Wedding Ideas .... In need of Help??!!!??? Part II?

Tons. Outside catering is usually cheaper. Certain food is cheaper. Avoid expensive seafoods. Look into negotiations on that. I know several fisherman so I offered to bring my caterer 25 lbs of shrimp that I could get for about $3 a lb. I wanted 5 lbs in a shrimp cocktail for me and she could keep the rest. Think of negotiations like that that you could do. Do you know someone who could do this or that? Alcohol? Is that important to you? Serving one signature drink in a punch will be cheaper than having all the alcohol so that any drink can be mixed. Wine is cheaper if you provide by the case. Beer is cheaper to have one type in a keg, rather than buying 20 different brands. If alcohol isn't important, no alcohol is much much cheaper. I spent a long time trying out white wines that were less than $6 a bottle. Buy everything on sale. I bought one decorative item each week using Michael's 20% off any single item coupon. Buy everything at the end of the season. I was having a summer wedding so I bought it at the end of summer. Flowers. Use flowers in season. I ordered through a warehouse club and made my own centerpieces. I did multibloom flowers (as in 6 flowers per stem) so that it doesn't take as many flowers to fill the vase. This same concept can be using larger flowers. Use many things you can get for free--for fall think twigs and leaves. I also carried my flower arrangement from the church to the reception and used it there. I used the fake trees they had. I also had an easel that I placed a picture to help the theme. In my case it was a Caribbean wedding so I placed a tropical oil painting I had in the house on the easel. Use vendors that are new to the business. They typically charge less. My cake baker was a professional dessert maker in Mediterranean desserts, but was just starting doing wedding cakes. Look for favors online. I spent about 50 cents each on my favors. There is no reason to spend $4 each. I used candles in a glass jar that were on a clearance rack. They were the exact scents I wanted. Look for some things from previous brides and things the place already owns. Brides often have 20 vases they'd love to sell for half what they paid. My church had things that went on the end of the pew at Christmas time that I used. I placed a different candle it it but that saved me from having to buy something separate. Centerpieces. Include something about you. I've been to weddings that each place had a framed story about the bride and groom. Or a picture. You can use that if you are doing a seating arrangement. For example, the Paris table could have a picture of you two at the Eiffel Tower. It will also encourage guests to wander to read the other stories. Between friends, grandparents and parents--you have frames by the truckload. It will also take up table room and you won't need bigger flowers. Stick to you budget. Spend money on what matters to you. If you don't care about flowers, don't spend a ton of money there. Some things you can ask someone to do for you. Making bouts is easy. A dozen roses can be sold for $10 and a roll of florist tape is about $3. A florist might charge $8 each. To me, photography was the most important thing. I spent a lot of my budget there.

Serve Chicken or a pasta dish Order a small beautiful wedding cake for display and the cake cutting. Then, in the kitchen have sheet cake tins ready to serve to the guests. Do your guests a favor, skip the party favors. Do not have a dessert bar. Do not have an Open Bar or maybe limit an open bar to one hour,then cash bar after that. Or, just have beer and wine selections and people pay for their own mixed drinks. Make your own centerpieces. Pre-record your music. Do not spend money on a band or a DJ Use sparkling cider for the champagne toast (supply your own) Skip the chocolate covered strawberry on the cake plate and you will save about $1.50 or more times 130. Buy your dress and veil at one of the Ebay shops. Don't rent a tux, buy one so he'lll always have one. In our area, Stop and Shop Supermarkets have absolutely wonderful wedding bouquets at fabulous prices. Don't pay to have your hair done, do it yourself or have a friend help. Apply your own make up.