Feb 26, 2009 8:44 PM

Thank you to everyone for your words of encouragement in my "mini-breakdown." I really appreciate your support.

Now I'm trying to pick up the pieces, and find new ways to cut cost.

Last night my mom & I cut our side of the guest list down. So the total guest list went from 190 to 166. FH & I are going to sit down this weekend and work on his side. We would like to manage to get it somewhere between 100-125 before it comes time to send out invites.

One thing that I'm doing, is instead of spending $300 on a dove release, I'm going to release 100 balloons. FH & I will release white balloons, each of the BMs will be releasing a pastel blue balloon, and the children attendants will be releasing silver balloons. Total cost for 100 balloons: $25.

I'm also moving up my ceremony & reception time so that I can serve lighter foods instead of a heavy meal.

I've also been looking on places like ebay for accessories that I can maybe spiff up myself to add a personal touch. I'm finding a lot of really good deals.

So does anyone else have any ideas?

Tags: december 2009

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Feb 27, 2009 7:23 AM in response to: WinterWonderlan...

winter - you know I was a HUGE diy'er because of cost restrictions I had, so any tips you want in that area I could assist with. hehe

10/26/08 

Tags: virginia  |  october 2008  |  december 2009

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Feb 27, 2009 8:50 AM in response to: karebeartg

thats good that you were able to shave off $275 by not doing doves. my only reservation is releasing balloons is not good for the environment :(

about saving money...do alot of things yourself and shop on ebay!
ebay actually has a ton of great stuff, that is new, and doesnt need any embellishing! They have veils that are really nice, beaded, plain, long, short, etc...some are as cheap as $12!!

You can also find garters on there too for only a few bucks. and yes, they are new! ha ha

We are not doing our own champagne flutes...we will just use what the venue provides. we dont drink champagne at home, so why spend the money?

You can find a really inexpensive and nice journal to serve as your guest book. you can even buy one that has blank pages (as in no lines) from Borders..they are the artist sketchbooks.

Or, just skip that. Or, you can buy a very inexpensive mat from the store and frame a picture of you guys and have people sign that.

Invitations are a huge expense, so shop around online to see what you can get for cheap. my friend bought some on invitesite.com. they are recycled paper, very cool looking, but they are print at home ones. so, they send you everything you need and you just use the template to set up the word document, and print it. Hers were about $1.35 each before printing...so after printing, $2 or so.

You can use flowers from the grocery store. Lots of grocery stores have florists right inside, and they can make bouquets for you. Also, the grocery stores are beginning to make wedding cakes too! So, you could have them do your cake. You could also have a small cake that you guys cut, but then have a big sheet cake in the back for the caterer to cut up and serve to your guests. (thats usually what they do anyway) but it saves on costs.

If you dont have your dress yet, see if you can get a deal from the bridal shop by buying the sample dress. I did that and save $600! I was lucky and the sample fit me, and was in good shape.

Find a tux shop that will give you the grooms tux rental for free.

Use inexpensive and simple centerpieces. Maybe place one white candle in the middle of the take surrounded by christmas ornaments (you are a december bride, right?). Or, wrap small boxes in different wrapping paper.

Use your favors as table decorations. I am getting married in October, and I am going to have small pumpkins as escort cards. This way, the guests can place the pumpkins on the table to serve as part of the centerpiece. You could do the same thing with the favors.

there are other posts on this topic...try doing a search to see what else you can come up with :)

Tags: december 2009  |  connecticut  |  october 2010  |  north carolina  |  august 2009

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Feb 27, 2009 3:09 PM in response to: WinterWonderlan...

There used to be a thread somewhere on these boards with brides listing ways they had cut their budgets and saved money... But it was on the old brides.com and last time I saw it was August-ish of last year.... Try the search function? Lol sorry that wasn't very helpful, um...

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Mar 1, 2009 8:22 PM in response to: Bally

I was honestly thinking the same thing about the negative ecological impact on marine life. How about having people blow bubbles. I guess it depends on if the balloon release was at the church or the reception area (if all aren't at the same place). You could use the bubbles as favours and have everyone blow bubbles at the same time. I think that would look very nice.

I'm not sure if it fits in with your theme and it also depends on the number of guests you are having. I HATE to naysay something that sounds as lovely, and cost effective, as the balloon release but the environment will pay for it.

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Mar 2, 2009 5:39 AM in response to: WinterWonderlan...

I am getting married in 20 days. Here are things I have learned to keep costs down.
Watch for sales/ coupons @ local craft stores. I got my guestbook, pen, unity candle, & cake topper and program paper for 40-50% off.
Don't overlook places like Walmart for things like invitations.
Consider borrowing things such as ceremony decorations, bubbles, or even a veil from another bride you know, such as a sister.

Tags: montana  |  march 2009  |  december 2009

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Mar 2, 2009 6:04 PM in response to: WinterWonderlan...

HI Winter :) I think it sounds like you have a wonderful start on the budget cutting. How much cutting are you expecting to have to make? Like... in half? or 2/3?

Is your ceremony and reception in the same place? That saved a bunch on transportation costs and stuff. Also, I used live plants as centerpieces in mismatched decorative pots (all purchased for less than $5 - look around they're definitely there!). Maybe you could do little holly trees? or some deep green furns. I liked that afterwards the guests could take a plant or two home with them if they'd like and I have a bunch here at my house. :) I even donated some to my library at school, so they'll always be a piece of me there! Also, I liked that it gave me a "lush" feeling similar to what you get with a bunch of flowers.

Then for the table top itself I cut table runners myself out of burlap fabric. IF you go to Joanne's fabrics and look for coupons and sales, you can probably get something very high impact for almost no money. If someone has a sewing machine, maybe you can recruit them to hem up the edges for you, or if not, use that iron-on hemming. :)

Consider this too: I found that the cost of renting a lot of the dishes and glassware was actually more expensive than BUYING them. I ended up buying some nice wineglasses at BB&B for $10/dozen where the rental place wanted 90 cents EACH to rent them and they weren't even as pretty! This way I can resell them if I want to, or just wait for the few I have in my house to break and I can start replacing them free of charge. lol We did drinking glasses like that too, but we found what we wanted (just a regular juice-style glass, not those silly-looking water goblets. heeh) at Walmart for $10/dozen as well and the 75 cents each for those. It just started adding up at the rental place REALLY fast. lol

I know i had a small wedding, which made it somewhat easier, but my dishes for the wedding were bought too. My now brother in law was trolling the restaurant auctions and bought me all the dishes I needed for about $20 (40 place settings!). Of course now I only need about 12 of those place settings and I have 28 I want to get rid of. LOL

I know you'll do just fine. :)

10/26/08 

Tags: june 2010  |  virginia  |  october 2008  |  caribbean  |  july 2009  | 

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Mar 4, 2009 10:39 AM in response to: WinterWonderlan...

Biodegradable does mean it will decompose, yes, but what if some creature eats it before it decomposes? Its also littering until it decomposes. I know you may live ages away from a body of water but what if it lands on the ground, gets washed into a river and voila, its in the water system. Or even birds picking at it to try and eat. I dunno, it just seems wrong to me to purposely release loads of plastic into the environment in order to save money. Although I applaud your savvy money saving skills. Also if you are getting married in winter you have to think about air density as the air will be colder. Warm air rises, so if there is no warm air, the balloons may not rise enough to reach bursting point. I'm probably mental about this just because I've seen the damage they do to animals with my own eyes and its disturbing. I think we have done enough negative things to the environment without adding more.
I do like the idea of bubble blowing though. I was going to suggest butterfly release but then remembered its winter and they would probably freeze in mid air..lol

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