How to Have a Rockin' Wedding and Still Save Mega Bucks

The secret to throwing a stand-out wedding without going broke in the process is this: find your non-negotiable wedding detail. Play that up as big as you want... then cut corners on the rest.

Easy. Painless. And makes a whole lot of (dollars and) sense!

Thus, it pays to consider what types of people you are before you wedding-plan. What are you into? What will the theme, or flavor of your wedding be?

My husband plays music. He's been in bands before. I, too, have musical inclinations, Singing songs, going to live shows, jamming with friends.... music has always been a thing for us. So when it was time to select an element to make our wedding uniquely us, the band was a no-brainer.

What made it even more special was that my husband knew some of the band members personally – they're friends of his family. They had history from way back, and I became part of that history! Great stuff, indeed.

In addition to our wedding band, we also had friends of ours play music for the ceremony. These were people my husband had been in his own band with at one time! What a great honor, to be serenaded into our own marriage ceremony by people we knew and had fond memories of.

Now, in all honesty – we spent a little money on the music for our wedding reception. That was our big investment, and we cut corners on everything else - and I mean EVERYTHING, in order to afford the band. You may not have that much cash to shell out. But just because you're being super frugal doesn't mean you can't find a way to play up a certain detail in a big way that makes it meaningful.

Keeping music as the example here... this is a low-budget version of how to emphasize music at your wedding. Hire a friend or family member to play DJ for the night. Set up the speakers etc. (he or she should know a thing or two about stereo systems). Take some time to make up a list of all the songs you'd love to hear on your wedding day. Include a few special memories – "This was my parents' wedding song..." "This was the song we first danced to." Give the list to your "DJ" and hopefully he'll be able to find and play a good amount of them!

So, what will you play up on the day of your nuptials? Below, some ideas:

For the Earthy types: A beautiful, botanical setting at a nearby park. A trek to a gorgeous, mountain setting. A camping weekend!

For the Jersey Shore peeps: (what else?) Beach wedding! Can you make that low budget? Would love to hear from my Jersey Shore sistahs with some frugal solutions for having a superb wedding-by-the-sea! 

For the Foodies: A farmhouse dinner. A humble, firehouse potluck with guest contributions. An ethnic theme – Greek, Italian, Japanese, whatever your pleasure! An "around the world" dessert table!

For Theatrical Types: A masquerade party. A "period" wedding – Roaring '20s with vodka gimlets, antique accents and flapper attire. Fun '50s (think crinoline skirts and jitterbug). Head straight to Etsy.com to peruse their vintage offerings!

Or, maybe you don't want to get too crazy but you know there's a certain part of the wedding that will be special and personal for you. If you're marrying a chef, then put a lot of attention into making sure the food is outstanding. If you come from a family of big drinkers, then put your money on open bar (yes I really said that! People drink at weddings!)

My point is that if you keep most of the wedding details simple (or omit them entirely), you'll find that you actually do have a little bit of money (or time, in lieu of money) to research, plan, and execute ONE aspect of an incredible wedding day that will be fondly remembered for years to come.

$15,000 Wedding Budget in NJ? Tips for Keeping Costs Down

Image courtesy thefoodistreviews.com

For those just finding this blog, here is a recap of some NJ wedding budget-slicers that worked for keeping our costs down, and can work for you, too!

 

Marry in off-peak season. More and more savvy brides are forgoing the June wedding in favor of a beautiful fall or even winter wedding, when the prices come down a bit. Each season offers its own, festive backdrop to set the scene for your day. A friend of mine got married in February, and there was fresh snow on the ground for her photos... absolutely breathtaking!

Buffet dinner instead of tableside service. A buffet dinner really isn't such a bad thing at all! You get multiple dinner selections, so guests can try everything. People can take as little or as much food as they like, and go back for seconds. A buffet dinner is an easy way to feed kids who don't require their own plate. 

Forget the flowers. Unless you know someone who works in the florist business and can snag you some posies at a pretty price, this is probably the first thing to turn down in the interest of staying within budget.

Discount DJ. There are many ways to lower costs on music for your wedding reception. Hire a small, local band instead of an established wedding band. Hire a DJ instead of a band. Take a chance on an amateur DJ instead of a "wedding pro." Trust a friend or family member to hook up an iPod and some speakers.

Skip the favors. We opted to not have wedding favors for our guests, and I don't think anybody seemed to mind. In fact, I think half the time people either don't appreciate, leave behind, or (sad to say), the wedding favor that you invested good money on and carefully selected, ends up in someone else's garage sale bin. Sad, but likely true.

Snag a secondhand wedding dress. The options for a secondhand wedding getup are limitless. You can hit up the local thrift stores like Salvation Army or Goodwill. Or better, go for a dress that hasn't been handled quite as much – find a seller on Ebay, Craigslist, or one of the used wedding dress sites (you can find a list of them here).

Shop an estate sale for your rings. This includes the engagement ring, if you haven't already purchased one. You can find estate rings at your local jeweler; at antique stores; at online shops where people refurbish vintage/antique jewelry; on Ebay, or even in your family. With a bit of creativity, you can even take a family heirloom ring to a jeweler and have it resized, or add your own stone/other creative accents, for less than you'd pay for a new engagement ring or wedding band.

There are many more ways to save money and stick within a $15K NJ wedding budget. Follow along on this blog, and especially check out this post, The Average Cost of a NJ Wedding vs. Budget Wedding and How You Can Save or Cut Corners, for more details!

Pocono Resort Wedding – Great, Affordable Idea for a Frugal NJ Bride

Photo of Erhardt's Waterfront Resort, Lake Wallenpaupack, PA
Courtesy of Amanda Meyer Photography

I attended a wedding last year for a NJ bride and groom who opted to get married in the Poconos. Their wedding venue of choice was all-inclusive, offering a ceremony and reception on the premises, open bar, catered food and music provided by the venue, and best of all, guests got to stay over in their on-site lodging. Or, at least I'm pretty sure that's what their wedding package was. The music was a DJ, so I assume that they didn't have to bring it in. But I could be wrong about that – best to check.

Anyway, this particular Pocono resort was located in Hawley, PA, although the name escapes me and nothing in my Google research is ringing a bell, either. Something with the word "Lodge" but I can't seem to remember the rest.

It took us about an hour and a half drive to get there from NJ, which I felt was reasonable and actually kind of a sweet little getaway. The place reminded me of "Kellerman's" from Dirty Dancing... kind of a humble and cozy feel, in a peaceful mountain setting, but also with the full amenities: comfortable rooms, swimming pool, shuffleboard, tennis, beautiful views and great food.

All in all, it was a great wedding weekend, and I suspect, considerably less pricey than some of the gargantuan NJ weddings you've probably attended.

To get a look at the choices for a Pocono Wedding that's close enough for your NJ, NY and PA guests to enjoy a mini weekend getaway, visit this link.

Calling All Frugal NJ Brides

Image courtesy of mint.com

Are you (or were you) a budget-savvy bride from New Jersey? Did you manage to shave a good chunk of the cost off one or more aspects of your wedding?

We want to know how you did it! Share your thrifty tale with NJ Wedding on a Budget, and we will publish your advice in an upcoming blog post.

Write to info@njweddingonabudget.com, or add your remarks to the comments section of this post.

Thanks!

Why a Smaller Wedding May Not Add Up Financially

Image courtesy ABC News.

You and your fiance may have your own reasons for wanting a small wedding with a minimal number of guests. Maybe you both have demanding jobs, aren't in a great place financially, or would simply rather focus your energy on something other than wedding planning. Less guests means less complications to deal with.

Despite this – you should know that saving money on a wedding isn't necessarily the same thing as profiting from your wedding.

First, let's get a potentially awkward topic out on the table. You are not selfish if you hope to make, rather than owe, money on your wedding.

If you're like most NJ brides and grooms, you have likely attended your fair share of weddings for family, friends and coworkers. You know what the going rate is for covering your plate cost and giving a little something extra for the bride and groom's new life together.

If you multiply the going rate by the number of guests you expect to attend your wedding, then you get your total "break-even budget" for paying for this entire party. Let's say it's $200 per couple, or to make things easier, $100 per person.

$100 per person x 50 people = $5,000 wedding budget just to break even.

$100 per person x 150 people = $15,000.00 wedding budget just to break even.

A smart wedding planner (aka frugal bride) will then itemize each aspect of the wedding day using a guesstimate at first, and then later, an actual figure that comes straight from each receipt.

Keep track of your expenses as the wedding plan unfolds. You may end up spending $300 trying to find the right lingerie and accessories, to later decide that you'd rather recoup that $300 on chair covers that really weren't all that critical to having a wonderful day.

Again, to those who think it's "tacky" to calculate wedding costs in a strategic manner:

1. It is not selfish to hope to profit from your wedding. It's only selfish if you plan to do something sketchy with the money, like buy street drugs or go on a self-indulgent spending spree.
2. You have already probably been quite generous in sending off other couples with a hefty envelope and best wishes for an amazing married life. Now it's your turn.
3. If your/his parents have offered to pay for all or part of the wedding, then it's your duty to put their gift to good use. Any grandparent would be far happier to see their generosity going toward a savings account for their grandchildren, as opposed to watching it get blown on plastic wedding favors.
4. If you sacrificed valuable work hours to tend to your wedding plans, then you will probably be making less money this year (for example, if you freelance like I do). Try to think of your wedding as a way to make up for the income that you may have lost.

So, to make my point: the number of wedding guests does in fact change the amount you can expect to owe, or recoup, from your wedding-day investment. Do the math and figure out how much you'll be paying the venue for various numbers of guests – say, 50 guests, 100 guests, 150 guests, 200 guests. After you know the per-plate total, you must factor in all the additional wedding expenses. Add those to the total venue price.

Next, times the number of guests by the amount you expect to receive, on average, as a gift per person (remember, it's per person, not per couple). Take that number and compare it to the total estimated cost of your wedding. If it's greater than the total cost, then subtract the cost from the gift amount and that's how much you'll make. If it's less, then you need to review your wedding plan and see how many more (or less) people to invite, and/or how many items you must cut from your wedding-day budget.

Repeat rule of thumb for the budget-savvy bride and groom: if you make a list of each expenditure and then allocate a budget for each thing, then you can assure that in the end your wedding will be a gift to yourselves for your future.

How to Negotiate Great Prices on Your Wedding

You may wonder how people manage to afford a beautiful, lavish wedding. Do they spend the rest of their lives paying it off? Well... beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and expensive is an opinion. Regardless of what you feel is important to invest in on your wedding day, it's certainly worth speaking up on your own behalf so you can save a little bank.

Image courtesy of GoGirlFinance.com

Some tips for how to negotiate for the best wedding day deal:

Go into this feeling confident. So many people won't even try to haggle on prices... why? Somewhere along the way someone told you to take whatever you get? Well, that's just not so! Practice haggling - the more you do it, the better you'll get at it.

Remember that wedding venue managers are people, too. They have overhead costs to cover, like the monthly rent and bills, the salaries of the people who work at their venue, and tons of other expenditures. They want to earn your business, not turn you away laughing. A little negotiation is all it takes to reach a compromise where both parties walk away feeling like they gained something.

Brainstorm ways to work it out. A Facebook friend shared her wedding-day success story with us. She got a very well-known and respected NJ wedding venue to come down on their price by 10 dollars per plate by guaranteeing at least 150 guests.

Determine what you can live without. Another friend pointed out that, after working with the Macy's Bridal Shop assistant, she was able to find a dress that looked nearly identical to one that had a designer label. By choosing the non-designer dress, she paid less than $500 for her wedding gown. In our case, a spring wedding would have been sweet, but we opted for November because prices were lower during that time of year.

Keep your expectations reasonable. As illustrated in the previous point, you may have to forgo certain luxuries if you want to save a bit of cash on your wedding. It's okay to not have the designer dress, get married at the venue that was your second choice and not your first, and so on. Remember that this day is not about being flashy or extravagant. It's about celebrating your love together, and sharing your joy with family and friends.

Cheap Wedding NJ - Something Borrowed, and Your Frugal Bride Story

Hand-painted glasses added a special and sentimental touch
to our frugal NJ wedding.

Looking for stories from frugal brides who found ways to cut corners on wedding-day prices without sacrificing style, ambiance and romance on their wedding day. Have you found an awesome wedding vendor who managed to work with your modest budget? Did you catch a sweet local deal on flowers, jewelry, cake, or some other aspect of your NJ Wedding?

We want to hear from you. Tell your tale in the comments section below, or share on our Facebook page.

I just took a look at this article on How to Have a Gorgeous Frugal Wedding, and I thought it had some really creative ideas. So today's NJ Wedding on a Budget Article is "something borrowed" - hope you don't mind!