Okay, so this may not be the most comforting time to spend thousands of dollars on your wedding. I think twice before I pick up my favorite magazine at the grocery store, and that’s just a $4 or $5 investment, lol.

In these “unique” economic times, I’m sure you probably feel like your wedding definitely deserves it’s own bail out. Unfortunately, bailing out your wedding didn’t quite make it on President Obama’s Stimulus Plan…

But, not to worry, I’ve got you covered. Just like any other difficult situation, it’s not time to trade in your Silk Dupioni for Tulle just yet … it’s just time to get creative! After all, you deserve the wedding you’ve always dreamed of just as much as anyone else. Recession or no recession, the wedding must go on!

Below are 5 easy ways to “bail out” your wedding and save thousands in the process. Enjoy!

1. Make Your Own Invitations
Your wedding invitations do much more than just tell your guests the address of your wedding. When done correctly, your wedding invitation ensemble (Save the Dates, Invites, Response Cards, etc.) will set the tone for your wedding and give your guests an idea of what type of wedding you have in store for them. Think of your invites as a wedding “teaser”.

For the average 150-guest wedding, you can expect to pay between $500 and $1000 for custom printed invitations. Or, you could spend roughly
$200 on your invitations for something just as nice by going the DIY route!

A few months ago I came across an amazing DIY book. It’s full of modern, stylish and affordable “do-it-yourself” projects for the crafty bride
on a budget!

Check it out here: The DIY Bride

P.S. There’s a fabulous project on page pg. 44 “Savvy Stamped Invitations”. www.redstamp.com is an excellent resource for custom stamps and would work great
with this project!

2. DIY Personal Flowers!
No wedding is complete without the floral element, which is why you can expect to allocate at least 13% of your overall wedding budget to florals; a
pretty hefty number.

Why not enlist your best group of girlfriends to take a floral design class with you? Many boutique florists and/or community colleges in your
area offer design classes once or twice a month for the DIY bride. You’d be surprised how simple and easy bouquets and boutonnieres
are to assemble.

Then, on the night before your wedding, call in all the extra hands you have to get started! In some cases, you can even work out an
arrangement with your local florist to store and deliver your precreated florals in their storage cooler.

3. Team Up With Another Bride
Thousands and thousands of brides share the same wedding weekend and wedding location all over the world. Why not use that to your advantage? Can you imagine how much money you could save by splitting some of your wedding expenses in half?

To receive the full benefits of sharing your wedding weekend and location with another bride, it’s important to start looking for your location-mate as soon as possible. First, start with the catering manager at your wedding site. Ask him/her if there are any other weddings taking place at their location on the same weekend as your wedding.

Next, ask the catering manager to make contact with the bride to ask her permission to share her contact information with you. From there, you can pitch your ideas to your location-mate and figure out if you can form a mutually beneficial partnership with her.

Here are a few ways you can split the costs with your “wedding partner”.
Chair Rentals (major savings here) * Linen Overlays * Chair Cover Accessories * Vases *
Table Numbers and/or Holders * Flowers

4. Overlays Instead of Full-length Linen
Table linen can be another huge wedding cost item. Unique, specialty linen can range anywhere from $15 – $30 per table, which is obviously a
lot of money! Most brides are usually willing to splurge in the linen area because of the huge difference it makes on your tablescape – and
because the “free” linen that may be included in your wedding package is… Let’s just say, less than
desirable.

Rental companies charge by the “drop length”, so if you need your linen to touch the ground expect to pay the prices mentioned above. Or, you could save a few hundred dollars by using a specialty overlay and use the location’s “free” linen as an “underlay”. For example: If your reception tables are 60″ rounds, you would need either a 120″ or 132″ linen for a significant hang. Or, instead of renting a full-length specialty linen, rent a 90″ linen that will only cover the top of the table.

Not only will this tip save you hundreds by not purchasing the most expensive size linen, it’ll also
allow you to upgrade to fancier linen!

5. Let Your Wedding Website Do All The Work!
If you don’t already have a wedding website… get one! In my opinion they’re the best thing since sliced cake because it saves you time, money and energy while trying to keep 100+ wedding guests in the “loop”. We are, after all, in the age of the internet, so why not let your wedding website take some of the weight off your shoulders and put more weight back in your wallet?

Let your wedding website host your online wedding invitation (saving $.42- $1.50 per invite sent), collect your wedding RSVP’s (saving another $.42 per invite) and dinner preferences (saving you a million headaches trying to keep track of who wants fish and who wants chicken).

And if you’re a “modern bride”, you can even register your honeymoon and accept monetary gifts online to fund your trip!

Below are a few resources for wedding websites I recommend:
www.weddingwindow.com
www.weddingtracker.com

Stay tuned… your next issue will be dedicated to “Branding Your Wedding” (no, not with hot metal iron… but with style,
style, style!). I can’t wait to share it with you!

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© 2005-2009 Full Bloom Weddings & Events

WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR EZINE OR WEB SITE? You can, as long as you include this complete blurb with it:
Danielle Carter is the owner and lead event planner of “Full Bloom Weddings & Events” a full service wedding and event planning company that takes great pride in offering quality service and professional assistance for brides at any stage in the wedding process. If you’re ready to jump-start your wedding planning with a little (or alot) of help, visit www.fullbloomweddings.com for FREE Report: “The Top 10 To Do’s To Kick Start Planning Your Wedding”.

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