Having recently been married myself, last February, I'm acutely aware of how expensive weddings have become in America. Couple that with how our economy is in free-fall and it's clear that anyone looking at a wedding in the next few years will have to keep things as economical as possible. Gone are the days when you could sell a couple share of Google and have your wedding all paid for.
Here are seven tips you can use to help reduce the cost of your wedding.
- Invite Fewer People
Catering expenses are per person. Invitation costs are per person. So many of the expenses in a wedding are per person, so logically it makes sense that to save money you need fewer people. Unfortunately, it's difficult to cut your invitation list.
So, how do you do it? Consider having a smaller ceremony that includes only family or close friends and family. If I'm friends with someone and they told me they were having a small ceremony with only family, I wouldn't feel slighted (unless I was family!) if I wasn't invited. But also consider having a non-wedding party celebration for those you didn't invite as a compromise and you'll find that caterers will charge far less per person. :)
Get At Least 5 Catering Quotes
Unless you're going the firehall wedding route, catering will be the most expensive line item of your entire wedding and so it makes sense to try to trim as much as you can here. You'll have a lot of choices and lot will have to do with your personal preferences but one thing you have to do is get five quotes minimum. It will seem like a lot of work to call up five different places and schedule five different tastings but it'll be worth it. Our cheapest quote was offered by the most professional operating and best tasting catering company and was the fourth quote we requested.
In addition to getting the lay of the land, five quotes gives you flexibility in negotiations. The economy is bad for caterers as well (companies are having fewer catered functions) and so they'll take a few percentage points off just to get the work; use that to your advantage.
- Skip the Wedding Planner
If money is no option, hire a wedding planner. For most folks, doing it yourself is the more economical, and harder, option. Wedding planners aren't all bad though, they have a network of folks they are familiar with and can potentially negotiate discounts in your favor. However, most people I've talked to who have used one say that you hire one to save you time and headache, not money. Instead, get a wedding planning book and follow the checklists they provide.
- Invitations
This is another one of those "per person" charges and it doesn't really hurt to go austere on invitations and Save The Dates. You won't save a lot on invitations even if you go simple but every little bit counts. Go to a crafts store for some fancier paper, glue, and print your invitations. If you don't have a good printer, consider getting the cards printed on colored card stock and assembling something nice on your own. Finally, turn your RSVP cards into RSVP postcards, rather than cards inside envelopes, and you can save a few cents on return postage.
- Sheet Cake
Instead of getting a huge ornately decorated wedding cake that's large enough to feed everyone, consider getting a smaller decorated cake and several flat sheet cakes. After the cake is cut, no one will know (or care) if it started its life as a sheet cake or the actual decorated wedding cake. The baker will usually give you a discount on the price because a sheet is far easier to make and transport.
- Amateur Photographers/Videographers
This particular tip is risky but you can save a few thousand dollars by forgoing the professional photographer or videographer (we didn't use a videographer) and leveraging any burgeoning amateurs you know may. With how far technology has come, amateur photographers can do just as well as the professionals when it comes to taking stills. If they understand composition and other basic photography concepts, you probably will be happy with their work.
The risk of a bad job is always there and it's magnified since amateur photographers likely won't be used to working eight hour stretches. Also, afterwards you might have to do the touching up yourself (or again rely on friends and family!), but you could save money by going this route.
- Buy Bridal Bargains Book
Every bride I talked to, including my wife, raved about Bridal Bargains by Denise Fields. You can probably find a copy at your local library or just ask someone who recently got married. Inside you'll find a wealth of cost cutting ideas that will rival any resource you'll find anywhere. They recently released an 8th edition so it's very current on the trends and very comprehensive.
Remember, every dollar you save is one that you can blow on the honeymoon!
-Jim
译文:
7种减少婚礼之日花销的方法
由于去年二月刚刚结的婚，我切身的感到在美国婚礼的花费是多么高昂。加上经济的不景气使得任何考虑举办婚礼的人在接下来的几年了都必须要缩衣节食。那种只需要卖掉谷歌的少量股份就足以支付婚礼花费的日子已经成为过去。
以下是七条你可以用以减少婚礼开支的建议。
少邀请点人
食物的成本是以人头计算的。招待费也是如此。所以婚礼上的许多花费都是个人作为单位计算，因此为了节约开销，少邀请点人，这在理论上是行得通的。然而，事与愿违，减少邀请的人数却并非易事。
那么，应该怎么做呢？考虑一个小型的婚礼，只邀请家人和密友。如果我的朋友告诉我他打算把婚礼简单化，只邀请了些亲戚，那么即使我没被邀请，我也不会感到被忽视了（除非我就是他的亲戚）。也可以折衷，考虑不办婚礼，你会发现你的开销甚至不超过之前用于一个人的。
至少拿到五家的餐宴报价
除非你打算在自家办婚宴，否则餐宴的花费将是整个婚礼中最大的一笔开销，所以尽可能的计划开支显得非常有意义。可供的选择很多，而且与你的个人偏好有很大关系，但是有一点最重要的是：至少拿到五家的餐宴报价。给五家不同的地方打电话，还要斟酌不同的菜色，工作量似乎很大但是却很值得这么做。我们最便宜的报价是一个操作最专业，菜色最好的餐饮公司提供的，而那却是第四份报价单。
拿到五张报价单不仅给了你更多选择的余地，同时还能了解其地理位置，以供参考。
弃用婚礼计划人
如果钱不是问题，雇用一个婚礼设计人，对大多数人来说，自己筹划更省钱也更艰难的选择。虽然，请一个婚礼设计人不是什么坏事。但他们有着他们熟悉的人际网，并且很可能可以帮你打折。但是，一些请过婚礼设计人的人和我说，请一个设计师可以省时间也可以省去一些麻烦，但却不能省钱。相反，买本有关婚礼策划的书，照着上面的清单做更好。
邀请卡
这是另一笔按人头算的帐。到一家普通的店去制作邀请卡并没有什么。你不能在邀请卡上省很多钱，即使你制作从制作简单的卡片，但是每样少一点就可以做到。去一家手工艺的店买些精美的纸，胶水，然后制作邀请卡。如果你没有好的打印机，考虑把卡片印在彩纸上，然后加上些你自己的东西，最后，把你的rsvp卡变成psvp明信片，而不是把卡片放在信封里，这样你能在邮资上省下一些钱。
买蛋糕
与其买一个人人可享巨大豪华的结婚蛋糕，不如考虑要一个精美的小蛋糕或几个蛋糕，蛋糕切开之后，没人知道（或关心）蛋糕是小蛋糕还是真正的豪华的结婚蛋糕。糕点师傅通常会给你打折，因为一块蛋糕更容易也更容易送。
业余的摄影师 摄像师
这个特别的建议是有风险的。但是你可以省下几千美元。因为你放弃雇用专业的摄影师和摄像师（我们不雇用摄像师）。并且可以帮助业余的摄影师和摄像师，随着技术的成熟，专业的摄影师和摄像师可以和专业的摄影师和摄像师一样好。当他们拍摄时，如果他们懂得摄影的构图，你也会满足他们的作品。
当然那也可能会有不好的事情发生，它的工作量增加因为业余摄影师很可能没有工作过8小时那么长的时间。
买本Bridal Bargains的书
和我谈过的每一个新娘，包括我的妻子，都热衷于Denise Fields写的Bridal Bargains的书。你可以在当地的图书馆里或者问某个刚结婚不久的人借。在这本书里，你也可以找到许多省钱的方法，它抵得过你在别的地方买到的任何书。它们最近出版了第8版，因此当下很容易找到也很容易理解。
记住，你省下的每个美元为你的蜜月做准备。------Jim