Table of Contents

Celebration's Tip of the Month

 Tips can be found at The Bridal Faire

July: Double-check the rules, waiting times and fees for your marriage license application right now, and often through the planning. Even if you checked months ago, know that laws change all the time. You wouldn’t want to be unpleasantly surprised to find that your license application schedule is wrong when you check it days before the wedding.

June
Buffet and station style wedding receptions are NOT the best value for your buck. The caterer has no idea how much will be eaten, who will show and how much will be drank, so you will have overage. Believe it or not---the best deal is the package that is a sit-down brunch, lunch or dinner (in that order).
May
A per head charge is a good way to go for drinks but MAKE SURE you ask how many bartenders will be on duty. If you have 200 guests and 2 bartenders on duty, YOU WILL NOT get your money worth and people will be waiting online. 1 for 50 during the cocktail hour and 1 for 75 afterward is a good rule of them. If half your family does not drink and the caterer director wants you to pay by the bottle MAKE SURE you put in your contract that the bottles are saved. If you buy it by the head, you know how much the bill will be---no surprizes. You don't want to spend your wedding money on bar bills from your wedding. BY THE HEAD makes sense and will save your $$ for you and your love to use as you wish.
April
If cocktail hour is not included in your package. Most wedding guests drink the most during the cocktail hour (4/person). If the charge is by the open bottle or by the drink, have a cocktail hour that features beer, wine and sparkling wine/cider-strawberries in the glass. INSIST on no beer bottles -it ruins the wedding pics and it's less breakable and saves money. Get a keg. The frat boys will love it.
March
If the wedding is during the usual dinner times, by the time your guests get to the reception---your guests will be starving. Put out cheese and dip, hot and cold elegant hors deurves and whatever else you would like out during the cocktail hour. It will help with people getting too silly too early and may keep the bar bill down. Take the appetizer off the meal cost and put it towards the cocktail hour food. Insist on a salad instead of appetizer with the dinner and your guests won't even notice. Don't pay for and serve dessert WHEN YOU HAVE A GLORIOUS WEDDING CAKE. It's not just tradition, it can be and SHOULD be the highlight of the night. It's really important that the cake tastes good inside and looks great outside. Keep it simple and just ask the cake person to Tell the caterer director to put out mints, chocolates or strawberries dipped out if there will be a long time between the meal and cake. Upgrade the entree or enhance your cocktail hour food with the money you save.
February
The cake is expensive because of the decoration. Save money and use flowers or a cake topper instead. Have the cake frosted smooth and have the florist provide some extra flowers in tubes for the cake.
January
Don't book your date on a holiday or long weekend. You'll be charged dearly as the hotels will be all booked up and more expensive. Your guests will have the hassle of staying further away or at a lower end/less popular hotel

Tip archive:

Let's face it, weddings are a lot of work and cost on average, $28K. Nip the issue of uninvited guests bringing up your guest count in the bud by using this simply tip. Print the rsvp with the following and it will be easier to control your guest list and leave no doubt as to the number invited.

The favour of a reply is requested by

(determine date for cut off)

Two seats are reserved for

_______accept _________regrets

Wedding Reception Tips

• Private clubs, restaurants or hotels, which provide complete service and facilities many times can be less expensive, and relieve you of the burdens of coordinating the wedding reception.
• Make sure you see the actual room or location where the reception will take place.
• Have the room name, or description, written on your contract to avoid any confusion later.
• Disadvantages with private clubs, restaurants or hotels are that you must conform to their time schedule, and many times, to pre-established menus which allow little or no flexibility.
• Private homes or gardens can offer more flexibility with regard to personal desires and time schedules. However, the burden of coordinating is on you, and may require the assistance of a wedding coordinator.
• Interview a few caterers and reception location managers; compare the cost and what each will provide before making your final decision.
• When comparing cost of different locations, don't forget to add in the cost of rental equipment, such as tables, chairs, glasses, plates, silver and serving dishes, if you are considering a location that doesn't provide these items.

Download Wedding Reception Tips

One more thing....

Planning a wedding can be the most enjoyable and stressful time of your life. Most brides take at least 12 months to plan to ensure they will have the ability to plan there wedding without rushing. The first thing you want to do when planning your dream wedding is to set your budget. Your budget will allow you to know which vendors you will or will not be able to work with. Make sure your budget is realistic, set cushions. The reason most couples go over budget, is because they do not allow for financial changes in their plans.

The next step to planning your dream wedding is to select your venue. The internet can be a great tool for narrowing down your selections. If you are on a budget, you might want to select a venue to house both your ceremony and reception. When selecting a dual location, you will cut down or eliminate the cost for transportation and your guest will not have to travel between your ceremony and reception sites.

Finally, remember, when planning your wedding, enjoy your time. This is a once in a lifetime event. If you are on a budget, make sure to splurge on at least one item. You do not want to look back regretting not hiring your favorite bakery, florist, DJ, dress designer… If you a lot for one splurge, you will not hurt your budget.

Quotes from the Heart

Love one another and you will be happy. It's as simple and as difficult as that.

Michael Leunig

Savvy Ideas:

Dance Fever

A surefire way to get everyone on the dance floor is to compile a personalized playlist with guests' requests. Ask everyone to jot down a favorite tune or two on their RSVP card.

Tip of The Month

$ 5,000 in 5 years the easy way~

If you SAVED JUST $2.64 A DAY ($18.50/wk),
in only 5 years you'll have socked away $5000!

Now, $2.64 a day doesn't sound so intimidating,
does it? It's can be done.

Well, did you know that you can actually set up
a savings account to AUTOMATICALLY transfer
money from your bank account on a regular basis? You would
never even miss the couple of bucks that is really pocket change.
Painless savings! Now how about giving up your daily Starbucks fix
and you could double that savings to $ 10,000 in 5 years!

7 Tips to save money on the caterer

1) Plan As Early As Possible...

The farther in advance you secure your caterer, the more negotiating power you have...

If you wait too long (e.g. too close to your wedding date), there's a strong likelihood that your "caterer of choice" will either be booked already or know they can charge you whatever they want because you're running out of choices and time...

So get a move on girlfriend!


2) DO NOT Hire The First Caterer You Meet!

Even if you fall in love with the fist caterer you meet, it's very important to meet with several and COMPARE their offerings and prices before making a final decision.

Why?

Because not all caterers are the same and you need to compare "apples to apples"...

For example, good caterers will prepare most of the food on location, whereas others may make it at 8am that morning for your evening event and according to my friend, you can definitely taste the difference ("Cooking and re-heating is when the food goes to garbage").

Be sure to ask about this, as well as to SEE PICTURES of weddings they've recently done to get an idea of their "presentation style".

I also recommend that you get a list of names and numbers of several brides they've recently worked with (and actually CALL them!).

But don't just rely on somone elses word...

3) Always Insist On A "Tasting"

Be very skeptical if a caterer says they will not do a tasting for you...

Do they really just expect you to shell out all that money and then just cross your fingers, show up to your wedding and hope the food turns out okay?

Not Even An Option!

4) Ask For Complete Breakdown Of Costs

If a caterer quotes you $50 a person, for example, ask them to break this pricing down for you to show you what you're going to pay for food, bar, labor/staff, service charges, tax, rentals etc.

Be sure to ask them to list any "extras" as well...

The breakdown will help you compare the prices to other caterers and give you insight into areas where you might be able to cut costs further...

5) NEGOTIATE Your Service Charges & Extras!

Most caterers tack on enormous 12-24% service charges.

They often also charge extras like "corking fees" when you supply your own alcohol.

This is an area where you can often save money just by having some "inside knowledge".

For example, some caterers will add the service charge to food and beverages only, where others will add it to the ENTIRE bill!

Remember, "It's your wedding, so act like it!" You're spending the money, so you're in charge. Make these caterers EARN your business.

You may not think these prices are negotiable, but they often are, as evidenced by this statement directly from my cater friend's mouth:

"While I don't like to negotiate the service charge, I certainly won't throw away a big event if I have to reduce the service charge from 18% to 10%."

This can mean several hundred to several thousand dollars in savings depending on the size of your event. Hopefully you can use this idea to save too!

6) Get It In Writing!

Contracts are VERY important because many caterers will promise to come through for you, say they can pull it off at the price you want, and then "bail" on your event at the last minute because they've found a better job that's more lucrative.

That's why it's critical not just to get a verbal confirmation that they'll do your event, but actually a contract that includes all the following:

- Breakdown of ALL prices (including taxes)
- A Menu You've Agreed To and Signed Off On
- Dates When Deposits Are Due
- Date Final Guest Count Is Due And No More changes can be made.
- A Cancellation Clause

7) WARNING! - Be careful to WATCH OUT For...

HOME BASED CATERERS:

Be careful with caterers that run their businesses out of their home as professional caterers need to have special licenses approved by the health department as well as liability insurance, and "home based caterers" often do not have these.

KICKBACKS:

Ask if they accept kickbacks from the rental companies as many rental companies pay a 5-10% kickback to the caterer for referring your business (If they do, insist the caterer pass these savings on to you!).

"MARKET PRICES":

Do not hire a caterer that won't put an EXACT price in writing.

Saying the actual prices will be based on "market prices" at the time of your wedding is a trick that some dishonest caterers use to jack their prices a few dollars a head just before your event, claiming increases in "market prices"...

Honest caterers don't do this!

Okay, that's it for the warnings!