Ten Budget Saving Tips for your wedding by Liz Denny of Peridona Events
In these economic times, these tips will help you save without compromising your dream day!
- Get family and friends involved. Look around-every family has talent. Maybe there is a pastry chef in-the-making under your own roof! A friend or relative can bake your cake. A professional baker can decorate it if that gives your cake the look you want. Not only will having a baker in your family save you money, you give someone you love bragging rights!
- Use indigenous flowers and decor. Consider incorporating your location’s indigenous plants, flowers and all things native in the décor for your ceremony and post-ceremony celebration. For a wedding in on the coast of New England, the florist used sea glass gathered by the bride’s family to decorate the simple white wedding cake. The seaglass glistened against the white frosting.
- The Bride and her attendants should consider carrying family heirlooms instead of traditional bouquets. A family Bible or Prayer Book will have personal meaning and be less expensive for a florist to decorate than creating a bouquet from scratch.
- Use ribbon! Ribbon can give the effect that flowers can too. Boutonnieres can be made of ribbon by making a simple cross-over loop fastened with a floral pin. Ribbon can also adorn a flower girl’s hair and the basket she carries. Give your floral bouquet more volume by looping in ribbon with the flowers.
- Use high school talent! For my own wedding, I am using the local high school jazz band. It felt great to highlight kids who are talented musicians!
- Use candles! Don’t be married to flowers to achieve an elegant look. One bloom or even petals are beautiful when scattered amongst tea lights in votive cups.
- Look for coupons on websites like www.TheKnot.com to receive discounts for a plethora of items. From creating your own personal website to personalized cocktail napkins, you will save.
- Have a pot luck meal! Every family has a chef in the making! Wedding guests will get a treat when they enjoy favorite family dishes. Share the recipes with your guests by having each “chef” copy the recipe placing it by his/her dish.
- Have a friend or family member with nice hand-writing address invitations. Before there was an abundance of calligraphers, an aunt or family relative of the bride’s hand-addressed all wedding invitations. Bring back the tradition and tell everyone your aunt did it!
- Do-it-Yourself! Choose a wedding date that allows you enough time to do things yourself at a leisurely pace. If a year-long engagement allows you to do things yourself and save money, then do it!
Roz, my sister-in-law's sister and a talented pastry chef at Grove Park Inn in Asheville, shows us how she will make the cake and Nate gets ready to decorate!
