Helpful Hints for Saving Money on Your Wedding Day

My husband, a CPA, printed out an article for me he recently saw on The Vanguard Group’s Web site relating to saving money on your wedding day. So, I thought I would share some of their ideas with some additional comments by me in italics.

Some questions to ask:

Have you set up a budget for your wedding?
How will you pay for it?
Will you be going into debt to finance your big day? If so, how long will it take to pay if off? (It’s really not a good idea to start off your new life together with new debt.)

Here are some simple suggestions for paring down some of your expenses:

1. Trim your guest list. Your reception will usually be about 50% of your budget, so by trimming your guest list, you will save money. For example, if your wedding costs $125 per person, cutting just eight guests will save you $1,000.
2. Don’t do engraved invitations – do thermography. This method still has the raised lettering, but just doesn’t have the copper-plate engraving which is very expensive.
3. Think about getting married on a Friday evening or a Sunday. Many venues will give significant discounts on these days and you can still have your sit-down dinner for a much less cost.
4. Consider having your ceremony and reception held at the same place. You’ll only need to decorate one place and you’ll save on transportation, too.
5. Wine and beer only. Save a lot of money by having a wine and beer bar only.
6. Nix the extra dessert. Wedding cake will be plenty to serve the guests.
7. Want an extravagant, multitiered wedding cake? Have your baker do a “fake” cake with Styrofoam decorated with icing and serve guests sheet cake made from the wedding cake recipe you choose. No one will be the wiser. If you want to do the traditional cake cutting ceremony, then have your baker do one tier with real cake and the rest with Styrofoam. Or, if you don’t particularly like the idea of a “fake” cake, (I know I don’t) you can still save money by having your baker create a smaller version of your wedding cake to serve less guests and have additional sheet cakes that will be cut up in the kitchen and served to guests.
8. Eliminate favors. Most get thrown out, unless their edible. If you have 125 guests at $3 per favor, you will save $375.
9. Seasonal flowers. Always try to choose flowers that are in season during the time of your wedding. They are less costly than forced blooms.

By sticking to a budget and using some of the above cost-saving tips, you can still have an elegant wedding, but not go in debt.