What to cut out for a wedding?

[Pinkerbell1983]

Hi, I'm a UK bride and since the £ is so poor at the moment I really think I need to start thinking about what to cut out of my wedding budget to make it cheaper. So, what do you guys think is necessary and what can we live without? I'm already not having Cinderella's coach, just a limo.

 

[MysticalBeauty]

Are you having an excape wedding or a wishes wedding?

 

[lurkyloo]

Well, what have you got?

Floral and decor were the first things to go in my budget. We also didn't have alcohol or a DJ. Disney photography and videography are much more expensive than those provided by outside vendors... the list goes on.

Maybe you could post a breakdown of what you have, or at least a list of things you aren't sure about keeping!

 

[AbbyPan]

I agree with Carrie.

We need to know what you want. First you've got to think about what's most important to you. Make a list and go from there. Start from the bottom up crossing off whatever's not necessary.

For example, one decision may be what time of day you'd like to have the wedding. If this is something that really doesn't "make it or break it" for you, then maybe you can stick with a morning ceremony/reception, which is not as expensive.
Just and example. Keep us posted!

 

[Pinkerbell1983]

I am having a wishes wedding with 24 guests at 2.30pm. I have already booked the bog standard Randy Chapman package and I'm not having a videographer.
I am having three bridesmaid's so they all need a bouquet of some sort. I am having a package bar because getting merry is very important to DF! I think food is one thing that is gonna be expensive, all the menu's are very costly and I'm having a DP as well! I would still like some decor in the Whitehall Room so I'm looking for cheap things that will look nice!

 

[bridetobe789]

Our first choice for our wishes wedding was 2:30 but we ended up getting 1200 which works out since the menus are between 25-50 less per person if the reception starts before 2 pm!!

 

[AbbyPan]

I know one thing to remember is that you can recycle the floral arrangements used in the ceremony so that you can use them in the reception as well. Try and figure out with your florist what arrangements would work for this.

For our menu, i wanted all choices possible, but later realized that it really wasn't all necessary and so I could have saved a buck or two with 2 choices (Chicken Marsala with steak or with another meat). I mean we can only eat so much, right?lol

And I have to tell you that by the time the DP rolled around we were all so stuffed that I really couldn't appreciate all the deserts. So in essence, its good to keep it simple with the meal, because it really is ALOT of food!!! and, you keep the cost down.

If you are using Disney floral, the nice thing is that you should be able to use the same decor for all the venues. This will definitely help to save!

Also, would you consider having an earlier ceremony to save, or are you really set on having the 2:30pm time slot?

I had the 2:30pm slot becuase it was more convinient for my guests, but I would have preferred something earlier to save a little more, ya know?

 

[babystar]

A couple of areas I cut back...If you are having petals thrown either down the aisle or for your exit - reduce the amount they have said you will need (we reduced our amount and still had lots spare!)

Candles are usually cheaper than floral decorations

When you chose things such as linen for your table, consider using the cheaper material i.e cotten rather than the others they offer.

Can your bridesmaids have wands - mine did and thew were fab! You can have large wands with about 5 flowers or smaller ones with 3 flowers. either way they are cheaper than the bridesmaids flowers

Ask the chef to come up with a different meal plan to match your budget - so if the meal is currently $125 ask if they can cost something at $115. We did this and was much happier with the new food offered than the original menu.

Final suggestion I can think of at the moment - I had a dessert party and after looking at my floral BEO we took out the table decorations there. I am SO glad we did this as it was dark and they would not have been noticed or appreciated by myself or anyone.


If all else fails chat to your planner and floral and say I need to cut back and where can they suggest - they are there to help you...not spend your money!HTH!!!

 

[PrincessPirate28]

Areas I cut back in were (at home wedding) hope this helps somewhere

Silk instead of real flowers
Candles instead of flowers for centerpieces
One limo for the whole BP instead of two
Using the minimal menu offered

And just looking for any sales/deals I can find for stuff that we need or would like to have

 

[lurkyloo]

I am having a package bar because getting merry is very important to DF! I think food is one thing that is gonna be expensive, all the menu's are very costly and I'm having a DP as well! I would still like some decor in the Whitehall Room so I'm looking for cheap things that will look nice!

I would switch that package bar for a Bill On Consumption bar. Even if you have heavy drinkers, the consensus around here is that nobody ever drinks as much as Disney calculates they will when they try to sell you a package bar. You may even get a refund after the wedding.

Also, you are not stuck with Grand Floridian menus. You can use items from any Disney menu or have them customize something to suit your taste. As others have saud, give them a figure you want to spend per person, and they'll help you customize the menu. So say your DP food costs $25/pp, your dinner could be $100/pp - or less! Remember, alcohol counts toward the minimum too.

And look at how many courses the meal has - for instance, you don't really need a dessert course if you're serving cake and then having a dessert party.

 

[ElleBren]

Carrie's right. We had the boc & we got money back. While they charge you for 6 drink for each person, most people don't drink that much.

Also if you get a course plan you can get credit for things you dont want, ie: we didn't do the chocolate slipper dessert because we were having cake. It saved us about $20 per person. I would definitely would not go crazy with that as you are going to have the dp later on too.

You can also save by having a buffet. Also your cocktail hour food & cake goes toward your per person min.

There are so many other ways to save. You just have to know what is important to you and whats not.

 

[disneygal922]

These are all such helpful suggestions! Thanks everyone!

 

[dakcp2001]

I'd like to cut the guest list for my own!! It seems as though with only 24 guests, you are also just a shade over from the Escape cost. Its way more restrictive though, but that minumum for Wishes is hard. We have more than 20 in our immediate family, so this is going to be a big issue for us.

If you want the wishes for the customization, I can totally understand that! I think the idea of doing a brunch sounds awesome! People wont drink much alcohol, maybe just have mimosas or bellinis or something, and the food costs will be lower. I think ti might be fun for the fam to head back to the pool for the afternoon to relax before the dessert party, and youll have lots of daylight for pics. The before 2pm food req being less seems like a big incentive.


former dis brides- has anyone not had luck getting morning wedding guests back for an evening dessert party?

 

[lurkyloo]

Only two of our guests didn't make it to the DP - one had to fly home and one overslept! I loved having the break to relax and look forward to the DP, and it sounds like a lot of our guests had tons of fun doing other activities in between.

 

[Skylarr29]

All of our guests made it to the dessert party later that night. We had about 31 and everyone said it was the highlight of the day.

 

[Pinkerbell1983]

Thanks guys your a great help!

I'm definatley gonna stick with the 2.30pm ceremony as I've already signed my contract and am planning on partying til midnight (we are going back after the DP). Good idea about the food, I was worried about having too much food so I think I'll go with minimal at the pre-reception and not serve dessert or sorbet course at the main meal.Which is cheaper, having a buffet with action stations or plated meal? I want everyone to have a choice of what they eat. I have my PS next week so I'll take all my ideas with me

 

[Disney-Bride2010]

Our first choice for our wishes wedding was 2:30 but we ended up getting 1200 which works out since the menus are between 25-50 less per person if the reception starts before 2 pm!!

Really?? I thought you could only get the "lunch" prices if the event ENDED before 2? What if you're reception starts at 1 or 1:30? Do you still get the cheaper price? Or since the reception obviously won't end before 2 do you have to pay the dinner prices? I'm still trying to decide what all I want. The only thing I'm dead set on is the WP.

Thanks!

 

[bridetobe789]

It is if the reception STARTS before 2 ! We are doing the 12 o'clock ceremony @ WP and then the reception right after which will be @ like 1-130 ish!