I've been thinking about this post for a while, and I don't want to sound like I know what I'm talking about. I truly don't know what I'm talking about, because my wedding hasn't occurred yet. However, I think the key to throwing a wedding on a budget is picking one aspect, one splurge that will really make the difference.
It could be fabulous linens, unique lighting or fancy furniture. Here's my wedding attitude: We're young, we're grad students and we don't want to put our families into debt. Now, there are a lot of tips that wedding professionals will tell you - get married on a Friday or Sunday, or get married in the morning. I just didn't want to do that, I felt like it would be an inconvenience to our out of town guests to take extra days off work, in addition to travel costs.
Others are fortunate and money isn't an issue, but for those where money matters, here are some tricks that I have learned in my wedding planning process:
1.) Venue is key. Don't go for the hotels. They will charge up the wazoo for food & alcohol. We found a municipally-owned venue that charges $26/hour to rent. That's not a typo. $260 for 10 hours. Now, these venues may not be advertised as a "wedding venue" so you'll need to be a little more persistent, but there's a big payoff in the end.
2.) BYOB? Most venues/caterers will charge per person per house for an open bar. It's crazy! If you can find a caterer with a good price it will save lots of trouble. We found a caterer that charges $11.75 per person for five hours, but this isn't the norm. Your other option is to find a venue that allows you to bring your own alcohol. The lawyer in me made sure to ask our venue whether we needed to acquire liability insurance if we were serving alcohol to our guests. Since we're having a private event and we're not charging our guests for the liquor, our venue does not require insurance.
3.) Set aside some money for splurges. Pick one element that makes the difference to you. For our wedding, we're looking into hiring a lighting designer. Dramatic lighting will completely transform our reception room, and guests won't notice that we don't have $1,000 centerpieces. If you can't afford a lighting designer, go for lots of candlelight. You can get 200 tea lights for $20. Lighting can go a long way!
5 comments:
i loved this post! $26/hour is crazy amazing!!! wow, i'm so inspired now to go research and find a deal on a venue!
love the lighting idea, too!
i love this post too! i realized that my pre-planning stage was a lot of fun. but now I am getting into the costs of everything and I am overwhelmed that a hotel would want to charge me $67 a plate for dinner...without appetizers...or anything else!
thanks for the tips!
Good for you on the deal you got for your venue. Keep the lawyer in you coming out as you negotiate through the rest of the process. So many vendors hear the word 'wedding' and automatically the price triples. I've tested this theory calling various places under different names inquiring both for a wedding and say a parents anniversary party and you'd be surprised how the prices go up for a wedding. It's pretty appalling.
PS I agree on splurging on the lighting. It's worth every penny ; )
Great tips! Often all it takes is a bit of investigating to find the price that works for your budget. It sounds like you have done a fabulous job. I always tell brides that nobody is aware of what you gave up, they only see what you have. It is the personal touches and overall effect that matter. Simplicity is beauty and there are just so many options these days.
I agree that the lighting is key and that it can make less look more!
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