The Wedding Bailout: Money Saving Ideas for 2009

She’s back: Christian from Bella Dia Events was kind enough to contribute yet another phenomenal blog post. In this post she offers up her top ideas to trim a little “fat” from your wedding budget…

… notice she doesn’t say you should cut back on the photography.

The Wedding Bailout: Money Saving Ideas for 2009

By: Christian Wilkins, Bella Dia Events, LLC 719.331.2499

We cannot ignore that times are tough right now and if you are planning a wedding you may be daunted by the task. Many families have been financially affected and now is a good time to “shop smart” and be considerate of your guests. Here are some helpful hints at how to do just that:

~ Limit your guest list to save your family money on venue fees

~ Choose a venue that only charges a site fee and allows you to bring in your own caterer and liquor. You can often provide your own appetizers for the cocktail hour and can also control your food/beverage costs immensely by hiring caterers. The liquor mark up at venues is high, so being able to provide the liquor for your bar can be a huge money saver. Also work with liquor stores that will buy back unopened bottles.

~Have the pastry chef make a small wedding cake for you and your groom to cut and serve sheet cakes (to be cut in the kitchen) to your guests. Or the chef can make a “faux” cake that looks real and has an area of cake for you to cut but the rest is Styrofoam! You can then serve sheet cakes.

~Choose a color for your bridesmaid’s dresses and allow your attendants to find any style of dress in that color. Bridal fashion is expensive and this is a very considerate gesture to your bridesmaids.

~If you have been asked to be a part of anyone’s wedding then you know how the expenses can add up. Consider a “white elephant” bridal shower- your friends and family can give you gifts that are perhaps an “inside joke”. It’s fun and economical.

~Choose to print “no gifts please” as an insert for your invitations. Wouldn’t you rather have your close friends with you than have a gift from them? This helps offset the pressure that guest’s feel by attending a wedding.

~Just a reminder- if you have many out of town guests it is a good idea to get room blocks at a few different price ranges of hotels. This will give your guests a better deal on the room. FYI, there are many hotels that do not make you “guarantee the rooms” (translation: obligate you to pay for any rooms not booked by your guests), so if at first you don’t find hotels with flexible policies then keep calling around. Often they will waive this rule also if you ask them to do so.

~Instead of a dinner reception choose a lunch or brunch reception. Often less expensive. Also consider a day other than Saturday- Sundays and Fridays are becoming more popular wedding days and venues may charge less for those days. Likewise, dates outside of the “season” are often less expensive as venues are not as booked and more willing to negotiate.

~It is so lovely to have live music for the ceremony but an added expense.  Most churches/venues have a sound system that you can use to play recorded music. Your DJ can usually take care of ceremony music as well.

~Consider having your ceremony in a park or open space area rather than in a church. A permit will often be necessary (but inexpensive) and you will need to rent chairs but you will still save money in the long run.

~There are so many vacation condos and homes available for short term rental- do your research and you can find some great deals for your honeymoon instead of a pricey resort. Many of these alternatives are truly luxurious and a little leg work on your part could really pay off. Check out “Vacation Rentals by Owner (VRBO)”.

Hang in there! Remember that this process is supposed to be FUN!
There is a solution to every problem with a little creativity and “thinking outside the box”!