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Dear Cath - August 2019
Q. My boyfriend and I have just got engaged and we are looking to get married next year but don't have a huge budget to work from can anyone help us with money saving ideas that will make our wedding day a memorable one. R.
A. Congratulations! Planning ahead will definitely save you money on your special day.
Some of the areas where you can save a lot of money are the obvious ones: your dress, the groom's suit, flowers, attendant's gifts, going away outfits, cars, even your reception and photographer.
If you have a dressmaker in the family, perhaps they would make the dress for you as a wedding gift. With suits, you can hire them quite cheaply, depending on the style of course. If the groom normally wears suits, does he have one that would do? Men's suits have come down in price considerably in the last few years and can be bought for as little as $79 from men's wear stores such as Roger David or Male Centre.
My going away outfit I made myself, with some help from my mum. We looked around and then copied an outfit we saw in a boutique. For less than a quarter the price of the dress, I was able to have the dress, shoes, stockings and jewelry.
Flowers can be a huge expense for a wedding. When we married, I paid a florist to make my bouquet for $40. My mother and I made up posies for my bridesmaids, the buttonholes for the groom and groomsmen and the corsages for mother-of -the-bride and mother-of -the-groom. We bought the flowers very cheaply from a roadside vendor that we had come to know quite well and all up, including the ribbons, the cost was just $38. I used cream silk roses for the pews, which I bought from a $2 shop and with the ribbon (again from the $2 shop) they cost another $12. Our total flower bill was $90.
I looked around for gifts, and bought individual things that I knew each person would like. I set a limit of $5 per gift and didn't have a problem sticking to it. Six gifts cost just $30.
We saved about $600 on photographs and a video. We were quoted $360 for photos and $340 for a video of our ceremony. Instead of a professional photographer, I asked my uncle to take the photos for us. He is an experienced photographer, so I knew he would do a good job. We paid for the film and the processing. My father-in-law took the video for us. Again we paid for the blank tape. We were able to have copies made to send to friends and family overseas, as well as our parents for just the cost of the tapes and postage. With an album and some enlargements, the total bill was just $97.99!
There are a lot of ways you can save on the cost of a wedding reception, from self-catering to a luncheon or perhaps afternoon tea or even a cocktail reception. Drinks can be expensive - choose the safer and cheaper option of serving only a limited amount of alcohol, or go even cheaper and safer and serve only non-alcoholic drinks. Everyone is able to drive home without worrying about breathalizers and your drink bill will be slashed.
The centrepiece of most receptions is the wedding cake. These can run out to hundreds of dollars for just a simple decorating job. You can always make the cake yourself and have it decorated. Cake tins in a myriad of shapes and sized can be hired very cheaply giving you a lot of scope to come up with the perfect wedding cake. There are lots of cake decorators around - check your local paper or yellow pages. Ask around, perhaps someone you know will know of someone who is into cake decorating. And don't be put off by the thought of fruitcake. These days wedding cakes can be anything from mudcake to decorated sponges, even cup-cakes and profiteroles.
These are just a few ideas you can use to have a gorgeous wedding without breaking the budget.
With a little thought and planning, you can have the wedding of your dreams.
A. Congratulations! Planning ahead will definitely save you money on your special day.
Some of the areas where you can save a lot of money are the obvious ones: your dress, the groom's suit, flowers, attendant's gifts, going away outfits, cars, even your reception and photographer.
If you have a dressmaker in the family, perhaps they would make the dress for you as a wedding gift. With suits, you can hire them quite cheaply, depending on the style of course. If the groom normally wears suits, does he have one that would do? Men's suits have come down in price considerably in the last few years and can be bought for as little as $79 from men's wear stores such as Roger David or Male Centre.
My going away outfit I made myself, with some help from my mum. We looked around and then copied an outfit we saw in a boutique. For less than a quarter the price of the dress, I was able to have the dress, shoes, stockings and jewelry.
Flowers can be a huge expense for a wedding. When we married, I paid a florist to make my bouquet for $40. My mother and I made up posies for my bridesmaids, the buttonholes for the groom and groomsmen and the corsages for mother-of -the-bride and mother-of -the-groom. We bought the flowers very cheaply from a roadside vendor that we had come to know quite well and all up, including the ribbons, the cost was just $38. I used cream silk roses for the pews, which I bought from a $2 shop and with the ribbon (again from the $2 shop) they cost another $12. Our total flower bill was $90.
I looked around for gifts, and bought individual things that I knew each person would like. I set a limit of $5 per gift and didn't have a problem sticking to it. Six gifts cost just $30.
We saved about $600 on photographs and a video. We were quoted $360 for photos and $340 for a video of our ceremony. Instead of a professional photographer, I asked my uncle to take the photos for us. He is an experienced photographer, so I knew he would do a good job. We paid for the film and the processing. My father-in-law took the video for us. Again we paid for the blank tape. We were able to have copies made to send to friends and family overseas, as well as our parents for just the cost of the tapes and postage. With an album and some enlargements, the total bill was just $97.99!
There are a lot of ways you can save on the cost of a wedding reception, from self-catering to a luncheon or perhaps afternoon tea or even a cocktail reception. Drinks can be expensive - choose the safer and cheaper option of serving only a limited amount of alcohol, or go even cheaper and safer and serve only non-alcoholic drinks. Everyone is able to drive home without worrying about breathalizers and your drink bill will be slashed.
The centrepiece of most receptions is the wedding cake. These can run out to hundreds of dollars for just a simple decorating job. You can always make the cake yourself and have it decorated. Cake tins in a myriad of shapes and sized can be hired very cheaply giving you a lot of scope to come up with the perfect wedding cake. There are lots of cake decorators around - check your local paper or yellow pages. Ask around, perhaps someone you know will know of someone who is into cake decorating. And don't be put off by the thought of fruitcake. These days wedding cakes can be anything from mudcake to decorated sponges, even cup-cakes and profiteroles.
These are just a few ideas you can use to have a gorgeous wedding without breaking the budget.
With a little thought and planning, you can have the wedding of your dreams.
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