Most weddings cost close to a years salary and sometimes even more. Who can afford to get married like that? Today I'm going to go over a few tips to keep the hefty price tags at bay.
Flowers are one of the many "major" expenses of most wedding ceremonies and receptions, but with a little extra legwork you can still get a pretty good deal. The major trick is to avoid the chain-owned florists. Smaller florists and especially the kinds of florists who set up shop in markets tend to be considerably cheaper.
Always use the term "family gathering" whenever possible in your search for wedding services and suppliers. For reasons unknown to brides everywhere, the price of the same product or service always seems to be about 50% higher for a "wedding" despite no other differences being readily apparent. This is almost always true for caterers.
Try to get a caterer who will let you supply the cake yourself. The cake tends to be the most expensive food item and you can almost always get something much less expensive (and something much better!) at your local bakery. Supermarkets can also be a great place to check out if your local supermarkets have their own bakeries.
Some people actually get rid of the caterer altogether. If you have several family members who are willing to help out and have some culinary skill it's not too difficult to throw together a professional quality buffet. An important tip is to concentrate on cold foods such as rolled meats, cheeses, salads and even sandwiches or heros.
Take a look in all the the local department stores and bridal shops for clearance bridal gowns and bridesmaid gowns. You'd be surprised what you can find. There are some really good deals waiting to be had if you're a little flexible. For instance, did you know that the bridesmaids dresses don't all have to wear same dress? If you can put together a good theme, you can do anything you like and it will look great.
Also, don't forget to ask around. You never know when you'll discover that your cousin's boyfriend's sister owns a catering business or a flower shop, and those types of connections can sometimes get you better deals than you'll find anywhere else.
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