100 Money Saving Ideas For Your Wedding Part I

Accessories: -Borrow or rent a cake knife and serving set. -Decorate the top of your cake with fresh flowers. -Make your own bridal purse. -Make or borrow a ring pillow. Accommodation - Honeymoons: Most hotels offer discounts when a block of rooms are reserved. However you will most likely be asked to leave a deposit on your credit card to hold them. Also ask what number of rooms will fall below your reserved block and therefore make you ineligible for the discounted rate. GET THIS IN WRITING!! Also, make sure you find out what the cancellation policy is. Usually it is 24 hrs prior to day of arrival. Choose a local location, or one nearby. Book as far in advance as possible to get the best travel rates. Attire: Bridesmaids may be able to pick their own dresses. Buy a ready-to-wear ankle or tea length dress that needs no alterations. Buy your wedding gown on sale. If possible purchase gown and bridesmaids dresses etc. together for a discount. Search our classifieds for wedding gowns at bargain prices Consider the option to rent your gown. Order the men's formal wear at a shop that provides the groom's tux free, or at a discount. Have the men that will be wearing tuxes all order from the same shop, with the more orders they receive for the same event, many offer 1 or more free tux rentals. Ceremony: Reduce the number of bridesmaids. Purchase silver wedding bands now and plan to upgrade to platinum on your first anniversary. Consultants Wedding consultants may charge a fee, but they can likely get discounts on services you can not, so they will more than pay for themselves in savings. For example our website alone has hundreds of money saving tips, links, and discounts. Decorations: Carry a small bouquet or one flower with stems wrapped with ribbon and or tulle. Do your own floral arrangements and decorating. See if any of your friends are “floristy” creative and get them to help you the day before the wedding. Use a flower that will float in a shallow bowl as centerpieces for the tables (possibly adding mirrors under the bowl, candles or greenery around bowl or floating candles in the bowl) Consider the natural foliage if ceremony/reception is outside. Remember that 5-10% of the average wedding budget is spent on flowers. Diamonds: Use the four C's to choose your stone Decide before you begin your search which of the four c’s is most important to you. In choosing one particular “c” over the other, you may need to sacrifice (for example, the “rock” may not be as clear or have a slight yellow tinge). Study your information on stones before you walk into a jeweler. Be informed and let the jeweler know what you want, do not be pressured into what they think you need. Buy what you can afford We have all heard the suggestion of paying two months salary for the engagement ring. Remember, it is just that…a suggestion. Do not rush into a decision. Visit several jewelers, look at as many stones as you need to. Decide on what you can spend before you walk into the jewelry store and be upfront about the price you can spend. Remind the jeweler of your price range if diamonds that exceed it are being presented. Negotiate No price is set in stone (excuse the pun). Mall stores and retailers may have their prices considerably marked up. As has already been mentioned above, a jeweler may typically mark up his merchandise by up to 300%. There should be plenty of room for negotiation. You may like to begin the process by cutting the list price in half. A store directly affiliated with a Gem Society may have a fixed set of prices though. Be careful paying by cash A jeweler may offer you a better deal if you pay by cash. But be sure this doesn't mean you lose any guarantees on your purchase. He may be doing it under the table in which case you may have no recall if a problem was to arise. Financial Consider term deposits - CD's. Start saving early and set up an account that earns the highest interest. Other associated links - Finance Flowers: Outdoor wedding in garden can eliminate the need to purchase additional flowers. Use greenery such as trees and garlands of ivy to fill large areas. Choose a venue that needs little decoration. Be aware of local holidays/celebrations that may cause a demand on flowers and increase prices or make cheaper ones you need hard to get. Stay in season and avoid imported flowers. Substitute: Could you substitute flowers for colorful balloons in some circumstances? Creativity: With some creative rearranging you could reuse your ceremony flowers at your reception. Share: Find out if another bride will be using the venues on your day, and if at all practical, arrange to share the expense. Economize: Rather than large expensive bouquets and arrangements, choose smaller elegant ones. Alternate: Put a small arrangement on one table, alternating it with a tall bouquet on the next and so on. Plants: Use plants on guest tables (heather in moss-covered containers; ivy in pots wrapped in tulle) instead of more expensive cut flowers. Invitations: Although you may get 3 or 4 quotes for Stationery and printing costs, be sure if you choose the cheapest quote, that the finished product will be acceptable to you. Ask for samples and a guarantee yours will be the same quality. If the cost of engraving is prohibitive, consider having the invitations thermo graphed. For an informal wedding have guests RSVP by phone to save on return envelopes and printing Where possible if it is not time consuming, deliver invitations personally rather than posting. Include the reception information on the invitation as oppose to sending separate response cards. Order invitations that will require only one stamp standard stamp. Order invitations that are of regular letter size to avoid large envelope postage fees. Order at least 25 more invitations and envelopes than you think you will need (for momentous, to cover mistakes in addressing, re-mailing to a current address, to cover last-minute "must haves"). It's much more expensive to reorder than to order more than you need at the beginning. Music: Have a friend play an instrument for the ceremony. Use taped music with a friend as the disc jockey (have a tape with all music in order of how it should be played already made up). Dj's/Disc Jockeys usually cost less than a band. Solo or duet will likely cost less than a 4 or 5 piece band. Does the venue have a resident Dj or band at discounted prices? Entertainers will almost always cost more on a Saturday Night. If you are having an afternoon wedding ask the entertainment for a discount if you can finish by 5-6pm. This gives them time to go to another function starting at 7-8pm. They will almost always say yes.

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