In todays dismal economic climate, more brides are shrinking their budgets. The most common tips about managing a small budget include
Cost-cutting advice flourishes in the online wedding community. In today's dismal economic climate, more brides are shrinking their budgets. The most common tips about managing a small budget include limiting your guest list, eliminating favors, or offering a "signature drink" rather than a full bar at cocktail hour.
But there is one cost-cutting measure I find is not satisfactorily covered: food. I am not talking about the bazillions of "luxe or less" articles about food. I am talking about food as a design element on par with venue and flowers. Most of us know that venue choice will go far in determining the look, feel, and theme of your wedding. Are you renting a big hotel ballroom, a VFW hall, using your back yard, or perhaps a museum or library? Are you getting married in a cathedral, a city park, or on the beach? Is your ceremony and reception venues the same? Each venue calls for a different level of formality and a different theme. You may want to rethink that the combination of a cheap BBQ dinner and a fancy ballroom. Or, perhaps not. The trick is to think of your food as another design element, and be sure to think of your food in conjunction with your venue.
Update 28 Dec 2009: The Etsy storefront for this piece has been removed.
Consider this charming origami organizer as a centerpiece, especially if you're a budget bride having a small wedding. I imagine it would look lovely with a few colorful short-stemmed mums or daisies.
An excellent way to save money is to look for suits on sale at department stores. The best part is your groom and his men will have a nice suit to wear to other events.
Recently, I was happy to see a wedding on the Today Show where a groom wore a pale seersucker suit. The suit is shown during the first minute or two of the clip, and the featured groom is in a suit that is almost exactly like the suit my Groom wore at our wedding. (Yay!) The best part: we paid a little more than $130. for the entire suit, and now The Groom has a nice summer suit.
At first, The Groom and I looked at the traditional tuxedos. He was excited about the prospect of getting so dressed up, and had admitted that he had never wore a tux before. (No, not even to the prom). At $160 a pop for a rental at the Men's Warehouse, we were struggling to fit it into our paltry budget. The Groom began cruising the department store sales instead.
- 03.03.09 AND 05.23.09
On March 3rd, 2009 my husband and I got married in Mammoth Lakes, CA. Two months later, we had a second wedding in North Carolina. The amazing thing is that we put together two full weddings for under 5K (perhaps even well under.) That’s right, two weddings for under five thousand dollars! While I still have not added up all of the receipts to get an exact amount, I can tell you this: we did not go into debt, and we planned both weddings during a whirlwind six-month engagement.
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