5 Frivolous Wedding Details that Rack Up Your Wedding Budget

As you plan your wedding, you will find that around every corner lies another opportunity for a costly add-on or upgrade. Many brides are quick to nod yes to every seemingly fabulous idea and little extra presented to them. Hey - when you're spending upwards of $30,000 - what's another $300?? It's an easy conclusion to make when swept up in the chaotic sea of wedding planning.

But if you're on a budget, the easiest way to stick to it is to just say no. For what seems now like an idea that you absolutely cannot forego lest you want a completely unremarkable and utterly forgettable wedding reception will eventually wind up as just another unnoticed wedding detail that burried you further into debt.

That said - here are some common wedding details and extras that you can live without, and neither you nor your guests will be the wiser:

1) The Champagne Toast - This is a biggie - almost every reception venue offers to pass a champagne toast to all of your guests for a $200-$400 fee. Don't do it - it's a waste. Many of your guests will simply take a sip and set the glass down - or not take a sip at all. It's best to allow your guests to simply toast with the drink of their choice when the toasts are made.

2) The Champagne/Chocolate Fountain - Fountains - especially chocolate fountains - have been the rage for the last few years. My opinion is that the trend is now cliche and tired. If you have your heart set on one - fine. But if not - this is another extra you can do without. Trust me - your guests aren't going to search your reception site for the chocolate fountain. Really, they won't.

3) The Groom's Cake - The groom's cake is a southern tradition that has recently been spotted at wedding receptions throughout the country - (we all remember the armadillo cake from Steel Magnolias). A southern girl myself, I admit that I couldn't do without this one, but it too is an unneccesary expense. No one ever runs out of wedding cake at a reception, so why have two cakes?

4) The Tossing Bouquet - Having your florist create an additional bridal bouquet for the bouquet toss has become the norm. The idea makes sense in concept, as most brides wish to keep their real bouquet as a keepsake. But there is no need to have your florist create a tossing bouquet - which can tack on an additional $50-$100 to your floral bill. Instead - have a friend or family member pick up some flowers from your local grocery store - a mere $5-$10.

5) The Extra Hour - Almost every reception site has an upfront overtime fee, and they'll casually mention that your reception can go an extra hour for, say, $200. It may seem tempting to turn your make your 4 hour reception last 5, but the extra hour is not only unnessasary - it could also increase your wedding costs exponentially. For you'll probably have to contract your entertainment, transportation, photographer and videographer for an extra hour as well. Guests are usually ready to call it a night after 4 hours - let them.

Brides - got any more ideas? Send them my way!

Plan a Thanksgiving Wedding - Creative (and Budget Friendly) Ideas

Thanksgiving is the perfect time for an elegant yet relaxed wedding celebration. The autumn holiday lends itself to natural settings, simple decor and comfort food - all which can prove extremely friendly to your wedding budget. Looking for thanksgiving-themed inspiration? Here are some creative and wallet-friendly ideas to get you started towards planning unforgettable nuptials with a Thanksgiving twist.

Invitations and Stationery - Dress up ordinary wedding invitations and wedding with inexpensive silk fall leaves included in each mailing.

Wedding Flowers and Decor - Instead of gaudy arrangements featuring pricey blooms - keep your decor a simple enhancement to mother nature's natural bounty. Use the autumn harvest for inspiration; think gourds, pumpkins, squash, gold dipped fall leaves...you get the idea.

Menu and Catering - The food is the main attraction for this wedding. You cannot go wrong with traditional favorites: turkey, red potatoes, corn bread dressing, green beans, and honey glazed carrots. Consider incorporating your family recipes into your wedding menu and serving the meal family style (if your guest list is small). To round out the thanksgiving feast - serve a pumpkin cake or even a tiered pumkin pie!

You can find even more ideas and advice on planning a theme wedding at Elegala.com - Elegant Galas Made Simple

A Transportation Tip - Save Money with Two Trips

Here's an easy tip to help you save money on your wedding transportation:

When reserving your wedding day transportation, remember that the groom and his groomsmen need to be at the church 45 minutes early to seat your guests. Instead of paying to rent 2 separate vehicles (and drivers), have your driver can pick up the guys first and return for the bride & bridesmaids. This will save you from having to contract two vehicles/drivers - which would double the cost.

You can find even more tips to save on wedding transportation in this article at Elegala.com - Elegant Galas Made Simple

5 Ways to Save on Wedding Décor

After selecting the perfect reception site, it’s all about the details. Consider the venue a blank canvas upon which to create your stylistic masterpiece. Event décor can make or break the ambiance, but don’t assume it has to break your wedding budget. Remember—less is always more. Here are some simple ways I found to get the most bang for your decorating buck.

Choose Wisely -

Make your wedding venue work for you – not against you. Find a ceremony and reception site that complements your desired style – so that you don’t have to decorate around it with pricey floral arrangements. For instance, if you envision a relaxed natural setting, go with a park or botanical garden. Or for a formal stately affair, consider a museum or historical building, with dominant architecture as your wedding backdrop.

When I scouted reception sites, I paid close attention to the ceremony and reception settings at each site. I wanted an antebellum style setting with gorgeous grounds, greenery and flowers - and I didn't want to pay for expensive decor to make it happen!

Something Borrowed -

Add a personalized touch and honor your heritage by using family photos as wedding décor pieces. Gather some stylish frames and ask for photos from both sides from the family (black and white works perfectly here). These inexpensive touches can embellish your guest book table or decorate otherwise décor-impaired spaces in the facility. I did this - and everyone agreed that it was such a classy touch - and it hardly cost me a thing.

Think Double Duty -

Wedding flowers are pricey, so make your floral arrangements earn their keep. Invite your ceremony flowers to the reception! You can use them to decorate your cake or gift table – and your guests will never be the wiser.

Go For Impact -

Unfortunately, some elements of your special day simply go unnoticed by guests. So if your budget won’t allow you to drape your entire reception area in stylish décor pieces, relax. You can still create a noticeable impact by saving your decorating dollars for the areas that will pack the biggest punch – such as the entranceway or a grand staircase.

See The Light -

The right lighting can transform an ordinary room into something extraordinary. If hiring a lighting technician is out of your budget, consider creating this effect with candles. Fill glass bowls with floating candles and flowers, or place a single pillar candle in a hurricane lantern for a dramatic effect. The result is romantic and elegant…and inexpensive.

For more ideas and advice to help you plan your wedding decor, visit the complete wedding flowers guide at Elegala.com - Elegant Galas Made Simple.

Wedding Flowers - 6 Ways to Save

How much do wedding flowers cost? You'll soon discover that the sky's the limit. But many brides, myself included, have a hard time stomaching extravagant spending on something that might not even make it past the cake cutting.

Bottom line: expect to spend about 10% of your overall wedding budget on the flowers - this will include the bouquets, corsages, boutonnieres, and any ceremony and reception decor.

While this is a good estimate – you can modify many floral elements to help you cut costs without cutting elegance and beauty.

Ways to Save:

1) Reduce the number of attendants in your wedding party. With less attendants, your florist won't have to create so many bouquets and boutonnieres

2) Invite less people to your wedding. Fewer guests means fewer tables - which means fewer floral centerpieces.

3) Choose in-season wedding flowers. They are often less expensive and easier to find. For a list of common flowers for each season, visit the seasonal wedding flower guide at Elegala.com

4) Choose less complicated flowers. Certain flowers will run up of the cost of your floral budget no matter what season. Ask your florist to re-create the look of any pricey floral bouquet or centerpiece you see in a magazine, swapping out the expensive booms with less costly alternatives. Your florist can review your options with you.

Flowers that tend to be expensive: Lily of the Valley, Calla Lily, Orchids, Magnolias, Peonies, Gardenia and Hydrangea

Flowers that tend to be moderately priced: Orange Blossoms, Lavender, Daffodil, Daisies, Chrysanthemum, Carnations, Roses (due to huge variance in kind, quality, and color) and Greenery – such as ivy

5) Consider options other than floral arrangements for table centerpieces. For instance, scattered flower petals surrounded by votive candles create an elegant effect that won't maximize your floral budget.

6) Choose a naturally beautiful location. A springtime wedding in a garden hardly needs additional floral arrangements, while an ornate church may be breathtaking on its own. Also consider that many facilities are decorated for the holidays, so holding a December wedding may provide you with gorgeous poinsettias and garland free of cost.

For more ideas and advice to help you plan your wedding decor, visit my complete wedding flowers guide at Elegala.com - Elegant Galas Made Simple

Catering - Budgeting Tips for Each Serving Style

Before you begin choosing between filet and chicken, you'll need to consider how you'd like to serve them. The most common serving options include seated meal, buffet and passed-tray reception. When it comes to budget, each style has it's own important budgeting considerations and tips:

Seated Meal: At a seated meal, guests are seated and served by a waitstaff at tables usually pre-assigned by you. This style is the most traditional and typically the most formal. The types of sit-down services include: 1. plated service - where the full meal is pre-arranged on individual plates before served to guests; 2. Russian service - where wait staff serves courses from platters onto plates already on the table; 3. French service - where two waiters serve guests from the platter, one holding the platter and the other serving.

Budget Tips:
Don't assume a seated meal is a drain on your wedding budget. Costs are moderated by the fact that guests eat what they're served and cannot go back for seconds, making the amount of food consumed easier to manage. Costs also depend almost completely on what you choose to serve. One way to save cash is to decrease the number of courses. For instance, serve either soup or salad, not both. Chicken tends to be the most inexpensive of the proteins, and although beef is typically the priciest, you can cut down on cost by serving a triangle-cut sirloin. If you prefer seafood, consider farm-raised salmon which tends to be the most reasonably priced fish with the widest appeal. Other options include pork, lamb, pasta and vegetarian. If you must, rely on dinner rolls and other inexpensive sides to satisfy your guests' appetites.

Buffet: At a buffet, guests select their food from either one long table or stations strategically placed throughout the room. An advantage is that you can serve a varied menu from which guests can choose what they like. Having a buffet-style meal does not mean that you have to sacrifice sophistication. A buffet can be formal when served by stylish wait-staff or more relaxed with self-serve stations.

Budget Tips:
Although you will save on the cost of wait staff by presenting your meal buffet-style, the total cost may not be less. People tend to eat more because they can return to the buffet as often as they wish, so you may have to order more food, which can cut into your wedding budget. Again, costs depend almost entirely on what you choose to serve.

Passed-Tray: At this style of reception, there is no full meal. Instead waiters circulate the room, offering trays of hors d'oeuvres to standing guests. This style of service is ideal for a cocktail reception, which is often a shorter duration than a full reception.

Budget Tips
If cost and time are major considerations in your wedding planning, then a passed-tray reception consisting entirely of cocktails and appetizers may be the perfect option for your wedding budget. This style is typically the least stressful and the most wallet-friendly. Since these events typically run for only two hours, in addition to savings on food and beverage - location, staffing and other rental fees are also considerably reduced.

For more advice on planning your wedding menu , visit my complete catering guide at Elegala.com - Elegant Galas Made Simple.

Wedding Venues - How to Keep Reception Costs Down

Your wedding location is one of the most important decisions you'll make in planning your wedding - AND it's the highest cost you'll endure, so choose wisely. Expect to spend about 50% of your total budget on hosting, wining and dining your guests. So when scouting potential reception sites - you will first need to determine the cost of holding your wedding reception at each location. Sounds like a given, right? Not exactly. You will soon discover that most reception sites break down their costs differently, and what may seem to be less expensive may wind up more costly once all of the figures are totaled.

Avoid confusion, and keep costs down -
Request an itemized list of fees from each venue, and tally the costs of each fee and service you will most likely use for your event. Many fees are determined by head count, so have an idea of your guest count beforehand to get an accurate estimate. Then compare your itemized cost lists to determine which site is the most cost effective for your needs.

Already confused? Not to worry—I have compiled a complete list of typical costs and fees charged by wedding reception sites. If a facility does not provide one of these services, such as an onsite caterer, factor in the estimated cost of contracting the service from an outside vendor when tallying your total expenses.

Compare These Fees for Each Potential Reception Site:
1. What is the facility rental fee? (this is huge because rental fees can vary greatly. Some sites don't charge anything - while others can charge upwards of $10,000 and beyond just to hold your event there - on top of food and beverage costs!)

2. What is the cost—for food? (sites typically offer more than one menu package; determine which menu package you will most likely utilize for your wedding reception—and use that amount in determining your estimate.)

3. What is the cost—for beverage? (save time by having an idea of what beverage package you would like to serve beforehand, whether a full bar, limited bar or non-alcoholic bar)

4. If you can hold your ceremony on site, what is the ceremony fee? (obviously if you plan on holding your ceremony at another location - this fee is irrelevant)

5. What is the set-up/break-down fee? (some sites charge per chair or table, others charge a lump sum)

6. What is the staffing fee? (including bartenders, waiters etc.)

7. What is the overtime fee?

8. Is there a fee for security personnel?

9. Is there a fee for parking or valets?

10. Is there a cake cutting fee? (some sites charge a cutting fee only if you bring in your wedding cake from an outside vendor. this may be a lump sum or a per slice fee)

For more ideas and advice for planning your reception, visit my complete wedding reception guide at Elegala.com - Elegant Galas Made Simple.