Top savings tips for your big day
Pictures: Independent Woman
• amfAR cinema against AIDS
• Celebration of the Arts Gala
• What to expect premiere London
• Billboard Music Awards Red Carpet
• Men In Black 3 London Premiere
Wednesday May 20 2009
Sarah Traynor, author of How to Have a Champagne Wedding on a Bucks Fizz Budget, see www.budgetwedding.ie, was married five years ago at a four-star hotel in Monaghan. With careful planning, she managed to knock over €5,000 off the price of her day, bringing the total bill to €22,000 -- not quite a shoestring budget, but for a lavish do with 170 guests, pretty impressive! Here's how she did it. Sarah...
- saved €1,000 by buying her dress online;
- bought two designer bridesmaids' dresses from another bride, saving €700;
- used a cake from Marks and Spencer;
- stormed the sales for shoes and accessories;
- bought antique rings;
- made hair decorations;
- replaced handmade chocolates and drinks on arrival with tea and buns for her hungry guests.
Yet even though the day went well and savings were made, Sarah had some regrets. "We paid handsomely for the band, but they kept calling me Sandra and they forgot to prepare our first dance," she says.
"We also paid a high price for photography and while we have some beautiful pictures, we have no negatives of the day, nor were we given an extra photograph for the wall of our home or to offer our parents."
So with the benefit of first-hand experience and hindsight, here are Sarah's top tips for a credit-crunch wedding:
1. Research: Go online and chat to other brides and suppliers. Read blogs for ideas and sales tip-offs.
2. Timing: Bargaining power is greatest off season for venues, services and travel.
3. Haggle: Remember, businesses need you to survive. Tell each of them you are on a tight budget and be prepared to go elsewhere if you are not happy with the price.
4. Question tradition: Do you want a cake? No? Then drop it and save hundreds. Bridal party -- do you really need three bridesmaids? Many couples survive the day without this large expense and think of other ways to involve friends and family.
5. High Street: The quality and range of wedding items in large department stores is better than ever before -- from guest books to pageboy outfits to shoes. Also, have a look at supermarket cakes which are beautifully finished and much cheaper than the alternatives.
6. DIY: Brides are rolling up their sleeves and saving hundreds on stationery, place names, centrepieces and even flowers. The website www.videojug.com is great for online tutorials.
7. In writing: Get written contracts with all service providers covering the agreement made, your expectations, all payment details and the finer points such as travel charges and
other add-ons.
How to Have a Champagne Wedding on a Bucks Fizz Budget by Sarah Traynor is published by Gill and Macmillan. See also www.budgetwedding.ie.
