Set your priorities and save some money
• The Wedding Planner's Web log
By Tanya Bricking
Advertiser Staff Writer
"I think you might need a generator," the catering manager said as we surveyed my wedding site.
If we were in a cartoon, there would have been a bubble above my head filled with dollar signs.
My fiancé and I had just written a check in the amount of about three times our monthly rent to confirm the catering. There's still the final bill along with about 15 other budget items to tackle.
We wanted to have a small, intimate wedding. Unexpected costs crept up quickly.
What's a couple to do? Start prioritizing.
"I think money is a big, big issue for people, and a lot of couples don't talk about it," said Susan O'Donnell, owner of Aloha Wedding Planners.
She has some cost-cutting suggestions:
- Do lunch: The easiest way to cut costs, O'Donnell said, is to have the wedding earlier in the day. It cuts down the reception time and the liquor bill.
- Don't have a full bar: "I usually tell my clients to go beer, wine and soft drinks," she said. Many hotels also offer signature drinks, such as a mai tai punch, that costs much less than stocking everything.
- Make your own invitations: It's a matter of tradeoffs. If you cut back on this, you can spend more somewhere else.
- Invite fewer people: "The more people you invite," O'Donnell says, "the less time you spend with each person."
Bob Belcher, who runs Island Disco entertainment company and has done about 4,300 weddings in 28 years, is more blunt:
- "Don't invite children," he said. "Sometimes this goes against family politics, but children can be disruptive, they don't like the food, they take up a seat and they take up a plate. At 20, 30, 40, 50 dollars a plate, it doesn't take very long for that to add up."
- "Don't buy anything that says 'wedding' on it," added Belcher's wife, Valerie. They married in December, and Valerie found that even something like buying bubbles cost a fourth of the price when she found a box labeled "heart bubbles" instead of "wedding" ones.
- Save on a photographer or videographer by hiring them for only part of the day. Or better yet, "the best thing to do Hawai'i style is hire a friend," said Cheryl Cruz, a wedding hair-and-makeup stylist. (Unless you worry that a less-than-professional job could backfire and jeopardize the friendship.)
- The bottom line is you can't avoid sitting down and crunching the numbers.
"You just have to figure out what's important to you," O'Donnell said. "Not everyone has a sky's-the-limit budget."
Tanya Bricking writes about relationships for the Advertiser.
[Posted on September 25, 2003 at 4:57 pm HST]
fun to read the articles
as a photographer, the one thing about having a friend shoot the photos to save cost ??
your photos are the one thing that will remain after everything is gone, Also the one thing to share with future generations.
also I think its nice to have your friends enjoy the wedding day and not be working it. I have heard of many a sad story of friendships having rough waters when the one special day photos do not turn out so well.
just my thoughts ;)
most of all as others say Enjoy your day and for new brides and grooms, remember to slow down look around and enjoy
it goes by so so fast ;)
Chad
Maui
[Posted on September 23, 2003 at 12:45 pm HST]
I think everyone tries valiantly to cut down costs. But, when planning a wedding there are many decisions on whether to go with the cheaper or slightly more expensive item or service. and are always faced with the nagging question of "What's another $100, we're only planning to do this once in our lifetime, right?". I say just go for it, you're only going to do this once, right?
Joseph Bloe
Honolulu
[Posted on September 20, 2003 at 5:55 pm HST]
Think about every wedding you have been to and ask yourself some questions...how much do you remember of that wedding? Did you even get a chance to talk with the bride/groom? What did you do with your wedding favor? Was it a fun wedding?
Remember that this day is for YOU and your fiance, not for your guests. Do what will make YOU TWO happy and what YOU TWO will remember(besides all the money you have spent). It goes by so fast, so be sure to do everything for yourselves. Good Luck!
S.D.
New York (formerly O'ahu)
[Posted on September 19, 2003 at 1:24 pm HST]
It's very hard to the cut costs when you have a large number of people attending. We will be having a lunch wedding at the hotel we wanted for cheaper than a night wedding, bought the party favors from wholesalers (even our rings came from a diamond wholesaler). We are hiring a photographer "just" for the photo session. After that, a personal friend is our photographer. We are even doing our own video. A $55 video software and $25 projector rental is much cheaper than hiring a professional. Plus we can add/delete our own photos and music as we please without being charged extra. The decorations are being made by us & friends. My wedding dress and bridesmaid dresses are being made by my mother-n-law (who is a professional dressmaker). We found that keeping it simple wiht our own personal touch is much cheaper than spending so much on details that hardly anyone who attends your wedding would remember.
Joanna Sablan
Honolulu
