Determined not to spare any expense on your wedding? Want to be a full-fledged contributor to the 58 Billion Dollar Plus wedding industry (IBISWorld)? Then these 12 tips to NOT Save Money on the wedding are perfect for you.
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1. Get Hung Up On Designer Labels For Your Wedding Dress-You will be paying a premium for the name. It is quite possible to find a beautiful dress without the designer markup.
2. Choose The Specialty Papers, Colored Inks, and Special Inserts For Your Invitations and Programs-Want to really blow the wedding budget? Go for all the custom offerings. Looking to save some coin? Compare pricing and quality among local printers and online sources such as Minted Wedding Stationery & Decor and Wedding Paper Divas. The online stores generally provide a variety of coupon offers and you can order samples before placing your full order.
3. Have A Lot Of Bridesmaids And Groomsmen-More attendants means more boutonnières, bouquets, etc…
4. Select Exotic Or Out-Of-Season Flowers For Centerpieces and Bouquets-The rarer the blooms or more difficult to obtain, the more expensive.
5. Book The Ritzy Reception Venue-Places such as country clubs and hotel convention halls are expensive to rent and require you to use their catering services for food and beverages.
6. Go For The Open Bar-Cha Ching, Cha Ching! When the adult refreshments are free, they sure will flow. To keep costs down, limit the selections of drinks or opt for non-alcoholic offerings.
7. Opt For A Sit Down Meal At Your Reception– Why not select a wedding time, such as early afternoon, that will make serving cake, punch, and some hors d’ouevres great options.
8. Buy The Fancy Cake With Multiple Flavors and Many Layers-The more complicated and bigger the cake, the larger the cost. How about a smaller cake and an extra sheet cake for serving instead. A more economical option.
9. Book The 8-Piece Band To Entertain-Yes, sure it is fun to have a soon to be Grammy winning group ignite the crowd at your reception. If you feel the need for dancing though, why not go for a local DJ or pre-recorded sound mix instead.
10. Feel The Need to Give Pricey Favors To All Your Guests-What happened to the good ole mini bag of birdseed for guests to throw as the bride and groom are leaving the reception? Let’s face it, much of the time, wedding favors don’t get used once your guests leave the premise. If you want to save money, skip the personalized tea light holders, bottle openers, candy jars, wine cork stoppers, and more.
11. Make Sure That Your Special Day Is Not Only Photographed But Also Filmed And Made Into A Mini Motion Picture-Simple video footage from your ceremony and reception will not do when you can have luxury wedding cinematography instead. Because all your friends and family are going to want to watch your wedding over and over for years in movie format???
12. Decide A Two Week Honeymoon Trip To Fiji Is The Way to Go-Even if family members are helping to foot the bill, lots of unexpected expenses and enticing ways to spending extra money are sure to pop up along the way.
By following steps 1 through 12, you are likely to end up with the astronomically expense wedding that you and/or your relatives may be paying debt on for years to come. Or you can avoid these wedding spending traps, and have a beautiful wedding for a fraction of the cost.
For more Savings Tips:
Wedding Registry: What to Put On and Not
10 Wedding Gift Ideas That Are So Useful
Yes, having your wedding day turned into a mini motion picture is a must! lol. It always amazes me how much people spend on their weddings–we kept ours very simple and small and it was perfect! Thank you for sharing with us at Merry Monday!
It truly is astonding how much people will spend for one day.
I think you should just skip 1-11 and then take the two week honeymoon to Fiji instead. ;o)
Now that is some great thinking. Love it.
Brides get caught up in the whole thing and think everything revolves around their wedding. Remember, your wedding is one day. All the days before it are not also “your days”. Your wedding is the most important thing only to you. To everyone else (all of your guests) it’s just another day with a party to go to. All brides should keep this in mind: the ceremony is for the couple and the reception is for your guests. Tweak your ceremony however is special to you, but show your gratitude to your guests by giving them a great party to thank them. You will have your special things, but make it about them.