10 Ways to Cut Wedding Costs and Save Money
August 11, 2010
Save money on wedding costs
Weddings are a costly business, but with some careful planning and organisation, there are ways of cutting your costs and sticking to a budget. Here are 10 ways that you could cut your wedding costs and save money.
1. Print your own wedding stationery
Wedding invitations, orders of service, menus, place names and thank you cards can all be made yourself and printed out at home. It’s cheaper to buy the card and ink yourself and do the work than paying a hefty price to get someone else to do it.
2. Hire a wedding suit or dress
Cut the huge expense of buying a wedding dress by hiring one instead. This goes for the groom, ushers and bridesmaids too, who can also hire suits or dresses.
3. Scour wedding forums for wedding sales
Lots of people who’ve recently got married sell their unwanted items through wedding forums. You could find table decorations, veils, shoes, candles, favour bags or tiaras at reduced prices.
4. Get married on a weekday or a Sunday
Saturday’s are the most popular day of the week to get married, but by bucking the trend, you can save money. The cost of receptions, such as hiring a venue, is considerably cheap on a weekday or Sunday.
5. Buy reduced priced items in sales
Keep an eye out for sales and buy items you need for your wedding at reduced price, even if you have to buy them in advance.
6. Look for a wedding dress in sample sales
Sample sales can be a good way of saving money on the cost of a wedding dress, especially if you’re a small size.
Hire a wedding suit
7. Buy a wedding cake from a supermarket
Most of the major supermarkets sell plain iced fruit cakes or sponge cakes in different sizes. Buy three different size cakes, stack them up and you can create a cheap and easy wedding cake. Decorate with ribbon and fresh flowers.
8. Keep the flowers simple and buy your own
Keep your wedding floral decorations simple and elegant and, where possible, buy your own flowers and do your own decorations.
9. Get friends to do the photography
Find friends that are good with photography and get them to do your wedding photos. Digital cameras produce great results these days.
10. Save postage on wedding invitations
Hand deliver as many wedding invitations as possible, or email them instead.
What to Look For When Choosing a Wedding Photographer
May 26, 2010
Find the perfect wedding photographer
Photography is a big part of any wedding and you want to end up with high quality photos of your special day that you’ll treasure and enjoy for many years to come. With so many wedding photographers out there, in can be a hard task choosing who to go for. Here are some practical ideas on what to look for when choosing a wedding photographer.
The Personality of the Photographer
Avoid picking a photographer out of a brochure or just from seeing their work online. As you’ll be with them for most of your wedding day, getting on with them is important too. If your photographer lacks a personality, has a really bad sense of humour or isn’t on your wavelength, then you could be in for a bad day.
Always make an appointment to meet a photographer before booking them, so that you can assess whether you’ll get on with them. Wedding fairs can be a good opportunity to meet a variety of photographers for the first time and see the style of photography they offer.
Photography Style
Don’t book a photographer before you’ve sussed out their style of photography and made sure it’s the kind of thing you’re looking for. Some specialise in doing traditional, formal shots, whilst others are more geared up to informal, relaxed photos. If they can do a mix of the two, then that would be a good bet for some brides and grooms.
Photographers should offer you the chance to see plenty of examples of their work. If they don’t, then ask to see some to get a better idea of how they usually work.
The Price of Photography
The price the photographer is charging is going to be a big issue for many people, but don’t let it rule your decision completely. Look at the packages a photographer is offering and how much the actual photos will cost to buy, as well as how much they charge to attend on the day.
Some photographers might not charge much to attend for the day, but if the cost of buying all the photographs is high it can work out as a more costly option than going for a package deal.
It’s also worth looking for a photographer who’ll sell you a CD or DVD with all the photos from the day on it. Although it can be pricey to purchase, this does at least mean that you can print out the ones you want to use at a later date, and for less than it may cost you to buy prints direct from the photographer, so can be a good deal.