Save Money on Your Wedding Day

I am a girl who likes to get a bang for her buck. And I don't like skimping, so what was a bride to do? Well first off, I chose a day in November that was most likely going to be sunny. If you pick an "off season" month to get married you will more likely find a place that is not booked and prices are more likely to be negotiated because many places are wanting your business. I looked ahead at a forecast website that gave me probabilities of rain months ahead of the actual date.

I had to get my priorities straight. With this in mind, I could not have my cake and eat it too. And I didn't. After much thought about the hundreds of dollars I was about to invest into a tradition that I really never paid that much attention to at other weddings, I decided to opt out of the cake tradition and go with nice cookies and fruit. Every one was so busy dancing to the incredible band (I used the cake money towards a band vs. DJ) that the cake was not missed. And I'm sure some may have even had a guilt free morning from not packing on all the sugar and flour from the night before.

I went for an inexpensive meal as well. Yep, they all got chicken, veggies and a potatoes. I can't remember the last time I came home from a wedding just to talk about how good or bad the food was.

I also didn't mind that we didn't have an open bar. Some may think this is a cheesy and cheap way out. I think I was cost effective and many of my guests will actually remember the occasion rather than the hangover the following day.

I love, love, love roses and wanted them badly. But I also was bent on having 200 guests so my florist told me that she could create centerpieces with both red roses and red carnations that would blend so nicely that the carnations wouldn't be noticed. I went all out on my bouquet with dark red roses....

Borrow. And I don't just mean a "thing". I also mean ideas. I did both. My friend had been married months before I was and I adored her tiara. I went out on a limb (since I didn't think she'd been wearing it around the house anytime soon) and asked her if I could borrow it for my wedding. She was more than happy to (be sure you pick the right friend) and I felt simply beautiful with that expensive touch. I "borrowed" ideas from websites for my vows and included my own words as well. This obviously didn't save money, but saved me from stressing out on coming up with something that had to be profound. I also had a wedding binder with all my magazine pictures, hairstyles and price quotes inside. This idea was also borrowed from a friend.

Do your own make-up, but not hair. I had a make-up counter do my trial run and then I just jotted down exactly what she did and copied it myself. You want to go "light" on the make-up anyway, especially for pictures. I'm all about perfect hair so I splurged on that, but made sure I wouldn't need the stylist for the entire wedding. I got a "do" that I could have throughout the night and saved money that way as well.

Ask friends for help. I had "connections" from my immediate friends and some acquaintances. We even were able to have wedding programs made up from some friends in the business. Also, when choosing invitations we went with tasteful, yet simple card stock. I didn't need 1000 different cards falling out of the envelope, so we went with two.

Probably the most important thing I was told during this process was that it was the marriage that would last forever, not the wedding. This always made me feel better when I would start to think about what I wouldn't be able to have at my wedding. My wedding day was so glorious in so many ways, but it's the man that was waiting for me at the end of isle that made my day perfect...and that takes the cake!