Wednesday, July 1, 2009

#665: trimmed?

i saw this list on diy bride yesterday and wondered if we did any of these.

let's see.

Food and Drinks
1. Serve a signature drink, such as a punch or favorite cocktail, instead of providing a full bar and limit other alcoholic beverages to wine and beer, choices that will satisfy most of your guests.


we didn't do this. but we did put a cap on the host bar so we had semi-control over the expense. at one point, the events lady came over and told us we had reached the cap and did we want to increase it by x-amount. we said yes. and by we, i mean my now-husband. who was by the bar. with his friends. being congratulatory. ok? no regrets.

2. Have your caterer use local fruits and vegetables that are in season. Not only will these items be more economical, they’ll taste fresher.

we didn't do this but mainly because we didn't use a caterer. mmm. lawry's was yums.

3. Order a moderately priced, plainly decorated cake, and make the focal point the cake topper. Vintage bride-and-groom figurines, wedding bells, horseshoes, a basket filled with fruit, or a pair of doves (from an antiques shop or handmade) are classic symbols that can make a cake memorable.

yeah. we didn't use doves. but a friend of mine who lives in ireland and couldn't make it to the wedding sent us a lovely wooden figurine of a couple dancing as a wedding gift. we placed the figurine next to our itty bitty wedding cake in lieu of a cake topper. it worked for us.

Flowers and Decorations
4. While most popular bridal flowers are available year-round, some traditional ones — peonies and lily-of-the-valley, for example — can be difficult to find and expensive out of season. Seek your florist’s advice before deciding on your flowers.


i didn't have a florist and i didn't seek any advice. but i guess peonies were in season...and i really lucked out at the flower mart. like really. i'll divulge later.

5. Use favors as seating or place cards to save a bit on stationery costs. For seating cards, write guests’ names and table numbers on strips of paper, affix them to the favors, and set in order on a table near the entrance. For place cards, put favors with names attached at guests’ places.

we didn't have favors. and i guess more importantly, no one gave a sh*t or even noticed. i think 'not having favors' maybe sounds more horrendous than it actually is. really.

General Budgeting Tips
6. When it comes to invitations – save money and the environment by choosing digital options like http://www.pingg.com for save the dates. For the wedding, you can use a more formal, printed invitation. We offer a number of gorgeous designs at pingg – http://www.pingg.com/info/designer_series?artist=martha_stewart.


we didn't do save the dates. for a wedding our size, i didn't think it was really necessary. and it wasn't.

7. Fridays and Sundays are generally less expensive than Saturdays for renting a venue.

we did a saturday lunch. same concept. ish.

8. To minimize the guest list, include your friends’ significant others but not casual dates.


we didn't even include casual friends. you know?

9. For your reception, remember that a deejay can be less costly than a live band.

we used a dj and that was a splurge for us. and not necessarily the best one. (deejay? or dj?)

10. The most important thing about a wedding is making sure it is personal and reflects you. Prioritize aspects of the wedding that are most important to you. By compromising in some areas, you can afford to splurge on others.

mmhm. do. did. done.

19 comments:

Rachel said...

ha ha. i think not offering favors is the best idea, unless you have an amazing favor that everyone will love. i feel so guilty when i have to throw away little ceramic bells with the bride and groom's names on them. because i know they were expensive, even if they were cheap ($2 per person x X # of guests is expensive), but what am i ever going to do with something like that?

the un-bride said...

I was going over a similar list recently, and noting how many things we said "no" to. I found it kind of liberating. Good for you for coloring outside the lines.

liz @ chic on the cheap said...

these are encouraging.
especially when you write your own and go, "hmm. we did save some money. tho we spent a ton."

Kaitlin Wainwright said...

i find it funny how the wedding industry makes us believe that we need all these things: favours, expensive cake toppers, and a live band in order to have a successful wedding and a good party.

it's bull. really.

The Professional Bridesmaid said...

Thanks for sharing. Very cool to see what you did/didn't do.

Traveling bride said...

Funny so much is different in Australia. No one ever offered anything more than beer wine and sparkling for the entire night, some offer a cocktail hour but not often. Flower can only be seasonal you can't buy anything else.

Band is one of our splurges - I love live music

Friday so so so much cheaper - we can do Friday and a recovery bbq on Saturday for everyone for less than a Saturday.

Anonymous said...

It's really amazing the amount of stuff you "need" for a wedding. We cut a ton of that out & no one that we invited cared.

There were weak moments, when you look at beautiful bazillion dollar weddings, but I ain't got no bazillion dollars!

alishaneva said...

This is lovely. Really.
Thanks for letting us into your world. And letting us know what you did and didn't do.
I'm glad you didn't offer favors - they can often end up as dust collectors and/or trash. And they are a needless expense. Really.
Thanks again.

anna and the ring said...

I can't believe people would want a random bit of expensive tat with our names and date!

I would much rather spend the money on food and booze or preferably not at all!!

AnnC said...

Funny how some customs are different in other countries.
1. No open bar in France : we only served champagne and serving alcohols such as whisky etc is considered bad taste (doesn't mean it's not expensive... but if you can't buy champagne, there's still crémant, clairette de Die and other sparkling wines less expensive)
2. It was too early for melon so we had foie gras instead. Er. For the same price.
3. No wedding cake, just macaroons. And no cake topper (I had one I'd made myself but caterer forgot to put it).
4. Did my orchid centerpieces myself with no florist and that saved money. And the other flowers were seasonal (hydrangeas, roses and peonies).
5. I had edible favors (dragées and mustard) and everybody ate them. No money wasted. And no seating cards.
6, 8 and 9. Yeah right that's what I did. And save the date are not a custom in France.
7. Hmmm. In France we usually stick to saturday evenings (when not noon AND evening or evening AND sunday. We like long weddings and need a day after to sleep over). Friday weddings happen but hard for workers.
10. Agreed.

Unknown said...

We had our dinner at our favorite restaurant, ordered off the menu and only spent $350 plus tip.
It definitely helped that we keep our guest list under 20.

rebekah said...

Favors are my wedding pet peeve. When I go to a wedding, i want to come home sweaty and well fed (i.e. danced my butt off after a great meal). If that "well fed" means cake+cheese and crackers, that's fine. I do not want to carry home a centerpiece, favor and/or bridal bouquet.

Susie said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Susie said...

I am so with you on the NO FAVORS! They are becoming an increasingly more expensive part of a wedding budget and need to be the first thing to go. And something, they are too tacky to be at the wedding!

My thinking: The Bride took you to a show, dinner, and dancing. And you then recipricated with a gift. Does she need to re-tip the scale with a gift-back?

No. and no one cares :)

NICE POST!!
Susie

theallisonfam.blogspot.com

Anonymous said...

This is lovely. Really.
Thanks for letting us into your world.

Smarry
Email Marketing Solutions

beonca fernanches said...

Greetings all very useful advice in this blog.

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Great ideas



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Ashleigh Arnold said...

This list is funny, we didn't do a lot of things that people consider traditional for weddings (we had our wedding on a Friday night; no save the dates, no rsvp cards etc...) Its crazy how you can get sucked into buying so much stuff for a wedding that is completely pointless! We did our wedding for about $8,000 and saved so much by cutting out those things! Great post!

acircleofgold said...

That's very beautiful ..