Weddings are one of the happiest times in a person’s life, but they can also turn out to be the most stressful. This is often thanks in part to the sheer amount of planning and expenses involved in the whole process. Hiring a planner to take care of the details is a good way to reduce your overall stress, but these types of services don’t come cheap. Below you will find a few wedding budget hacks in Austin, TX to help.
Wedding Budget Hacks
If you are looking to stay on a budget, a planner may not be an option. If you are like most who are dealing with the distressed economy, then our wedding budget hacks can help you create a memorable wedding, for less than you think.
Reduce Your Photography Expenses
The majority of wedding photographers sell their services in packages. These usually must be booked at least six months in advance and will also have a time limit on how long the photographer will stay under the package limit. Most also won’t mention that there is an extra charge per hour for any amount of time spent taking photos outside of the package or original contract. You can save money by having your couple’s pictures taken before socializing and also build an extra two hours into your contract when booking your photographer. These simple tips can help you save as much as $800 on photos alone.
Bridal Shower
A bridal shower is a time for all the women in the bride’s life to come together and reminisce, give advice, and prepare her for the new life of a married woman. Most often these showers will feature a planned meal at a fancy location. Some showers will also have a cake to mark the occasion. Instead of spending a lot of money on a fancy location, consider catering your meal at home. To go the extra mile, you can make everything on your own or ask your gal friends to each bring a dish. The cake should also be a simple affair that is similar in style to the wedding cake. If you plan to have a little male attention at the shower, have the private dancer bring the cake!
Wedding Invitations
Every couple wants an elegant and customized invitation for their special day, often, the card is as elegant and memorable as the dress. It is the one item that your guests are able to keep as mementos from your wedding that will last for years to come. Instead of splurging on heavy card paper and invites that have moving parts, keep it simple.
Wedding invitations must be mailed to their recipients each will generate a charge according to their size and their weight. Save money by choosing lighter cards that have other thoughtful details instead. You can save a couple of hundred dollars by the time your invitations and RSVP cards have all been mailed.
The Dress & Tux
A big part of the wedding budget actually gets spent on the dress and the tux. Of course, more the wedding dress than the latter. While this is a special day and should be observed with all the pomp and circumstance, you can muster, there is no reason to go into debt for an outfit you will wear only once.
Consider wearing a wedding dress that has been in the family for generations or opts for a beautiful dress that looks designer but has a lower price tag. A lot of small seamstresses will craft a wedding dress from scratch for a fraction of the cost of some of the bigger boutiques. Many of these dresses will look much better than their commercial counterparts.
Outfit Alterations
Wedding dresses are one of the biggest expenses of a wedding, but simply buying the dress is not the only expense. Wedding dresses are unique and meant to be worn only once, hence there is often a need for alterations. Most stores don’t disclose that there is a fee each time you need to have a wedding dress altered. Plenty of brides start their dress search as early as two years before their wedding date. Bodies change weight can go up or down in that time frame. The closer to a wedding you get, the more alterations you will have. Always ask about the alteration policy and charges prior to purchase.
This also holds true for men, though, they tend to buy their tux much closer to the wedding and generally only need one alteration sitting. Also, keep in mind that you don’t have to use the in-store seamstress, there are plenty of local ones who charge only a fraction of the rate of the department store.
Transportation
Everyone wants to feel like a celebrity on their wedding day and with good reason. However, not everyone has a celebrity paycheck. One large expense that is not always justified is transportation. Stretch limos often charge by the hour so having one wait outside your venue for the duration of your wedding and reception can get pretty costly very quickly.
If you really want limo services as part of your wedding, consider hiring them on an hourly basis that will cover the time from the end of your ceremony to the start of your reception. If you are taking your pictures ahead of the ceremony, this will also cut down on wait times. You will only have to book them for perhaps an hour or two to pick you up from the venue of the wedding to transport you to the reception venue.
Complete Weddings + Events in Austin, TX
If you’re planning a wedding in Austin, then you’ve landed at the right place! Now that you’ve said YES! to spending your life together, you have some exciting decisions ahead. At Complete Weddings + Events planning in Austin, wedding events are what we do best. Complete Weddings + Events, Austin’s leading provider of event and wedding photography, videography, lighting, coordination, DJ services & photo booth rental.