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• NEW!Hold your wedding and reception in the same location-this could save you the cost of renting 2 different facilities. If your reception facility has space for ceremonies, they typically will not charge extra for you to hold your ceremony there (unless there are special requirements such as chairs needing to be moved, or a tent or other equipment).

• You can save a great deal on the costs of flowers by doing your own arrangements, or having a friend or friends do it for you. Some brides have a gathering the day before the wedding to decorate the reception hall, and arrange the flowers.
  
  • buy cut flower bouquets from the supermarket or local farmstand
    
  • buy inexpensive vases--for a country wedding, you can even use mason jars--and make simple arrangements for the tables. Each arrangement could be different. If the vase is too small for the center of the table, use a basket, or put a napkin of contrasting color in the center, and put vase on that. Or spread ivy or other greens around in the center of the table, perhaps around the vase to fill out the centerpiece.

• You can have a very nice reception with only cake and punch—proper etiquette dictates that this type of reception should be held in midafternoon, or after seven at night.

• To cut costs, consider having a small "fancy" cake, and then having the baker provide sheet cakes of the same kind, which are kept out of view, and served to supplement the display cake. OR provide another type of dessert, such as ice cream cake, or petite fours, and serve guests a very small slice of the wedding cake.

• For small, informal wedding receptions, this tip could provide cost savings, as well as a personal touch: ask several friends to bake normal sized cakes, and guests can select the kind of cake they want.

• NEW!Borrow a cake-top from someone-perhaps your parents or grandparents still have the one from their wedding cake!

• NEW!A brunch or hors d' oeuvres reception is typically less expensive than a main meal/sit-down dinner. A buffet may be less expensive than a served meal, although not necessarily. Also, "passed hours d' oeuvres" may be more costly than a buffet-style hors d' oeuvre offering - people may eat more when the food comes to them!

• Some vendors offer a discount for non-Saturday or Off-Peak times (off season, weekdays, Sundays).

• NEW!You may find that service providers who work out of their homes (photographers, cake bakers, caterers, etc) are less expensive than those who have a shop

• You may be able to negotiate a discount if you pay cash instead of using a check or credit card. However, remember that paying with a credit card offers some protection in terms of postponing or withholding payment if there is a problem with the service or product.

• Talk with photographers to see what their "package" of services includes, and if they will be flexible in order to help you save money:
  
  • Some photographers will provide fewer hours of coverage—perhaps just the ceremony and formal portraits afterward. You could provide disposable cameras for the reception and/or ask specific people to take specific photographs and you will provide the film and you will take care of the processing.
    
  • Ask the photographer if the proofs (the set of photographs you are given to select your reprints from) are included in the package price.
    
  • Some photographers will give you a certain number of hours of coverage, and then will give you the exposed rolls of film to take for processing and reprints. This saves them the time and effort of dealing with that aspect of it, and it will save you a great deal of money.
    
  • Ask if you can have or purchase the negatives. The photographer may want you to purchase a certain number of prints through him/her, but after that you can get any additional reprints on your own, saving you money.

• If you want to save money on your wedding gown, try these options: borrow from a friend or relative, buy "off the rack", look at consignment shops, alter your mother's or grandmother's gown, or incorporate its design or pieces from it into a custom made gown for yourself.

• NEW!You are generally expected to provide food for service providers such as: band members, photographer, videographer, etc. However, you are not "required" to provide them with the same meal that you are providing for your guests. You can make arrangements for a less expensive meal or they can be invited to partake of the buffet when the guests have finished. Discuss this with your caterer.

• NEW!Save money on flowers by using flowers that are in-season at the time of your wedding.

• NEW!Plan to have your decorative ceremony flower arrangements taken to the reception hall to decorate tables and entrances. This way, your flowers do double-duty!

• NEW!Use the bride's and/or the attendants' bouquets to decorate the tables at your reception. This works especially well with "hand-tied" bouquets; they can simply be put into a vase or laid on the table as centerpieces.

• NEW!Use balloons as decorations, they are less expensive than flowers. Tie a balloon onto the back of each chair at the head table to add color and interest.

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