Weddings are expensive.
Say it out loud a few times.
Weddings are expensive.
Do they have to be over the top expensive? No. Do they have to drive you to the poor house? No. But are they expensive?
Damn straight they are.
A wedding is, theoretically, a once in your lifetime day where you want everything to be perfect. That doesn’t mean picking out the dress that is $10,000 without looking at other ones, but it doesn’t mean skimping because you’re “only going to wear it once”. There are ways to save on your wedding day, and there are ways not to save.
This week on “Good Morning, America”, they gave a whole bunch of ways to “save” that are really and truly awful. We’re wondering with whom they even consulted, or if they just googled a bunch of tips and threw them all together for some fun media vomit.
Yes, “media vomit”. Their list has caused quite an uproar in the wedding industry community, and it’s because they are handing this misinformation to brides and grooms, and then we, as a community, have to tell you why these ideas are bad. That’s equivalent to arguing with a bride who says “but all my friends say to do this….” You cannot fight it, there is no point, you will lose. Despite that, we are going to throw in our two cents and hope that you will take what a morning talk show said with a grain of salt, and trust the seasoned professionals on this one. Hint hint, we’re not the only one writing a blog about their nonsense.
If you missed their ideas, you can find them here (along with the comments from the wedding community): http://gma.yahoo.com/blogs/abc-blogs/save-big-wedding-bring-own-music-other-tips-104850122–abc-news-lifestyle.html
Digital. Invites. DIGITAL INVITES. Did we hear that correctly? This is a wedding, not a graduation. You don’t facebook everyone and tell them that you’re getting married and when to be there. It’s tacky. A wedding website is a great idea, but it will never replace a paper invite that gets sent in the mail. Do you need to go crazy and box your invitations so that doves fly out of them? Nope. You can get perfectly reasonably priced invites on Etsy, The Knot, Wedding Paper Divas, and many other sites. If you want to spend more, you can, but you don’t have to. Digital invites are not OK. Ever.
They say you can save $5,000 on a DJ by bringing an iPod. Ok, first of all, we have hired DJs for way under that number, and Rothweiler Event Design is located in one of the areas of the country where people spend, on average, $50,000 on their wedding. That’s the average. So, Good Morning America got their numbers wrong just a bit. If they can’t even get the numbers right, why are they giving out advice on how to save?
To be fair, the article flat out says that the author is on a budget and therefore did not hire a planner. That’s a shame, because most people can afford a planner (not all of them start at $10,000 an event), and a planner is the one that will save you the most money. A planner gets discounts with their vendors, and a planner can negotiate and save you money. A planner is priceless, and if you take the time to interview, you can and will find one that you want to work with and that you can afford.
Instant way to cut your costs? Cut your guest list. Pick a Friday or a Sunday. Get married in January or February. Use the cake that the caterer already provides. Hire a photographer and videographer team so that you can get a package deal. Get your dress at a store that does in house alterations. If you want uplighting at your venue, pick a venue that already has it. Don’t book a venue unless you love the look because you’ll spend $$$ trying to change it.
Those are ways to save. And there are thousands more. We love helping out our clients, and will always find a way to cut costs. We even tell them when they are wasting money and how to get it under control.
Too bad Good Morning America just wanted to throw this garbage out there instead of helping the brides and grooms of America. I’m pretty sure that show could’ve brought an expert on for some real advice though.
Sorry GMA. This was a big fail. We’re here when you want a do-over.