Hello again faithful See you in a Porridge readers! It’s ye’
old bestie here for another guest post while Kristen is off frolicking in
Europe :)
So lets get right down to it! I recently came across my
“Wedding Spreadsheet” on our laptop the other day and thought – “wow, we did
well.” So I thought I would share some of my personal tips on how you can save
some money and still have a magical day with your friends, family, and most
importantly – you partner <3
FYI - This list is not in any specific order and I thought I
would also add some fun photo’s and gifs because why not?!
1. Don’t
have a long engagement. So I know most of the time this is unavoidable for
many reasons, but I felt personally that the longer I had to plan the more
money I would end up spending…. Also, a short engagement = less time you have
to change your mind (and change your mind again, and again). Side note – I had
roughly 12 weeks total from getting engaged to saying “I Do”.
2. Figure out what your 3 MUST HAVES are and let
those be the things you will splurge on no matter what. Have dreamed of a
certain dress since you were a little girl? Do it. Or maybe you want to have a
complete open bar? If it is a must have, do it.
3. Try and find a venue that is already
decorated/doesn’t need a lot of work. The “small things” add up very quickly. Maybe
there is an old historic home in your city that is already beautiful but a bit
pricier that the old rustic barn that is empty. Keep in mind you may spend a
fortune on decorations for the barn that you will be stuck with at the end of
the night…
4. Open Bar with Beer and wine only - NO
LIQUOR. In my experience, an open bar with beer and wine is perfectly
sufficient for a wedding. Your guests
are getting this wonderful free night of celebration on your tab and liquor is
suuuper expensive and it never fails – there is always a handful of guests that
take way to many shots and get messy…. And who wants to deal with that shit?
5. Do your own flowers! This was both
cheap and fun for me to do. So if you are even the least bit crafty – go for
it!! You can get flowers quite cheap at your local costco or supermarket. Remember Pinterest is your friend. Do a
practice bouquet a few weeks before and if you have a wedding party – have them
help! (side note – I did Kristen’s wedding flowers as well as my own J)
6. Don’t get a DJ. My biggest nightmare
was paying $500+ for a DJ and him/her not playing what I wanted to hear on my
wedding day- and I just plain and simple didn’t have the money to fork out for
a DJ… We (with the help of Kristen’s Hubby) downloaded our favorite songs and
made an “arrival/dinner” playlist and a “Dance/Party” playlist. We then rented
speakers, amp, mic etc. and paid a close friend 100 bucks to announce us into
the party. All together cost us $140 for our “DJ”.
Note from Kristen: we did the same thing and if I do say so myself, our wedding was a blast.
Note from Kristen: we did the same thing and if I do say so myself, our wedding was a blast.
7. Do your own makeup. So I know this kind
of a hard one, but just hear me out. There are SO many tips, blogs, youtube
how-to’s that I feel with enough practice and the right tools, any lady could
do it! Have a little faith in yourself and go for it!! My personal tip is go to
your local Sephora or department store and buy the expensive super long wear
foundation. I did – and I didn’t regret it. And lastly – practice, practice,
practice!!!! Then practice one more time.
8. Skip the engagement
photo session. Now again – if this (or any of these are on your Must Have
list) please feel free to skip the advice. This was just something that
personally was not important for me. My husband and I paid for our entire
wedding (minus a couple of things our parents gifted us) and when we talked
about engagement pictures we were both like “eh”. So that was easily omitted
from the running tally of purchases.
9. Don’t worry
about what anyone says or thinks about your wedding plans. Easier said than
done. But taking opinions personally can really persuade decision making- thus
you could end up spending money on things you didn’t initially plan on. If you just can’t afford to have the photo
booth or you only really have the money for Hors d'oeuvres vs a full dinner –
who cares?! It’s your day and if they don’t like – well they can stay at home…
sorry not sorry.
10. Make sure the person you’re marrying is
more important than the wedding itself. This kinda goes without saying, but
if you're not happy deep down or have serious doubts about marriage…. Well you
already know. None of this is worth it
if you aren’t happy at the end of it all. The wedding is the icing on the cake.
I had so much fun planning and doing wedding stuff because I was just so gosh
darn excited to marry my man!!! I know cheesy but true!
Well hope you enjoyed and maybe were able to take away at
least one of these tips! Happy wedding planning!!!
yes to all of this! i saved so much $ on my wedding and only splurged on the reception (which was the most important thing for our wedding because food & booze):
ReplyDelete-i made my own invitations/thank-you cards...which was so much fun because i love arts/crafts and hello, i got to visit/shop at the most amazing (japanese) paper stores in toronto!
-got the flowers at cost (friend owned a boutique) so i had bouquets of cala lillies, freesias and other exotic flowers.
-dj was dirt cheap (he's my bestie so i only paid for rental equipment)
-wedding pics were free (husband's cousin is a pro photographer)
-bridesmaids dresses only cost $65-80 each (bought the material from a store that was going out of business so got the most beautiful material for over 80% off and had a friend's mom sew them together)
-makeup free - done by my sister
-hair done by a friend's sister so she only charged me $200 to do everyone's hair, including mine!
there are so many ways to save $$ on a wedding! :)
Great tips! That last one actually really hits home because a friend of mine is getting divorced and it's because more thought was put into the wedding than the actual marriage. People get so wrapped up in the wedding and in the end, it's just one day!
ReplyDeleteLove ALL of these tips! Being your own DJ is such a smart idea! I was so mad when my DJ played The Thong Song at my wedding. I mean, really? At least it was towards the end of the night when most of the older audience had left. And those flowers turned out SO pretty!
ReplyDelete<3, Pamela
Sequins & Sea Breezes
Awesome tips! Our only "must have" is a great photographer. And luckily one of my close friends is an awesome photographer and is giving us a deal on one of her packages.
ReplyDeleteMy other smaller "must have" is someone to do my hair and makeup. I am seriously the worst at hair and makeup, even with practice. ;)
I did my own makeup and it was the best choice for me!!! I also agree that you have to pick what your must haves are :) Great tips!
ReplyDeleteThese are awesome tips! We had a pretty short engagement too, I think I prefer it that way over dragging it out too long! :)
ReplyDeleteGreat tips girlie! One of my longest friends (and hair dresser) did my hair and makeup as my wedding gift and it was much appreciated! I actually had a couple talented friends "gift" me their services! Love that you did your own flowers! I definitely think I could have done what my florist did for a fraction of the cost!
ReplyDeleteFirst off you looked sooooo gorgeous!! These tips are so perfect! Doing your own hair and makeup is huge! I wish I would have done that! I actually wasnt even happy with my hair either!
ReplyDelete<3 Shannon
Upbeat Soles
Ahh love these pictures! I so agree with these - especially on picking the top 3 things you'll splurge on. We did that and said we weren't going to let anything else get to us/weren't going to spend $$ on the other things. It helped SO much!
ReplyDeleteLove these tips Megan! Especially numbers 9 and 10... I'm very, very far from a wedding day of my own but I am and have been a part of sooo many weddings over the past few years and this upcoming year, so I've seen a lot of people make (what I consider to be) big missteps with some of these. Honestly, it sounds like your wedding (and Kristen's!) was a great time.. and hello, those flowers!? Gorgeous!
ReplyDeleteThis place is so beautiful. I could not be more pleased with their service. This is a truly a great place to throw an event. The views are incredible and the staff is wonderful. The floors at wedding venue in Los Angeles are beautiful hard wood and the windows are floor to ceiling.
ReplyDeleteSuperb tips! Thanks a ton for sharing these tips dear. I am getting married within a month at the most beautiful wedding venues nyc. So these tips will be very helpful for both of us. And I loved the idea of being your own DJ. It is such a fabulous idea!
ReplyDelete