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Help...

HocksaHocksa member
First Comment
in Arizona-Phoenix
So I have no clue how to plan a wedding at all, and where to start or look. I have a budget of 10,000. Any advance for a newly engaged girl on where to start and how to save money, while still getting the elegant wedding I always wanted.

I live in phoenix/scottsdale area.
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Re: Help...

  • mgummsmgumms
    100 Comments
    edited December 2011
    You're on the right track! There are always a lot of good deals that girls find and post on here. To get ideas, I reccomend looking at some of the blogs linked on the "Wedding Obsessions Blog" page on here. They post great pics and ideas. The knot is awesome for ideas, but I suggest checking out www.weddingwire.com. It's easier to find vendors on it and I personally like their budget tool and guest list manager better. If you're crafty DIY projects can save a lot of money. The DIY board is helpful. :) Also, places like Michael's and Hobby Lobby have some wedding stuff and they have sales all the time. Signing up for coupons lists has saved me a ton of money. Welcome to the board!
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  • Marissa0717Marissa0717 member
    100 Comments
    edited December 2011
    I am planning my wedding with Tre Bella and it is a dream for me because it is all inclusive. I just pick my stuff and Kim from Tre Bella puts it all together. So nice!

    Other than that this board has been a HUGE help; all the girls on here are wonderful!! The Knot and Wedding wire as mentioned in the PP are other ones I use a lot. I had the hardest time finding a wedding photographer in my price range and ended up finding one through Google that I loved and she got 5 stars on Wedding Wire so I felt good about it all!!

    Cosmo magazine now has a wedding section on their site as well that has some cute ideas for things like STDs and other fun stuff too!
    BabyFruit Ticker
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  • CellesCelles member
    2500 Comments Combo Breaker
    edited December 2011
    Who is your photographer, Marissa?  I'm looking for one now, too.
    image
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  • KellyandDave2011KellyandDave2011 member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    Most of the places that I'm looking at have all-inclusive packages. So, I'd concentrate on finding a place that you like and meet with their coordinator. It's likely that the location will have one of these packages that can be altered to fit your budget and tastes.

    Good luck!!!
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  • westfallwed25westfallwed25 member
    10 Comments
    edited December 2011
    Celles... You mentioned you were looking for a photographer?? You should check out bellolume.com. Her name is Renee Cain. She is wonderful. We haven't even gotten our engagement pictures yet, we are taking them this sunday, but she recently took my future cousin in law's engagement pics (she will also be doing their wedding next week) and the pictures turned out absolutely amazing!! She has been so nice and so helpful so far. Not to mention, her pricing is amazing!! Let me know if you have any questions. Also, stay tuned for my engagement pics! :)
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  • NillaWafer10NillaWafer10 member
    1000 Comments 5 Love Its
    edited December 2011
    Welcome to the board!  I had a similar budget, but it was blown out of the water as of lately hahaha!   I think it's great that you want to start saving up now.  We had two goals for our wedding, one to marry each other, and two to walk away debt free.  I have literally save every penny since we got engaged.  Some of the best tips I got were:

    -Cancel any unused gym memberships, and start working out at home or with a friend.
    -Don't get soft drinks or alcohol when dining out.  This literally cuts our bill in half.
    -Put a ban on fast food restaurants.  This will help get you and your wallet in shape!
    -Rent movies instead of going to the movie theater, or better yet, invest in a netflix account.
    -Hold a garage sale
    -Have a coin jar.  I think we average about $200 in coins every year.  Roll them yourself, because those machines take out quite a chunk!
    -If you're crafty, sell things on etsy
    -If you're a student, sell your unused books on Amazon
    -Go through your closet pick out the clothes you don't wear anymore.  Sell any designer duds on ebay, and give the rest away for a tax credit.

    As for actual savings on the wedding, pick one or two areas that you want to splurge, and then pick twice as many areas where you wouldn't mind saving.  I decided early on that the venue and photography were the most important things to me.  I spent the biggest chunk of my budget there.  I then decided that I didn't really need to spend much on the save the dates, invitations, dress or accessories.  I ended up getting my venue 1/2 off, so I saved instead of splurged there ($2,500 in savings).  I ordered my std's through vista print, bought invitation kits and printed them myself, got my never worn dress off of ebay from a bride that changed her mind, and borrowed all of my accessories.  I would say that I saved $1500 just by making those small sacrifices.

    My whole goal was to have a wedding that looked a lot more expensive than it was.  I ended up spending a lot more than I planned, because I didn't budget realistically.  Try to have an extra $1000 saved up for extra splurges and unexpected costs.  Some things we didn't initially expect to pay for were taxes, service charges, tipping, marriage license, alcohol insurance, wedding liability insurance, and small details like unity candle, garter belt, guest book, cake cutters etc.

    My last piece of advice.  In the end, you only have your photographs and your memories.  Take time investing in researching the photographer you like, and make sure it's a good fit personality wise. 
    Photobucket
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  • micahraewilliamsmicahraewilliams member
    10 Comments
    edited December 2011
    If you are wanting to do some type of destination wedding, an all inclusive resort and wedding package are great do do!!! Beachy weddings are great and you have a nice budget to work with. You can cut a lot of costs by choosing flowers that are in season the time of the year you get married, as well as possibly opting for a less expensive invite and programs. I made my own programs at my wedding...  :)
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  • HocksaHocksa member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011

    Thank you all so much. This advice is so useful. Any more infomation would be so helpful! So many good ideas that will help! Thank you NillaWaffer10!!

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  • Marissa0717Marissa0717 member
    100 Comments
    edited December 2011
    Celles -  my photographer is Ivy and I LOVE her. She is so fun and absolutely fabulous!! Her website is www.picchickonline.com and she has a bunch of her photos on her site. I loved her work and when we met her I loved her even more! According to Wedding Wire she has 5 out of 5 stars and she is extremely affordable. I can't wait to see what she comes up with for our wedding day :)
    BabyFruit Ticker
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  • paintmepaintme member
    10 Comments
    edited December 2011

    One of the first things you need to do is to decide how many people you want to invite.

    10,000 for 50 people is going to be one wedding verses 10,000 for 200 people.  I actually chose a small, but wonderful venue, that had a size limit. Evey time my mom or a friend or a relative said something I was able to say "I would love to invite that person but we can only have 70 people...it is fire code".

    Deicide how many people and then you can start to look at venues based on that size and price per person.

    Good luck!
    BabyFruit Ticker
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