Archive for the ‘Weddings’ Category

How To Have The Wedding Of Your Dreams And Still Be Frugal

Posted: November 1, 2012 in Weddings
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Wedding rings- Roger Kirby

Like most men, I did not have my wedding planned out from the day I turned five. Actually, I never thought I would marry. Then I met my wife. Suddenly, marriage seemed not only possible but desirable. We met in Florida, dated long distance and got married in San Diego. Figuring out what we could, and couldn’t live without helped us say “I do” to each other without saying “I will” to massive credit card debt.

Wedding Costs are Soaring in Canada and Beyond

Anyone engaged, planning a wedding, or recently married knows how expensive it can be to get married. The average cost of a wedding in Canada is $23,330, which is up from $20,129 two years ago. That’s less than what debt-saddled Americans spend  - $27,021, but not by much. Unless you factor in New York, where everything is outrageously expensive; a big wedding in the Big Apple will set you back $65,000! You could buy a home in West Virginia for that amount (which consequently has the lowest average wedding cost of any American state at $14,203).

What Costs so Much, Anyways?

The dress is a big part of it for Canadian brides, who spend more on average than their American counterparts – $1,798 compared to $1,100. In addition to the dress, dinner, drinks, the venue, ring, photographer/videographer/DJ, wedding planner, florist, party favors, gifts for the wedding party, rehearsal dinner, invitations, and postage all add up. If you’re getting hitched in an expensive city where the cost of living is higher than average, it’s easy to see how wedding budgets get bloated. I remember when my wife and I were planning our wedding, we couldn’t find a photographer for less than $2,000 and we were driving all over San Diego, looking for a good deal. We ended up saving $500 by hiring someone who spoke broken English but still knew how to point and shoot.

How to Find Room in Your Wedding Budget for Your Dreams

I’ve always been a bit of a planner (my wife would probably take issue with the “bit” part of that statement) so I had a wedding checklist in my back pocket, right behind the family ring I gave my wife when I proposed. Having my grandmother’s beautiful, antique wedding ring to give to my wife was a lifesaver on helping us stay within our wedding budget. We set a figure and committed to staying within it. By contrast, my step sister, who was also getting married at the time, did not have a budget for her wedding. She spared no expense and ended up spending more than $50,000. As a result, she and her husband weren’t able to take a honeymoon. By being frugal as we planned our wedding, my wife and I were able to visit Ireland for our honeymoon, which was a lifelong dream of hers.

Location ended up being the most difficult cost to keep under control for our wedding. We thought it would be cheap to get married on the beach. Boy were we wrong! It turns out lots of people want to recite their vows with sand between their toes, creating a high-priced market for beach weddings. Our options were either drive down to Mexico and deal with passport issues for our guests, or set up a sandbox in my in-laws back yard, so we opted for a more traditional setting. While we had to sacrifice on the venue, we learned that location was something we could live without. We saved a ton by getting married at our church and hosting the reception on site, in the attached meeting area. We weren’t able to serve alcohol, but that ended up being a blessing in disguise because liquor can be the single most expensive wedding expenditure after the ring and dress.

Be Frugal by Doing Things Yourself

In the 10+ years we’ve been married, we’ve seen plenty of couples keep costs down by serving simple appetizers or enlisting the aid of friends and family to bring desserts to serve at their receptions. They still have memorable and meaningful weddings and we still feel privileged to attend. Other ways to be frugal include making the wedding favors yourself (Hershey kisses and a little tulle go a long way), picking silk flowers at your local hobby store and making the bouquets and boutonnieres yourself, and selecting a simple, basic dress for your bridal party. We asked our bridal party to wear little black dresses so we wouldn’t have to bloat our wedding budget with the cost of custom bridesmaid dresses and shoes.

Keep the Right Perspective on Your Wedding Check-list

Put your love for and lifetime commitment to each other at the top of your wedding check-list. It will impact your wedding budget more than any other item on your list by helping you remember that this day is about the two of you and not impressing your guests. We started our new life together without a load of debt, and as any newly-wed will tell you, there’s enough stress learning how to share everything with someone else without adding creditors to the pile. A little frugality on your wedding day goes a long way in getting you to your 25th wedding anniversary!

If you’re married or planning a wedding, how did you keep your wedding costs down? What would you do differently if you could?

Guest Post Bio: John is the founder of Frugal Rules, a finance blog that regularly discusses investing, budgeting, and frugal living. John is a father, husband, and veteran of the financial services industry who’s passionate about helping people find freedom through frugality.

Photo Source: Wedding- Roger Kirby

It's Not About How Much Money You Make It's How You Spend It

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Frugal Party Planning – Let’s Party!

Posted: September 6, 2012 in Our Family Budget, Party Planning, Weddings
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By Sally Pyle (aka Frugal Sally)
Frugal Party planning is easier than you think. I recently hosted a baby shower and I had to put my thinking cap on to make it a frugal baby shower and impress the guests. Some of the ideas I came up with can be used for just about any party or gathering such as a frugal back yard bbq, wedding, birthday, retirement or graduation party etc. Staying under budget all starts with the planning.  Below are some ways you can host a frugal party and not break the bank.
  • Theme

Having a colour and theme in mind will keep you focused and help you to brainstorm ideas. The theme for the baby shower was rubber duckies. You could even have a color theme, such as yellow and blue or pink and purple. The last wedding I helped with had a green and lavender theme and it was stunning. By having a theme it keeps your eye tuned to watching for ideas that have that theme. Making a list of items you need are also important so you are only purchasing the items you will use and not overspending on items you won’t use.

  • Time

If possible give yourself enough time to plan the event and to shop for it. When your time frame is longer it gives you the opportunity to shop for sales in the weekly flyers or look for deals at your local stores. You may also find offers and sales on-line and have them shipped to you without even leaving the comfort of your home.

For the baby shower I needed a bunch of rubber ducks for decorations. I found them in bulk at oriental trading company at a fraction of the price I would have paid in local stores. I also had canvas bags made for a wedding for out-of-town guests through vista print. I had the time to wait for sales and the time it took to ship them to me.
I also used coupons to make many of the table decorations such as the diaper cake and diaper babies. It took 120 diapers to make the cake and another 16 diapers for the “diaper babies”. I used coupons  together with sales to get the best deals on the diapers and stocked up little by little.
  • Invitations

You can find many on-line companies that will custom make invitations for you at a fraction of the cost. I found a great deal on-line through one of the photo companies to make my invitations. The company had an excellent sale on invitations and I had some credits to use, so I thought why not. You could also print or make your own invitations if you are the DIY type or person. I have seen scrapbook paper that you could use to make your own invitations. You could also buy a  DIY kit at a craft store to design invitations the way you want them, which are also popular.

Think outside the box and you can come up with unique ways to ask guests to attend a party or event. I designed a wedding invite for a beach destination wedding that was very unique and worked out well.  I started by locating some small bottles that I filled with a little sand a few tiny seashells. We then printed invitations on parchment paper and either ripped on burned the edges. We then rolled them up like a scroll and placed them in the bottles and sealed them with a cork and wax. This was going to be a small wedding so we only had to make 12 bottles so the cost was minimal but the impact was huge. You could also do e-invites. There are several sites that offer them including Facebook.
  • Timing Is Everything

What time you plan the event is also very important if you are trying to stay within a tight budget. If you plan an event or party at noon or mid-evening, people are going to expect to be fed a meal. If you plan the party for mid-afternoon, say around 3:00 pm then you can get away with finger foods and snacks. A wedding would be around 2 o’clock and you could do a cake and appetizer reception. Always put that on the wedding invitation too so guests are not disappointed that it isn’t a meal (example: A cake and punch reception to follow). If you are on a tight budget then you always want to plan for a time of the day that the food will not take up the bulk of your budget.

  • Let Them Eat Cake

Food is usually the most expensive part of any party. It is wise to plan ahead and plan well. Call in the talents of friends and relatives to help with this. Do you have a friend or can you decorate cakes.  If not try something a little easier like doing cupcakes instead. Maybe you or someone you know loves to cook or bake. It is always worth asking for help, even if you have to pay for it.

We did a beautiful fruit basket that was shaped like a baby carriage all the way down to the baby (made of fruit) inside. We found the idea on-line. You could easily make a fruit bowl or basket from a watermelon. Use in-season fruit to make it less expensive. Finger sandwiches are also a big hit at any party. You can use cookie cutters to cut them into shapes or simply cut the crust off and cut them into 4 pieces. We were lucky enough to have my son-in-law who has a small BBQ business furnish us with BBQ sliders for the party.

I stocked up on candy after Easter for the baby shower. Pretty pastel candy to put out in bowls on the table. I also found some cute little foil wrapped ducks that were perfect for the party….all half priced!! We did the same for my daughter’s wedding, we stocked up on candy after Valentines day. Heart shapes and the pretty reds, pinks and purples were perfect for her wedding candy buffet that she wanted.

Going to big warehouse stores is another great place to find deals on food like appetizers, rolls, prepared salads, candy, baked goods and on and on. If you don’t have a membership, ask a friend who does to take you as a guest. This is also a fantastic place to purchase bulk serve ware, disposable plates, napkins, cups and utensils. For larger functions (such as weddings) we also use the warehouse stores to purchase the aluminum trays for cooking and serving. Keep the food and drinks simple such as Tea, punch and/or lemonade covers just about everyone.

  • Decorations

With time you can search sites like Pinterest and come up with all sorts of ideas that you can do yourself. Take the theme or color scheme and start a notebook of ideas. I know that each week in the paper there are coupons for a craft store that I shop at. I can buy 1 item at a discount (if it isn’t already on sale). So little by little I stash away the things I need for decorating the party including table centerpieces and flower arrangements, all at a discount.

Check out YouTube also for instructions and ideas on just about everything. Don’t be afraid to try to make something you have never done before. Even if it isn’t picture perfect, the guests will never know and will likely be just as impressed. My daughter made huge tissue paper puffs that we hung from the ceiling for the party. It gave the impression of lanterns swaying in the wind. It was the talk of the party, yet she didn’t like the way they turned out. I thought they were wonderful.

  • For Family Gatherings

My grandmother taught me that you never attend a  party or gathering empty-handed. You always bring a hostess gift, a gift or a covered dish. For the family gathering, it is always best to bring a dish. If we are hosting a party we cover the main dish and ask everyone to bring a side or dessert.  Everyone now has “signature dishes” that are expected at these family dinners or a get-together. One of these days I want to put together a recipe book of all our favorites and give it to the family as a gift.

Well, I hope this helps you plan a frugal party and keep it within your budget. A party is a celebration of friends and family…it should never be a strain or stress financially.  Let’s Party!

Guest Post By: Follow Frugal Sally on Facebook or her blog Being Frugal Sally.

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