Wedding Budget Saver Tip #3

Wedding Budget Saver #3: If you exchange money for a service, put it in writing, whether you're strangers or acquaintances: it's not rude, it's protection for everybody, the provider and the payee. People can mis-communicate verbally about expectations and not realize it until after the fact. Find out BEFORE the fact, write it down and read it together. That way if there's a "Oh wow, I thought you meant blah blah blah" moment and the other person says "oooh no, I meant yada yada yada", you can discuss it beforehand.

Illustration: if we would have written down our expectations of services & fees with our budding caterer (this was her first catering exp), we probably would have realized that labor + food = $1500 (our mind) was labor ($1500) + food ($1500) = $3000 (her mind). See the difference?? Yeah, the "ahah!" moment didn't happen until we went to pay our remaining $300 balance (our mind) and she was confused that it wasn't $1800. Fortunately, all's well that ends well, it was a mistake and no hard feelings. But hindsight is 20/20. Put it in writing.

Wedding Budget Saver Tip #2

Wedding Budget Saving Tip # 2: Prioritize 1-3 areas of your wedding where you want to spend money, be frugal, creative and resourceful with the rest. For me Photography # 1, Food #2, and Dress #3.

1. Photography: The talented Conrad Erb- Personable, affordable, and encompassed the artsy-journalistic style we love. We didn't break the bank AND walked away with all of our digital negatives to reproduce to our heart's content, no additional cost. P.S. That's me, my hubs & Dad in the bw pic on the homepage.
2. Food: We asked someone we knew to cater the reception using wholesale stores like Costco. Originally, we came in at just about $11 a head. Due to a mis-communication which wasn't realized until AFTER the wedding, we came in at $16.50 a head. Be sure to read Wedding Budget Saver Tip #3.
3. Dress: I wanted to love my dress, after all, you want to feel amazing when you walk down the aisle. But I'm a practical jane and really did not want the dress to exceed $500-$600 at the max. I shopped around and explored options. P.S. Occasionally it's ok to take the advice of your maid of honor and try on a dress she thinks you'll like; she might know you better than you think. $350 and I loved it. Thank you Jenn:)

Wedding Budget Saver Tip #1

Wedding Budget Saving Tip# 1: Purchase Paper "Linen" Table Cloths: they're beautiful, affordable, and disposable. I got these in ivory. A case of 24/$82 plus shipping.