10 Money Saving Tips for Your Wedding
People in their mid to late 20’s organising weddings now never lived through the really hard times of the eighties like our parents had to. We are used to everything on demand. Jobs, money, holidays….for most, we have become an instant-gratification culture. Safe to assume this trend can only continue into how we plan our weddings. Costs of weddings have spiralled in the last 10 years, with people spending in excess of €20,000 on the day (and that’s not even considered unusual!)
However, with the economy starting to decline, it may be time for young couples to think sensibly about how to get the most out of their money and make more frugal decisions. Here’s 10 tips on how to save money on your wedding:
- Email out invitations. Not only will this save you on Stationary costs, it’s also ‘Eco-Friendly’. Plus you can guests to RSVP by return email or via a webpage, so you can track guest acceptance instantly instead of waiting on snail mail.
- The Dress (and bridesmaids’ dresses). For affordable options in Ireland, consider buying your dress second hand from one of the charity shops. More and more people are opting to recycle their dresses after their big day and you can get some beautiful gowns second hand nowadays. Check out Oxfam’s Bridal Department website @ www.oxfamireland.org/oxfambridal/about.htm. If you are handy with a sewing machine or have a reliable dressmaker you could alter the dress and make it into something very unique. Alternatively, you could consider heading Stateside to buy the dress and get the bridesmaids dresses over there as well. You can choose the dress from bridal catalogues, call the shops in the States in advance and then go over for a simple collection of the dress of your dreams. Bridesmaids are getting fussy and don’t want to wear meringue shaped concoctions the colour of candy floss anymore, so please them all by buying nice dresses ‘off-the-rack’ that are up-to-date cut and colours. This is particularly easy to do if you are having a summer wedding because of the range of beautiful summer dresses available in the shops nowadays. There’s always the benefit of them being able to re-wear the dresses after the wedding too!
- The Cake. Is your Mum a handy baker? Or are you yourself a budding Nigella in the kitchen?! Get your cake homebaked and then bring it to be professionally iced afterwards. This could save you a fortune and let’s face it….we all prefer Mum’s home cooking!
- Do your own make up. We have all had the experience of getting our make up done professionally, only to come out looking like something from a Las Vegas Drag Show afterwards. Invest in some really good quality make up products like MAC, Benefit etc and then PRACTICE getting the look you want yourself. Or get a friend who is a dab hand to do it for you.
- The Wheels. These days nearly everyone knows someone who has a Beemer or a Merc, why not ask them to borrow the car for the day and get it valetted for the occasion. Once you are in your dress and the car is draped in the traditional ribbons, you’ll feel like a princess no matter if it’s a vintage car, luxury Bentley or not.
- Wedding Favours & Table Centrepieces. If you are creative and have plenty of time on your hands, why not make your favours or centrepieces yourself. You can buy supplies in bulk from hardware stores, garden centres, or even online and save a fortune making them yourself. The only thing to consider is that this can’t be done too early; because remember – you have to store them somewhere before the day itself!
- Renting Seat Covers. Don’t let the hotel fool you into thinking that you HAVE to use their seat covers. These are often charged at a ridiculous rate and this is only because prospective brides don’t know that they have other options. Seat Covers can be rented much cheaper for the day, the only drawback is that someone has to physically go to the hotel or venue and put them on all the chairs themselves.
- Wine. I guess most Irish people are pretty savvy when it comes to this one, but nonetheless: consider taking an empty car or van to France and fill it up with wine for the wedding. Just make sure to check with the hotel what the corkage fee is if you are bringing your own wine.
- Photography. Most couples will want the professional photographer for the wedding photos on the day, particularly after the ceremony. However, expenses can escalate quickly if you require the photographer for the entire ceremony and reception, not to mention if you are having a videographer as well. Get guests to upload their digital pics to a website after the event. Alternatively, put disposable cameras on each table at the reception, to allow the guests take memorable pictures of their group for the night. Just don’t do a Monica-and-Chandler on it and forget to collect the cameras at the end of the night!
- Flowers. If you are getting married mid February forget about Red Roses or you will be paying a premium rate. If you want a simple affair, consider wildflowers, or if you aren’t fussy about having fresh flowers then you could get Fake flowers. I know, I know – not exactly the most romantic thing in the world but artificial flowers have become increasingly more popular as an alternative to fresh flowers for wedding bouquets, corsages and boutonnieres, and center pieces as they allow you to express your individual taste and style. Not only that, fake flowers have HUGE implications in terms of budget too, they are much cheaper than the real thing. But won’t they look really fake and tacky, I hear you say? Luckily, the answer is “No!” – fake flowers have evolved tremendously in the last few years. In fact, their look is so similar to that of fresh flowers that most people will never even notice the difference. Artificial flowers are also exceptionally great for out-of-season weddings as you can have beautiful bouquets which you would not be able to get if you were opting for the real thing.
If you truly are serious about saving money where you can on your big day…rest assured…it CAN be done!!! Spend some time thinking about everything involved in the wedding and everyone you know (or who your friends or your family knows) and rope them in! People are generally delighted to be included in the wedding plans or the day itself and won’t be put off by your enquiry at all.
