Tuesday, January 5, 2010

Cutting Corners

I really, truly had absolutely NO idea how much a wedding would cost.  As frugal as I am, the costs just keep adding up, especially as I'm getting down to the nitty gritty details.  Having a winter wedding prevents me from doing the back yard potluck which I'm all for and saves tons of cash; eloping was out of the question (although my and my man seriously considered it), so cutting out or back on typical wedding details has been my main option.  So far, this is how I'm "cutting corners:"
  • Bought my dress off the rack
  • Found my shoes for less than $20!
  • Made my invitations
  • Created a wedding site for online RSVP's
  • Doing my own hair and make up
  • Buying my cupcakes at Sam's Club
  • Using an Ipod instead of a DJ
  • Decided against wedding favors
  • Having the ceremony at my fiance's dad's church (Thanks Rich!)
  • Having my fiance's dad officiate
  • Bought my bouquets and corsages from Etsy (decided against real flowers)
  • Using Candles and on sale items at Michael's, and my incredibly crafty future mother in law to create centerpieces
  • Bought a ton of white Christmas lights on sale after Christmas for the lighting at the reception venue
  • Buying cases of Charles Shaw wine at Trader Joe's (yay for 3 buck Chuck!)
  • Found a church member who is volunteering his time and talents to videograph our wedding (totally lucked out on this one!)
  • I have a friend who is an event planner who is going to help "coordinate." 
There are probably a few more things that I can't think of right now, but even with all those cut corners this wedding is still adding up quickly!  Anyone have any other great money saving ideas?  Please share!

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7 comments:

  1. I found out it really directly relates to how many people are there, that was the case for our wedding anyway. The more people we invited, the more we had to spend. We ended up with 80, but every dime we spent to have people there was worth it.

    Photography and food are two things where you could spend a lot or a little.

    I think inevitably it just adds up, but I think you're doing wonderful!

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  2. I was going to blog about this myself. I'm in the same boat - I feel like we've done so much to save money but things still add up fast!

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  3. Weddings are expensive. You are way ahead of me on the cost savings. I just got a few tips from your list! All I can think of is cutting down on the amount of flowers. Maybe you can have your bridesmaids carry something besides flowers?

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  4. I just clicked over on the bouquet link, those rock!

    Also, have you settled on food yet? One of my friends had to feed like 400 people at her wedding and had a bbq place cater it (Rudy's). She said that saved them a lot of money.

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  5. Our venue requires a licensed caterer....and unfortunately there just aren't a lot of options in Flagstaff. We chose Thornagers...a place that my Flagstaff blogger friends highly recommended. The food is actually reasonable...its paying for the staff that adds up! We're also required to purchase wedding insurance...still researching this option.

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  6. Ruthy, I absolutely love the bouquets you're using...what a unique addition to your wedding! Congrats on getting so close...

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  7. You are doing really well. You should do a budget breakdown. I would really help other Flagstaff brides like myself.

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