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...of Creative
Frugality
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Creatively
Frugal
Weddings
What are your ideas for making
your wedding day more special but less expensive?
"We managed to save money on my
daughter's wedding in several ways:
1. We went to a wonderful farmer's market in our area and ordered
fresh-cut flowers from one of the vendors. She was kind enough to bring
sample bouquets to the market and let us look and choose what we wanted
for the actual wedding day.
2. We took all the bridesmaids on an outing to a big city and
visited several 'bridal marts' where they could try on dresses. There
were enough dresses and enough sizes that we were able to find what we
needed for six bridesmaids. All the dresses were discounted and we
also received an additional 10% off at the register. Final cost
was around $60.00 per dress.
Note: A friend who had more preparation time than we did ordered
all her bridesmaids' dresses from the Chadwick catalog. The girls could
then use them for Sunday dresses and it was a beautiful wedding.
3. We had two friends who are great photographers take all the wedding
pictures. They did an amazing job. We knew their work and it
turned out even better than we expected.
4. We also have two friends who make wedding cakes who agreed to
work together. They made the groom's cake using the groom's favorite
recipe from his Italian grandmother and a very unique and beautiful
wedding cake. We bought the ingredients and they made the cakes as their
wedding gift to the couple--- one of my favorites!
5. We bartered on the decorating with another friend who is a
great decorator. Again, we bought vases (at the dollar store for
fifty cents apiece and floating candles from a candle factory outlet).
The decorator picked ivy from her gardens, brought crystal pieces from
her collection, and white Christmas lights which she used with the items
we had purchased.
6. Instead of birdseed or rice, we lit sparklers for the couple to
run through as they exited the reception.
The BEST part of all was when our daughter left, she said: 'Thanks,
Mom and Dad for the fairy-tale reception.' It was a cherished
moment." ~ SR
"For my own wedding almost 20
years ago, we got married in the dead heat of summer, so we
chose a late afternoon wedding, hoping that by then the
temperatures would have dropped. We wanted to serve food,
but were on a very limited budget, so we served large submarine
sandwiches from the grocery store deli and potato salad, then
the wedding cake for dessert.
A great idea that I got from attending a wedding about two years
ago is that they had about 200 guests, but the wedding cake was
very small only
two layers with the bottom layer only being about 16" in
width. The couple saved the top layer for their one year
anniversary. So I thought, 'How will this one bottom layer
serve all of these people?' What I didn't know was that in
the church kitchen, they were serving sheet cake to the guests
that was the same variety as the wedding cake. I am sure
that this was a huge savings to the bride's parents who paid for
the
wedding." ~ Angel
"For a lovely but inexpensive
wedding, my husband and I got married the Sunday after Christmas when
all the flowers and decorations were still up in the church. We are
older and didn't want a big, fancy wedding. After church was over and
all the people out the door, our minister married us with all our
family present and around us. It was beautiful, simple and
inexpensive. We both had the big, involved and expensive weddings when
we were young and didn't want to have to go through that again. This
idea could be used after any holiday that someone's church is
decorated with extra flowers, etc." ~ Nancy
"Well, if you include the reception-- a lot of couples in our
church recently have had light luncheon receptions with cold cuts,
fruit and beverages and of course cake!. Music was by CD on the sound
system in our gym/sanctuary which is a separate area from our service
sanctuary. The food can be catered or pot-lucked by the families of
the couples. When my husband and I married, we did that and
considering that we have some marvelous, creative and talented
cooks in the family, you really couldn't tell that it wasn't
professionally" done!" ~ Paula
"My suggestion for a frugal wedding is to ask for friends'
services as a wedding present. For my wedding, I asked two musician
friends (both part- timers) for assistance. One composed and played
the processional music. The other sang mellow love songs while the
guests were arriving. Another friend's mom made my wedding dress. I
chose a ballgown-type pattern from the fabric store. We bought silk
brocade fabric at an outlet (not cheap, but good value -- frugal in
my mind). I spent $150 on fabric and notions, and an assortment of
small gifts (flowers and home- baked goods) for a custom wedding
dress.
I didn't view my wedding as the perfect fairy tale event, as
depicted in books and magazines, but as a project crafted by many
loving hands." ~ Sandra
"We had a very simple and
lovely wedding. Very low cost ($200, 28 years ago), and
meaningful to all who were there. This is what we did: We were
married in the garden of a church. My mother-in- law made my dress;
after we browsed several stores, she found and made a copy of the
perfect dress for me (a garden style eyelet dress which had a lovely
bridal-style skirt and tiny cloth covered buttons up the back, with
a lovely eyelet hat, circled with fresh flowers which were the same
as my bouquet). My best friend made my bouquet, my groom's
boutonniere and simple arrangements for the tables. My mom made the
wedding cake (two 3-layer cakes) and my mother-in-law made the
groom's cake (3 of her special chocolate sheet cakes). We had
champagne punch, coffee and tea; we had little mints and nuts.
Everyone was relaxed and had a wonderful time. The emphasis was on
sharing a holy time with people we love. May your wedding plans be a
pleasure and a joy, and you have a lifetime of a strong marriage -
Anne
"It's been 13 years since I wed, but it made a big
difference for us to have a luncheon reception at a hotel party room
rather than dinner. It was still a full course meal, but earlier in
the day was cheaper. Friday nights are less expensive also." ~
Patricia
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"When our son and
daughter-in-law got married last year, they had, as many young
couple do, big dreams and a small budget! So here's how we
gave them the wedding of their dreams (that everyone raved about!)
without breaking the bank.
They were going to have about 100-125 guests and wanted a nice
buffet. Caterers cost too much, so we headed off to Sam's
Club, and got everything they needed (including all serving dishes,
paper goods, etc) for about $350-$400. They had their
wedding in a park gazebo (minimal cost to rent) and reception in the
church my daughter-in-law's father pastored. Several church
members voluntarily missed the wedding to decorate the hall, cook
and set up the food, drinks, etc, all as a gift to the newlyweds.
Bouquets for the bride and attendants were flowers bought at a local
grocery store and tied up with pretty ribbons to match everyone's
dresses. (My son was preparing them on the way to the wedding while
his brother drove!)
Music was provided by a CD player and pre-selected CDs (which one of
their friends took care of during the reception). I believe the
only thing they paid market price for was the wedding cake! (And
of course the wedding dress and accessories).
Another friend donated a bonus week
from his time share for the honeymoon, and a woman from the church
was moving out of state and gave them an entire apartment full of
furniture, dishes, linens -- everything they needed to set up their
first home.
My son and daughter-in-law know that they were incredibly blessed
and will never forget this special day they shared with those they
love." ~ M. Jackson, SC
"When I got married eight years
ago (Nov/96), we had a budget of about 500.00 to do everything. Here
is a cost breakdown: Wedding Dress from Ricki's (a women's clothing
chain store) $50.00; Suit from Value Village $9.99 (never worn-tags
attached; groom had own white shirt!); Hall for reception $75.00;
Pastor, $50.00; Music, $0.00 (Cousin with good stereo!); Food $0.00
(family made potluck-- we had turkey, ham, roast, many salads, fruit
tray, veggie tray, buns, chili, baked beans, desserts...etc);
Decorations and favors $20.00 (some borrowed, some handmade); Maid of
Honor's suit (she didn't want a dress in November!) $24.99 (Ricki's);
Best Man's suit $0.00 (he already had one from his own frugal
wedding!; adds up to $230.00! We truly came under budget! We all had a
great time (no bar needed) and many, many memories that were
wonderful, without worrying about going into debt for something truly
not as important as our love for each other. By the way this is priced
Canadian as well :)" ~ Cindy
"I am now planning a wedding for
Fall 2004. Here are my suggestions for keeping the cost
down. Early on, buy one of the bridal magazines. Look in the
back for a coupon to fill out for free samples and catalogs to be
sent to your house. This will allow you to review for free various
wedding trends and options. Secondly, I am going to hire a college
music student to provide the wedding/reception music. I am going
to have a harpist. Also, keep the number of guests down. I am
trying to keep it to 75 people. This will allow me to serve
better quality food because I am not trying to feed 200
people. Finally, my future-mother-in-law is great at
decorating. She has agreed to help me make the decorations for
the reception." ~ Ronna, St. Louis
"When my husband and I were married 18 years ago, we paid
for our own wedding - and were definitely on a budget. We
found that our greatest money-saving resource was the kindness and
generosity of our friends.
First, our closest friends had a medium-sized home, but a huge front
lawn. They proposed that we get married on their front
lawn! And we did, much to the delight of their
neighbors. We lived in southern California at the time, so the
weather was not a problem.
We purchased our wedding feast from a store that sold to small
retailers and grocers and more kind friends arrived early on the day
of the wedding to set up our cold buffet.
I purchased my wedding gown from the prom dress section of a
department store. It was a beautiful white lace dress that
looked very bridal and cost $60.
The same friend who offered her home for our wedding also happened
to be taking cake decorating classes at the time. She asked her
instructor for some help and tips. Her instructor did one better. My
friend baked the cake, but the instructor (a professional cake
decorator) decorated the cake in class as a demonstration for her
students and at no charge to us.
I could truly give you another 10 examples of how we were able to
have a lovely wedding at a relatively small cost, but the thing I
really want to emphasize is to be FLEXIBLE! If you want a
large, catered wedding with all the finest trimmings, it will cost.
But if you are willing to be adaptable and accept the suggestions
and help of loving friends you can have a wonderful wedding
day." ~ Elizabeth, Woodbridge, VA
Editor's Note: Thanks to everyone who took the time to share
his or her ideas!
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