DAY 3: Deciding The Time and Place
TIME OF YEAR There used to be a time when wearing strapless gowns in the middle of winter was a fashion no. But, times have changed and now it is okay as long as you are warm. Fur, muffs, boots and gloves are also okay for a bride to wear at a winter wedding. Fall weddings are beautiful with the falling leaves as a backdrop. A bride may want to choose a gown made out of a medium weight fabric like taffeta or raw silk. Sleeves on the dress are usually kept at three quarter length for a fall wedding. You will want to have a lightweight train and a shawl to help keep the wind off your back. Spring weddings give the bride to be a chance to show off her style and grace. It is not unusual to see a bride with a pillbox hat on in lieu of a veil. The gown can be made out of a silk tulle, or organza material. A tea length to longer length is also okay depending on what you like. It is also okay to pull out the open toed shoes are also okay for a spring wedding. Summer is the most popular time for nuptials. You have a variety of dresses and fabrics to choose from if you go with this time of year. You can have your pick from short, medium, and ankle length dresses. You can also find styles from halter to backless. The fabric comes in anything from linen to tulle. Thinking about not wearing a veil? Go ahead. Summer is the time of year for a bride to be bold and beautiful. You can wear a flower headpiece to a wide brimmed straw hat. Some brides also opt to go barefoot to sandals.
Weddings Savings Trend #3 Saturdays have been the wedding day of choice for years. But a new day is dawning. Folks have figured out that it’s cheaper to get married on Thursdays, Fridays and Sunday nights. Sunday nights before a long holiday weekend is the most popular. The Fourth of July is also a big choice. That’s really something to think about, now isn’t it? The time of day that you hold your wedding and reception also plays an important role. Take a look at the timetable I’ve developed. You can save a pretty penny by having your wedding during the time of day when folks are not “as hungry”. Take a look at what I mean. Morning Wedding Ceremony before 11:00am Afternoon Wedding 1:00pm to 4:00pm Early Evening Wedding 4:00pm to 7:00pm Evening Wedding after 7:00pm As you can see, the amount of food you’ll need to supply at your wedding reception depends on the time of day you hold your reception. Let’s now look at the ways you can save in a nutshell! Here’s how to do it and do it big! You can save as much as 40-60% on your reception costs by following this advice. Here are the TOP TEN ways to SAVE MONEY on your reception. 1. OFF HOUR RECEPTION TIME You can have a breakfast or early afternoon reception and save 30-50% off the reception costs. Breakfast and brunch receptions cost a lot less than dinner receptions do for obvious reasons. Plus, people do not drink as much during the day as they do at night. 2. YES, YOU’VE GOT TO FEED THEM! I know some people who have gone so far as to cook the food for the reception and store it in a freezer a week in advance. Still, others have gone to the grocery store to have the reception catered. However, buying from the supermarket is not the only way you can save money on food. 3. SERVE NON ALCOHOLIC DRINKS You can save a fortune by only serving non-alcoholic drinks at your wedding reception. Some couples are choosing to serve non-alcoholic drinks like sparkling cider or grape juice to their guests. I think this is especially understandable if the couple doesn’t drink. Some other couples just serve wine or champagne. In those cases, you can still save money by buying your alcohol in bulk. I’ll show you how. Read on. 4. BUY LIQUOR WHOLESALE You may decide to go the extra mile and give your guests the option to drink if they want. One way to do this and save money along the way is to buy your liquor direct from a wholesaler. A wholesaler will offer you a discount of up to 20% on bulk purchases of alcohol. A wholesaler will also allow you to return any bottles of liquor that you have not used. By in large this is a great deal. 5. LIMIT COCKTAIL HOUR Having an open bar is quite expensive. You can still show your guests a good time and keep the costs down as well. Another way to do this is to limit the amount of time for the cocktail hour. Once the cocktail hour is over, you can then limit drinks to nonalcoholic beverages or wine. I suggest having a host or hostess to pass out the drinks because this helps to prevent waste. 6. SERVE GOOD FOOD NOT EXPENSIVE FOOD You’ll want to go for the lobster and filet mignon meals, however chicken and pasta is just as tasty. Save money by ordering good food, not the most expensive! Also consider having a buffet as opposed to a sit down dinner that costs more. 7. SERVE EASY HORS D’OEUVRES Let’s face it! You look at some hors d’oeuvres and you just know the cook spent hours in the kitchen making them fancy. I say don’t worry about that. Your guests just want something to snack on until din-din arrives. You can have some prepared that aren’t expensive requiring hours of preparation time. Also, avoid using hors d’oeuvres that require expensive ingredients. 8. SERVE THE GUESTS You’ll want to have someone serve your guests rather than have them helped themselves for several reasons. For one thing, people have a tendency to take too much food before everyone is served. You want to make sure everyone gets at least one heaping helping! The worst thing that can happen at your reception is that everyone doesn’t get fed. Here are another trick: use small plates. Your guests won’t be able to take too much food if it doesn’t fit on the plate. They can always come back for more after everyone is served. 9. EAT AND THROW IT AWAY Okay, not everyone is going to love this idea! But, I do! You can save lots of money by using paper plates, plastic cups and utensils. You can save up 10-20% over the cost of renting breakable china, glasses and silver. 10. BE PICKY ICKY WITH YOUR GUEST LIST You can keep your costs down by keeping your guest list down. You can invite only close friends and business associates. You can do this by asking your guests not to bring dates and children. I know one couple that actually hired a babysitter to watch the kids during the wedding and reception. Now isn’t that a great idea. The kids got fed and played while the adults did the same thing!
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