This is a post from Alex, Bargainbabe.com’s intern!
After attending a small wedding the past weekend, I thought I might share a few of the strategies that one couple used to save money on their wedding.
1. Pick a naturally beautiful location. Find a place that already has flowers blooming so you don’t have to purchase more yourself. The ceremony I attended was at the UC Berkeley Botanical Gardens. The trees, plants, and flowers created the perfect ambiance for the ceremony and pictures afterward.
2. Get your own Priest. I was ordained as minister in thirty seconds for free through the Universal Life Church so that I could preside over the wedding. I’d never done it before, but I put on my best speaking voice and practiced reading through what the couple had written for me to say. It felt good to give them exactly what they were looking for since they had no reservations about asking me to recite any sort of rhetoric that was important to them. To give you an idea of the range of dialogue they felt comfortable using, I’ve posted a few of the lines below:
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy has this to say on the subject of love: “Avoid, if at all possible.” Fortunately, Jerad and Jackie have never read the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, so let us continue.
This ring, which has no beginning and no end, symbolizes that the love between you will never cease. May its presence on your hands remind you of your love for each other. Please place them on your fingers as a visible sign of the vows which you have shared today.
3. Keep your guest list small. One way to keep your guest list from snowballing is to pick a venue that is designed for small ceremonies. Holding your wedding on a boat or anywhere with pre-set seating gives you a good reason against inviting anyone you might consider extra.
4. Set up your honeymoon as a wedding present. You can make a website at TravelersJoy.com where people can go online and pay for different elements of your honeymoon instead of purchasing gifts. Guests can buy anything for you, from a night in the hotel to a bottle of wine at dinner. This saves expenses on your honeymoon and makes it easy for them to buy whatever fits their budget. Click here for a sample of what your site could look like.
June 30th, 2009 at 7:48 pm
I knew a person who (before the time computer became afforadable) hand written their invation, then photocopy and then send them out.
Now that computer and the internet are both affordable you can send out e-mails to the people at the speed of electrons.
July 1st, 2009 at 9:44 pm
I think that suggestions#4 sounds great. It makes gift giving very personal. Can anyone out their testify to the safety of the credit card transactions and the money being turned over promptly to the Bride & Groom?
July 3rd, 2009 at 3:13 pm
I think #4 is as tacky as tacky gets.