White Jade Design Int'l

HELPFUL HINTS TO SAVE YOU MONEY

Here you'll find some ideas on how to save money while planning your event.

1. Research on the Internet.

It seems the obvious answer, but a good internet search can save you time and money, both by making purchases on-line and through all the information it provides. In addition to the regular site content, many wedding websites provide links to related businesses who provide quality products and services. Our main section for these links are on the FAQ menu and on the catalog menu.

2. Use wedding consultants--in the right proportions.

Time is money and money is time. Use yours effectively by going to consultants for copies of brochures and information on sites and other vendors. These people make it their business to know who does what and for what price. Rather than spending hundreds of hours calling everyone and visiting every site, a good consultant can often help you in just one appointment narrow the list from hundreds to a handful in each category--leaving you to talk to them and visit their businesses for the final choices. Also consultants are good for helping you recognize where your priorities are and setting a budget.

But consultants hired to do EVERYTHING will cost a great deal. Look honestly at your time and money resources and try to be balanced about it. Think realistically about the schedules and resources of others in your wedding party in making this important assessment. It's great if your MOH can do it for you, but does she honestly have the time resources to get it time when it needs to be done? Be considerate before signing off someone else's time resources.

3. Set your priorities.

Whenever making a decision about any element to your wedding, before shopping or even researching what is available, determine in advance what your priorities are and differentiate between the absolute MUSTS from the nice-to-haves from the totally optionals. Is it the color of the attendant gowns or the line of the dress that matters most? Is it the song or how the song is performed (live by a particular instrument, just live, by DJ, or stylistically) that matters most? Do you value having him not seen THE DRESS before the wedding over the practical reasons for doing the formals (portraits) hours, days, or weeks in advance? Is the most important thing about your reception food the type of food and style or simply giving the guests something that tastes good and within your budget?

This issue, more than any other, will decide who you choose for vendors, what proportion of the budget will go to what element, and how your wedding comes off stylistically. Your priorities decide what you choose. Knowing your priorities and sticking to them can also save you thousands of dollars when the final bills come through. The easiest way to avoid getting talked into something you do not want is to know what you want from what you would like from what you really don't care if you have or not. And if you cannot find what you want by your priorities, be prepared to shop around more or reconsider the strength of your priority. But odds are for SOME price, anything you want to do is available somewhere. It's simply a matter of if you can really afford your first choice or not.

4. Be flexible

Having set your priorities, you'll save money if you are flexible on everything except the core values. Maybe you cannot avoid that fountain in your tiered wedding cake, but what about a creatively decorated series of sheet cakes? For $200 less you'll still feed the same number of people...if you are flexible, you'll consider it. Flexibility is key to creativity and it's being creative that saves you the most money when planning any special event. Being flexible helps you stick to your budget. That's important because excessive debt caused by a wedding whose costs got out of control can seriously impair your happiness AFTER everything is over and create unnecessary stress. Besides, flexibility helps you to have fun and planning a wedding, the wedding day is supposed to be FUN...not a chore. This is the happiest day of your life, after all!

5. Do some of it yourself.

Not everyone is God's gift to sewing or crafting, but you might surprise yourself with how much you can really do once you put your mind to it. That's one reason we've put up some instructions on how to do different projects on your own here on the site. Do you need to buy wedding shoes or do you think you can handle getting a little ribbon, lace, and pearls then using a glue gun to apply them to some comfortable shoes? Do you really need your favors pre-made or can you handle a nice kit and/or some instructions from a site or craft store? HAVE FUN AND TRY IT! You'll save a lot of money the more you can do yourself and you might just discover a new hobby along the way.

6. Plan Early

This seems obvious, but the best deals on a lot of things are at the ends of different seasons after holidays. Clearance sales can really add up--but to take advantage of them, you need to start planning early. It's really hard to know you need fifty red taper candles until you have made that decision. By starting early, you'll have the time to catch those seasonal specials that turn the average $1 each item to just 30 cents each and get the bargains you want. Planning early and catching the sales can mean a much more expensive wedding accomplished with a smaller budget. But buyer beware: discounted price can mean discounted QUALITY. Sometimes you really do get what you pay for. So avoid the "bargains" on your most expensive items such as your gown or anything requiring a deposit. Often these contracts cannot be cancelled or your selection changed to something else. Plan ahead, know what's out there, and comparison shop. And be prepared to pay for quality--know inexpensive from cheep and make sure that when you buy something it really is what you thought it was.

7. Ask about return/cancellation policies.

You wouldn't think this would be a major money saver, but it is. Buying something twice or paying big fees for changes can add up. Ask questions and take your time before finalizing things. Pay attention to deadlines for returning items. Keep receipts. It's common sense but it can really pay off in the end.