Budget Savvy Bride- Part 2

I wanted to continue my post from Friday on being Budget Savvy. The first four I previously posted I think were my top suggestions but I certainly have a few more ideas to pass on, great learning experiences from my wedding. Sorry this post got a little long, but I just have so much information to share!!

 5.  DIY - I know not everyone thinks they are a "Do it Yourself" type person, but if you want to save a ton of money try it out, or recruit some creative friends or bridal party members to help you out. We did our own centerpieces, favors, escort cards and even some misc. details around the reception. The centerpieces are one thing that really depends what you want to do. I found some small, round glass jars that I purchased in bulk online, same with a variety of sized pillar candles. We alternated the tables with the jars and candles. The candles saved a lot of money since the flowers were obviously more expensive and buying in bulk saved a ton of money too. The favors were my favorite DIY item,  my mother-in-law, who bakes everything in the world, made tons of little heart shaped cookies which she wrote "Thank You" and our initials on. Then 2 days before the wedding I had all 10 of my bridesmaids come over and help me put them in little clear baggies and tie them with ribbons. We busted out over 400 cookies in just a couple hours. We gave each person their own cookie favor and then put the rest on our coffee station that was set up after dinner. Food favors are the best, not only does everyone love them but all I had to purchase were the baggies, some ribbon, and some baking supplies. Much cheaper then spending $5-10 (or more) per person, on something most people won't even use when they leave. The other DIY thing that saved me a fortune were the place cards. I bought a package of place cards from the local craft store, found a pretty font on my computer and printed all the cards myself. The package of printable cards was only about $10.00. Come up with a clever color code for your guests meal selection and you've got yourself some really cute seating cards for just a few dollars. Instead of purchasing a guest book, I bought a large picture frame and framed a small 5x7 picture of my and my hubby and used that in place of a guest book. Now its something we can display in our home! Here's a couple pictures of my DIY details from the wedding. 

 

6. The Dress- Easily one of the most exciting things to buy when you start planning your wedding. The dress can set the tone of how formal of an affair you have. There are a couple things to keep in mind when buying the dress. Figure out your budget and stick to it! You may have to try on tons of dresses to keep it in your price point, but stick to your guns, there is a dress out there that fits in line with what you want to spend. Do yourself the biggest favor in the world and DON'T try on anything outside your budget, thats the best way to fall in love with something you can't have and be tempted to over spend. Another thing to consider, if the store you purchase from allows it,  is to take the dress elsewhere for alterations. Maybe you have a family member or friend that can do it for free or much less. Alterations can really add up, so if you can, do what you do for every other aspect of your wedding and shop around.

7. Locations - I think it goes without saying to shop around for your locations, you want to find the place that best fits your style and budget, but its important to remember what different locations include in their prices. Maybe one place only charges $25 per person, but they start adding on per head for everything from open bar, to coffee stations, cake cutting fees, number of servers you need, etc and all of a sudden you are over $50 per head. Maybe the next place charges $40 per head but its all included in that price. The $25 may seem like a better deal up front but make sure you get the scoop on any hidden fees. Also, consider what they already offer. The place I hosted my reception in offered a house center piece if we wanted, you could use what they had or add to it. They offered things like tea lights for tables, they included white linens and your choice of over 25 different napkin colors to match. Finding out things like this can save you from having to hire outside vendors to come in. 

Hope these little tid bits can help you save some money! Even if you can't execute all the ideas, just trying a few will add up! Happy Planning!

Cheers!

Stephanie

The Budget Savvy Bride

I thought I would do a post on what I did from my wedding last year that really helped me to save some big money! That's always the biggest problem when planning a wedding, when  to stop spending. The list I've complied are all things I executed one way or another but if you can pull some ideas from just a few of these suggestions I promise you will save some big money!!

1. Cut the guest list! This is a huge one and the fastest way to save. Regardless of whether the locations you pick are charging $15 per head or $50. Imagine your reception does charge $50 per head, at 200 guests that's $10,000 just for one venue. Now imagine if you cut that list down to 100 people, you just saved $5,000. (I think  it goes without saying in this example if budget is one of your priorities, don't select a venue that charges $50 per head if you can avoid it). Cutting the guest list means less food and drink, if you are paying per head, fewer favors to purchase, fewer tables that require centerpieces, table numbers and place settings and fewer escort cards and invitations to order. It can save you money in almost every area of your wedding.

2. Try an off peak day or month. I had my wedding on a Friday night. Highest demand for wedding dates is on Saturday, so tons of vendors offer cheaper rates for things when you hold your event on an off peak day. In Buffalo, where I live, summer is when most people plan their weddings, May-October is considered peak season. I booked a limo party bus that runs for $1500 on a Saturday in the summer for just $600 on Friday. That was a huge chunk of money I was able to use somewhere else in my planning. DJ's, Photographers, and rental sites all may offer a cheaper rate for booking off peak.

3. Talk to poeple you already know who offer services. A friend of a friend offered DJ services on the side of his day job. He used to be a DJ for a local radio station and now just kinda does it on his own. He saved us a fortune compared to hiring from a company (and probably did a better job). One of my bridesmaids had a cousin who shot videos for fun. Hiring a videographer wasn't exactly part of my budget, but we asked him if he would come to my house while we were getting ready, film the ceremony and then get some good footage of the reception, speeches and dancing. I figured it would be better to have something from an amateur then nothing at all. But he totally surprised us, he wasn't amateur at all!! He did an amazing job, put it all to music, included some stills from my photographer and even went around to guests all night at the reception and had them send us happy wedding wishes!  Its probably one of my most cherished things from my wedding day now.

4. Watch all your spending on miscellaneous things. This is where I easily slipped out of control. Its so easy to get caught up in the world of weddings. With Pinterest and Etsy there are so many ideas out there and you will want to do them all. Super cute bridesmaid gifts, bridal wear, card holders, unity candles, cake knives, favors, bridal accessories, the list goes on and on, and it all adds up so quickly. If there are things you really want, like wedding day wear, or items for the reception like card boxes or champagne flutes,  tell your bridal party. They can help spread to the word to family or friends who are looking for ideas for your engagement, bridal shower, bachelorette party or even wedding gifts. This can save you a lot if you get these things for gifts instead! You should try and keep track of all these little items too though. They are the things you don't ever put in your budget and you find yourself swiping the plastic card "it was only $10!" Trust me all those $10 items, they add up!

I'll leave it at that for today. I have a ton more budget savvy tips for you that I will post another time. I don't want to bore you! You'll just have to check back for more awesome wedding ideas, and to hear what my sister and I are up to!

Cheers!
 Stephanie

The Wedding Planner

I'm not very good at this blogging thing just yet. My problem has been trying to find something interesting to blog about. Then while talking to my husband last night, we decided that I need to focus on what I really enjoy doing in my spare time. So we came up with the idea that what I really enjoyed most was planning our wedding last year. I've been married almost a year now, our 1st anniversary is coming up on August 12th. I may be in the minority here but I was in serious wedding planning withdrawal! Until my younger sister announced 2 weeks ago that she was (finally) engaged!! I was ecstatic not only for her and her future hubby, but for the fact that I could help plan another wedding!! She hasn't been to a lot of weddings and her future husband isn't all that into the wedding things so she needs a lot of help. As Matron of Honor and self proclaimed wedding planner, I thought it would be fun to chronicle all the planning. She's on tight budget so I'm going to try and focus on all the plans that could help others plan a wedding on a small dime

I'll start with what we've done so far..... aside from looking at a TON of photos online we haven't done much of anything. My husband's family owns a Banquet place, Classics V Banquets in Amherst, NY, she's about 90% sure that's where the reception will be, but since she hasn't finalized a date yet, that hasn't been decided. She's about 95% sure she'll be using the same DJ I used for my wedding, who was incredibly awesome (not someone who tries to run the show, but involved enough to keep the night flowing smoothly). She's pretty open minded about everything, but extremly indecisive, which I can already tell is going to be the hardest part! One thing she wants that I didn't was to get married in a church. My hubby and I got married in the new Burchfield Penney Art Center in Buffalo, NY. We wanted something unique and modern, sister on the other hand is a bit more traditional. We found that you'll want to make sure when picking a church (if your not a member of  it) you ask about ALL the fees. We talked to a specific church in Buffalo who charged a $600 rental fee, which seemed reasonable compared to some of the other rentals rates out there, but once we started asking questions we found that it didn't include a $250 administrative fee, a $50 fee to be let into the church for the rehearsal,  and candles, flowers and music, were all extra. So be sure to ask lots of questions when picking locations so they don't try and sneak extra fees on you. That's about as far as we've gotten so far. She's definitely thinking next year, so we have lots of time!

In honor of starting my wedding section of the blog I thought I'd post some of my favorites photos from my wedding last year! Enjoy!

Photographer: Andy Buscemi - www.Buscemiphotography.com