Brides expect their wedding planners to help them stick to their wedding budgets. In order for you to do this, you’ll need to know how they can trim some of their wedding costs. You’ll learn a lot of budget secrets as you gain experience planning weddings and working with other wedding vendors but if you are new, and don’t know too many secrets yet, it might help you to read “Trade Secrets,” an article in the September/October 2013 issue of Bridal Guide magazine. In the article top wedding professionals share their cost-cutting secrets.
Here are 5 of their secrets that you might find helpful:
Venue Fees
1) Booking on any day except the popular Saturday night can help save money. Also, it’s less expensive to have a wedding between the months of December and March than any other time of year.
Food
2) Having a Sunday morning wedding and serving brunch is a great way to save money. Your bride can serve a wide variety of healthy foods for a lot less money than she can if she serves dinner.
Cake
3) Suggest your bride choose buttercream frosting, instead of fondant, and stick to fairly traditional flavors such as vanilla, chocolate, and lemon in order to save money. (These flavors are usually the favorites of most guests anyway.)
Flowers
4) Spend the bulk of the floral budget on pieces that will be displayed in areas where guests will spend the most time. (And don’t forget, arrangements from the ceremony can be moved to the reception so they can do double duty.)
Music
5) If your couple must have a live band, as opposed to a less expensive DJ, suggest they visit local clubs and listen to bands who may not be very well-known then negotiate for a good deal.
Get to know your bride and groom. Find out what they consider to be the most important aspects of their wedding. The food? The cake? The flowers? The music? Suggest they spend a large portion of their budget on their top two or three choices and cut costs elsewhere.
You can find more tips in the magazine article.
