The average wedding in the US now-a-days is about $30,000. It's even higher in the OC. We all know that weddings are expensive.
BUT your dream wedding is possible without having to spend all that you have. We’d like to share some of the tips we’ve learned from family, friends, wedding resources, and our personal experience:
• Free Airfare to Your Honeymoon: http://www.citicards.com/ or http://www.americanexpress.com/ and many other credit card companies will offer special deals of earning 25,000 free miles when you sign up and spend about $750 in 4 months. 25,000 miles will already be enough for a free roundtrip. However, if you’re going more of a distance away such as Hawaii, you can earn the extra miles you need by charging all your wedding expenses to that card. Since the average wedding is $30K, you’re bound to hit the required miles or be able to buy the remainder cheaply. Important Note: Cancel it within a year so you don’t have to pay the annual fee.
• Don’t Hold Your Wedding during Peak Days/Times: Peak times: Late Spring, Summer, Friday and Saturday nights. If you can avoid any of those peak times, you should be able to reduce a good chunk of the price of all your vendors.
• Rent the Dress: *Gasp* Did I say rent?! Don’t buy your dress. Decide for yourself are you really ever going to wear it again? Plus, how will you store it? You can rent a gorgeous bridal gown for as low as $150 that, at retail is over $1K. Bridesmaids’ dresses can be rented for as low as $35. Tuxes can also be rented as low as $35. The place to go? For those in the OC, go to the Little Saigon area in Westminster. There are plenty of districts that will allow you to rent so ask around. THOSE are where these good deals are. Try around though and make sure you’re getting the right price for your dress. One store that was just a block away of the final place I rented my dress was charging over $100 more for the same dress!
• Prioritize the Important Vendors: Prioritize which vendors are important to you. I’ve heard many say that, after all the wedding plans, they never more than once watched their wedding video. That immediately prompted me to not hire a videographer and to be willing to spend more on a quality photographer. But remember for your IMPORTANT vendors, pick the best that you can afford. You cannot skimp out on quality when it comes to the most important elements of your wedding.
• Hire the Up & Coming Vendors: Have your hair done by students from a hair academy. Have your make up done by an artist just starting to build his/her business/portfolio. Ask around to other friends if they know anyone they recommend that is just starting.
• Ask for Deals: Remember that you’re the customer. Ask your vendors if there are any circumstances where they can give special deals or discounts.
• Go to Free Make-Up Counters: I’ve seen make-up artists up to $500 for a one day event. Why pay them when you can go to a make-up counter for free at a mall? Go around to see which one you like and schedule it 3 months in advance. If done on a weekday, most make-up consultants will do it for free with no required purchase.
• Accessorize for Less Than $20: Buy your accessories where they are still beautiful but not expensive. There’s the Santee down LA. There’s Little Saigon. There’s K-town. If a relative is traveling to a foreign country, you might want to hit them up to buy the accessories. Go online.
• Cut Out Traditions that Are Unimportant to You: Is a limo that important to you? Do you really need to mail out a Send-the-Date? Do you really find meaning and significance in performing the Unity Candle, etc? Talk with your fiancé about what you may want to keep or throw out and you can chip away expenses like that. Do you really care about a guestbook? Will you do anything with it afterwards? Why not just have that be an online feature?
• Wait on Your Wedding Band: If you already have an engagement ring and have a dream wedding in mind, you may want to forgo the wedding band as a future anniversary gift or none at all. The plus side? Save potentially thousands of dollars and still be looked at as the bride much longer after your wedding.
• See What Your Ceremony/Reception Site Provides: If your site can provide audio equipment or decorations that are included, you can significantly cut costs with your vendors. It is less transportation and general work for them. You can negotiate a lower price because of that.
BUT your dream wedding is possible without having to spend all that you have. We’d like to share some of the tips we’ve learned from family, friends, wedding resources, and our personal experience:
• Free Airfare to Your Honeymoon: http://www.citicards.com/ or http://www.americanexpress.com/ and many other credit card companies will offer special deals of earning 25,000 free miles when you sign up and spend about $750 in 4 months. 25,000 miles will already be enough for a free roundtrip. However, if you’re going more of a distance away such as Hawaii, you can earn the extra miles you need by charging all your wedding expenses to that card. Since the average wedding is $30K, you’re bound to hit the required miles or be able to buy the remainder cheaply. Important Note: Cancel it within a year so you don’t have to pay the annual fee.
• Don’t Hold Your Wedding during Peak Days/Times: Peak times: Late Spring, Summer, Friday and Saturday nights. If you can avoid any of those peak times, you should be able to reduce a good chunk of the price of all your vendors.
• Rent the Dress: *Gasp* Did I say rent?! Don’t buy your dress. Decide for yourself are you really ever going to wear it again? Plus, how will you store it? You can rent a gorgeous bridal gown for as low as $150 that, at retail is over $1K. Bridesmaids’ dresses can be rented for as low as $35. Tuxes can also be rented as low as $35. The place to go? For those in the OC, go to the Little Saigon area in Westminster. There are plenty of districts that will allow you to rent so ask around. THOSE are where these good deals are. Try around though and make sure you’re getting the right price for your dress. One store that was just a block away of the final place I rented my dress was charging over $100 more for the same dress!
• Prioritize the Important Vendors: Prioritize which vendors are important to you. I’ve heard many say that, after all the wedding plans, they never more than once watched their wedding video. That immediately prompted me to not hire a videographer and to be willing to spend more on a quality photographer. But remember for your IMPORTANT vendors, pick the best that you can afford. You cannot skimp out on quality when it comes to the most important elements of your wedding.
• Hire the Up & Coming Vendors: Have your hair done by students from a hair academy. Have your make up done by an artist just starting to build his/her business/portfolio. Ask around to other friends if they know anyone they recommend that is just starting.
• Ask for Deals: Remember that you’re the customer. Ask your vendors if there are any circumstances where they can give special deals or discounts.
• Go to Free Make-Up Counters: I’ve seen make-up artists up to $500 for a one day event. Why pay them when you can go to a make-up counter for free at a mall? Go around to see which one you like and schedule it 3 months in advance. If done on a weekday, most make-up consultants will do it for free with no required purchase.
• Accessorize for Less Than $20: Buy your accessories where they are still beautiful but not expensive. There’s the Santee down LA. There’s Little Saigon. There’s K-town. If a relative is traveling to a foreign country, you might want to hit them up to buy the accessories. Go online.
• Cut Out Traditions that Are Unimportant to You: Is a limo that important to you? Do you really need to mail out a Send-the-Date? Do you really find meaning and significance in performing the Unity Candle, etc? Talk with your fiancé about what you may want to keep or throw out and you can chip away expenses like that. Do you really care about a guestbook? Will you do anything with it afterwards? Why not just have that be an online feature?
• Wait on Your Wedding Band: If you already have an engagement ring and have a dream wedding in mind, you may want to forgo the wedding band as a future anniversary gift or none at all. The plus side? Save potentially thousands of dollars and still be looked at as the bride much longer after your wedding.
• See What Your Ceremony/Reception Site Provides: If your site can provide audio equipment or decorations that are included, you can significantly cut costs with your vendors. It is less transportation and general work for them. You can negotiate a lower price because of that.
• Take the Free Offers: TheKnot.com and plenty of other sites will make you a wedding website for free. Take advantage of it!
• Borrow: Borrow items you can use from other people. There are plenty of things you can reuse: accessories, the veil, a fancy sporty car, etc.
• Have Delicious Food that Costs Less: Did you know that In-N-Out can cater weddings? That’s right. I went to a wedding that allowed me to eat unlimited In-N-Out burgers and, oh man, it was worth it. Caterers usually allow for complimentary samplings of their menu.
• Look Outside the Box for Your Wedding Invitations: Make your own invitations from Michaels and Wal-Mart. Or how about printing your own invitations as movie tickets and using a custom print company that’ll charge a lot less? Also, the technology is available. Why not e-mail your invitations now (i.e. www.evite.com )? Why mail out hard copies and pay for postage twice? Otherwise, you can hand deliver your invitations. How many of us honestly keep the invitation afterwards anyway?
• Ask for Volunteers: Last but not least, there are people that have blessed and surprised us so much with their love and support to help this dream wedding come true. Their help has significantly saved us time, energy, and money.
• Additional Highly Recommended Resources:
1. Bridal Bargains by Denise & Alan Fields: This book is awesome and chalk full of information on how to save money with details on actual good and bad vendors.
2. http://www.theknot.com/ : This website is overflowing with general wedding information, not to mention ideas you can copy.
3. Google Ideas to Save Money: Google “how to save money on a wedding” and you’ll get tons of links and articles to help you.
Let me know if you guys have any other resources you recommend!
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