Planning A Wedding » wedding costs

Planning a Wedding – The Wedding Budget Save Money on Caterers, Food and alcohol

Alex — Fri, 29 May 2009 16:31:00 +0000

A huge part of a wedding budget is the food and drink. Is it possible to have a great reception which isn’t catered or professionally bartended? Yes! Planning a wedding budget precisely depends upon how many guests invited and which type of food.

If you’re planning to cater the wedding yourself, understand the costs involved are not just the food itself. Guests need dishware, utensils, cups, saucers, wine glasses, water glasses, etc etc etc. You’ll also need serving dishes, serving plates, serving utensils, napkins, table cloths, food warmers etc etc etc. There is a long list of needs which at some point it will be more expensive to do it yourself vs catering the affair.

Before you decide to cater yourself, check catering prices and make sure the location where you are having your reception will allow any outside food. Note: you must know how many guests which will attend.

Calling the Caterer:

What you should know before you call: Before you call the wedding caterer be sure to get a reference from a friend, relative or check with the better business bureau and health department.

Ask if they are available to cater on the date of your reception!

What you should be asking for:

A faxed copy of the menu options and if they make special requests.
A faxed copy of a contract.
Do they provide, what is the cost, what color/style selections are available and can you supply (instead of them) and get the cost lowered: silverware, cups, glasses, plates, table cloths, linens, table decorations, centerpieces. (this is very important to save money)
What is a list of extra fees to expect in detail: ie tips, staff costs, broken dishes, among others
Do you provide clean up? Are we able to negotiate by cleaning up ourselves? What is the cost of clean up if you do it?
What time is needed for setting up and cleaning up?
Are regular beverages included, and how much does this cost?(Ask for specific beverages like soda, coffee, tea) Are there extra staff involved?
Do you have a liquor bar service? How much is this cost? What staff are involved?
How much and when do you require the deposit?

How to save money on caterer costs:

Now is the hard part. Wherever you are planning a wedding reception it is vital you check if they allow outside catering, liquor, food and drink.

If you are allowed those or if the location is not licensed for liquor you can pick up banquet license and insurance. You cannot supply any food or alcohol where money changes hands (hired help, catering etc) unless you have these protections. It is vitally important you follow local laws and regulations in terms of serving food and alcohol. This means extra work, even while saving money for your wedding, and is why most people choose catered events centers.

Now that the liability is out of the way. Here is my top 10 ways to save money on your wedding catering.

Cater yourself – the only way this works is if you have a small wedding and can supply the silverware, cookware, serving ware and dishware or if you are willing to use plastic and paper.
Local costs of rental equipment sometimes will charge you less than the caterers! Be aware you will probably have to pay extra for them to pick up dirty dishes. – Check all costs, contracts and liabilities.
Supply staff yourself! Family and friends will have a list of students willing to work at your wedding for a lesser cost. Some of them are even licensed bartenders.
Do the clean up yourself, ask your family and friends to chip in and see if the location will allow you to clean up the following day. Alternatively you can hire your own staff to clean up (see number 2 about staff).
Buy the beverages, including alcohol yourself and hire your own licensed bartender.
Buffets cost less than single serving foods.
Supply your own wedding table decorations, its 10 x cheaper than going through any service. Be aware you will need friends and family help with this.
Host your reception in smaller out of the way areas. You can get a better price on a place that is looking for more business.
Rent your linens from wedding specialists. This is extremely cheap at about 6-10 bucks a table cloth and you can find rentals for your chair covers and decorations too. However, you can buy sheets (what I did) and table cloths in various colors for little as well. Check Shops. Remember that white or off color can be dyed. You can also use fabric paint and craft store items to decorate linens you buy.
Offer to publicize any of the companies you use. You can put the caterer on a special wedding program, offer to advertise them on your web pages, companies will often reduce your prices substantially for well placed advertisement.

Best of luck and next on planning a wedding : How to save money on the photographer and videographer!

Trimming Your Wedding Budget

Alex — Mon, 25 May 2009 21:58:00 +0000

If you’re keeping up with my blog, you should have a detailed list of your wedding budget, in order of most important to least important, and your list should include the cost of those things. Now I want to talk about how to trim your wedding budget.

We’ll start with the most difficult item to reduce cost; the wedding dress. Let’s face it, for some brides, the dress we choose is the most integral part of our wedding. I actually planned my wedding around my dress. This is usually the most costly part of a wedding budget.

The best place to start lowering the cost of your wedding dress is on the Internet. If you know the style number of your dress, and the designer you’re in luck. A simple search on Google will produce numerous websites which sell the dress. you can then browse each of those websites and see who is selling your dress for less. If you’re unlucky, like I was, you’ll only have an idea of what you won your dress to look like. If this is the case, you can browse the numerous websites dedicated to bridal wear. I recommend The Knot.

The Internet is not the only place you can save money on your gown, a great place to save money on your wedding is with a seamstress. Using a specialty dressmaker has the bonus of experience, however, it also has a higher price.

There are tons of other ways to save money on your dress. You can rent a bridal gown, share a bridal gown (advertise for bride-to-be, who will share the dress with you), or you can find a used wedding gown on Craig’s list and other used gown websites.

Remember that wedding gowns do not have to be white, ivory or pink. Wedding gowns can be red, blue, purple or any other color you want. Wedding gowns don’t even have to be wedding gowns, you can use a suit or even a prom dress.

One last thing, my friend recently rented her wedding dress at a local costume shop.

Stay tuned for my next blog about saving money on the reception. Specifically, booze and food. Meanwhile you can check out an interesting link on Spring wedding favors

Planning a Wedding Checklist – Part Two Trimming the Budget

Alex — Tue, 19 May 2009 12:54:00 +0000

If you read Planning a Wedding Part One The Budget, you should have started a budgeted list from the most important items to the least important items on the wedding checklist. When adding totals you may be over your budget so the next crucial step is where and how to trim your wedding budget.

At the top of your list are the items which you’ve deemed most important, which means they are the last parts of your checklist to be trimmed. Even if you are within budget for your wedding, there are always ways to trim the budget.

As part of my wedding planning I made certain decisions which seemed to be beyond reach of a budget of $10,000. For instance my Calla Lily theme. One of the most expensive wedding flowers available, and out of season during my wedding in July. My dress was shipped from New York to the small town in Sweden where I live. We bought, not rented, my husband’s tuxedo, also from New York. We had an outdoor wedding in a remote area with a rented tent. We had nearly 55 guests and 45 of them from out of town. We rented cabins and a special hotel for my parents. We had flower centerpieces and table centerpieces. We had chair decorations and table decorations. Everything I wanted for my wedding. The point, as you may be wondering about now, is that you can manage the wedding of your dreams within your budget or even less. I got exactly what I wanted and so can you, if you’re willing to put in the work!

You can view my wedding pictures here for our wedding pictures.

Budget Lists for Planning a Wedding

Alex — Thu, 14 May 2009 15:09:00 +0000

This is a comprehensive lists of costs you might expect to pay for your wedding. Links are to articles I have written or found which save money on the particular listed item. When planning a wedding budget this list should be as detailed as possible.

Ceremony
Location fee

officiant fee

marriage license

musician’s fees

ring pillows

Reception
Reception Site

Food

Drinks

Rentals

Cake

Favors

Clothing
Dress

Headpiece/veil

lingerie

hosiery

shoes

accessories

jewelry

hair and makeup

Groom’s Tuxedo or Suit

shoes

ties/ashcrofts

cumberbuns

cuff links or studs

suspenders

Rings
His and her rings

engraving

Flowers
Ceremony

bride’s bouquet

maid-of-honor

bridesmaid bouquets

corsages

boutonnières

centerpieces

flower-girl basket

Music
Ceremony Musicians

Band and/or DJ

cocktail hour musicians

sound system rental

Photography
Photographer

Videographer

albums

additional prints

disposable cameras

Transportation
Transportation for wedding party.

Stationery
Invitations

response cards

thank you notes

postage

calligraphy

guest book

Gifts
Bridesmaid

groomsmen

parents

giftsfor out-of-town guests.

Extra costs:

Before/during wedding:

Flowers for flower girl baskets

Wedding night hotel suite

Tips for staff at hotel

room service

Rehearsal dinner if not paid for by family

Extra clothes for reception or after reception

taxis, if not driving, to and from venues

Honeymoon

Hotel suite

Flights

Food on flights or in airports

Taxi to hotel/s

Food costs (3 meals a day and snacks)

Alcohol

hotels the night before

Tips for hotels, drivers, maids

Taxis

Special outings (ex diving school, horseback riding, musicals etc)