An organized bride is a happy bride. Whether you are a compulsive list maker or a fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants kind of gal, it is crucial that you implement a system of organization to help you tame the wedding beast. This tool may take some extra time to put together but will save you money in the long run since everything will be in one place. Whether you use a wedding planning book, a wedding consultant, or some combination of both, be sure you have an easy system that works for you.
Also, use some type of wedding budget planner so that you have mapped out your financial limitations and joint vision of what you plan to spend and where. Remember: Being frugal doesn’t mean you have to have a cheap-looking wedding. Rather, simply assess your needs and guesstimate what your budget will be in specific areas.
First things first: Invest in a (personal at-home) wedding planner! Whether a spiral notebook, binder with dividers, or computer program, have a central system that keeps track of your estimates, expenses, and contracts. This wedding organizer will assist you in comparing price quotes and negotiating with vendors since you will be able to refer to your other bids.
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Use something that you can carry around with you from place to place, even a laptop or other computerized organizer, so you can refer to it at all of your meetings or wedding phone calls.
The best thing I ever did for my wedding planning was go out and buy a cheap three-ring binder, dividers, and pocket pages. This tool quickly became my wedding Bible. I never left home without it, could add pages, refer to contracts, and keep everything in one, portable, centralized place. I joked to my fiancé that we should insure my binder, since it was full of such an important collection of information! This white binder housed my entire wedding brain.
—Jennifer R., West Palm Beach, FL
Scrimp & Save
Instead of buying a published wedding planner at your local bookstore complete with checklists, question lists, and pockets, make your own. Buy a three-ring binder or accordion file, and in each section have dividers labeled with a wedding category (flowers, music, photography, etc.) and also pages with pockets where you can put receipts, contracts, coupons, business cards, and other loose items.
Check out wedding Web sites (or this book’s table of contents!) for other ideas on organizing your personal wedding planner. You may be able to download text to incorporate into your planner without having to buy a fancy published one.
Keep a list of all phone calls you have with vendors. Note the date, name of the person you spoke with, and content of your call so you can refer back to it if necessary.
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Make copies of all correspondence—e-mail or written—and keep them in your organizer to maintain a paper trail chronicling your efforts.
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Tear out pages from bridal publications and entertaining magazines, and download images from the Web of your dream ideas. File them in your wedding planner by topic. Perhaps something that is very expensive to execute—such as an elaborate floral arrangement—can be done more frugally by your discount florist (more on flowers in chapter 8).
Scrimp & Save
Spend time in the wedding aisle of your local library or bookstore. Read as many books as you can, and jot down ideas that excite you. Buy only the books that seem right for you, and review the chapters on budget and other money-saving ideas.
If you are the unorganized type, consider hiring a personal wedding planner or consultant. While this may seem like an added expense, a consultant may actually save you money by helping you negotiate and find deals within your budget.
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Wedding consultants are a perfect link to a wide network of reputable vendors from virtually every aspect of the wedding process. After all, they would not recommend anyone who is not legitimate or professional because their job and reputation are also on the line.
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Be sure the wedding planner you hire is quoting you a fair price. Does she charge by the hour? The event? Will she attend your rehearsal and wedding?
Frugal Freebie
Many hotels or wedding sites include their own staff wedding planner to assist you as part of their wedding package fees. This person is already paid by the hotel or site, so he or she is basically yours for free! Use this person to your advantage.
Other Questions to Ask When Hiring a Consultant
1. Do you receive commissions or rebates for referring vendors?
2. Can I attend a wedding you are coordinating to watch you at work?
3. Will you be bringing an assistant to the wedding or come alone?
4. Do you take any breaks, or can I count on you for the entire duration of the event?
5. If the event goes longer than anticipated, do I need to pay you anything additional?
6. What do you plan to wear to the wedding?
7. Do you have insurance or other liability coverage?
8. What happens if you get sick or have a family emergency come up on my wedding day?
9. How have you assisted couples in saving money on their weddings? Can you clue me into your budget connections?
10. Can I see a sample of your wedding day schedule? Do you provide copies to us as well as the wedding party?
11. Will you be carrying a cell phone, pager, or other device so you can be contacted at all times by myself, the mother of the bride, or maid of honor/best man?
12. What is the average cost of weddings you coordinate?
13. Can I call some of your references?
14. What wedding day disasters have you encountered, and how have you resolved them?
15. Do you prepare a Bride’s Survival Kit of essentials for any unforeseen problems or needs that occur? What is included in your kit?
16. Are you certified by the Association of Bridal Consultants (ABC)? What coursework have you taken to prepare for your job?
17. How many years have you been in business? How many weddings have you coordinated?
18. What other services can you provide to us?
19. Are you comfortable with us dictating certain things we like and deferring to you for others even if you don’t personally agree with our choices? Will you be willing to step back when appropriate and be sensitive to our needs?
Not only did I save money but also my impending marriage when I fired our first wedding consultant. My fiancé did not get along with the wedding consultant we hired. He felt that she was coming between us and that she and I were ganging up on him in the wedding planning/decision-making process. She actually did begin to rub me the wrong way, too. Be sure you both get along with your consultant, and don’t let him or her come between you. If the relationship is not working out before the wedding, you will probably be even more annoyed on the big day. Don’t be afraid to offer constructive criticism or fire him or her if the relationship is not working out or what you expected.
—Janet L., Louisville, KY
Use a spreadsheet or similar computer program to map out your best guesstimate of wedding budget and costs. Allow room to increase your numbers in certain areas and decrease in others so that you do not exceed your overall goal by 10 percent.
Frugal Freebie
Many Web sites offer free budgeters where you can input your amounts in specific areas and the program will adjust numbers to best fit into your limits. These programs are very useful if you plan to tackle things as you go or if one area costs you significantly more than anticipated and you need to cut your numbers elsewhere. (See this page for a listing of Web sites that offer this service.)
Many books offer ideas to break down the costs of your wedding into a comprehensive budget plan. (See this page for suggestions for a paper budgeter, or consult other books, Web sites, and friends for their budget systems to find the style that works best for you.)
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You can also make up your own version of a wedding budgeter.
Brunches and buffets are typically less expensive than dinners or evening events.
Super Duper Deal
Have your wedding at an off-peak time of year or on an off day. June, September, and December are the most popular months for weddings, and weekends and national holidays are the most expensive days of the week to get married.
Get married in a nontraditional location such as a public school auditorium, an empty movie theater, a friend’s home, or on the beach. The ceremony site fees will be significantly lower, if there is any charge at all. (Beware, though: Costs associated with the receptions at these locales may be higher than you anticipate since the cost of equipment, tables, chairs, servers, and permits may add up.)
Q. I am the first to admit it: I am not well known for my organizing abilities. I tend to have scraps of paper with notes to myself all over the place. I’m afraid that the process of planning this wedding on my own will be too overwhelming and I might even bungle up contracts, deadlines, and so forth. What should I do?
A. You are the perfect candidate for an at-home wedding planner as well as a human one! Buy the best published wedding planner you can find (the Beverly Clark Collection makes a nice one). Also, purchase a three-ring binder with dividers and pockets labeled for all of your wedding needs. Use this chapter for your index ideas, and also get suggestions from friends, your church, and yellow pages. Then, find yourself a wedding consultant—a worthwhile investment that in the long run will probably save you money with his or her access to vendors and other resources. Finally, stop worrying and let the fun begin with the majority of the stressful details in the hands of a professional. In fact, rent Father of the Bride and watch Franc, the wedding coordinator, take over.
