Budgeting

kaitlynanddavidm

Hi,

I got engaged in October and am so excited! Only trouble is weddings seem to cost sooo much! Do you have any great cost cutting suggestions that I can use?

Thanks!

MiniMin20

Ugh, yes, they are! To save money on the reception, I'd recommend looking at picking an off-season date, think about doing it on a Friday or Sunday, or doing a brunch or cocktail reception. DIY as much as you can (invitations, flowers, decor), troll craigslist or the Knot for wedding stuff people are selling instead of buying retail. And do lots and lots of research to find the best deals!

And I'd say be creative, think outside the box to find things you can do to make your wedding unique but that would also cost less. I remember one Knottie talking about making centerpieces out of things they had in their house, like Red Sox memorabilia and stuff like that. That doesn't cost anything and it really brings in things that are personal and reflect you and your FI.

Good luck!

lashley1024

I second MiniMin's suggestions. My FI and I gave ourselves plenty of time for planning (18 months from engagement to wedding), which actually has given us some extra time to collect decorations at next to nothing (used), negotiate contracts before price increases, and put some extra money aside for expenses. We're also doing a lot of stuff ourselves, like growing our own flowers, making our own invitations, etc. It's a lot of work, but I'm finding it to be really fun!

kaitlynanddavidm

Can you think of anything specific to Portland (locations, photog, etc) that helped you save some money?

chayer227

I saved a lot of money doing the following:
no limo, no videographer, silk flowers, DIY candle centerpieces...
I used an online company to make my simple invitations (couldn't have even DIY'd them for less) - alaunbydesign.com
I bought my veil, pew bows and all my flowers from ebay stores.
I bought my table runners, candles, some decorations and centerpiece materials from other knotties second-hand.
I shopped for favors and decorations after holidays - my colors were red, black and silver, so I got killer deals on things after Christmas and Valentine's Day!  Candies for 75% off, etc.
I planned as far ahead as possible, booked all my vendors over a year in advance, and was able to lock in 2008 prices - which saved me a TON! (my photographer now charges double!)
I bought my dress on sale at David's Bridal and had a family friend who is a seamstress do my alterations. 
Our cake was made for us by another family friend for free (and was better than any other 'wedding cake' I've ever had).
For all other accessories, I shopped sales, used coupons and bought on Craig's list...
I got GREAT advice through the whole planning process on here, too. 

MiniMin20

Only a couple of my vendors are in Portland, so I don't know if I can be helpful for that. I've heard that Mariner's Church Banquet Center in the Old Port is supposed to be reasonably priced and nice too. Our venue, Shawnee Peak, is a really good deal, but about 45 minutes from Portland. Our cake baker, Nothing Bakes Like a Parrott, is in Portland; we didn't do much cost comparison, but I thought she was a good price (about $300 for a cake for 100 people, including delivery and all that).

Our photographer is in Portland too, Snapshots by Clare, and she is $1500 for everything -- all day photographer, rights to all your digital images, a proof album. She is fabulous and was one of the more affordable photographers we found with the talent we were looking for. But she books far in advance, just to warn you.

All that being said, you can probably find things a lot cheaper, if you're willing to find lesser-known people, people just starting out, friends who can help, that kind of thing.

Our location was our biggest saver, I think. If you really want a cheap location, I'd go outside of Portland, since I think most places in the city will be more expensive -- as will florists, hotels for your guests, hair stylists, etc. But we didn't look much in Portland, so I could be wrong.

MiniMin20

Oh, and if you're looking for second-hand decor, dresses, etc., check out Eco Elegance in Portland. They've got everything. Their deals on glassware are especially good, and if you want a designer dress, you can find it there for al ot less than you'd pay retail (but still more than you'd pay at David's Bridal). You can probably get decor stuff cheaper by buying off craigslist or other Knotties, but it's easier to find at Eco Elegance. Plus the owner is super nice and helpful and loves talking about wedding stuff!

kaitlynanddavidm

I went to eco elegance this week and I bought my dress! It was a ton more money then what I wanted to spend but it was so beautiful and when I looked at all of the different pictures I had cut out of magazines this dress was the perfect fit!

MiniMin20

That's so exciting! Let's see some pictures!

MeganLgray

Do as much as you can yourself!  A family friend is making our cake and that is saving us $1200. I collected antique ball jars for centerpieces and we are using flowers from our garden and from town property. FREE I am making my favors painted glass ornaments $65.00 My DH is a lobsterman so we are having a lobster bake to cut costs. Our family is going to help do the lobster bake and serve that saves a ton of money. Our photographer is about $1300, which is quite reasonable for the day.

Weddings are ridiculously expensive, before I started planning my own I thought I could do it for 5000. Unfortunately even doing it ourselves and cutting corners we are spending 12000. It will be worth every cent but I could buy a new car for that!

kaitlynanddavidm

Haha. I think that's why I am struggling, like with my wedding dress I LOVE IT so much it was just way more then I ever thought I would need to pay. I think that tends to be what most people run into though. I love the flowers in the jar idea! I may have to do that, though I have a pretty formal idea for my wedding. (I'm not sure we'll be able to pull it off though financially.) Things are starting to come together and maybe we'll do it in an affordable way but wow did it surprise me how much things cost!