How to Save Money on Weddings

How to Save Money on Videographer and Photographer

2008-08-26T22:36:00.000-07:00

If you are very limited on the budget and can only choose one, ask yourself, how many times will you see the photos versus how many time will you view the DVD. There you go.

Top Money Saving Secrets on Selecting Videographer and Photographer

1. Get married any other time than Saturday evening. Many photographer offer discounted packages for weddings held during Saturday afternoon or any other time of the week. Savings typically range from 10% to 20%. However, some photographers charge extra to work on Sundays for personal reasons.

2. Skip the extra frills. Skip the frames, albums, sitting fee, gift folios, etc. You can have them framed somewhere else, and print them yourselves to give to family members.

3. Choose a photographer who will give you the negatives. Some photographer won't release the negatives to you, and this is unacceptable. Why wouldn't you have access to your own pictures? You will spend so much money on reprints because the photographer will charge you for it.

4. Hire a professional for the ceremony only. Then let your guests or amateur photographer/videographer friend take pictures/videos during your reception. Many couples don't realize that photographers offer a ceremony-only (two hours or less) package. For example, a ceremony only photographer service cost $500 for an hour, but the complete package is $1500. That's a saving of $1000! Note though that some studios might assign less-experienced photographer to shoot the inexpensive packages.

5. Read the contract fine print. Be aware of "service fee", "delivery fee" and "reprint/duplicate fee". Avoid those fees, and if not possible, negotiate.

6. Be aware of cost of photographer/videographer who has a fancy office. Fancy office = lots of money to maintain = more cost to customer, which is you.

How to Save Money After the Wedding

2008-08-26T22:16:00.000-07:00

Now that your wedding celebration is over, the marriage begins. The reality hits. You begin to slightly regret all the money you spent on your wedding. You compensate for the regret, justifying it because it only happens once in your lifetime. It's OK. You can still save money after the wedding.

Money Saving Secrets After the Wedding

1. Choose thank you notes made of heavy paper. Even though the design is simple, if the paper is heavy, the receiver automatically think that the stationery is expensive.

2. Sell your wedding dress. Once the wedding is over, you will have no further use of the dress. Take pictures of it, then bring it to a reputable dry cleaner with experience in cleaning wedding dresses, and don't open it again. You might get the best price if you advertise it with the veil. Everybody likes a bargain, and a veil is an inexpensive addition to help drive up interest in your dress. Tip: if you buy a designer dress at a good price, you can recoup your WHOLE investment. One bride sold her dress (that she got at a sample sale for 70% off) and obtained 90% of her investment!

3. Take advantage of your available line of credit. You will notice that in a few weeks after your wedding, all the final charges from the vendors will start showing in your credit card statements. At this time, don't pay only the minimum amount required. It means that all outstanding balance will automatically assessed the high interest fee. If you don't have the funds to pay all of your balance in full, a safer option is to take advantage of a credit line. Some credit card companies offer thousands of dollars of your available credit line for a 3% transaction fee and low APR (0% - 5%) for a period of time. Use the money to pay off the balance of your cards. Make sure to save enough money to pay off the credit line when the balance is due.

4. Be selective with wedding gifts you keep. If you're lucky enough to get large amount of gift certificates, sell them on Ebay for cash. Why buy a $40 coriander at Bed Bath and Beyond if you can get the same thing for $12.99 at Marshalls?

5. That cake stand/table linens/champagne glasses is worth something. To be able to sell them, don't order them engraved. Many brides order engraved champagne flutes and cake servers, but with your names on them, you won't be able to sell them, so order them plain.

How to Save Money on Wedding Favors

2008-08-26T22:00:00.001-07:00

They are the cute little things that you go ga-ga for, until you realize that they have no practical use. They are pretty, that's for sure. They match your wedding color theme, that's also true. If you say they're cheap, you're incorrect. Add 100 or 200 of these favors, it'll add up to hundreds of dollars.

Top Money Saving Secrets on Wedding Favors

1. Buy items that are lightweight and/or non-bulky. Why? Because it's cheaper to ship, and therefore you pay less for shipping. If you think that since you buy them in store, and therefore don't need to pay for shipping, it's the same thing. The transport cost from the factory to the store is more for bulky/heavy items.

2. Buy favor boxes only and fill with your favorite candy. You can buy cheap wedding favors for $1, but the quality reflects the price as well. Why not buy a nice box, and then fill them with candy or chocolate beans? Absolute Wedding Store sells boxes for less than a dollar, and the candy doesn't cost that much. The result is a great wedding favor that everybody will enjoy.

3. Buy multifunctioned wedding favors. For example, buy pretty place cards that double as photo frame. Or mini candleholders you can put on the reception table that guests can take home as favors.

How to Save Money On Wedding Caterers

2008-08-26T11:47:00.000-07:00

There are two types of wedding caterers: On-premise or off-premise caterers.
On-premise caterers are catering operations that exclusively provide the catering for a site, such as hotels or country clubs. Most of these sites won't allow outside or off-premise caterers.

Off-premise caterers bring in food to another site. They can provide just the food or coordination of the entire event. They can provide services like decorating (table centerpieces, table skirting, etc) and consulting.

Top Money Saving Secrets for Wedding Caterers:

1. Consider serving ethnic food. Surprisingly, Asian, Mexican and barbecue food are crowd pleasers and fortunately to you, are around 20%-40% less than traditional wedding fare. You can dress up the buffet table with a pasta station, for example, to give some flair to the reception. Serve margaritas to accompany Mexican food, etc.

2. Pick a site where you can bring in an outside caterer. Not only outside caterers often offer higher quality food, they also charge lower. They don't charge a $1 per person for cake cutting (what a ridiculous charge!) like a lot of reception site. Often they let you buy your own liquor - a significant saving on cost. Bottom line: they provide more food and beverage for the dollar.

3. Tell the reception site that you're having a reunion, as opposed to weddings. You might have to come clean later, but this way, the reception manager will then give you the price list for the regular fare, as opposed to often-inflated wedding menus. This way, you have more room to negotiate.

4. Serve beer in a keg or wine in a box. A keg of beer is equal to approximately seven cases of beer. Don't worry that a keg will give your reception the ambiance of a college frat party. Most caterers can hide the keg behind the bar and use a system to draw the beer. With boxed wines, it can be poured into carafes. You'll save about 50% with this trick.

5. Buy your champagne on December 30th. Liqour stores often do champagne sales right before New Year's Eve and raise the prices the first day of new year. Buy it in advance and save! Tip: Save the champagne in a cool, dark place around 55 degrees. They should not be refrigerated until just before the reception.

6. Buy magnum size wine bottle. Magnum size is twice the size of regular wine bottle, therefore you save on corkage fees, and you save on the wine cost itself since price per ounce is less than regular sized wine.

7. Serve only one drink. You can choose between one signature drink (a margarita, a mojito etc), one champagne toast, or one kind of wine.

8. Consider a non-traditional time. Luncheon reception is less expensive than dinner reception. Dessert or hors d'oeuvres receptions are getting popular, and certainly cheaper than a Saturday dinner reception. Guests have their dinner already, and they are looking forward to a fabulous dessert reception to finish their night. In case of hors d'oeuvres reception, you can hold it at two in the afternoon, when guests already have lunch and won't be expecting a sit down meal.

9. Know your food. Certain food items are expensive, like beef tenderloin and shrimp. A more affordable option is chicken. A lot of caterers have delicious recipes for chicken that are affordable but scrumptious as well. Another way to save is not to choose food items that are labor extensive, such as appetizers that require painstaking labor to assemble, such as "hand sliced peking duck slices with green onions and sauce in a thin bread", in which the appetizer needs to be assembled before handed out to guests. This item takes longer to prepare and as a result, more expensive.

10. Have the caterer's staff serve buffet and hors d'oeuvres. This will control the amount of food served (and therefore, control cost). When guests serve themselves, the food always seems to go much quicker.

11. Buy your own liquor, if possible. Buy them in wholesale prices in several cases and save. You'll save, your guests are happy. The end. PS: chill them prior to reception.

How to Save Money on Wedding Reception Site

2008-08-25T20:29:00.000-07:00

Get your wedding stuff for less at www.AbsoluteWeddingStore.com

The reception (and the catering) is the biggest chunk of your wedding budget, so if you save here, you'll seriously save big bucks.

Top Money Saving Secrets on Wedding Reception Sites

1. Consider City Sites. City sites can be the most affordable wedding reception sites you can find. It's a blessing for wedding couples that most cities are not trying to make a killing on weddings. A library, a nice clubhouse in a park can be rented for cheap. Just bring a caterer. Obviously, the ambiance of these city sites is different than a luxury hotel, but for great bargains, why not?

2. Choose a site where you can bring a caterer. There are plenty of sites that allow you to bring an "off-site" caterer. Often, this is when you can find big savings.

3. Consider an off-peak time of the week or year. Everyone wants to get married on a Saturday on summer months. Pick a time with less competition, like Friday or Sunday weddings, and you can enjoy substantial savings.

4. Consider a fancy restaurant. A fancy restaurant with a nice banquet room might be a great choice. Or, you can book the whole restaurant if you'd like. A great tip: tell them it is for a birthday party or for a reunion to get a less expensive quote.

5. Have a reception lunch or brunch instead of dinner. The biggest expensive of most receptions is catering, and the most expensive meal to serve is dinner. Wedding lunches or brunches are often more affordable, and due to this, they're getting more popular.

6. Consider a dessert or an hors d'oeuvres reception. These options are increasingly popular now. Make sure you have a wide array of scrumptious desserts or delectable hors d'oeuvres so your guests won't go hungry. Make sure to word the type of reception clearly in your invitation (i.e. Dessert Reception following), so guests won't have the wrong reception idea.

7. Consider renting somebody's home or even your own home. Be aware that you might have to rent chairs, tables, etc and this might add to the tab. Of course, the savings you will have in other areas (catering, wine etc) will bring the expense down.

How to Save Money on Wedding Invitations

2008-08-25T19:54:00.000-07:00

Buying wedding invitations is similar to buying a meal at an a la carte restaurant. In other words, everything is priced separately, just like the appetizer, salad, entree and dessert is priced separately, invitations are just like that. The invitation itself doesn't include response cards, the envelopes for response cards, direction card, fellum, ribbon, etc. Fortunately, the invitation price itself does include the envelopes.

Average total costs for wedding invitations can range from $100 to .. the sky, actually. Some wedding couples are so extravagant with their wedding invitations that they create a custom one similar to a chocolate box, complete with a piece of chocolate inside!

Top Money Saving Secrets on Wedding Invitations

1. Print your own invitations. Many stores offer preprinted wedding invitations, in which the wedding invitations are printed with the designs and colors but they are blank. They come with instructions and test papers handy. With a jet printer, you can design and print your own wedding invitations for cheap. A nice package of 50 invitations and envelopes are sold for $50 at Absolute Wedding Store.com

2. Choose Thermographed invitations instead of engraved. Thermography is used to simulate engraving, but less expensively (by up to 50%). Both of the process will result in raised printing, which is the end result you'd like.

3. Skip the Extras. Instead of ordering separate reception cards, consider printing "Reception Following" at the bottom of your invitation. Also, skip invitation linings and response cards if you need them. Skip the matching thank you cards -- nobody will remember what your invitation looks like, so buy inexpensive thank you cards instead.

4. Buy an embosser with your return address instead of paying extra to have them printed. An embosser will cost you about $10, and you can use them again and again.

5. To save on postage, don't buy an oversized invitation or square invitation. Also, heavier invitations will be more expensive to mail. Keep this in mind when choosing your invitations.

6. Check Ebay for cheaper invitation alternatives. Some sellers only charge around $100 for 75 invitations and envelopes and RSVP cards. That's a pretty good deal!

7. Use postcard as RSVP cards. Postcards do not need an envelope to mail, and the postage costs less than regular mail.

How to Save Money On Wedding Flower Decoration and Centerpieces

2008-08-25T19:00:00.000-07:00

Your personal taste is the key here, and if you're lucky to find a florist who understands a couple's individuality and willing to work within your budget, consider yourselves lucky. There are three kinds of flowers you are buying:
- Bouquets and Boutonnieres, including the bride's and bridesmaid's bouquets, corsages for mothers and the bridal party, and boutonnieres for the groom, groomsmen and the bridal party.
- Ceremony site flowers, including altar flowers, aisle flower arrangements, flower petals to throw on the aisle runner and pew markers.
- Reception site flowers, including flowers on guest book table, table centerpieces (including head table, buffet table and individual guest tables), cake table, and other areas on the venue.
- Miscellaneous flowers, including flowers used in engagement parties, rehearsal dinner and other pre-wedding parties.

Money Saving Secrets on Wedding Flowers:

1. Find Great Values on Seasonal and Regional Flowers. For example, in California, certains orchids and other tropicals grown locally may be available at affordable prices. Seasonality often affects local prices. For example, tulips are abundant from December through February and as such as fairly inexpensive. If you are getting married in July and want to save costs on flowers, consider getting flowers that are in season in that month.

2. Avoid exotic flowers. A flower considered exotic in one region might be native to one region, so be knowledgable when using this term. For example, in the Southwest, Lilies of the Valley are very expensive and difficult to find, yet in the northern part of the US, they are commonly found and therefore priced reasonably. However, Dutch tulips are exotic to most US people.

3. Avoid a wedding date near Valentine's Day or the Holiday season. All roses are outrageously priced in February thanks to Valentine's Day, so if you want roses, don't plan your wedding around that time. December is an expensive time to buy fresh flowers since the demand from Christmas and other events are high, therefore driving up the price.

4. Mix and match fresh flowers with silk flowers. Silk flowers are a less expensive option. However, if done by an florist, their charge for labor may not be worth silk flowers at all. A more smart option is to use silk flowers for reception decoration, especially the decoration on the gazebo or somewhere high or out of reach, where people cannot see in detail or touch them. Use fresh flowers for your bouquets and table decorations, but use silk flowers anywhere else, and you'll save!

5. Limit the number of attendants. This is very simple, really. The more attendants, the more flowers, the higher the cost. If one bridesmaid's bouquet cost $80, you can calculate yourselves how much you'll save by only having a few bridesmaids.

6. Reuse the flower arrangements. Move altar arrangements and pew decorations to the reception sites (there might be a small delivery fee). The bridesmaid's bouquets can also be used to decorate the cake and guest book table.

7. Split the floral decorations for ceremony site. Ask the ceremony site if there's another couple having another wedding scheduled for the same day, and split the cost. One bride found out about two other couples getting married in the same church, so the flower reception decorations were split three ways.

8. Pick a color scheme and let your florist work with it. This way, you allow the florist to buy the most affordable flowers available the week of your wedding. There's a catch, though, you must trust your florist to go this route. If you don't like certain flowers, communicate this with your florist beforehand, but do try to be flexible.

9. Consider other vegetation varieties, such as green bamboos arranged tastefully. If your theme color is green, then you'll have limitless green vegetations to work with. With the help of a florist, you can create a wonderful green theme wedding decorations.

10. Check your local horticultural school. Some school will arrange for their students to work on your flowers for a low cost, maybe even free. You still have to pay for your flowers though, and they'll lend their services at a low cost. One tip: be nice to them. It doesn't mean that it's a priviledge to work on your wedding for extra credit. You get their service, and they should be compensated accordingly as well.

11. Check Costco. This giant retailer sells bouquets of flowers, boutonnieres, centerpieces etc as complete sets starting from around $200. Go to www.costco.com --> flowers --> weddings. These flowers come already packaged and ready to use, so you don't have to hire a florist anymore. You might have to pay more if you're not a member.

12. Consider working with an independent florist. Florist on the rise, or florist who work part time, is coincidentally a friend, or florist who works based on recommendation only can be a great money saver. Be careful of florists who charge a consulation fee. Most florists don't charge any consultation fee and you might want to talk to them first. Check craigslist.org for the listing.

How to Save Money On Wedding Ceremony Sites

2008-08-25T18:45:00.000-07:00

During the popular wedding season (May-September), start your search for your ceremony site as soon as you have selected a date. Prime sites and dates can book up to a year in advance, since everybody seems to want to get married on a Saturday in June. However, know that popular months vary by region. In the South, December is a popular month. In Arizona and many areas of the desert Southwest, the spring months (February until April) are more popular than the hot summer months. Be aware that religious restrictions may rule out certain times of the year. For example, Catholics and Greek Orthodox avoid marrying during Lent in March. Jews don't have weddings during the High Holy Days (usually in September or October).

Top Money Saving Secrets on Wedding Ceremony Sites

1. Consider a Civic Site. Many sites run by your city (parks, rose gardens etc) have lovely facilities available for wedding ceremonies. Best of all: most of these sites are available for only a small fee. For example, some rose gardens and historical parks (complete with gazebo or chapel) in many cities cost under $200. The down side: their affordability often makes these sites very popular.

2. Consider Becoming a Member. Many churches charge less for weddings of members than non-members. If you are planning to settle down in the town where your wedding is, consider joining the church where you'll be married.

3. Ask About Any Discounts. For example, some churches and synagogues offer discounts on wedding invitations as a fund raiser.

How to Save Money on Bridesmaid's Dress

2008-08-25T18:23:00.000-07:00

How to Save Money on Bridesmaids' Gowns

Few brides realize, but many bridesmaids, while genuinely happy for you, dread the cost of being a bridesmaid. Dresses, shoes, jewelry, makeup, wedding shower, wedding gifts... it's not cheap to become a bridesmaid. As a considerate bride, you can ease their burden by following our money saving tips from bridesmaids below:

1. Consider Cheap (but not trashy) Bridesmaids' Gowns Stores like J Crew and Ann Taylor sells nice dresses that can be worn as bridesmaids gowns. One bride even took advantage of Forever 21's dress sale for $15 a piece. These dresses come in 4 colors and she chose the pink one. With only $15 price tag, her bridesmaids must be the happiest bridesmaids around.

2. Take Advantage of Holiday and Summer Sale. You might get a great price if you wait until summer season ends or just after the holidays, where retailers are getting rid of their dresses to make room for new stock. When it happens, swoop in! That's when it pays to plan ahead and be patient.

3. Take Advantage of Rewards, Rebates Program, Free Shipping and Extra Discount. Remember, if you buy dresses online, get rebates and extra rewards by utilizing ebates.com or by shopping through the rebate link of your credit card. For example, Discover card offers up to 5% for retail purchases, by going to discovercard.com/shop. Before finalizing your purchase, search for free shipping codes or extra discount codes. One bride fell in love with a dress from Banana Republic that she wanted it for her bridesmaid dress. She got a 5% rebate from her credit card, then got a free shipping code and extra discount. In the end, she paid only $67 each for dresses that retail for $185 each. Is this smart shopping or what?

4. Negotiate Lower Prices When Buying in Bulk. Some things, like bridesmaids' jewelry and bridesmaid's shoes, can be negotiated. A buyer recently called us at Absolute Wedding Store, she wanted to inquire whether we give a discount if she bought 18 pairs of bridesmaid's shoes. After overcoming our shock at the number of bridesmaid's she was having, we gladly told her that we can give her an extra 5% discount, free dye job (she wanted a specific color for the shoes) and free shipping. At the end, she saved over $100.

How to Save Money on Wedding Dress

2008-08-25T18:21:00.001-07:00

Top Money Saving Secrets Every Bride Must Know

One bride spent $5000 on her dress, another one plunked down close to $6500 for her dress. Wow! Are these brides rich or just infatuated with the idea of a one day princess?

With prices of wedding gowns keep increasing year by year, a bride must know how to find good deals and save money on her wedding gown. Here are some tips how.

1. Consider "Custom Designing". If you fall in love with a gown that cost a lot (let's say: a Reem Acra dress that retails for $7000), consider having a local seamstress create a copy of the style. There are many brides who love the luxury gowns high-end designers create but are reluctant to let go that much cash. It's understandable and totally normal. Talented seamstress can save you a lot of money this way. Why? First, a seamstress has access to wholesale fabric prices, that means they can buy silk, lace and other fabrics at a discount, then pass the savings to you. Secondly, there are no costly alterations - because your wedding gown is designed to fit.

Of course a seamstress's talents are not cheap, but the result can be striking. One bride had a seamstress made her dress to copy a Vera Wang gown, and saved over $4000 in the end. The dress retailed for $6000, and her seamstress charged only $1850.

2. Check the Internet. There are a lot of bargains out there, you just have to find it. You can find it on Ebay, craigslist, Ecrater, etc. There are a lot of brides selling their wedding dresses on Ebay for a fraction on their retail prices. If you really want to save money, buy a pre-owned dress, wear it, then sell it again and recoup your investment. Of course, you have to be extra careful with it and invest in a good cleaner service to preserve the condition of the dress.

3. Order a Bridesmaid's or a Special Occassions Gown. Most brides don't know, but many bridesmaids' gowns can be ordered in white. For a less formal wedding (or if your taste is simpler), you can buy a bridesmaid's gown for around $300. Designers like Jim Hjelm, Faviana and Maggie Sottero offer fabulous, beautiful bridesmaid's gowns that are perfect for less formal wedding reception such as cocktail or afternoon receptions.

4. Consider Elaborate Veil. Many brides spend too much on their dress and end up wearing a simple veil. How about the other way around? Buy a simple, less expensive gown, and wear a beautiful, lace edge mantilla veil. Or a veil embroidered with crystals. An elaborate wedding dress can cost thousands, but an elaborate veil can lend you an "expensive" look without the price. The French Lace mantilla veil from Absolute Wedding Store, for example, retails for around $200, but it looks like a thousand bucks.

5. Buy a Sample Gown. Bridal shops often sell their "samples" throughout the year at substantial discounts from retail. Most gowns are marked down at least 50%, some even more. Since shops sell most their gowns by special order, they need a sample to demonstrate how a gown look on a person, so these samples eventually need to be get rid of. Check your local paper, the Internet for when and where the sample sales are. I have a friend who bought her $5500 Reem Acra wedding gown for $1500 and another friend who bought her $3500 Vera Wang gown for only $1700.

6. Save money on Accessories. If you buy your dress at a bridal boutique, negotiate that they throw in a veil for free. That can mean a saving of up to $200. If a veil is already included, negotiate for a headpiece for free. There's always room for negotiation, so always negotiate. You should always negotiate nicely. No one wants to accommodate a rude person.

7. Save money on Alterations. Ask if the bridal salon you buy your dress from is giving you free alterations. If they charge high price for alterations, you can always take your dress to another seamstress that charges less.

8. Get discounts on packages. If you order your gown and bridesmaid dresses from the same store, they might give you a discount. The discount is negotiable, so ask. However, be aware that some bridal shops mark up the bridesmaids' dresses before discount, so you end up not getting a discount at all.
So know your prices.

9. Order early and avoid rush fees. Bridal salons frequently charge you "rush fee" when you order your dress with less than 2 or 3 months before your wedding. This rush fees can be tremendeous in amount, it may raise the price of the dress 10% or more. Don't delay in choosing your dress and avoid paying more.

10. Don't go to major shoe retailers like shoebuy, amazon, especially zappos. They spend a lot of money on advertising and as a result, the prices of the shoes skyrocket. Go to the bridal shoe section of Absolute Wedding Store where the bridal shoes are sold for at least 10% of their competitors.