Any suggestions as to how to save money on a wedding?

So I'm getting married in a year's time, and we want to invite 200 people. It'll be a humanist wedding, and the venue has been chosen. The bride and groom's clothes are also more or less decided, so we're not looking for advice on those especially. But if any of you have any nice ideas or tips, please let us know. Any advice on photographers is especially welcome! Ooohhh... Lots of good advice (though some conflicting, which is somewhat expected, and interesting). I may have to leave this to voters to decide. Thanks everyone!

Public Comments

1. yeah dont be a mugg and get married in the 1st place its only a bit of paper
2. buy the book DIY Bride and read up on ways to make your own invitations and favors. Some of the ideas are really neat and they include a cost comparison spot that tells you how much you will save. There are also money saving tips on theknot.com
3. just don,t marry dud !!! ;)
4. I would have a friend or relative that is good with talking pictures take them.Use a digital camera.Have family help out with the food and play your own music.Ask your venue if the have a stereo system you can use and just burn cds.Buy fake flowers.You really dont have to buy wedding favors because I think an invitation is good enough for a keepsake.
5. I have been to two weddings where the groom or bride couldn't afford a photographer. Instead, they bought 3 or 4 cameras (not disposable, they bought a special kind that takes "distorted" or "not color correct" pictures), and had a few friends take pictures with them. They are hands down the best pictures I've seen from any wedding I've been to yet. So fun and candid. They also arranged to take a few pictures after the ceremony with a friend's professional grade camera. I'll try to remember what kind of cameras we used. If I can find a link, I'll edit my answer to paste it. But definitely think about using your friends to take pictures FOR you. They may think of a fun shot that a photographer wouldn't, just based off of your personalities. *:)
6. The best way to save money is to DIY as much as you can and bargain with vendors. Let them know if you have gotten a better quote and ask if they can beat it. Also let them know what you want and how much you are willing to pay/how much your budget is. For photographers it really depends what you want. If you are happy to take the digital negatives and print them yourself you can make BIG savings, if you want an album it will cost you much more. With all vendors, even if they won;t budge on price see you you can get more thrown in, for example the photographer could be bargained to stay and shoot an extra hour of the wedding, or maybe throw in an engagement session or something...
7. dont have one .....that saves alot of money trust me!!!!no im jk uh i had mine on an island in florda and had a friend that i knew took pictures really good take the photos for me they turned out awesome...i bought my dress for 99.00 and it s beautiful...i got it at j.c pennys during prom time and they had one that looked like a wedding dress...super cheap...had the reception at a friends house and they made my cake too .....i spent 1000.00 dollars total...but if you wana have a huge wedding i cant help im not like that sooo good luck...oh if you wana check out my wedding photos on myspace ill accept you as a friend and you can see what the wedding looked like it was pretty....matykada1@yahoo.com (make it simple )its not worth the stress to get all extravegant!!!!!
8. make your own invitations, i've made all my own invites and order of service for under £100 friends of ours got there's done at a department store and spent £700 on roughly the same amounts. if you want a Professional photographer shop around try looking through the yellow pages at all photographers not just the wedding section as prices vary hugely the photographers that don't normally specialise in weddings still have great work but at half the price. or try contacting your local college some of the students might be looking for stuff to build up there portfolio so will charge accordingly
9. Your biggest cost is the venue followed by food. Unless you have family members who are willing to take on the job, your next step is a caterer who can handle that crowd. Now, that said, I have attended weddings where the family prepared the food and hired some college students to help serve it at the reception. You need someone responsible to supervise and you have to include the cost of renting heating equipment as well as cooling options. For instance, had I married in a warm month, I would have had to rent a refrigerator or freezer to keep the food cold until it was time to heat it. I'd skip the limo or other special vehicle as a first step as well as favors. Limit alcohol just to wine for the toast (it will still probably take a case of wine for 200). Hire the photographer for the wedding alone and have family take photos at the reception.
10. Friends and family can do you pictures last wedding i was a part of i was one who took the pics bride and groom alike loved them GOOD LUCK and best wishes marriage is a gift from god he joins two souls to explore the world together so that we are never alone
11. BIGGEST advice, this will carry into every aspect of your wedding financially...guest count. Keep it at 50 or less and you'll actually be able to afford your dream wedding! If 50 is impossible than at least aim for less than 100!! Also- buy your flowers wholesale and take to the florist, this does save some money. You can use the ceremony flowers, including what the bridesmaids carry in the reception...saves a little on the flowers. Do not purchase anything that will not be used after, that is a severe waste. For example- the ring bearer pillow, the pen&holder used at guest sign in- there a sooo many details like these that never get used again. Forgo the guest favors. This is sweet, but not necessary. If you must, go with something edible like a candy station...this is relatively affordable!! Some photographers will allow you to purchase a CD/DVD with your pictures and you can print them at your leisure. This will save some bucks for sure!!! But do hire a GREAT photographer...don't go with a student or complete amateur, that you may regret. The CAKE- the part you cut into can be real cake. The rest can actually be styrofoam decorated the same way...no one will know!!! In the kitchen (they always take the cake back there to cut it anyway) you have a delicious sheet cake. Your guests will be none the wiser and you'll have saved hundreds of dollars!!! You could offer only wine and beer. Liquor really adds up! If you or your bride really digs the signature cocktails, than only serve during cocktail hour. In lieu of the big dinner, you could go heavy on the h'ordeurves. This is best done if reception is not during an actual meal time, as your guests will expect to be fed if you hold reception during lunch or dinner. BUT, if the timing is right, h'ordeurves will be perfect...and so hip=) Forgo the fancy transportation. It may add an element of royalty for day, but it costs hundreds of dollars!!! Venue- many offer lower rates for small wedding parties and off days/times. Like a Sunday afternoon or Thursday evening. FINAL words of wisdom- hire a planner. Yes, people will say they cannot afford one but the truth is they know so much about vendors and way to save money that you cannot afford NOT to have one. They are worth the money!!!! They will help you achieve a beautiful wedding and stay under budget. Best Wishes
12. If you arent too picky about professional quality photography, you can check with the local highschool photography club. When I was in highschool, I shot a wedding for free just to get the experience. With digital photography you can look at the phots as soon as they are taken, and if you don't like them you can reshoot. When my neice got married, they put disposable cameras on every table at the reception. You can get some interesting pictures from your guests and save alot of money. Ask your guests to bring their own digital cameras. Maybe someone will buy you photo paper as a wedding gift. If you are in the St. Louis Missouri area I would be happy to do the job for you. It will only cost you an invitation to the festivities. Good luck. Also if you go for any of these suggestions keep in mind that you get what you pay for. Music is easy to save money on if you have a friend with a decent sound system. You can choose the play list from your own collection and ask friends to throw in their cd's.
13. I found my photographer through craigslist. She is a pro but has been trying to get into weddings. I had her do our engagement photos as a test run and she was great so we booked her. A great way to go is to just get the pics on CD with a release from the photographer then go to wherever you want to have them printed (kodakgallery.com has some great photobooks!) Food & beverages are the #1 cost of the wedding. If you can have the wedding at a time where a meal won't be required, you can save alot by serving fingerfoods instead of a meal. Also, skip the full bar and have either no alcohol or just beer & wine - - booze is expensive!
14. The best way to save on a photographer is to go through a University and talk to photography students. They often have portfolios that are a testament to the beautiful job they can do - I found mine on Craigslist of all places! He and his partner (both students) handled everything professionally, gave us a contract, signed off properly, etc.. His price for the whole shindig? 200 dollars.
15. u can have the wedding in he winter or autum venues are cheaper inthat time u can also diy the cake and u can get the guests to bring food for the buffet u can also buy the dresses from ebay or secound hand stores
16. My wife and I found that the best money saving tip we heard before our wedding was to set a budget, pay cash for everything and keep track of your spending. She also found a website that was nothing but wedding related coupons. http://www.cheapweddingcoupons.com/ Congrats and best of luck!
17. Read all that you can! If you'd like our '20 FREE Real World Tips', you can download the guide here - it's free and is down to earth (including information about photographers!) http://weddingdresshire.net
18. 200 people is a big amount of people and your biggest expense will be feeding them at the reception, to keep the costs down look at holding your reception away from traditional meal times - an afternoon tea party, picnic or cocktails and canapes will all save you money. See if your venue will allow you to bring in drinks - they may charge you corkage but this may cost you less than buying from them. You can save on your photographer by just having them take the photos at the ceremony and straight after. Definitely shop around, I have known photographers that have been paid to travel from another town as they have worked out cheaper. You can find photographers that are just starting out and that need to increase their portfolio, they are likely to cost less. You can find these through local art colleges that run photography courses or through craigslist.org. More photography saving ideas here http://www.cheap-wedding-solutions.com/cheap-wedding-photographer.html
19. make your own wedding invitations, try using a kit to make things easier. decorate your venue by tying ribbons around napkins or cutlery, creates a real impact without costing too much. Buy your wedding cake from somewhere like M&S or Tesco and then decorate yourself using ribbons. Rather than expensive cut flowers use potted plants as centrepieces, kinder to the environment, and you can give them to guests and relatives as gifts, or plant them as keepsakes. Simply wrap them in organza in your colour theme.
20. You have to start thinking S-M-A-R-T. What kind of cutbacks can you make? For example: I drink bottled water. Paying $1 a bottle on something that covers over 65% of our planet is not smart. So I bought one of those water filters that screw into your faucet. I have bottles that I refil over and over again. This doesn't take much time and you will reduce your carbon footprint as a bonus. Do you have a lot of small appliances around the house that are always on? Televisions, subwoofers, sterio equipment and microwaves use the most energy when they are left plugged into the outlet, even when they are turned off. Plug all your plugs from entertainment system into those 6 prong outlet plugs with the switch on them. When you are not using these items shut the switch off. I noticed a huge difference on my electric bill just by doing this. I also bought some of those florescent bulbs that look a lot like a regular bulb. These things use 80% less electricity than regular bulbs. Ave 60Watt incalescent bulb (old school) runs you 2 cents per hour. Ave 60Watt energy bulb averages 0.5 cents per hour. Wanna be creative? Find yourself leaving lights on? Buy a motion sensor switch, the lights will turn on when you enter the room and will turn off (by a set amount of time) when you leave the room. I have one, they cost $15 at HomeDepot. You would be surprised, but these small things add up. If you really need the money right away start cutting back on your food costs. Romain noodles cost a dime and they taste just as good as campbells chicken noodle that costs over $1 a can. Ok no chicken in romain noodles, but you are probably just missing about 4 tiny pieces of chicken. Adjust your toilet to use lesser water. If you don't know how to do this then put a brick inside your toilet 'chamber'. You will use a less water each time you flush, this adds up over time people. Before you know it you will be ahead. Need new windshield wipers for your car? Who says you have to buy 2? You only need the new one on the drivers side, leave the old wiper on the passenger side. Are you an impulsive buyer?? Listen here's what you do......always save the receipt. Find a place to save all the boxes, packaging, etc. Try to get obsessed with folding all the packing materials, making them neat and tape the receipt onto the box/package. Make a game out of it. And get yourself into a new habit called "impulse returning" I once bought a shampoo rug cleaner to scrub my carpets. After I was done I didnt need it anymore so I returned it to the store. I like to think of it as free rental. So remember you have to start thinking S-M-A-R-T! Yours truly seahorsehawrey.
21. No. 1 tip - source as much as you can online! I got 3 bridesmaid dresses from the States, for the price of one that we saw in the UK - same dress, different price tag!!