Low-cost wedding ideas can help ease the checkboo

    137

    By LAUREN COMSTOC

    Planning a wedding is tough enough even without the thought of the money you need to spend. Unfortunately, it’s a major factor in planning your wedding. But there are some easy ways to cut down the cost without friends and family taking much notice.

    One of the most important purchases made by engaged couples is the engagement ring. In order to save money, you have several options. You can buy a cubic zirconium now and replace it with a diamond later in your married life, you could choose a unique band without a diamond, or stick with a smaller-sized diamond.

    “I get a ton of compliments on my ring,” said Krystal Whitmore, 24, from Provo, a senior majoring in botany and biotechnology. Whitmore does not have a diamond solitaire ring. It’s a classic style, she said. It’s not like every other ring, but something original, she said. Whitmore’s wedding set cost close to $800.

    Announcements are necessary for almost every wedding. One option that helps you save money is making your own.

    Kevin Kinkade, 23, a junior from Cottage Grove, Ore., majoring in mechanical engineering, made his own announcements with help of a computer. “I spent less than $50 on 500 announcements,” he said.

    Another option is to find a printing shop that does photography as well and ask about their different packages. Also, you could try spreading the news by word of mouth to your close friends and only send a few announcements.

    One of the easiest things a bride-to-be can do is register at a department store. If you are getting married in California and having your receptions there, have someone register for you out there. Its best to register at a store close to the place you will be holding the reception because that is where you will get most of your gifts. Choose the things that you want and need. Then the people choose what they want to give you as a gift off your registry list.

    One of the biggest expenses can be your wedding gown. Try renting or buying a used gown. You could also have someone make your gown for you, if you are not big on sewing. This can save you up to $400 from the store price. The same goes for your bridesmaid dresses.

    “I made my dress, I bought my material and I pieced together my own dress,” said Tamara Jensen, 21, a junior from West Jordan majoring in fine arts. It cost her a couple hundred dollars and the same gown in the store was about $2500, she said. Jensen also made her bridesmaid’s dresses.

    Not all weddings need a reception. Instead of a big reception where you will end up feeding your entire stake, try an open house (and don’t invite the entire ward, invite your close friends). Try to limit the number of guests — this will cut down on food price.

    You may want to forego a caterer for your reception — remember, there is The Relief Society. Go to a bulk food warehouse to buy the food for the reception. Instead of an evening dinnertime reception, try planning a brunch and hold it around noon. Borrow punch bowls, dishes, glasses and table linens. If you are having your reception at your church, check to see if the building has its own table linens.

    If you are dead set against using the church for your reception and your wedding is in the spring or summer, try finding a nice park to hold the reception or someone you know with a big backyard.

    Try limiting your reception to about 2 hours. Don’t hire a DJ — hire your little brother or a priest from the local ward. Instead of serving many desserts, serve cake. Order a small cake for the table and serve from sheet cakes behind the scenes.

    Have the professional photographer take your engagement photos and photos for the wedding. You may get a package discount. Have your photographer just take pictures at the temple and the formal pictures at the reception, then leave disposable cameras on the tables for guests.

    Flowers can also be very expensive. Try having just one kind of flower or make sure the flowers you choose are in-season and easy to find.

    “My mom had a membership to a wholesale floral place,” said Jensen. Doing her own flowers saved hundreds of dollars, she said.

    Honeymoon locations don’t have to be too far away. Don’t go to London or Egypt. “Airfare is the most expensive,” said Sharon Warner, a travel agent at Morris/Beehive Travel in Orem.

    It depends on where you are going, said Warner. To save money you could opt to drive or take the train. Stay on the continent and pick a place where your friends won’t find you. Some of the more expensive parts of the honeymoon, if you stay in the U.S., are the hotels or the passes if you are going somewhere like Disney World.

    One of the best deals going is driving to L.A. and taking a 3-day cruise, which runs about $500 for each person, said Warner. Popular spots that are closer are Jackson Hole, St. George, Las Vegas, Mesquite, or guest ranches in the Tetons where couples can ride horseback in the summer or go snowmobiling in the winter, she said

    Print Friendly, PDF & Email