Continuing on my theme of saving money on weddings, I wanted to talk about things that you don't necessarily need or cheaper alternatives. As I've stated many times before, just being for a wedding, something as simple as a pen gets marked up to insane amounts!
RSVP Cards
Save yourself the extra weight in your invitations and having to buy double the stamps by having your guests RSVP online. Plus it makes it easier for you to track everything and it's simpler for most guests. Chances are, you will be creating a wedding website, and most of these already come with a way to have an RSVP section. My favorite free wedding website was through mywedding.com
Guestbook
Boy, oh boy are these expensive! They generally start at $30 and go up from there, all for a notebook and pen! I thought I'd just find a nice looking notebook and pen but, as you'll discover, it's hard to find something white that isn't in the wedding section which makes it more expensive! A great alternative is to make a customizable guestbook on Shutterfly. They start at $12.99 and you can add your own pictures to make it really unique. Plus I got a lot of offers for a free 8x8 by shopping at David's Bridal and registering at Target. Don't worry about a fancy pen, nobody cares and you end up needing multiples anyway. Just buy a pack of nice quality ballpoint pens, or get some colored gel ones.
DJ
Why pay someone to play a bunch of songs that might not even suit your style? iPods were made for a reason. Just using your iPod for music is a great alternative, plus you get to handpick all your songs. Find a friend or family member that has a great personality to be the announcer and to operate the iPod and you've saved yourself $1,000+! Just make sure you ask the venue before they book if you can use their sound system and you aren't required to have a DJ (yes some places REQUIRE that!).
Bridal Toss Bouquet
Flowers can be a huge part of your budget, so anytime you can cut something out that can save you tons. I had no idea that usually brides get a separate bouquet for the toss (it's not quite as ornate and so you can keep yours). That seemed insane to me to pay for a bouquet just to get thrown and mangled by some girls which would probably just end up being left or thrown out anyway. I ended up just asking my bridesmaids if any of them didn't mind that I toss one of theirs which worked out great (and a bridesmaid caught it anyway). But there are some other fun ideas to make one like a candy bouquet which gives a little prize to the winner!
Limo
I really wanted for my husband and I to be driven away in a fancy antique car. Then I saw the prices. Even for just the short time and distance you need it to exit can be hundreds. Plus I realized it would be dark by the time we left, so nobody would really see it anyway. To pay to be able to have the car at the location the whole time for guests to see and to take pictures with is astronomical. Just use your own car, or a regular rental which can just be about $50 for a day (you can specify white or silver to make it look more wedding).
Favors
Ugh another per person expense that most people could really care less about but you're really expected to do. DO NOT spend more than $1.00 each on these, it's really not worth it. My goal was to find something inexpensive that people would actually be able to use. What we ended up going with was quite fun: plantable wedding favors -- it's a cute thank you note that you can plant in the ground and it will grow flowers! There are definitely more, but those tend to be quite obvious. These are just the ones that sort of surprised me. Are there other things you think should be on the list?
