I’d like to elaborate on the idea of prioritizing. I really do feel that this is the absolute best way to save money on your wedding of your dreams.

There are two main aspects to the prioritized budgetting:

1. Your desires (Personalization), and

2. Visibility / Value (Economic Efficiency).

Personalization

You will start out with the personalization aspect. Sit down with your fiance(e), a notebook, and a pen. You’re going to have an important, probably drawn out conversation here.. so a glass of wine or a mojito probably wouldn’t hurt either.

First, discuss each of your visions of a perfect wedding, and write the points down in two columns, one for each of you. His main priorities may be a beautiful venue and good food, hers may be the dress.

Next, compile a list of all of the main expenses for a wedding. This is one of the few things that wedding magazines are actually good for (lol!)… their budget sheets are usually fairly comprehensive.

- Go through and cross out any expenses that don’t apply.

- Looking at your wish list, be sure to add any items that may not be included on the generic list.

- Start another, final list. The very first line item is your absolute top priority. The next is your 2nd most important priority, and so on.

A note about prioritizing: For certain items, there may/will be a tied in “forced priority”,
and this is something you should think about before your final list. A few examples:

- If you get a gorgeous, expensive venue.. you’re not going to want plastic flowers. You don’t necessarily need to have huge, expensive arrangements, but you are going to want to pay attention to the decor, to not waste the venue.

- If your #1 priority is the gown, you’re going to want to splurge on the photographer. If you spend thousands on a dress that you’re going to wear once, because you want that princess feeling, to be high fashion, etc.. you want a photographer that will do it justice.

- If amazing photography is your #1 priority, note that you’ll want to pay attention to visual items, such as your hair, makeup, and what everyone is wearing.

- If you hire a really amazing caterer (like Wolfgang Pucks!) to do the catering, you’re going to want a really good cake. No sense at all in following an amazing meal with nasty grocery store cake.

It’s all a matter or arranging your priorities in a way that makes the most sense, and fully utilizes/accentuates where your priorities are. You don’t want to look back on your wedding and feel that you “wasted” anything. Now, on to the second aspect.. Economic Efficiency!

Economic Efficiency

Economic Efficiency is all about getting the most bang for your buck, on as many aspects of the wedding as possible.

Starting with your very top priority, brainstorm on ways to a.) Get that item as reasonably priced as possible,and b.) Make it do double duty if possible. Some examples:

- Can your dream designer gown be purchased at a sample sale? From an online discounter? Are you willing to forgo the actual “name”, and have a custom designer create a replica?

- Is it possible to get the venue / venue type you want at a discount? Alumni discounts, memberships (museums, zoos, etc), perhaps through your work, through contacts..

- If you want amazing food, but don’t have the budget for a full meal from a high end caterer/venue.. what about the possibility of having an hors d’ouevres reception? (Note: you will very likely need to do this on a day other than a Saturday)

Another important aspect to being efficient with your wedding budget is to take a good, hard look at each expense, not through the eyes of a bride and groom, but from the eyes of a guest at your wedding. Some examples:

- Pew decorations will be seen by people as they come and leave your ceremony, so only enjoyed for a few minutes. If you can’t make them do double duty at the wedding (perhaps by designing pew decor that can be reused at the reception (as head table chair/centerpiece decoration, for your guest book table, cake table, etc), then perhaps forgo them completely. Realistically, your guests will be looking at YOU.. not the end of the pews. Also important to note – if you plan to reuse your pew decorations at the reception, as high-visibility decor.. it’s perfectly acceptable to budget more for pew decorations than normal. You will end up with more bang for your buck!

- If a photographer wasn’t your main priority, but ends up being a priority by default (designer gown), consider only having him/her there for formals and ceremony, or for whatever their minimum package is.

- Your guest book table will be viewed by each guest for under 5 minutes. Your tables will be viewed by each guest for several hours. Plan accordingly!

- If you splurge on an elegant venue, say with gorgeous architecture and an amazing view.. consider hosting your ceremony there as well. Not only are you doing double duty on decor, you’re getting more bang for your buck in renting it in the first place, AND saving on transportation, etc.

- If neither of you are big drinkers, if you have a lot of recovering alcoholics coming, and/or if the idea of your friends getting wasted at your wedding really turns you off.. consider having a dry reception, or only having champagne available for the toasting, but otherwise dry. Not only will it save you a ton of money, but you may avoid some unpleasant memories, too. (My husband and I had to babysit two VERY drunk friends at the end of the night, and were late leaving because we had to talk/force them out of DRIVING home..NOT a pleasant way to end a wedding!). Additionally, you’ll make things much easier for the recovering alcoholics you care about.

- Your guests may notice a grand floral arrangement in the bathroom.. but they probably won’t remember it 20 minutes later.

- NO ONE will notice your shoes if you are wearing a ballgown. Go for comfort, not $$$$$!

Every wedding magazine out there will tell you that you should allot x% of your budget to food, x% to photography, and so on. It’s not realistic at all, especially when trying to have a wedding on a budget.

Budget for / buy the items highest on your list first, and allot money for everything else on a reasonable basis afterwards. Skim money from where you need to, and use it on items that are really important to you!

Also, as a parting reminder – because it can’t be said enough! – one of the absolute best ways to save money on a wedding is to only invite the people you TRULY want to share the day with. Keep your guest list under control, and you will slash hundreds or even thousands of dollars from your wedding.

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