Rachel - the nitty gritty budget savvy bride
1 income, 2 people, 1 wedding and $2,000 to make it happen. (community article)
Click, click, click. "Okay" I thought to myself, "It's sent." For the past four months I had scoured the free section of Craigslist and kept my eye out for interesting items through the emails from my Freecycle account. With a lot of time, a bit of luck, and a ton of emails, I had collected a bevy of stuff to use for my wedding at absolutely no monetary cost to me or my fiance, Andrey.
It was easy for me. I had lost my job, like thousands of Americans in this recession. Luckily, there was a silver lining to losing my job; I had time to spend looking for items I could use for our wedding.
Andrey and I got engaged on June 1, 2008 and I had done absolutely no planning whatsoever until January of 2009. My parents weren't ready for me to leave the nest so when I got engaged, they refused to pay for, or help with, anything wedding related. I was on my own to fund and pay for this wedding and I realized I needed to get my butt in gear if any wedding was going to take place. I talked to friends and family and figured 40 something out of town guests couldn't get the funds saved or the time off from work in six short months. Having a long engagement just meant I had more time to search for bargains. I was fine with scheduling my wedding for June 14, 2010 - a Monday.
I went to the mall and found the most gorgeous wedding dress for sale in a boutique - a 2007 La Sposa LS Feudal wedding gown - for $1,299! It was way out of the budget of $2,000 I had set for myself. I talked with the owner of the shop and she said she could get it down to $800. I decided to wait. After all, it was a 2007 gown, that I loved, but my wedding wouldn't be until 2010. Hopefully by this winter the dress will be drastically discounted. Either way, it gives me time to get my booty down to the size 6 the dream dress is (it's a floor model) so I can buy it outright in cash on the spot.
This dress was my inspiration for a Spanish themed wedding and I put together an inspiration board to help myself plan.
About a month later, I went to a bridal faire with my friend Cindy. We came home with armloads full of brochures of pure wedding extravaganza. One thing I took a close look at was the catering brochures. When you slap on the words "wedding reception" the price goes up a gazillion percent per head. If you are going to choose to have your wedding professionally catered, do not, under any circumstance, mention you're getting married to the caterers. Yes, you're excited and want to tell the world, but don't. When you call about prices, just say, "I would like to know your rate per head for a 200 person dinner" period. What was once $75 per head may only be $35. Use this to your advantage when finalizing contracts.
Lucky for me, I'm cutting the caterer out all together. When I was in school, I used to work at a bakery. We did catering orders all the time. I realized that for my own wedding, I could easily make the food served at my reception because we're serving a buffet of tapas instead of a sit down dinner. As well, we're not having a fondant covered wedding cake. After working at a bakery, I never want to eat a cake again and cheesecake was too costly for 70 people. Instead, we're serving up a huge platter of Mexican wedding cookies / Russian tea cakes. My fiance's sister and one of my good friends offered to help me make all of the food. I've decided instead of a wild and crazy bachelorette party (I rarely even drink) we're going to spend Saturday prepping and assembling the food because we all love to cook.
My fiance's sister, her husband and her SIL in the kitchen where we're going to make the food!
One thing I insisted on when looking for a location for our reception was the ability to bring in our own food and drinks - simply because it's so much cheaper when you can compare prices. I looked around online and couldn't find a spot. My fiance's parents live in an upscale gated community with a golf course and country club. They happen to be members of the country club which is very popular for weddings and they get a deep discount on renting out the facility, but, it was way out of our budget. The rental fees range $800–5,000 - out of the question for us. In addition, if we booked there, we weren't allowed to bring in any outside food or drinks, everything had to be bought from the on site caterers. Their meals range $40–60 per person and tax, alcohol and an 18% service charge are additional. Although beautiful, we just didn't have the budget for such extravagance. Instead, my fiance's parents said we could use their backyard terrace for both the wedding and reception! We were getting the same lovely scenery at no cost.
My fiance's brother standing where we're going to have the ceremony in the backyard.
What has really helped me save the most money is, of course, searching Craigslist, Freecycle and my own home. There are always people getting rid of stuff and sometimes you can hit the jackpot for wedding goodies if you keep your eyes peeled. I highly suggest joining your local Freecycle group and making note of what time the moderators email out the new listings. I've noticed in my town, the moderator will send emails out around 10 AM and 7 PM. If you start to figure out what time they email, you have a higher chance of being the first to respond to an ad and therefore, score the goodies.
I was really blessed to happen upon a Craigslist posting in the free section (always, search out the free section only if you're wanting to save cash.) for wedding decor. A woman's daughter had her wedding in January of 2009 and her mom wanted to get rid of all the decor taking up her guest bedroom. I scored tablecloths, $1,500 worth of custom made fabric panels to hang, tons of little net bags with crayons for the kids' table, spools of ribbon, 6 crystal branches for bouquets worth $6 a piece , faux ferns, and other decor items - mostly unopened. From another poster, I got 20 votive holders that were perfect for my Spanish themed wedding. They were $2 each from Pier One but I got them for free. All I had to do with scrape out the old candles and wash the soot off of them. My other free item I got from Craigslist was a 6 hour, 2 photographer engagement photo session in San Francisco along with a CD of all the photos taken to be printed or uploaded or whatever I wanted. 3 friends were trying to expand their business' engagement photo portfolio so they offered me the session for free! I was so happy because without them, there was no way we could even think about an engagement photo shoot. Last but not least, I stocked up on canning jars as a free alternative to wedding favors for the guests to fill up at the candy station. It's different and they can reuse the jar again.
A word of advice, be patient when searching for free items. You will not find everything you want in a week or two of searching and sending emails to those offering stuff for free. Some days you may not get anything, others you may catch a windfall. Heck, you might go a week or two and get nothing. Just be patient. With a long engagement, you have time to wait for the gems to come along. Personally, I've been looking for 4 months for various terracotta pots, round tables and chairs for my reception. I know that at the end of summer and during the winter, a lot of people get rid of their stuff because people move before the school year starts and during the cooler months, they just want to get rid of summer items they're not using. I'm hoping to score the furniture so I don't have to rent tables and chairs. I can always put them back on Craigslist or donate them to charity (and get a nice write off) when the wedding is over.
One of the best places to look for items for your wedding is your own home. I really hate dyeable shoes (I had a bad experience with them when I was 7 at my aunt's wedding so that probably has something to do with it.) so I wanted to go with some bright, colorful shoes to go under my dress that I would want to wear again. I have a pair of platform heels with a green and white polka dot fabric. They remind me so much of a flamenco costume - perfect for my wedding. I also have a back up pair of gold Coach flats in case my feet get tired. How much did they cost? Well, they're from my own closet and they're in excellent condition so they were free (they really were free because both pairs were gifts from my grandma and my fiance's grandma at various times.) In addition I'm using some pottery and baskets from my house that fit with the whole Spanish theme. Be on the look out for your fiance too. We don't have to rent a tux for him because he had to buy a fancy suit for his sister's wedding in September 2008. Just one less thing we have to buy!
After staring at the computer screen for months, I decided to get going on the invitations. Because my fiance and I love games I decided to make our own invitations using Loteria cards. I couldn't find any invitations like them on the Internet so I know we're going to have the most unique invitations out there that will really set the tone for our laid back wedding. Total cost for 54 invitations? $8.28 - not including postage. I didn't want to shell out the big bucks for something the majority of my guests were going to throw away. I don't actually know anybody that saves other people's wedding invites so don't feel pressured to spend $1,000 or more for invites. Use that money toward your honeymoon, a new house or your wedding rings!
Speaking of wedding rings, I looked at diamond rings for my engagement band when I had a feeling my fiance would propose. I had my eye on a specific setting for 3 months before I got engaged to my fiance and I brought that setting up regularly (so he had time to save up!) A diamond for the setting was $4,000. We didn't have that type of cash to throw around so I got a sapphire, my birthstone (and it's lucky for marriage!) for nowhere near that price. I got a gorgeous 2 ct. sapphire and diamond ring for $1,000 despite the setting I had been eyeing was priced at $1,000, $500 for the sapphire and $100 to set it and have it ready in two days. My fiance offered the jeweler $1,000 cash that day to buy the ring. No credit card transactions, no financing, nothing. I was happy, my fiance was happy and the jeweler was happy. We all won.
My engagement ring!
The last tip I want to leave with everybody is to sell everything after your wedding is over. Resell your dress, the table linens, vases, etc online to recoup some of your wedding expenses!
Rachel's 20 money saving tips for the budget savvy bride at a glance:
1. Have a long engagement!
2. Schedule your wedding on an "off day" because every vendor out there has reduced fees compared to a Saturday night wedding.
3. Buy a wedding dress from previous years' collections instead of the the newest (read: most expensive) trendy design.
4. Don't be afraid to say "no" and walk away from a vendor. You can almost always gets a better deal the longer you wait to buy items (not services) that go out of season or are part of a collection from a previous year. Don't be swayed by empty threats of "it might be gone." If it is, you'll find something else you love so it's not the end of the world.
5. Buy your dress and other items (not services) in cash. Vendors love cash - they don't have to pay credit card processing fees and will usually give you a discount on whatever you're buying. Offer to buy on the spot and mention you're paying cash so the vendor has less time to mull over the transaction.
6. Do not tell vendors for catering, music, the reception hall, the vehicle rental, makeup artists, etc that you are getting married. Ask for quotes like this, "I'm holding a luncheon (or dinner) for X amount of people on X date and time, what is your price per head" or "I need makeup done for six people on X, what is your rate?"
7. If you have the skills, the kitchen space, and some friends and family, try to make at least something for your guests to eat, even if it's just something edible for the favors - homemade is cheaper 99% of the time.
8. You don't have to have a cake if you don't like cake. You can serve whatever dessert you like. Homemade cookies, brownies, fudge or even a couple of cakes from the bakery are always going to be cheaper than a wedding cake.
9. If you must have a wedding cake, keep it simple. Swarovski crystals, fondant flowers, piped lace and marzipan fruit add to the cost per slice - and guests tend to not eat these items anyway (especially the Swarovski crystals, hehe!) Real ribbon and food safe fresh flowers are the cheapest decorations that still look classic.
10. Don't turn down free help for tasks that don't require a professional. If the person offering to help for free is a professional, even better!
11. A night with the girls cooking in the kitchen is a lot cheaper than limo rides around town to different bars. If you're not big on partying or drinking, save yourself and your bridesmaids some cash by planning an alternative bachelorette party such as a board game or movie night at home.
12. Look for a joint location to host both the wedding and reception to cut rental fees.
13. Look for a location that lets you bring in your own caterers, booze or homemade food without being penalized.
14. If your family has a lovely house or yard, ask to use it for your site to save money.
15. Search Craigslist, Freecycle and your house for items you can use for your wedding. Be patient, you're not going to get enough stuff for your entire wedding in a week.
16. Search your house and your own closet and fiance's closet for accessories, decor and clothing for your wedding.
17. Look for favors your guests will use and search for alternative items to pack favors in that can be reused. Sure, 1 inch picture frames with your monogram ingraved might look great at your venue but they're not so great looking in your guests' home.
18. Don't buy letterpress invitations if you're on a budget. Make your own or do a cool alternative such as postcards. The best prices come from companies that print for businesses such as vistaprint.com - you'll get 100+ full color postcards for under $20.
19. Buy a gemstone instead of a diamond for your wedding or engagement bands. They're unique, in style and much cheaper than a diamond of the same size.
20. Resell everything that you're for sure YOU are not going to use again. Put the money you make into your bank to pay off bills!
Member Comments
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alwaysmine03
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08/30/2009 at 10:50 pm
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05/27/2009 at 09:59 pm
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Last revision on 05/27/2009 at 08:08 pm in basics, budget, do it yourself, invitations + paper, reception, rings
Authors: LaSposa2Be
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