A wedding reception can easily become the biggest expense of the whole wedding day if you are not careful. Luckily, making some smart decisions can keep the costs down and the budget on track. Take a look at these 7 Ways to Save Money On Wedding Reception.
1. Pick The Right Time of Day-Mid-afternoon is a great time to hold your wedding reception because you avoid having to provide a full meal. Cake, punch, and some finger foods will do just fine.
2. The Venue Matters A Whole Lot-Putting on a reception at the church social hall vs. the country club can mean tremendous difference in costs. At a country club or any facility that does its own catering, you have to pay for use of the venue, food service, and food costs. Even a bowl of mixed nuts is not cheap at the country club. Many facilities have minimum purchase policies.
In addition to church social halls, some other alternatives for wedding reception sites are a lodge in a park, a civic club’s building, at a museum, a party barn, or under tents in a pretty backyard.
3. Find A Reception Site Where You Have Flexibility In Food Providers-As mentioned above, picking a wedding reception site that also requires you to use its catering services is generally one of the more expensive ways to go. When you have freedom to shop around, you have much more power to negotiate pricing. You also have the ability to work with loved ones and friends who are willing to prepare some of the food for you, thereby potentially saving even more money.
4. Your Wedding Reception Does Not Have To Look Like A Floral Show-Watch some of the “reality” television wedding shows for any length of time and you will begin to believe that no wedding reception is complete without thousands of flowers dangling from every surface possible. Sure, when done right this can be breathtaking both visually and dollar total wise, but it is certainly not necessary to have a beautiful reception. Simple, creative. and budget-friendly decor can be a much better way to go.
Picking a theme can be a great to get your creative juices flowing. For example, a movie lover might consider decorating around a beloved romance movie theme. A travel lover around remembrance of some of the places visited. Pinterest is a wonderful place to get some inspiration if you need it.
5. Your Wedding Cake Does Not Have To Be The Greatest Work of Art Ever Created-Once again, simple can be beautiful and much less expensive. The more sculpting work, towering layers, exotic flavors, and decorative details that the wedding cake has, the greater the cost. Also, I have noticed over the years, that most people tend to remember a wedding cake that tasted good, over one that looked like a blinged out skyscraper.
6. If You Want Music At Your Reception, Put Technology To Work For You-Today, you can find high quality speakers that hook to mobile phones, iPads, and other devices for very reasonable prices. Download a selection of songs from iTunes or put together a collection at Amazon. Amazon offers Amazon Prime members access to 2 million plus songs. Or you can Try Amazon Music Unlimited 30-Day Free Trial
If you don’t like this option, shop around for a DJ with good recommendations or reviews who can do the job.
7. Actively Manage Your Invite List-The size of your invite list can easily get out of control if you don’t pay careful attention to it. Start with family and close friends and move up carefully in size on your invite list from there. Don’t let yourself feel pressured into inviting every acquaintance that you have to the wedding.
By following these time-tested tips for saving money on the wedding reception, you can put on a great celebration without the hefty cost.
For More Money Saving Wedding Tips:
7 Easy Ways To Save Money on Wedding Dresses
Wedding Registry: What To Put On And Not
Great ideas – pinning!
Thanks so much.