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Some suggestions: check out craigslist ads. Often recently married people will sell their wedding decorations which can save a lot.
Scour the internet for prices on things like favors, decor, even flowers.
My niece was recently married. They purchased flowers from Sam's Club online. They were beautiful and far less expensive than a florist. We'd use them too, but there are some logistical issues related to keeping them in water for my daughter's wedding. (it's out of town).
Attend a bridal show or two. You might have to pay for the ticket(s), but we found many of the vendors will give you a discount if you visit them at a show and then book with them in some time frame. My daughter is getting married in the fall. She's getting her bouquet for free because she booked an appointment during a wedding show. She received about $100 off of her dress. They are also getting their wedding invitations for free through some other shop because they booked with them. The DJ and photographer also gave them a discount because they booked soon after the show. Probably saved them a $1000 for the price of a few tickets (under $30.)BTW--you can often get the tickets for a discount online too.
A few pictures at the brides home, the ceremony, and the reception. You do not need pictures of the couple standing in front of a waterfall 35 miles away. Most people I know have never watched the wedding video, some watched it once, many don't know where it is.
Any other suggestions on how to save $ on weddings?
Wedding invitations don't have to be engraved. Gosh, everyone has a computer now. Come up with the verbiage and font you like, and take it to a printer. The printer will work with you on the best kind of paper or card stock. (That's what I did.)
Do your own flowers. I went to a local store that has a huge selection of silk flowers, read up on making flower arrangements...and made my own. One bridal bouquet, one Matron of Honor bouquet, boutonnieres for groom, my dad, best man, my 2 sons and my stepson. I also made the centerpieces for the tables.
Our biggest expense was renting the place we had our wedding and reception (same room) and the catering.
All together, I spent $3000.
My parents paid for the photographer, otherwise, I would've paid an acquaintance I knew to go around and take pictures (and hope for the best.) As it turned out, we had an excellent photographer...and that was the main "splurge".
Not saying my way is everyone's way...but it's easy enough to save money on weddings, if one really wants to. I suppose some would say mine was bare bones...but everyone ate, and I believe everyone had a good time. (My husband and I did.)
If you really want to save money go to the courthouse, get married there and then go out to a nice restaurant with family & close friends. It's not the wedding that is important, it's the marriage.
Well, I think the main point is...there's a LOT of lee-way, when it coms to planning a wedding. Of course the marriage is the most important part, but some people (and I was one of them) want a celebration of the marriage.
Wedding invitations don't have to be engraved. Gosh, everyone has a computer now. Come up with the verbiage and font you like, and take it to a printer. The printer will work with you on the best kind of paper or card stock. (That's what I did.)
Do your own flowers. I went to a local store that has a huge selection of silk flowers, read up on making flower arrangements...and made my own. One bridal bouquet, one Matron of Honor bouquet, boutonnieres for groom, my dad, best man, my 2 sons and my stepson. I also made the centerpieces for the tables.
Our biggest expense was renting the place we had our wedding and reception (same room) and the catering.
All together, I spent $3000.
My parents paid for the photographer, otherwise, I would've paid an acquaintance I knew to go around and take pictures (and hope for the best.) As it turned out, we had an excellent photographer...and that was the main "splurge".
Not saying my way is everyone's way...but it's easy enough to save money on weddings, if one really wants to. I suppose some would say mine was bare bones...but everyone ate, and I believe everyone had a good time. (My husband and I did.)
A photographer was the last vendor I booked for my upcoming wedding...I regret not looking into it sooner because I had no idea wedding photography was so expensive! Most quotes I got were in the range of $1,000-$1,500. I didn't even bother with the higher end people, but I think $2-3k is pretty standard.
On the plus side most vendors have been willing to negotiate with me. Just about everyone I booked ended up being cheaper than originally advertised. I wouldn't "ask to have (costs) removed" as the article suggests, I just tell people they are out of my budget and I want to look around and that seems to do the trick so long as the vendor is available on our date.
I wanted to do a Sunday brunch originally to save money, but several venues we liked were actually more expensive on Sundays. We went with a Friday evening, that ended up saving us the most money. I would avoid Saturday for sure.
As a professional photographer (I do not photograph weddings however), I am biased, but have also heard so many people say that in the end they wish they would have given the photography more thought/budget. (I wish we would have - we have basically nothing from our wedding.)
In the end, all you have left are memories and the dress. The venue, the food and flowers et cetera will be gone. Great wedding images and portraits can make sure that you will remember all the details of the day and the feelings of it. And yes, there is such a big difference between a "friend with a camera" and a real professional photographer. And then there is a huge difference between a "good, cheaper photographer" and a "great but expensive photographer".
(Unless your entire wedding day takes place under ideal lighting conditions, you will have a lot of blown-out or underexposed, blurry or out-of-focus, images. And trust me, there are very few "ideal" moments during your wedding. Especially during the ceremony when the most important moments - i.e. the rings being exchanged, the first kiss, et cetera - happen.)
Also, keep in mind that your photographer will be there your entire day (with most likely no breaks). You are hiring a specialist for an entire day - you wouldn't hire a plumber for a whole day and expect the work done for a few hundred.
But the work is not done yet for the photographer - editing the images from the wedding will take 4+ full days in general. A wedding literally ties up a photographer for about a full week. (This does not include communication with the clients, uploading to website/uploading to USB, The Viewing Session if the photographer offers in-house Printing and designing - and the list goes on and on. Most photographers are also working for themselves and do not make even half of what they charge for themselves, as they too have to pay taxes, rent, bills, Social-Security et cetera et cetera.)
So my opinion is that you do not wish to "have a friend with a camera" photograph your wedding, unless you are viewing it more as a party than a big moment in your life.
Only you personally will know what value you place on the wedding itself (some do courthouse, some spend tens of thousands or more on a lavish affair), and you should let that value define what you want to save money on and what to spend more of the budget on.
A few pictures at the brides home, the ceremony, and the reception. You do not need pictures of the couple standing in front of a waterfall 35 miles away. Most people I know have never watched the wedding video, some watched it once, many don't know where it is.
And the wedding album gets shoved under the bed or couch within 6 weeks of recieving it. Lol! The onpy photos needed are the B & G, immediate family pics. Wedding party.the rest can be captured and shared via attendees. The pics of the attendants walking down the aisle are just silly. IMHO. I have been in ten weddings in my lifetime....the best ones are the simple ones.
My brother is an amateur photographer that is always asked by friends to take pictures.
I've seen his work compared to the pro that was hired and it was universal my brother got the important shots and better quality too...
Part may be because he only shoots for good friends/family so there is a familiarity.
Sweden is right in that it takes a tremendous amount of time from start to finish to do a professional job.
As a fluke, I took video at my cousins wedding and they had also hired a pro... hands down my video is their favorite and only because I knew so many of the people and relationships to make it interesting and capture... the Pro hand nothing with the Great Grandmother and missed all the nieces that were not in the wedding...
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