What are some corners that you cut for your wedding that saved you cash?

For me, I made all of the invitations out of kits I found for $4.99 for a box of 40 (from Ollies) that came with the invitation, reply card and envelopes AND I got my cousin to make the flowers for free and also my programs...again, programs paper from Xpedx for $4.99/ stack of 50 sheets.

invitations(%26amp; thank you cards) costed:$20 (plus postage)

programs$22

What are some corners that you cut for your wedding that saved you cash?
well here is what we have done so far:

invitations $5.00 clearance at walmart (100 in box) came with response cards/envelopes etc.. they were the ones with the vellum and ribbon. we printed them ourselves. $17.00 for postage

programs (100 in pkg) card fold $1.00 clearance at walmart again. we printed them ourselves.

I am making the cake 4 tier already have the pans, stand etc.. so just the price of ingredients and the work. $10.00

my mom is making my dress $125.00 (tried to get one made online but it was a mistake)

made our own pew bows $20.00 for materials

picked up some good deals on ebay for the guys suits

saved $1,000 on the hotel rental because somepne from church owns it.

got a lot of deals online from ebay and craigslist
Reply:- I'm doing all the floral arrangements myself

- Groom's mother and grandmother are taking care of the reception food (as well as rehearsal)

- Having a friend (who happens to be a graphic design major) as the photographer

- Groom's aunt as videographer

- Utilizing the church's fellowship hall for the reception (it's free!)

- Making my own invitations from kits I found on clearance (they're cute!)

- My parents run an antique mall, and I'm borrowing a lot of glassware from them; also browsing estate auctions/sales to find glassware for our candy buffet
Reply:we made all our decorations ourselves, used fake flowers that cost less than $75, bought centerpiece bowls at a warehouse for $20, printed our own programs for $10, had our ceremony and reception in the same big hall, our dj was only $200 for the whole day, i got tons of stuff from hobby lobby during 50% off sales, the aisle runner was from walmart for $15, flower girl dresses were clearanced from gymboree right after christmas, we made our favors for less than $100, too

our plane tickets for the honeymoon were free and the hotel was only 95 a night on the beach.
Reply:I am going to buy my own flowers and then do them with my bridal party the night before. I want most of my bridal party to spen the night with me in a suite at the hotel we are attached to for our reception. I have found flowers at a really great price and making sure they have good reviews and also I make sure to check out www.bbb.com and make sure that they have good ratings with them. I think I plan on making my own programs also or not even making them at all.
Reply:If you must have flowers, I would hit the sales at Hobby Lobby or Micheal's and have bridesmaids carry just one nice flower. I would skip flowers all together, because I have a hard time reconciling spending that money much on things that will not live much longer.

You can save money on the reception food by planning the wedding for the afternoon. OUr weding was at 2 and we just had cold cuts and a fruit/veggie tray. And get an accurate count--we had tons left over.

The right venue will save you money too. A park, a home, or even a local historical place may have a spot for you. In OKlahoma, there is the Harn Homestead and I have a friend who works at a similar place in Wyoming and they let it out for 50 dollars.
Reply:Here are some things I done.



Instead of a DJ (ours bailed on us) we are downloading from iTunes and burning CDs and making mixed CDs of songs.



Bought Print Shop for our computer. This helped with the programs, invitations..etc.



Have family bring a covered dish instead of hiring caterer or having one person do it all.



Bought a lot of decorations from eBay super cheap, especially Tulle. Oriental trading is fairly cheap and has a lot of things to consider.



If you are using flowers, you can buy really pretty silk flowers at walmart for 88 cents a bunch. Skip the aisle runner, it's just something for someone to trip over. (I've seen people almost fall from tripping over it.) Have family or friend take pictures, split the cost of film or memory card.



I hope this helps some, it sure did with me.
Reply:Have a friend take your pictures. Rent a cake, and then just serve sheet cake...or just do a dessert bar instead. Buffet instead of sit down. Limit the bar. Possibly borrow a dress, or buy on e-bay. Shop at walmart/ikea/target for things for center pieces. Goodluck!
Reply:this was my wedding dress

http://www.sears.ca/gp/product/B000ZPMAP...
Reply:u can have someone u know do your pictures and video

have sponsors

for soviners/ favors go wishing well or make cds on your own

and dj i think u can ask a radio station or someone u know who does that
Reply:a friend used one of their friends as photographer, that was her wedding gift to us....my aunt %26amp; uncle catered it....had the reception in our backyard
Reply:*My fiance's Grandma is making the cake, and she's not letting us pay her!! (She's so sweet, we're lucky!)

*My Mom is doing all the flowers (she used to be a florist) so I don't have to pay for a florist.

*I designed and made all my invitations from card stock and ribbon...it cost close to nothing, and I still think they turned out really nice!!

*We decided not to have alcohol at the reception.

*We spent $40 IN ALL for our favors (little tiny jars we bought, $10 for 160 with a little ribbon tied on them and we're putting a little flower in each).

*My mom is making my veil with supplies she bought from JoAnn Fabrics.

*My jewelry is my great-grandmother's old pearl necklace and earrings, so I don't have to buy that.

*We bought our wedding bands at Wal-Mart and saved a TON of money. And we decided that we'd wait until our 25-year anniversary and buy nice ones then :-)



I'm lucky that my mom is very crafty and can help me out a LOT with my wedding plans! We've saved so much on all the things I listed, I was able to book a nicer reception hall than I would have been able to :-)
Reply:we had an outside standing ceremony - no chairs and no decorations.

we had no bridesmaids or groomsmen.

we didn't hire a photographer, but asked all digital camera users to email us copies of the wedding

we didn't have flowers

we didn't have programs



we made our own invites $30 all up

we did our own hair and makeup $40 for new make up for me

my musician brother played for me when i walked down the isle $0

my sister played a selection on music through her lap top and massive speakers for the rest of the day $0

we hired tables and chairs from our caterer who charged $10 per guest for food, drinks, crockery, cutlery and furniture.

we had BYO alcohol $40

we made our own bonbonerie $20