I'm posting this in honor of Valentine's Day on Feb. 14.
Feb. 19, 2022: This is from my old physical news articles:
Jul. 11, 2015 "Weddings don’t have to break the bank": Today I found this article by Julia Leconte in the Edmonton Journal. This article is still helpful if you are planning a party:
Wedding season is in full swing, and for every bride and groom celebrating their wedding this summer, there’s another couple planning their nuptials for down the road.
A 2014 Wedding Bells magazine survey recently found that the average cost of a Canadian wedding is more than $31,000. Though spending varies widely, it’s safe to say wedding budgets can put a serious cramp in the rest of your style.
It doesn’t have to be that way, however. Many frugal brides and grooms have discovered there are ways to get the wedding they want without going broke.
Here are 11 ways to save money on your big day:
1. Trunk shows are your best friend
There is such a thing as a good deal on a wedding dress. Cara Bedford, who works in marketing, is fashion-forward and didn’t want to skimp on her gown. “I knew I wanted a dress that was way over my price range,” she says.
She found her Maggie Sottero gown at a trunk show at the Sherwood Park Bridal Debut (2B 153 Pembina Rd., 780-467-4082) and ended up paying $1,200 (including alterations) for a $6,000 dress.
Designer trunk shows happen often at high-end wedding gown boutiques. Just phone and ask when their next one will be.
2. Rein in the booze
Try to find a venue that lets you bring in your own alcohol. You’ll pay a per-person fee but save money overall, says Edmonton’s Jennifer Bergman of Jennifer Bergman Weddings (jenniferbergmanweddings.com).
Or, have an open bar, but keep the selection limited during certain times — such as serving just one signature drink during cocktail hour. “It seems really classy and luxurious,” Bergman says. “But you’re actually saving a lot of money.”
3. Shorten your photography hours
To save money on photos (one of the biggest wedding expenses), Bedford and her husband Tyler hired a professional photographer for the getting-ready portion of the day and the ceremony only. For the reception and dancing, the couple relied on social-media-savvy guests.
“We had a wedding hashtag and we plastered that hashtag everywhere,” she says. “Chalkboards, business cards, mirrors in the restroom.”
After the wedding, she says, people had posted more than 400 photos.
4. Get out of town
You might associate destination weddings with high costs, but that’s actually not the case.
“We got married in Las Vegas which saved us money because we were able to keep it small,” says Amy Versley, a health and wellness co-ordinator at NAIT, adding that she and her husband, Mark, had about 25 guests. “It helped us keep it intimate. Otherwise, you feel obligated to invite.”
Says Bergman: “The biggest way to save money is fairly obvious: Don’t have a 200-person wedding.”
5. Use your resources
Take advantage of your resources, and don’t be afraid of telling people you’re tying the knot, says Bedford, who used her connections in the film industry and her job as head of marketing at Salisbury Landscaping to save money on a highlight video and her flowers, respectively.
“The local Edmonton community is amazing and they will help you if you ask. If you want to keep it local and be true to that, everyone will be on board,” she says.
6. Say “I do” to brunch
There’s no rule that says weddings have to be a nighttime affair. A Sunday brunch wedding can cut your costs considerably, says Bergman.
Your guests aren’t likely to eat or drink as much as they would at night. “Your food costs are probably going to be two-thirds or half and for sure alcohol is reduced quite a bit.”
Bergman also suggests a nighttime cocktail reception that starts at 8 p.m., rather than a full seated dinner. “Food stations can help with that,” she says.
7. Choose flowers that are in-season
Bedford kept it simple by choosing sunflowers for her October wedding. They were in-season and affordable — plus they added a pop of bright yellow.
8. Keep your wedding party tight
Resist the urge to have all of your besties in your wedding party. A smaller bridal party, says Bergman, saves money on several things, including transportation to and from the venue and elsewhere for photographs, plus gifts for your bridesmaids.
An intimate wedding party also makes for a smaller rehearsal dinner.
9. Skip the favours
Just because it’s traditional, doesn’t mean you have to buy into it for your wedding. For instance, you don’t need to send your guests home with a keepsake. “Favours are kind of going out now,” says Bergman. Instead, she says, use the money toward “guest experience.”
“Have an extra course, a palette cleanser, a sweet candy table, a photo booth. Things like that that add to the guest experience rather than a trinket that they won’t take home anyway.”
Similarly, Bedford nixed the wedding cake. “It wasn’t a really big deal for us. We cut cute little pizzas for a midnight snack instead,” she says, adding that five pizzas cost only $50 (a wedding cake can cost $500 or more).
10. DIY, DIY, DIY
For their superhero-themed wedding, Eversley and her husband made almost everything themselves: her brooch bouquet, the men’s Lego man boutenniers, the wedding program (comic book-style). If you’re lacking inspiration, there are resources aplenty on the Internet.
“I went on Pinterest all the time,” says Eversley.
11. Kijiji is your new favourite website.
Bedford didn’t know exactly what she wanted decor-wise, except that she was after a vintage feel.
“Kijiji right after wedding season is your best bet,” she said. That’s when some folks are just unloading boxes of decor for almost nothing.
Bedford ended up purchasing a box of antique keys, among other things. “It was a great place for little knick knacks that really elevated our wedding. I think we spent $80 on decor.”
It’s also a place where many brides find their wedding dress for a fraction of its original price. Then there are sites like PreOwnedWeddingDresses.com designer gowns that might otherwise be out of reach.
May 18, 2022 "How to save on a wedding without looking like you're saving on a wedding": Today I found this article by Serah Louis on the Financial Post:
After all the postponements and micro-weddings propelled by the COVID-19 pandemic, many couples’ nuptials are back to being big, bold — and expensive.
“2022 … is set to be globally, the busiest, busiest year for weddings locally and historically,” says wedding planner Karina Lemke, who is based out of Toronto, Ont.
Lemke says the typical wedding she sees in the city ranges between $80,000 to $100,000 in costs for a 100- to 160-person guest list.
“While it is possible to have a full wedding for under $50K, it is difficult.”
In Canada, the average wedding costs over $28,000, according to a 2019 report from wedding planning website and directory WeddingWire.
Lemke adds that couples often start out with a budget without doing their research and are later surprised by how much their dream wedding will actually cost them. However, there are ways to cut down on expenses without sacrificing what’s truly important to you.
Break down the budget
There are many things that affect the cost of a wedding, so create mini budgets for each category to keep you on track:
- Venue and catering
- Photography and videography
- Stationery and invitations
- Wedding attire
- Hair and makeup
- Decor
- Cake
- Music
- Transportation
- Favours or gifts for the guests
There could be other things you want to allocate funds for as well, like the officiant, wedding planner, wedding licence, rings and honeymoon.
“I always maintain if you’re on a small budget, never try to spread it too thin over all areas. It is better to focus on one or two areas,” Lemke advises.
“Don’t have a wedding cake, don’t have printed invitations. Get rid of those, but have really, really good food.”
She adds that there may be cultural aspects to consider in a wedding budget as well.
“If we’re coming from a South Asian tradition and we need to have three days of celebrations — well, sometimes they’re just as elaborate [as the wedding]. So that budget needs to be accounted for really early on.”
Slash the guest list
“One of the things we learned over COVID-19 is quality over quantity,” says Jackie Porter, a certified financial planner in Mississauga, Ont.
“Do we need the drunk uncle, or can we skip him? Especially if he’s going to make some inappropriate speech nobody wants to hear [laughs].”
Having a smaller guest list and reducing that per-plate cost also means you have more wiggle room in your budget for other things.
“If you only have $10,000 to spend, but you still want to put on a beautiful dress and have beautiful pictures, then you can do that. You just can’t have a raging dance party,” says Lemke.
She adds that a couple can use the money they’ve saved on a large wedding to go toward a down payment on a house instead.
“I think you have to really put it in perspective, especially when you’re dealing with larger numbers — would you actually give this person $500 or $1,000? … You’re the one who’s gifting them the party.”
Look for ways to save
You don’t necessarily have to pop into David’s Bridal and spend thousands of dollars on a wedding dress for one day.
“If a man buys himself a beautiful suit, he is going to wear it over and over again,” Lemke points out. “The woman is never going to wear her dress again … Mine is sitting in a bag in the basement.”
Lemke suggests renting your wedding attire instead, while Porter recommends looking for discounted dresses or buying them second-hand.
Location and time matters when you’re planning a wedding as well. For example, Lemke decided to have her wedding in California instead of Toronto, and said this made the event less costly.
She also says planners are usually busiest May 1 to Oct. 31 in Canada, due to the warmer weather.
Holidays like Christmas and Valentine’s Day may be popular as well, so avoid these dates to save on costs.
You can also save money by doing a daytime wedding on a weekday, and serving lunch instead of dinner.
“7:00 am until three or four in the afternoon, you have a really good run, you usually have good weather, and you can probably get into any venue that you want.”
Keep a ‘slush fund’
“I think what my rule of thumb is, with people who are planning for weddings, is similar to a renovation. Add 20 per cent, so you have an extra cushion for things that might come up, or even saving for a house,” says Porter.
Lemke also agrees that it’s important to be prepared for surprises and set aside a “slush fund.” She says COVID-19 forced many couples to postpone and then replan their weddings, which leads to added costs.
“Getting married two years later than planned in a highly inflationary situation has blown up more than one budget.”
She suggests keeping $500 to $1,000 aside for every $10,000 of a planned budget.
“So a $50K starting budget should have $2,500 to $5,000 in reserve as a contingency.”
Get professional help
Porter recommends hiring a financial planner first. “What’s [the couple’s] one-year plan, their three-year plan, their five-year plan? And [then] factor in the plan for the wedding.”
There are financial benefits to hiring a wedding planner as well — they have plenty of resources, and they may know where to find quality vendors for lower budgets. They can also help you avoid making costly errors, like overbooking photo or video hours, explains Lemke.
“Sometimes when people are overwhelmed, either they do nothing, or they just say yes to a lot of things,” adds Porter.
Some wedding planners offer package pricing, while others come with an hourly fee. Just make sure to do your research first. Wedding planning is an unregulated profession, but Lemke says finding someone with years of experience is vital.
“If you’re on a really tight budget, and you don’t have money to hire someone who’s got a lot of experience [for the whole event], call someone with experience and hire them for just a few hours to pick their brain,” she advises.
Prioritize what’s important to you
“It really is [about] picking and choosing what is the most important thing for you,” says Lemke.
Porter says to avoid checking your Instagram or Pinterest too often — you don’t need to include the big band or expensive flowers just because other people do.
“Practice good social media hygiene as you’re getting married, because I think it can often confuse you about what your priorities are.”
She also emphasizes the importance of not compromising your financial future as a couple over the perfect wedding, so have that conversation with your partner early on.
Porter brings up an example of one of her clients, who had a “Big Fat Greek Wedding” to please the family. The couple were also weighing the pros and cons of buying a house as opposed to having a honeymoon. In the end, the couple talked it through and avoided the big honeymoon right after the wedding.
“They did want to get married to each other. They wanted to start a life together. They wanted to own a home together,” she says.
“And then the following year — because, again, you have the rest of your life [together] — they went away on a beautiful vacation.”
This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind.
How to save on a wedding without looking like you're saving on a wedding | Financial Post
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