The summer wedding season is upon us again and the checkbooks are crying for mercy.  I recently caught a couple of episodes of WE TV’s “Rich Bride, Poor Bride,” a show that profiles engaged couples attempting to stay within their respective budgets.  They handed the wedding planner their anticipated budgets.  By the end of the show, when the actual total was revealed, each couple inevitably went WAY over budget, with, not surprisingly, some ridiculous requests.  One couple was looking to rent live peacocks for the reception while another wanted a helicopter to whisk them to a grand entrance at the church.  My wedding requests were a bit more mundane.  I didn’t ask for zoo animals, but I did want the wedding at a nice hotel and I didn’t want to subject the guests to rubbery chicken and watered down drinks.  In the end, we didn’t pinch too many pennies on the food and drink, but surprisingly we did manage to spend several thousand dollars less than our initial wedding budget of $30,000 by doing some of the following things.

• Comparison-shop for flowers:  Do not settle for the first florist you visit, no matter how nice their shop looks or how highly recommended they are.  Flowers are definitely an area where you can shave off dollars in cost without anyone noticing.  The first florist we visited, who came highly recommended, wanted to charge for everything under the sun, including a rental fee for the vases holding the flowers.  I thought that was part of the price for the flowers!  She also wanted a steep $75 fee just to come back and pick up the vases.  I was resigned to paying several thousand dollars for flowers until I visited the third florist on my list.  Although this flower shop was located in a tiny store with barely enough room to move, first impressions can be deceiving.  The florist, also recommended by friends, charged a very reasonable $35.00 for each table centerpiece, including the vase.  The floral arrangements were gorgeous.  Overall, I only paid $1100 for the flowers, which included the table centerpieces, flowers for the ceremony, and bouquets and boutonnieres.
• Save on the invitations by printing them yourself:  Some brides may balk, but it can save you hundreds of dollars.  We decided to forgo the expensive crane paper invitations with foil inlay, ribbons, and scented tissue paper, opting instead for a box of blank invitation stationary at Office Depot.  The card stock was very nice, and it only cost us about $25.00.  We formatted the invitation layout on our laptop, typed in the text, and printed the invitations at home.  Another plus: you don’t have to worry about an outside printer misspelling the names of your parents or future in-laws.  Everything can be instantly proofread and corrected before you print out 200 invites.
• Check out national chains for better deals on tuxedos:  Unless you are a regularly attend black-tie events, chances are you are only going to need a tuxedo for those very special occasions, like your own wedding.  So, instead of buying, rent one instead.  My husband and his groomsmen rented their tuxs at Men’s Warehouse.  The store had a great deal: rent four, get the fifth tux rent-free.  They even threw in the socks and shoes.  You get to keep the socks.
• Suppress the urge to go all out on the wedding dress:  This is potentially a huge budget buster.  Do you want Vera Wang couture or are you willing to settle for the $99 deal at David’s Bridal?  I ended up spending about $900 on a beautiful silk wedding dress.  I loved the fabric and the price was good because the dress was a sample style from the previous season.  However, I regretted the fact that I didn’t shop around more; I probably could have spent even less money buying a dress that I only wore for a total of six hours.  I came to this realization after attending a couple of weddings soon after I got married.  At the first wedding, I knew for a fact that the bride spent $3,500 on her dress; she wasn’t secretive about its cost.  Despite its high price, the dress was nothing special; it was a plain strapless sheath wedding dress.  At the second wedding, the bride wore a dress that was absolutely gorgeous. It was also a strapless sheath, but had beautiful flower embrodiery all over.  I was stunned when the bride told me that she had only spent $200 for the dress at David’s Bridal. 
• Have the wedding at a nice hotel rather than a venue that doesn’t include catering:  I was just chatting with a friend about this point.  She is having her wedding at a local historic mansion and told me that with the rental fee for the venue, the tables and chairs, plus the fee for the wedding planner, she was spending more money than she would have had she chosen to have the wedding at a luxury hotel.  For our wedding, we checked out places like botanical gardens, old mansions, and vineyards for our wedding, but ultimately decided to go with a nice hotel because of all the extra fees associated with renting those places.  Not only would we have to fork over $4000 to $6000 for the rental fee, we would have had to rent the tables, chairs, and linens as well as hire a “house manager” for the evening.  In a hotel, all that stuff is included.  However, there are some trade-offs.  Having the wedding at a hotel may not feel as special to you.  There might be several other couples in the hotel getting married, and you might miss out on having gardens and other areas for the cocktail hour and photos.  However, what you miss out on in charm, you make up for in convenience and price.

One final note: definitely bargain with all of your vendors and get everything in WRITING.  If you’ve agreed to additional terms that are not listed in the vendor’s standard contract, write it in the contract and have all parties initial the change.  Also, unless you have a signed contract, don’t be afraid to walk away from a vendor if you feel that they are not being straight with you or they have jacked up the price to unreasonable levels.  I had originally asked my regular hairdresser to come to the hotel to do my hair and my bridesmaids’ hair.  However, I was shocked when she wanted $500.00 to do my hair and my three bridesmaids’ hair.  So, I wound up telling her that I was hiring someone else.  I wasn’t happy about having to do that, but I was more annoyed that she was trying to scalp me (pun intended) on the price.