that can ship them to you wherever you are, at a great price. Provided you buy right of course.
If you buy budget silk wedding flowers online you'll slash your wedding budget. Flowers can be a huge part of any wedding budget, and so if you're struggling to cover all your costs then you need to make some savings, and silk flowers is a great way to do so.
And forget the impression that many people have that silk wedding flowers look tacky and second rate. Modern silk flowers look as good as real flowers when you're guests arrive, and they usually look much better than real flowers when your guests leave.
That's because real flowers wilt. The petals fall off. They droop from lack of water if the stem doesn't quite reach long enough. And within a couple of days they've pretty much had it.
Silk flowers, on the other hand, look as good at the end of the day as at the beginning. And they look as good a week later, and a month, and so on. If the bride wants a keepsake from her wedding day her silk flowers will look good for years to come.
And if you're a fan of a certain type of flower, and want them for your wedding, you're a little stuck if they aren't in season when your wedding is planned. Want Tulips in January? Forget it. Unless you use silk tulips, in which case you've got plenty of options.
And even if they are in season, you may well find that the color you want is hard to get. Not if you're buying silk wedding flowers.
So if you're in the process of planning a wedding, consider using budget silk wedding flowers. Firstly you'll dramatically slash your budget, which is a good thing. And secondly they will look equally as good at the wedding, or reception, as real wedding flowers. And there's lots of other good reasons too.
Check out budget silk wedding flowers for a budget saving at your wedding. You won't regret it.
Wedding Budget:Creating Your Guest List
You've always heard "the more the merrier". While it's true that a large number of people would probably love to celebrate your marriage, realistically you may not have the wedding budget for such a grand affair. Following this guide may help to diminish your limitless list of guests.
Create A and B lists. Include immediate family and your closest friends on the A list. These are people who would feel sincerely slighted if they didn't receive an invite and you wouldn't truly be able to celebrate if these folks weren't there. On the B list, place people you'd like to have in attendance but who may not be an absolute necessity. Second cousins and co-workers are examples. On average, 20% of the guests on your must-have list will not be able to attend. Once you've surpassed this percentage of declined RSVP cards, begin mailing invitations to guests on your B list in order of importance.
Include specific names on your RSVP cards. Instead of inviting Aunt Gail and Guest, invite only Aunt Gail. She's just broken up with her boyfriend anyway and she can hang out with your mom and their other sisters. This also helps to avoid any confusion and uncomfortable inquiries from bridesmaids, old friends, and others who may wonder if they need to scour a date for your big day.
Don't let yourself be pushed around by parents. In-laws and others have been known to bully the bride and groom into inviting their own circle of friends, co-workers, and other acquaintances. Take a firm stand. Don't budge or the dam will break and there will be no end to the list of potential party-goers. You may feel uncomfortable but the truth of the matter is, this is your celebration and you should have the final say. If you're still feeling awkward about telling your mom-to-be that she can't invite fifteen more people, calmly and openly explain to her that both you and your future hubby have divided the number of invitations equally in order to meet your budget and you would be willing to include her guests if she's able to contribute to the cost.
Make it all or nothing at work. Unless you have a few close friends with whom you spend time socially outside of your cubicle, leave your employer and fellow employees off the list. Feelings are usually not hurt as long as you stick to the all or none rule.
Create strict cutting criteria. Eliminate anyone whose name is not familiar to you or you partner (even if your father swears that Jim Davis was his wingman in college and he'd be bitterly disappointed if he missed the wedding). And consider an "anniversary" rule in relation to your guests and their dates. For example, if a single guest has been dating their significant other for over a year they will receive an "and guest" designation (remember to list this explicitly on the RSVP to help prevent other singles from adding names to the card and cost to your bill again maintaining a wedding budget).
Finally, consider an adults-only reception. This works particularly well for celebrations taking place in the evening, at which time tots should be home in bed and grown-ups can feel free to let loose. Determine an appropriate age limit- perhaps no children under the age of 13 or 18. This approach can cut down on the chaos factor and help buoy your wedding budget.
Planning: Sample Wedding Budget Worksheet
When forming your wedding budget, decide first how much to spend for the wedding, then how the expenses will be divided. If you search around, you will be able to find other sample wedding budgets and wedding budget worksheets. Paying for wedding expenses can be handled in a variety of ways. The responsibility can be:
(a) assumed primarily by the brides parents
(b) assumes primarily by the grooms parents
(c) shared equally by both sets of parents
(d) shared by both families together with the bride and groom
(e) assumed entirely by the bride and groom themselves
Wedding Budget
Final responsibility for wedding costs has been stated by tradition, but there is really no right or wrong way to handle the costs. It is a matter of choice. It is appropriate to discuss the budget with both sets of parents, especially when they bear some or all of the financial responsibility. Be sure everyone involved agrees on the budget.
Wedding Budget Worksheet
A spirit of compromise should lessen the possibility of hurt feelings as your families agree together on the wedding budget. When setting your budget priorities, compromise on quantity, not quality. The amount of your budget will not necessarily determine the style of your wedding; you can have a formal wedding and reception on a limited budget with careful planning and a smaller guest list. You do not need a wedding budget worksheet to get an idea on how much to spend. The following percentage estimates may be useful in breaking down your total wedding budget into categories:
reception 48%
bridal attire 13%
flowers 10%
photography 9%
dj entertainment 8%
rentals 3%
miscellaneous fees 3%
bridesmaids gifts 2%
transportation 2%
stationary 2%
These percentages are a starting point for developing your budget and can be used as a tool when selecting various wedding vendors. To determine a guideline figure for each category in your budget, use this equation:
Your total budget x each items estimated percentage
Sample Wedding Budget
Okay, here is a sample wedding budget. Assume that your total budget is $10,000 (below the national average for how much a wedding costs, and you want to know a guideline for determining how much to spend for DJ entertainment. Using the formula above, you multiply $10,000 times .08 = $800. Therefore, as a guideline for a $10,000 wedding budget, $800 would be an appropriate amount to spend on DJ entertainment.
You can change the percentages given above, depending on what you want to emphasize in your wedding. Be sure to prioritize the following aspects of a wedding according to what is most important to you:
- number of guests to be invited
- wedding site (church, synagogue, hotel, club, at home)
- reception location (church hall, hotel, club, at home)
- bridal attire (what you will wear)
- food and beverages (what kind, and how will they be served)
- flowers (what kind and how many)
- photographs (which professional photographer company to choose)
- music (soloists, live music, DJ entertainment, dancing)
- transportation (a limousine, a luxury rental car, friends new car, or family car)
After having computed the amounts for each category, you may want to reevaluate your priorities. Make whatever adjustments are necessary to more closely meet your expectations. Once you have determined the amounts for each category, keep track of them with wedding planning forms. For some expenses that are traditionally the groom’s responsibility - such as certain flowers and his wedding attire - the cost will be determined by the overall wedding style. Other items in his budget will reflect his own preferences.
Your budget should be flexible enough so that unexpected costs will not ruin it. You can usually expect to pay from 10 to 50 percent as a deposit for services. This deposit is often required in cash. You may want to consider opening a new checking account allotted for your wedding and reception expenses.
Wedding Budget Planning
Together you and your fiancé can use the ideas and formulas mentioned in this article for healthy wedding budget planning. You should keep a close tab on the budgeted amounts, total costs, deposits made, and the balance due in each category.
