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    101 Ways to Save Money on Your Wedding
    101 Ways to Save Money on Your Wedding
    101 Ways to Save Money on Your Wedding
    Ebook240 pages2 hours

    101 Ways to Save Money on Your Wedding

    By Barbara Cameron

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    About this ebook

    Sure, engaged couples want the biggest day of their lives to be memorable and beautiful - but it also needs to be affordable. In this book, wedding-cost expert Barbara Cameron offers creative ideas for saving money and time, including how to: find affordable yet skilled wedding consultants; budget for a destination wedding; save money on catering and still have a delicious reception dinner; find bargains on a stunning wardrobe for the wedding party; make your own attractive floral arrangements and bouquets; lower the costs for out-of-town guests; have an unforgettable honeymoon - that newlyweds can afford; and more! This book is the handy tool that couples need in order to have the wedding of their dreams - without going bankrupt!
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherSimon & Schuster
    Release dateDec 17, 2008
    ISBN9781440520594
    101 Ways to Save Money on Your Wedding
    Author

    Barbara Cameron

      Barbara Cameron has a heart for writing about the spiritual values and simple joys of the Amish. She is the best-selling author of more than 40 fiction and nonfiction books, three nationally televised movies, and the winner of the first Romance Writers of America Golden Heart Award. Her books have been nominated for Carol Awards and the Inspirational Reader's Choice Award from RWA's Faith, Hope, and Love chapter. Barbara resides in Jacksonville, Florida.      

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      Book preview

      101 Ways to Save Money on Your Wedding - Barbara Cameron

      101 WAYS TO

      SAVE MONEY

      on Your

      WEDDING

      Barbara Cameron

      9781605506326_0002_001

      Copyright © 2009 Simon and Schuster

      All rights reserved.

      This book, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced in any form without permission from the

      publisher; exceptions are made for brief excerpts used in published reviews.

      Contains material adapted and abridged from The Everything® Weddings on a Budget Book,

      2nd Edition, by Barbara Cameron, copyright © 2007 Simon and Schuster.,

      ISBN 10: 1-59869-418-9, ISBN 13: 978-1-59869-418-5.

      Published by

      Adams Media, an imprint of Simon & Schuster, Inc.

      57 Littlefield Street, Avon, MA 02322. U.S.A.

      www.adamsmedia.com

      ISBN 10: 1-60550-632-X

      ISBN 13: 978-1-60550-632-6

      eISBN: 978-1-44052-059-4

      Printed in the United States of America.

      J I H G F E D C B A

      Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

      is available from the publisher.

      This publication is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information with regard to the subject matter covered. It is sold with the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering legal, accounting, or other professional advice. If legal advice or other expert assistance is required, the services of a competent professional person should be sought.

      —From a Declaration of Principles jointly adopted by a Committee of the American Bar Association and a Committee of Publishers and Associations

      This book is available at quantity discounts for bulk purchases.

      For information, please call 1-800-289-0963.

      Contents

      Introduction

      PART I: YOUR FIRST DECISIONS

      Chapter 1: Making a Budget

      1. Envision Your Wedding

      2. Build Your Priority List

      3. Give Yourselves Enough Time to Plan

      4. Working with Your Budget Team

      5. Determining Your Budget

      6. Provide an Extra Expenses Fund

      Chapter 2: Set the Foundation of Your Wedding Day

      7. Determine the Size of Your Wedding

      8. Set the Wedding Date

      9. Decide on the Location

      10. Working with a Wedding Coordinator

      11. Approach and Interview Vendors

      12. Get Smart about Contracts

      PART II: CHOOSE THE BEST SITES

      Chapter 3: Choose Your Ceremony Site

      13. Considering Different Types of Sites

      14. Think about Seasons and Timing

      15. Take It Outside

      16. Think about a Private-Home Wedding

      17. Plan a Destination Wedding

      Chapter 4: Find Your Perfect Reception Site

      18. Research Sites Well

      19. Look at Traditional Ballrooms

      20. Look at Church Reception Halls

      21. Look at Alternative Sites

      22. Consider an At-Home Reception

      23. Take Advantage of Seasonal Pricing

      24. Work with In-House Vendors and Their Rules

      PART III: PLANNING THE CELEBRATION

      Chapter 5: Plan for Smart Catering

      25. Think about Sit-Down Dinners

      26. Plan a Classic Cocktail Party

      27. Bet on Brunch

      28. Handle the Off-Site Caterer Issue

      29. Design Twists on Cheaper Foods

      30. Include Pricier Foods, but Smartly

      31. Choose DIY Menu Items

      Chapter 6: Designing Low-Cost Drinks

      32. Cheer for Champagne

      33. Set a Limited Bar Menu

      34. Set a Limited Bar Time

      35. Serve Nonalcoholic Drinks

      Chapter 7: Select Your Wedding Cake

      36. Choose a Simpler Design

      37. Decide on Low-Cost Flavors and Fillings

      38. Choose a Cake Topper

      39. Look for Cake Alternatives

      PART IV: CHOOSING YOUR WEDDING WARDROBE

      Chapter 8: Select Your Wedding Dress for Less

      40. Establish Your Style

      41. Know Where to Shop

      42. Consider Heirloom Dresses

      43. Borrow a Dress

      44. Investigate Online Sources

      45. Order a Custom-Made Gown

      46. Save Elsewhere

      47. Save on Alterations

      Chapter 9: Save on Accessories

      48. Save on Shoes

      49. Find an Inexpensive Headpiece and Veil

      Chapter 10: Set Your Beauty Budget

      50. Arrange a Trial Run

      51. Do Your Own Makeup

      Chapter 11: Money-Savers for the Groom and His Men

      52. Research Tuxedos

      53. Find Groom’s Discounts

      54. Save with Suits

      55. Decide on Informal Outfits

      Chapter 12: Buy Budget Bridesmaid Dresses

      56. Research Styles

      57. Take Advantage of Seasonal Sales

      58. Shop Prom Dresses and Formals

      59. Save Them Money on Shoes

      60. Find Budget-Friendly Accessories

      Chapter 13: Find Budget Deals for Child Attendants

      61. Shop Smart

      62. Add Twists to Their Party Clothes

      63. Find Bargains on Baskets and Pillows

      PART V: FIND SAVINGS ON WEDDING ESSENTIALS

      Chapter 14: Save on Invitations and Print Items

      64. Select Inexpensive Save-the-Dates

      65. Choose Less Expensive Invitations

      66. Order at Discount Sources

      67. Make Your Own Invitations

      68. Avoid Embellishments

      Chapter 15: Save on Flowers

      69. Trim Expenses with Your Floral Order

      70. Research Flowers

      71. Find Florist Savings

      72. Think Smaller

      73. Use Alternative Flowers

      74. Give Flowers Double-Duty

      75. Design Single-Flower Bouquets and Centerpieces

      76. Design Boutonnieres and Corsages for Less

      77. Plan for Kids’ Flowers

      78. Find Alternative Flower Sources

      79. Dream Up DIY Savings

      Chapter 16: Make Memorable Music

      80. Find Great Musicians

      81. Decide on a Deejay vs. a Band

      82. Depend on Your iPod Playlist

      83. Plan Personal Performances

      Chapter 17: Choose Transportation for Less

      84. Practice Limousine Smarts

      85. Look into Alternative Transportation

      86. Use Your Own Car

      Chapter 18: Arrange Photography and Videography for Less

      87. Get Referrals

      88. Choose Smaller Packages

      89. Skip Professional Albums

      90. Plan DIY Photos and Video

      Chapter 19: Finding Favors and Gifts on a Budget

      91. Find the Best Place to Shop

      92. Make Your Own Gifts

      PART VI: HANDLING ADITIONAL EXPENSES

      Chapter 20: Save Money on Extras

      93. Hand Out Tips

      94. Be Smart with Insurance

      95. Build Your Personal Wedding Website

      Chapter 21: Budgeting for Pre-Wedding Parties

      96. Build Your Guest Lists

      97. Plan an At-Home Party

      98. Explore Your DIY Options

      Chapter 22: Finding Honeymoon Savings

      99. Research Locations

      100. Go Off-Season

      101. Go All-Inclusive

      Resources

      Introduction

      Congratulations on your engagement! You’re about to enter the exciting time of planning your dream wedding, and you may already have some of your biggest wedding wishes in mind. You might also be concerned about what this wedding is going to cost. You’ve heard the statistics. The average wedding costs over $25,000, and that’s just the average wedding! Friends and family who have planned their own weddings recently may have struggled with their budgets, stressed about money, and perhaps even wound up eliminating some of their dream wedding elements. But this doesn’t have to happen to you!

      You might not be aware that there are many, many ways that you can plan your dream wedding for less money than you’d expect. All it takes is some insider information from the wedding industry, and you have that insider information right here in your hands! So you’re going to find out how to make choices that can save you 50 percent to 70 percent off your purchases. You’re going to find out where to search for the perfect wedding gown, sites, photographers, videographers, entertainers, and more. And you’ll find out exactly how to time your searches to earn even bigger discounts.

      When you follow the tips in this book, you may be able to get your dream wedding for half the price or get twice the wedding for your available budget! You won’t have to sacrifice quality or the most important parts of your day, and you’ll soon find that looking for bargains is actually fun . . . and can become a group activity when your friends and family help you find the perfect resources.

      In the end, you’ll achieve your dream wedding without any of your guests knowing where you cut corners, where you got creative, and where you made better choices for your budget. And most importantly, you’ll be among the brides and grooms who enjoy their wedding planning process, because you won’t be frightened or stressed about making expensive mistakes with your wedding planning. Warnings are included here to save you from the most common budget missteps.

      Ready to start planning for less? Let’s get started.

      PART I

      Your First Decisions

      CHAPTER 1

      Making a Budget

      Which comes first, the wedding vision or the budget? That’s entirely up to you! When building a wedding budget, as overwhelming as that can be, start with a vision of your dream wedding, and then make the financial decisions based on how to achieve that vision. You might want to look first at your available money, and then decide on the elements of the wedding based on what you can comfortably afford. When you’re just starting out on your wedding plans, you will most likely find that wedding expenses are way more costly than you expected, and you may—at first—consider cutting some of your most wished-for wedding elements out of your big day. You would have loved to have a designer gown, for instance, but how could you possibly get one on such a modest budget? Before you make any decisions or rule any plan out of your wedding dream, start first with the big decisions that are going to shape your wedding planning experience. You may find that you have more money to work with than you thought—such as with parents’ contributions—or that your partner agrees with you on not wanting a $5,000 wedding cake . . . so you can certainly afford that designer gown now! These first few steps are designed to get you talking about your financial constraints and freedoms, your priorities, and who’s going to help you bring your wedding dream to life.

      1. Envision Your Wedding

      Knowing what each of you wants is the first step in planning your wedding. Do you envision a big, formal wedding with a sea of roses, a five-course dinner, and an orchestra, or a more modest, informal outdoor wedding with you in a sundress holding a bouquet of wildflowers? Does your fiancé want a small wedding with just family? Or does he want to take the family off to Hawaii for a tropical fantasy wedding? Before you can make any wedding plans, and start to talk about paying for them, be sure you’re united in your vision for the big day, or that you have mapped out where each of you will compromise your expectations to suit the other’s wishes.

      These steps will determine how and where you spend your money. Imagine what a relief it would be if both of you want an under-fifty-person guest list! Imagine how thrilling it would be when you both say, Sit-down dinners aren’t really what I have in mind and realize that you can save 70 percent off the reception by planning a brunch or luncheon. It’s only through discussing your wedding wishes that you can start the process off with big victories for your budget. You might begin thousands of dollars ahead of the game! That is, if you can agree on your wedding vision. Be prepared for wedding planning to require communication and compromise. It’s a genuine team effort. So have a detailed discussion of how big a wedding you want, how formal, and any wished-for wedding elements, so that you can find beautiful ways to get those things for less.

      Your smartest first step is to sit down together in front of your home computer and surf the Internet, visiting your favorite wedding websites and the sites for your favorite bridal magazines. Grooms say they enjoy looking at photos with their brides, and this initial evening of idea-hunting often turns into a few dozen printouts of reception styles, menu plans, wedding cake images, and other wedding vision–defining graphics. While looking at these photos and printing them out to show to your future vendors, take notes on what you want, what you don’t want, where you can use an idea that’s a no for him in another party such as your bridal shower, and also talk about what you saw and experienced at other weddings that you do or don’t want for your own Big Day. Again, establish right now that you don’t want the things other couples spend thousands of dollars on, like a sit-down dinner with lobster tails, filet mignon, and endless sushi bar, and a raw bar to rival most Oscars™ parties. No, that’s so not for me! will free you from the high-end menu and you’ll also find out your partner agrees. That’s the best way to start forming your realistic budget.

      BRIDAL BONUS In wedding budgets, there is the reception, and then there is everything else. The reception can cost up to 60 percent of the total budget. This includes the price of renting the reception hall or space itself as well as providing food and beverages for your guests.

      2. Build Your Priority List

      Ask yourselves which features of the wedding are important to you. Each of you should make a list of your most wished-for wedding elements and then star the two or three items that you feel are the most important to you, the ones you’d be willing to spend a larger chunk of your budget on. Is it the ceremony itself? The reception? The wedding dress? Flowers? Think about it. Star those high-priority items. Number them, if you wish to rank them further. And then compare your two lists to see how your priorities measure up. How closely do

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