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Keeping Wedding Costs
Under Control
ELIZABETH SCHEIBNER SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS
If
ou've made the decision to
get married. Now you're
faced with the arduous chal-
lenge of planning a wedding
that meets all your expectations but
doesn't send you or your parents
to the poorhouse.
Unless you've already done your
homework, you'll probably be
shocked at how expensive it is to
get married. According to Bride's
and Your New Home magazine,
the average cost of a wedding to-
day is about $16,000. While this
figure may astound you, there are
ways to cut expenses by as much
as one-third without taking away
any of the fanfare.
The first thing you should do is
establish a realistic budget and de-
termine who will be responsible
for which expenses. This will
avoid misunderstandings and
hurt feelings down the road.
Fortunately, there are
no longer rules about who
pays for what. Although
the bride's parents typical-
ly pay for the wedding, more
and more couples are footing the
bill themselves. It's also becoming
common for the bride's and
groom's parents to split the wed-
ding expenses.
Once you agree on a budget, the
next step is to determine what is
most important to you and your fi-
ance. You may decide, for instance,
that having a sit-down dinner is
more important to you than going
on an expensive honeymoon.
Make a list of your priorities and
rank them in order of importance.
As a rule, the reception will be
about half your total budget; flow-
ers, photography, music and the
bride's attire will each represent
about 10 percent; invitations are
approximately 4 percent, and mis-
cellaneous items account for about
6 percent of the total cost
Keep track of all your expenses.
Even minor purchases such as the
guest book or toasting glasses
should be accounted for so that
you'll know if you're staying with-
in your budget If you have trouble
keeping things organized, you may
want to invest in a software pro-
gram called The Wedding Planner
It keeps track of everything from
invitations to budgets and is avail-
able for IBM-PCs and compatibles.
A lot of people assume that wed-
ding consultants are for those with
an unlimited budget, but this isn't
necessarily true. Consultants will
work within your budget and, be-
cause of their vast knowledge and
experience, can actually help you
achieve a more lavish wedding
than you could afford on your own.
Most consultants include their fee
in the total budget rather than
adding it on.
The reception, of course, is your
biggest expense. If you want to
keep costs down, you may want to
consider having your wedding ear-
ly in the day rather than in the
evening. Hosting a breakfast or lun-
cheon is considerably less expen-
sive than a dinner. An even more
economical way to go is to offer
light hors d'oeuvres.
Another way you can save is by
offering a no-host bar and letting
your guests pay for their own
drinks. If that doesn't appeal to you,
you might want to consider serv-
ing a champagne punch, which is
considerably less expensive than
mixed drinks.
If you have the flexibility to get
married any time, plan an off- sea-
son wedding. You'll often receive
reduced rates during the fall or win-
ter months. You can also save
money by having a weekday
wedding.
Reception sites vary consid-
erably in price. Do as much re-
search as possible before selecting
a location. Hotels are generally the
most expensive, while reception
halls are typically the most afford-
able.
If you've already started perus-
ing the bridal shops, you know that
wedding dresses typically cost any-
where from $1,000 to $3,000,
while more elaborate dresses can
run as high as $8,000. There is no
reason you have to spend a small
fortune on a dress you'll only wear
once. For about $300 to $500, you
can rent a gown from a bridal sa-
lon. Or you may want to consider
wearing your mother's wedding
dress and having it customized to
fit your particular taste.
Another option is to shop at
bridal closeout sales or purchase