Wedding Day Deals????

[DaytonaGirl]

I'm getting married in May 2008 and am ready to start organizing. I'd love to hear about all the Deals our GDers found for their weddings / special occas;) ions

[trbarginhunter]

look around for a local floral supply store. Ours only requires a business license to get a card--which are easy to obatin at city hall. For a small fee for the business liscense (service business helping businesses stage events), I was able to buy all kinds of things a big discount.

 

Congratulations!

Tommya

[supershopper1]

There are great deals to be found if you start early. Every week Joannes & Michaels have coupons in sunday papers for up to 50% off 1 item. You can use them for anything from your card box to small cake boxes for your guests. (I hate cake wrapped in a napkin to take home!) I was also able to also get both of my daughters wedding gowns at high end bridal shops for a fraction of the price by buying the samples. Most stores usually have clearance section & if it is a nice store they will be in perfect condition. FYI just make sure you find one that does not need alot of alterations, unless they have a package deal. Hope this helps. I did formal catering for over 20 yrs & there are many ideas out there. Your library has all of the magazines you can take out for free & books on wedding planning!

[fairydustcrissy]

If you already have decided on bridesmaids, I would suggest hitting up JC Pennys & Sears. Both have thier formal dresses on clearance right now, and HUGE discounts. Like most of the dresses are $25-30! And here at least, they have each dress is plenty of sizes.

[supershopper1]

Dillards is another place for bridesmaid & mother of the bride dresses.

 

Their clearance section is great, nice quality & for one of my daughters they actually found the sizes at other stores & had them shipped in at no additional charge! The only downfall is they do have a 30 day return policy. Their dresses were much nicer than any that we saw at the bridal shops. You could actually shorten them to wear for other occasions!

 

FYI many gift stores & malls have sidewalk sales on holiday weekends you should be able to get your garter & regestry book on clearance.

[mandifour]

Congrats. I would start shopping at michaels/hobby lobby/joanns and buy anything you like if it is on clearance, and buy big ticket items anytime you have a coupon. Save receipts and if you decide you don't need it or like it anymore bring it back. I have planned 4 weddings and that was what I did. Do you have a theme? I am going to start working on helping with #4 soon. It is in May 08 as well. My BIL is getting married.

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also join EVERY wedding website you can find and register EVERYWHERE you always get free stuff or coupons.

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start looking for bridal shows and go to them armed with mailing labels to stick on the entry forms, make a page of address and then one page with # and email so your hand doesnt fall off filling out forms.

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If you have any questions feel free to PM me I love helping with weddings.

[shay_n_sc]

I agree with the other posters - if you are set on the colors, then buy the dresses now while they are on clearance (Sears, Dillards and JC Penneys). Now is also a good time to buy summer shoes because they are on clearance also.

 

Joann's, Michaels and Hobby Lobby are good places to look for clearance deals and they also have coupons out every week. My friend is getting married on Sat and she bought her tiara, artificial flowers, altar decorations, etc from those stores last year and kept them in storage crates in her basement.

 

If you have a good printer, make your own invitations.

 

Walmart and Publix both have bakeries so consider getting your cake made at a grocery store, the cakes start around $100

 

Have fun and congratulations on your upcoming wedding.

[wyntyrose]

There is a great book called big weddings on a small budget, it is a bible for saving money on weddings

 

also check local thrift stores, we have one that receives last years gowns/styles and sell them for next to nothing.

I bought my wedding dress for 50dollars there and found the same one at David's for 800.

[KiriJoan]

EBAY! lol.... I bought all the stuff on Ebay to make 2 different favors for almost 50 people, the items for 8 center pieces, tons of stuff to make all my decorations, and my bridal party gifts for almost $100. It rocks. Tull is one of those things that we used tons off. It's so expensive at the store, but it was like $1.99 for 20 yards on Ebay. Search out, find a good supplier. Chances are you'll be able to get almost everything you want from one seller who maybe willing to give you free shipping if you buy a certain amount.

 

Also, don't be afraid to ask EVERYONE for help. I was sitting at dinner one night with my maid of honor and our waitress started talking about wedding stuff since she saw us planning it out. We were desperately looking for a photographer at the time. She directed us to a photography school. We got 2 amazing photographers for less than $300 for 6 hours. You'd be surprised about everything you can do and get.

 

People always want to help with weddings I found. Sometimes it gets annoying, but those little times where they just saved you like $1000, you'll be grateful you listened to them.

 

I just planned my wedding from scratch and made absolutely everything myself. I did it all for less than $5k too. We actually got more money in gifts from the wedding than the wedding actually cost.

[freesia39]

hellooooooooo!

 

what kind of deals are you looking for? i'm trying to plan a wedding on a budget within reason because i'm located in stupid expensive los angeles.

 

i'm an august 2008 bride.

 

these are just the ways so far that i'm trying to save money:

- anything printed DIY. invitations, menu cards, table numbers, escort cards, etc.

- trying to find the best bang for your buck venues. my situation is that we're trying to find an "all in one location" since we're not marrying in a church but yet appease our out of town guests. some places have great packages, that include alcohol, the cake, etc.

- call up every favor you have ever known in your life.

- start shopping any sale you can for the bridesmaids dresses. if you don't require uniformity, tell them a color and then let them go nuts.

- for your dress, buy either the sample (the dress that everyone tries on) or during a massive sale (david's bridal will have 99 dollar sales every now and then. sign up on their website.)

- make your own veil. it's not that hard if you can sew.

 

how far are you in the planning? we've already started looking at venues and we're pretty close to reserving one, but because our date is labor day weekend of next year and some places are already booked.

[DaytonaGirl]

Thank SOOO mcuh for all the replies and ideas.

 

We've found a place. We've actually reserved the local Moose Lodge. It will be an "all in one" location. It the MOST affordable place we've seen. Great per person prices which include the rental and food and servers! Everything except booze and entertainment! Relaxed atmosphere...perfect central location...

 

I've not found the perfect dress yet...still swinging between the "wedding dress" and just a really nice dress from Dillards, etc. I'm not into the fancy stuff and we really want this to be a celebration...so I figure that my being comfortable is key! Also, we would rather spend the money on the honeymoon:g_dance:

 

I think I'm going with a tiered cupcake tree...a little different...and a sundae bar!!!

 

How about the Question ... do I pay for the booze for the guests? Or do they pay for their own?

 

Keep the ideas coming! You guys are awesome!:g_dance:

[supershopper1]

Guests NEVER pay for drinks at a wedding. They are your guests. If you are on a limited budget either leave out the alchahol or just go with beer & wine. If your at a hall that does not supply the liquer it is expensive. There are so many different types to buy.(vodka, gin, rum, scotch etc. and all of the washes & garnishes to go with them.) It is very had to determine how many bottles of each unless you know what everyone drinks and you'll have alot left over since you don't want to run short.

[freesia39]

there are various ideas towards the alcohol:

 

1. in some parts of the country, it is actually acceptable to have a cash bar as it is local custom

2. never let your guests pay for anything - they're your guests and you provide their food and drinks

 

most people subscribe to the second theory. however, open bar at the venues i've been looking at (hotels) charge a crazy amount per person for open bar, and they differentiate between call brands and premium brands. you could also do "per consumption."

 

since your venue allows you to bring your own alcohol (i'd do it but they charge a 10 dollars per bottle corkage fee) take advantage. buy your alcohol at costco (return what you don't open.) if you're near a bevmo, buy wine during their "buy 1, get the second for five cents" sale. get what you want.

 

i don't really want to pay for an open bar all night (i think it'd ridiculous, i'm not paying for you to get drunk at my wedding), but i'm compromising by having wine service most of the night, and the venues do include champagne for the toasts.

 

i haven't found the "it" dress either - but my mom's friend is a dressmaker and i'm saving MAJOR dollars by having her make the exact dress i want (or well close to exact) in addition to my chinese dress. but trying them on has been interesting! HINT: bring your own strapless bra. you don't want to wear the "community" ones. i went to one (fancy) salon and they said to take off my bra also. you get pretty comfy pretty fast with the employees.

 

check out the knot for tons more details and become a knottie!

[aidansmommy]

I have not checked into this, but I saw an article in the newspaper that Target.com is selling wedding and bridesmaid dresses online. I have no idea what they look like, but I am sure the cost is low in comparison to bridal dress shops. I would definitely check their website, especially if you aren't too picky about what you are looking for. I have also seen some great deals at chadwicks.com and their online outlet coboutlet.com. I think they have a bridesmaid dress section. Congratulations!

[trbarginhunter]

Check for outlet stores near you as well. Jessica McClintock has a couple, both in CA--there are GREAT deals there. A friend bought her wedding dress for about $30 and it was gorgeous. I just bought a formal for DD--total price was $13. If you sign up for the email list they will email you special sales. Without the special sales, the formals (not the wedding gowns) run about $50...still better than full price.

[KiriJoan]

Ways to avoid high alcohol costs:

 

Have a wedding in the morning or even afternoon. It's perfectly acceptable to not serve alcohol at these functions.

 

Limit the alcohol serving time. My reception was from 7-11. I only served alcohol from 7-9 because I didn't want to take the chance that people would be driving home drunk.

 

Have a cheap "Bride and Grooms" drink. Ours was a Mojito since DH is Cuban. It was cheap to make and people got it because it was "our drink". We decided on this early on and we were able to get the rum for an extremely good deal.

 

Find a Caterer that supplys the mixers/cups. That's what we did. Our caterer offered to supply us with a bartender for $4/person and they would supply all the mixers, cups, and check ID. Remember even though it's your wedding, if cops find out alcohol was served to minors at your event you'll go to jail. This happened to a friend of mine. (Our caterer was www.caterourparty.com incase they are near you and you want their bartender)

 

Serve wine only. Chances are this could save you money, but I couldn't find decent wine that was cheaper than just buying alochol. I know the price difference is probably with buying all the mixers, so I only know this from what people told me.

 

 

 

For entertainment, if you want a DJ first ask people you know. Modern DJ set up are not must more complicated than large speakers hooked up to their laptop and a microphone somewhere in the mix. Maybe you already know someone who has this setup. All you need is someone who can play music and pronouce names right. Don't go paying $1000 for someone to play on their computer and eat your food at your wedding.

 

Oh, another unexpected cost for me was your expected to feed EVERYONE. Yeah, I just thought I was feeding my guests. No, the photographer, the DJ, the bartender, the site supervisor, they all wanted to know where their food was. I thought it was rude at first, but I talked to other people and I guess that's standard. There were almost 5 extra plates I had not anticipated.

 

My friend is doing a cupcake tower in her wedding next month. She got those little chinese togo boxes for people to take them home if there were extras. Just a thought.

[freesia39]

as for the DJ thing: a lot of people are just doing the "load music into ipod, hook up to speakers, have someone watch it during the night." if your reception won't be heavy into dancing and just background music, and making sure certain songs are played at the right times, this is a much cheaper option. then find a friend who can act as the MC most of the night (and one that you can trust.)

 

the target dresses aren't bad - they are simple. it's an option if you don't want to spend a lot on your dress. jcrew also has wedding dresses and a nice return policy (since they're not in store and you must ship back and forth.) (same with target actually.) just remember... the heavier that dress is... the more it'll cost... the more you'll sweat... i was sweating bullets just trying those darn things on. plus all the samples they had in store seemed to be tiny.

 

you can get "vendor meals" from many venues - usually something basic like a sandwich/salad box dinner, out here in CA i've seen them run for about 25-35 dollars. i'd want my photographer to eat also!

 

i love the jessica mcclintock outlet, i'm hoping i can score all the bridal party dresses there, either at the san francisco location or the montclair location. hopefully san francisco, i think that location is larger.

[missyjane]

Depending on what kind of centerpieces you plan on using you might be able to work out something with another local bride. In my case I bought some hurricanes and votive cups at the local wholesale florist shop, so after I use them then I will sell them to another bride for a wedding in December, then hopefully she can sell them to another bride and so on.

 

It isn't that we are all using the same centerpiece, but those glass pieces and round mirrors are pretty versatile etc.

[Princess7915]

I had my napkins printed from sombody on ebay. I picked my colors, she had a few fonts and little designes to choose from. They are so expensive in all the "wedding" places, but they were really inexpensive in ebay and looked perfect!

 

I also worked for a florist when I got married and bought all my flowers wholesale and did all my floral work myself the 3 days before the wedding. Saved about $3,500 but I don't recommend it! I was so tired by the day of the wedding I didn't care what anything looked like anymore!

[freesia39]

also, my favorite wedding websites:

 

the knot, the granddaddy of wedding websites

weddingbee, my favorite wedding blog site

mygatsby - for invitation ideas

cards and pockets - for cheaper paper purchases

paper source, the ultimate crafting store/site

 

there are tons of wedding websites out there, and after a while your eyes glaze over and you wonder "didn't i look at this already..."

[browntown]

I don't think alcohol at a wedding is always needed, I like the suggestion of doing an afternoon wedding or even a Sunday afternoon. You can also be at a risk of being liable if something happens as a result.

 

For saving money, make your own favors, don't go crazy on the cost of your dress, there are a lot of similar styles and you can usually find something cheaper which is close.

 

One thing with doing an ipod is if you have any issues with the technology and set up this can be frustrating. Even ask a friend to run this or hire a DJ who is maybe from a local campus radio station or a new business and offer to really advertise. however, whatever you do for a DJ make sure they don't act like your wedding is an audition for being the next great radio DJ! I was at a wedding where the DJ talked after every song..blah!

 

Ask people to help with all the little things so you can enjoy the day. Things like doing your guest book, picking things up to take between the church and hall, paying the DJ etc...don't make yourself have to deal with any business on your special day!

 

Start a tradition of using the same wedding knife as a friend or sibling, or parent...you can add your wedding date to it and then pass it along.

 

If you are getting married in the same church as someone else, see if you can share altar flowers to cut costs?

[Penelope]

I was on a tight budget when I got married, and I actually found my beautiful wedding dress at a consignment shop! It cost $50 to rent, but I asked how much it would be to just buy it and she sold it to me for $95! It was too small, but the owner was a seamstress and was able to take it out for me. She charged $40 for the tailoring, which I thought was a steal since she had to add extra panels to the sides of the dress. Everyone thought my dress was $1000.

 

I got my wedding jewelry -- pearl drop earrings and bracelet -- at Claire's for really cheap and no one could even tell they were fake.

[lissa]

For anyone getting married before next summer:

 

Lindt Lindor chocolate truffles are on sale at the Lindt stores and they make awesome favors. It's a better price than any of the online bulk offerings and ours are good until next June. Just keep them cool and they'll be perfect. We picked up enough for 100 guests + extras and some tulle bags from efavormart.com. In total, they will about $1/guest. Not bad!

[ontheteam]

there are various ideas towards the alcohol:

 

1. in some parts of the country, it is actually acceptable to have a cash bar as it is local custom

2. never let your guests pay for anything - they're your guests and you provide their food and drinks

 

most people subscribe to the second theory. however, open bar at the venues i've been looking at (hotels) charge a crazy amount per person for open bar, and they differentiate between call brands and premium brands. you could also do "per consumption."

 

since your venue allows you to bring your own alcohol (i'd do it but they charge a 10 dollars per bottle corkage fee) take advantage. buy your alcohol at costco (return what you don't open.) if you're near a bevmo, buy wine during their "buy 1, get the second for five cents" sale. get what you want.

 

i don't really want to pay for an open bar all night (i think it'd ridiculous, i'm not paying for you to get drunk at my wedding), but i'm compromising by having wine service most of the night, and the venues do include champagne for the toasts.

 

i haven't found the "it" dress either - but my mom's friend is a dressmaker and i'm saving MAJOR dollars by having her make the exact dress i want (or well close to exact) in addition to my chinese dress. but trying them on has been interesting! HINT: bring your own strapless bra. you don't want to wear the "community" ones. i went to one (fancy) salon and they said to take off my bra also. you get pretty comfy pretty fast with the employees.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

 

 

Before you buy a bunch of liquor at a Costco (or any where) Check the return policy. Costco in MASSACHUSSETTS I know for sure

CAN NOT return there items unless it is a quality issue, The state law does not allow for over buying as a return reason

[ontheteam]

Thank SOOO mcuh for all the replies and ideas.

 

We've found a place. We've actually reserved the local Moose Lodge. It will be an "all in one" location. It the MOST affordable place we've seen. Great per person prices which include the rental and food and servers! Everything except booze and entertainment! Relaxed atmosphere...perfect central location...

 

I've not found the perfect dress yet...still swinging between the "wedding dress" and just a really nice dress from Dillards, etc. I'm not into the fancy stuff and we really want this to be a celebration...so I figure that my being comfortable is key! Also, we would rather spend the money on the honeymoon:g_dance:

 

I think I'm going with a tiered cupcake tree...a little different...and a sundae bar!!!

 

How about the Question ... do I pay for the booze for the guests? Or do they pay for their own?

 

Keep the ideas coming! You guys are awesome!:g_dance:

Costco does flowers,invites ect.. there is a "wedding" tab on the web site.

[trbarginhunter]

I posted this in offline bargins, but I thought I'd post here, too--Jessica McClintock is having an outlet sale, check their website for detailed location information (www.jessicamcclintock.com) Spring dresses $20, Fall an extra 25% off (turns out about half off retail) There is some additional discount on Bridal Gowns in Montclair, CA as well.

 

There was a bridal party getting dresses when DD and I were there this morning--4 dresses were $70 (buy 2, get 1 for $10). What a great deal!

[trbarginhunter]

We were guests at a wedding this weekend, and I loved the favors, so I thought I would pass along the idea...they did small origami boxes in the color of the wedding (brown) with Jordan Almonds inside. The boxes were tied with white ribbon edged in gold and had a tag with the monogram and names of the bride and groom. My DD makes those boxes all the time, and they are easy, fast and inexpensive. She uses cardstock or scrapbooking paper--remember that a bone folder will make the cardstock fold easier (it scores the fold before you make it. You can goggle for directions, they really are easy to do, and you can fill the boxes with whatever you prefer. These boxes were about 2" square and have 7 almonds in them (tradition calls for an odd number of almonds. I don't know why, but I know the great Aunts would have a fit with an even number in the box :-)

[momofthebride]

I am new here and my daughter's wedding is July 5th. Has anyone found an inexpensive cupcake tree. The only one I have found that is reasonable is cardboard. Has anyone used one of those? Thank you. I wish I would have found this site sooner!

[momofthebride]

I have an answer to my own question- so I thought I would share it. My sister said she has done this - go to a discount home goods store and find cute plates of different sizes to make a tier. Find inexpensive candle sticks. Glue a candle stick to the bottom of each plate and stack to make a tier. She said you just have to make sure the base of the candle stick is wide enough to be sturdy. She used white candle sticks from Big Lots and red polka dot plates from Home Goods and did this for Christmas. I wasn't there to see it, but I have seen the cake plates she did this way. Very cute and very inexpensive.

[maaj]

Thanks OP for posting and thanks to all for the responses. I guess I need to start trying to save more. I am getting married 10/10/08. FH and I are paying for our extravaganza. We hired a wedding planner, since I am not the wedding planning type of girl, she alone was $1200 and our location alone was $2200. We have not even started looking at caterers or florists. Plus FH wants fireworks, lol. Sometimes I think we need to scale back, but then other times I do not think about it. I think I will take advice from you guys and start cutting back on everything else and try to do some of the stuff like invitations and all ourselves.