Destination Wedding
THE COUPLE: Teresa and Preston Meyer
LOCATION: Marquis Los Cabos, Cabo San Lucas, Mexico
HOMETOWN: Asheville, North Carolina
NUMBER OF GUESTS: 66
TOTAL PRICE OF THE RECEPTION: $19,850
The strategy: "Preston and I are a very unconventional couple, so we loved the idea of having a destination wedding," says Teresa. "Had we held a traditional wedding in either of our hometowns, we would have had well over 200 guests in attendance, and the wedding probably would have cost us $50,000! However, only 66 guests were able to make the trip to Mexico, and so we saved on all sorts of costs, like floral table centerpieces and catering."
Money-saving moves: "We negotiated everything. My husband talked the resort into agreeing to waive the $3,000 site fee if we could fill a certain number of rooms. Also, rather than having to rent chairs, tables, linens and china, he got them to throw in the use of all of those things at no extra charge. We also negotiated with the mariachi band we hired for our cocktail hour and for dinner music. They charged $1,000 an hour, but we got them down to $600 an hour just by asking.
We also saved money by forgoing a champagne toast. The resort fee for a single bottle of champagne was more than we knew that brand cost. That wasn't where we wanted to focus our dollars, so we skipped it, and no one seemed to notice.
Preston and I also did some DIY projects, rather than paying pros for certain services. For example, even though I have no graphic design experience, I created our ceremony programs and menus on our computer. I simply printed them out on sheets of pretty colored paper that I purchased at an art supply store. Then Preston punched holes down the left side of the programs and tied the pages together with ribbon. Also, I made simple boutonnieres for all of Preston's groomsmen out of seashells and ribbon."
Biggest splurges: "We did not skimp on food and alcohol. My husband was emphatic about having top-shelf liquor, but even so, we found ways to save. We instructed the resort to bill us based on consumption, rather than a flat, per-person fee, because some of our older guests weren't going to be drinking much. Also, while we originally wanted to serve ‘surf-and-turf' plates of lobster tail and filet mignon for dinner, that doubled our food estimates. A nice compromise was to serve lobster bisque as an appetizer, and give guests a choice of filet mignon or grouper as the main course."
Best money-saving tips: "Speak up if you're not happy. The cake we got was disappointing and looked nothing like the one we ordered, so we complained—and got it for free. Also, hire undiscovered talent. Find high-quality vendors who are just starting out or need to add to their portfolio and help them out by letting them ‘use' you for the experience.
Our photographer, for instance, had been with a big wedding-photography company, and left to start her own business. Because she'd never done a destination wedding before, she agreed to shoot ours for only the cost of her travel expenses. She was with us for four days and took pictures of all our activities, from the rehearsal dinner to the reception, and even honeymoon shots. We paid $3,700 for her services, and now I hear she's in such demand that she charges much, much more."
Buffet Dinner
THE COUPLE: Heather Hogan and Patrick Schlehuber
LOCATION: The Powerhouse Community Center, Del Mar, CA
NUMBER OF GUESTS: 110
TOTAL PRICE OF THE RECEPTION: $11,843
The Strategy: "We're accustomed to sit-down dinner receptions at family weddings, so even though we were on a budget, it was important to us that we find a way to provide that for our guests," says Heather. "We chose the location in large part because the management allowed us to bring in our own food and serve it buffet style. That way, our guests could still sit down and enjoy their dinner, but we were spared the expense of a waiter-served meal."
Money-saving moves: "The smartest thing we did was order our food from a local Mexican restaurant. We paid about $12 to $15 per person as compared with the $40 to $50 per person it would have cost us had we hired a professional caterer. We brought in some food ourselves, as well. We purchased fresh-baked corn bread from a bakery and bought sour cream, salsa, guacamole and cheese from a local supermarket. We arranged to have all those ingredients mixed with shredded chicken from the restaurant and served in martini glasses we'd purchased for $1 apiece from a local retailer.
We also saved a lot by choosing a location that let us bring in our own alcohol. Many other sites insisted on a flat, per-person rate for an "open bar," or wanted to charge us a $15 "corkage fee" to open any bottle we brought in. At The Powerhouse, we simply hired our own licensed bartender, and bought all the alcohol at a warehouse superstore. There was no corkage fee, and what alcohol we didn't use, we returned."
Biggest splurge: "We paid a lot for our site. We probably could have found a less expensive place, but this one had all the elements we were looking for. Patrick grew up in San Diego and loves the ocean, so having a reception by the water was important to him. The Powerhouse, a former power plant that was refurbished as a community center, overlooks the ocean. It was our dream location."
Best money-saving tips: "Consider hiring a day-of-the-wedding coordinator. You might think hiring a pro is a major splurge, but ours was a huge cost-saver for us. Because our site charged by the hour, time was money, and having an extra set of hands really paid off. Our coordinator picked up the food from the restaurant and set up the whole buffet station while we and our guests were at the church for the ceremony. Had Patrick and I needed to set it up ourselves before the ceremony, we'd have had to pay the venue for at least three or four additional hours.
Also, I suggest that couples buy wholesale, if possible. For example, rather than working with a florist, my husband's sister and brother bought all our flowers at the Los Angeles International Flower Market the day before the wedding. A friend created table centerpieces as a gift. My bridesmaids tied their own bouquets, and helped me to make mine and the boutonnieres. We had a big wedding party—31 people—so this was a huge savings. And my bouquet of four dozen roses cost only $30 instead of $400, which is what other brides I knew were paying for theirs. The flowers turned out so great, our photographer said we should pursue it as a side career!"
Desserts-Only Party
THE COUPLE: Karla and Caleb Lindquist
LOCATION: Cathedral Square, Mobile, Alabama
NUMBER OF GUESTS: 185
TOTAL PRICE OF THE RECEPTION: $3,946
The strategy: "Ours was the third wedding in Caleb's family in seven months, so we really wanted to have a unique event," says Karla. "And since we were paying for everything ourselves and we had a large guest list, we also needed to do something that was more economical than a formal sit-down dinner. That's why we chose to do a desserts-only reception. We were able to serve a wide variety of goodies, like mini cheesecakes and homemade cookies and brownies, as well as a full ice-cream sundae bar. In keeping with the sweets theme, my bridesmaids wore candy-colored dresses, and rock candy was incorporated into their bouquets."
Money-saving moves: "We wanted to have our reception outside, but when we started looking at venues, it seemed that every place wanted at least $900 for the site fee alone; the linen rentals and catering would have been extra. Then a friend suggested we hold our wedding in Cathedral Square, in downtown Mobile. I hadn't realized that you could rent a public space for a wedding, but it turns out the city has all sorts of places for rent. The square was perfect for us, and it only cost $25!
Another way we saved was that, rather than rent chairs and tables, we had picnic-style seating, plus we brought in chairs for older people and one very pregnant woman. We told our guests about this ahead of time, so they knew to dress casually. For the picnic-style seating, we asked our friends and family to lend us quilts to lay out on the lawn. The colors looked spectacular against the grass. And we draped some quilts over the food and beverage tables. It looked quite festive."
Biggest splurge: "The largest chunk of our budget went to the photographer. I'm an amateur shutterbug myself, so having beautiful pictures that documented the day was very important to me. I wanted someone who had a photojournalistic style and didn't take a lot of posed, traditional wedding shots. I've heard time and again from other brides that the day goes so fast, you don't remember half of it, so I wanted to be able to look at my pictures and really feel the atmosphere of the event."
Best money-saving tips: "When people offer to help you, let them. We saved so much money this way. For instance, one friend offered to act as DJ, using a portable sound system we borrowed from our church. And rather than our hiring a caterer to make and serve lemonade and iced tea to guests, two friends agreed to handle it. They came up with a great idea of freezing half of the drink mixes in different-shaped Jello molds for use as "ice cubes" to keep the rest of the beverages cold. The drinks looked great, and we didn't have to buy ice or ice chests. Also, it's smart to think ahead.
During your engagement, be on the lookout for sales on items for the reception. In my case, whenever holiday candy went on sale, I bought it. So even though we had lots of sweets at our reception, I didn't pay full price for any of it."