From the girl who is currently in the middle of major wedding plans....and the girl whose mom is a wedding planner......
DON'T skimp on the food, obviously. Guests are very important, and no matter what kind of food you serve, it should be super yummy. If you can't afford a dinner buffet or sit-down formal dinner for your reception, then consider a luncheon buffet, formal seated luncheon, or brunch reception. One of the nicest and most elegant receptions I even attended was an evening buffet of "heavy hors d'oeuvres"--a definite way to save on the price of food (plus, guests love trying all of the different finger foods, etc).
Be careful when ordering the cake.... They can get expensive fast, especially if you want the hard fondant icing, and ESPECIALLY if you have more than 100 guests. A way to "skimp" on this is to order a small version of your dream cake, and have the caterer make a large sheet cake in the back. You and your new husband can cut the pretty cake, and your guests can have the sheet cake cut in the kitchen, and no one will be the wiser.
Flowers...I hate to disagree with my fellow GCers, but DO NOT skimp on the flowers. Be economical, but do not skimp. Select flowers which will be in season when you get married (i.e., don't pick tulips for a July wedding). Ask your florist if he/she will be on hand the day of the wedding to take the flowers from the ceremony and transport them to the reception--you can use altar urns as place-card table urns, etc.
Invitiations. BE CAREFUL! They are soooooo expensive. Engraved used to be the rule, but with the advent of Thermography (looks just as nice and is SO MUCH cheaper), Thermography is your best bet for saving money. Go plain, classic, and thermographed, and you can't go wrong.
Wedding Dres... Ugh. Don't get me started. It is great if you have a desinger wedding outlet like we do here in Boston....awesome designer dresses for crazy prices. (Not that I could find one I liked, mind you, but I saw TONS of women trying on beautiful, couture dresses for 75% of the salon prices!!!!) DO skimp on the shoes--make sure they're comfy, cute, etc, but let me tell you ladies, no one is going to see your shoes except you.
Bridesmaids dresses. What a nightmare. You can get a really good deal if all of your BM's buy at the same salon--for example, all 6 of mine did this, and instead of paying $210 per dress, they ended up getting "volume discount" and only had to pay $176 per dress.
DON'T skimp on the music. No way. I prefer a band, some prefer a DJ....whatever you like, get the best! And don't be afraid to be specific about what you want/don't want played!!!!
The photographer is key....just make sure your vision for your photos is the same as the photog's vision.... and see if you can buy the negatives--that will save a ton in reprint charges when Auntie Elma from Montana wants to order an extra print.....
Good luck! Hope this is helpful!!!!
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Oh, Kappa Kappa Kappa Gamma,
I'm so happy that I am a
Kappa Kappa Kappa Gamma,
Nobody knows . . . how
happy I am!
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