Welcome to the exciting conclusion of our breakable traditions article! Looking for the first five? Click Here!
6. Take your registries seriously.
Don’t fill it up with things you don’t need, but don’t put too few – you’ll hate yourself for the first, and your guests will hate you for the later. A few months after we started making our registries, we came to the stunning realization that we already had most everything we needed, and if we got too much more, we wouldn’t have room for us in our new home. If you are at the stage of your life where you don’t need more stuff, figure out what you do need for your future. We made an online travel registry for a honeymoon trip to Florida, which we couldn’t have afforded on our own. I recommend Wanderable, which you customize to allow your guests contribute to specific parts of your trip, like dinner, lodging or travel.
7. Design your own invites, or let MMWW do it for you!
The days of vellum inserts and gold embossing are done, frugal ingenuity is in. Use sites like Pinterest to look for creative and interesting designs for invites, and let your personal love story fuel the design. For my own wedding invites, my husband and I created the idea of a heist to “Steal the Date Away.” We donned in black to steal a painting of our wedding day, and used the pictures from it to tell a story in our save the dates and invitations. Even if you aren’t a designer, you can still save money by making postcard save the dates, forgoing expensive papers, and, of course, hiring MMWW to design them for you. Make them fun and personalized, without the expense.
8. When you Google, don't say "wedding."
Using the word “wedding” in an internet search is like shouting, “I’m willing to spend hundreds of dollars extra for absolutely no reason!” Every single part of your wedding can be made cheaper by looking for the items you want without including wedding, bridal or marriage in your search phrase. “Wedding” shoes are $150, shoes are $50. I found my glittery shoes at JCPenney and sparkly fur shawl at Charming Charlie, all for less than $50, which never would have happened with a “wedding” search.
9. "Something borrowed" is "something new" to you.
Old and new, borrowed and blue is as traditional as it gets, but borrowing from those who have gone before you is the best way both to honor them and to save money on those things you don’t need after you say “I do.” I wore the wedding crown from my nana’s wedding and added a new veil, and a friend of a friend lent us his beautiful cream-colored Packard, as well as his chauffeur services for the day. These are small things, but they can add up, big time.
10. Keep the lines of communication open.
The biggest advice I can give is to share your plans with those around you, and don’t be afraid to ask for help. It can feel sometimes like to have to do everything yourself, but opening up will not only let others feel involved in your special day, but help you realize you don’t have to go it alone. Create a Facebook group for your wedding party, especially if you have out-of-town bridesmaids or groomsmen, like I did. Bounce ideas off your partner and keep them involved as much as they’d like, maybe even more. Most of my ideas only came to fruition because I had the help of others.
Thank you for reading my top ten tips, I hope you enjoyed it and feel free to share them with your bride-to-be friends. If you'd like to make any of these ideas come to life for your own wedding, like personally designed invitations, fake floral bouquets or decor rentals, please Contact Us today - we'd love to help make your wedding dreams a reality.