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Just Begining

eadarnelleadarnell member
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in Arizona-Phoenix
Hi All,

I am just beginning the wedding planning process. I got engaged in December and we are planning for a March/April wedding in 2011. I was wondering if anyone had any advice on negotiating prices with your vendors? We have found a couple of places that we really loved for both ceremony and reception. The packages are all inclusive (food, bar, wedding cake). Does anyone have any tips on how to get any breaks on cost?

I'm very green to this process and any help, tips, advice will be greatly appreciated Smile
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Re: Just Begining

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    NillaWafer10NillaWafer10 member
    5 Love Its First Comment
    edited December 2011
    Welcome to the board! I'm a budget bride too, and I really like the budget board.  They have lots of great ways on how to save. Check them out too! What places have you checked out so far?

    Many of the all inclusive places have their prices pretty set in stone.  You might be able to negotiate with them if you plan your nuptials on any other day than a Saturday, or if the business is having a special.  I never tried to negotiate personally, I just price shopped a lot.  A family friend of ours called the Camelback Inn for a price, then used that to negotiate with some of the nicer Scottsdale resorts.  She was able to get a really good deal on the venue she wanted.  I'm not sure how successful this is, or if she just got lucky.

    I have some tips in my bio on how we saved big.  They worked for me, but aren't for everyone.  FI and I refused to go into debt for our wedding, so we are doing a lot of it ourselves.

    Good luck, and let us know about the places you are looking for.  We can help offer a lot of insight and our knowledge of the vendors!
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    guamibearguamibear member
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    edited December 2011
    Welcome to the board!

    My fiance decided to have our wedding in Vegas since most of our guest list is coming from the East Coast and it would be cheaper for us and them to have it in Vegas.

    Nilla-I checked out your bio, great advice on there. I'm curious, what kinds of things did you get on ebay? Also, which second hand stores seemed to have the best stuff? I had the same idea to go second hand on a lot of things. I've been scoping out a lot of places in downtown Phoenix, but am open to branching out to other parts of the Valley. Kiss
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    NillaWafer10NillaWafer10 member
    5 Love Its First Comment
    edited December 2011
    I have bought my wedding dress and cake topper on ebay thus far.  I tried on my dress in David's, then found it on ebay within a few weeks.  There are also BM dresses, flower girl dress, jewelry and shoes that are a steal on ebay.  Don't forget amazon too!  I bought some of our catering supplies from them.  I also just discovered etsy too! A lot of their stuff is ridiculously overpriced, but they do have some cute stuff!

    As funny as it sounds, goodwill is actually the secondhand store that has the best weddings supplies.  I got all of the glasses for my centerpieces for $1.00 each there.  I have seen crinolines, bridal bras, wedding dresses, tablecloths, and fully made centerpieces at the goodwill.  I think they have a 1/2 off sale every other Saturday.  I just pop in every once in a while to see what they have.  Some other places to look at are Savers, My Sister's Closet, and Last Chance. 

    Walmart also has some amazing wedding things (stock varies by store). Pretty much every new Walmart that I go to, I browse their wedding things.  When I visited my grandparents in Texas, they had a whole wall of catering supplies.  Who would have known?!

    Michael's and JoAnn's have been a God-send.  With the 40% off coupons, I managed to get 120 invitations for $60.00  I don't like many of the styles they carry, but they constantly change, so keep a look out.  The invite store near me wanted to charge me $600 for a similar design. No thanks, I'm too cheap to pay that much for paper that people are just going to throw away.  I go into the craft stores and buy glass votives, candles, floral supplies, ribbons, fabric and other crap on a weekly basis.  Michael's also gives you a coupon for next week with your receipt, and sometimes those are 50% off!  The new Hobby Lobby's around town are a great resource too! Their website provides coupons, so they don't accept competitor coupons.

    Oh! I also bought FI's ring from Overstock. It's tungsten carbide, and it was about 60 bucks! I think the jewelry stores charge closer to $200 for a similar style.

    The dollar tree is also has a wealth of wedding supplies.  Their merchandise changes weekly, so pick a day and make a trip once a week.  I've heard they get invitations, shepard's hooks, thank you notes, great totes, umbrellas, candy for stations, picture frames, favors, baskets etc.  You never know what you can use! There is a dollar store on Broadway and McClintock that is pretty big, but go to one that's close to you.

    Sorry I buy things from lots of sources hahaha! I should update my bio :)
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    NillaWafer10NillaWafer10 member
    5 Love Its First Comment
    edited December 2011
    Super long... Sorry :)
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    guamibearguamibear member
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    edited December 2011
    Thank You! This is great info!!! Much appreciated!
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    Marissa0717Marissa0717 member
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    edited December 2011
    From one budget bride to another, Thanks NillaWafer!! :D
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    NillaWafer10NillaWafer10 member
    5 Love Its First Comment
    edited December 2011
    Welcome girls! Happy planning hahaha!
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    eadarnelleadarnell member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    Thank you all for the advice!
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