20 Ways to Avoid the Wedding Industrial Complex

18 Comments so far

• • 
    Mike Mofal

  • Stupid, stupid and stupid. Come on. People watch wedding videos all the time. Get over yourself. Just because you can't afford a good wedding doesn't mean you can't have a great day. This list sucks. You'll look like a loser if you go out in a friend's sedan. Why not use a tractor trailer? Come on.

    last month
• • 
    Tarah

  • Don't forget the personalized napkins, pew bows, and streamers/decorations for the hall!

    last month
• • 
    Jerad

  • A lot of the stuff in this list really doesn't cost much. Some of it does, but stuff like the customized matches only run like $40. The big ticket items are Liquor and Food. If you can cut corners (or bring your own/call in a favor) you'll be saving major bank.

    last month
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    @silliputti

  • I disagree on point 20 - thank goodness my grandmother had her wedding dress dry cleaned. It kept it from disintegrating, and I got to wear it! If you choose a dress that's not too trendy, who knows? Someone else with a smaller budget than yours may be able to wear it someday. If you don't have it cleaned, you may as well just throw it out. The sweat/salts/oils from your body and the spilled food/drinks, and the dirt from dragging on the floor, etc. will cause the fabric to deteriorate and it will never be usable for anyone else.

    last month
• • 
    Cynthia

  • Reasonable article, but I strongly disagree about having videographer, I mean you can ony display so many photos so like out of 1300 photos I got, I've displayed 3. I believe the video is a priceless, timeless artifact of your big day, that will never be recreated. Also you miss so much as the bride/groom and when its on film you see things you didnt see on the day. In my case, it was essential because I wanted both my parents on film so that one day when they arent here, I can bring them back to life! OH and you are so wrong.... EXPENSIVE SHOES are a MUST HAVE!!!

    last month
• • 
    nicholas thompson

  • Pictures are important, but you can't have your kid watch a picture of their dad's words to their mom during the toasts. Not all videographers are overly expensive. Don't generalize our profession and say people shouldn't hire a videographer because we may post catastrophic disasters that occur at the wedding! Any pro videographer would already have an agreement about posting of that couple's day as far as demo footage go. bad form coupon sherpa

    last month
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    @christopherlin

  • "Remember the bride who ended up on YouTube after the clumsy best man shoved her into the pool? Thankfully, the videographer was facing the wrong way when her dress slipped to [waist] level." Staged: http://content.usatoday.com/communities/entertainment/post/2009/10/68500815/1 Given the choice, I'd take photography over videography. Unless you're a wizard, your photos don't move, but a good photograph can "bring someone back to life" as much as a video. Remember to document your everyday life once in a while. These are opinions and suggestions. There are things you'll use once and never again, like the cake server set and monogrammed runner (something I didn't know existed until reading this post). What the post is suggesting is that, apart from services (makeup artist, photographer, and videographer) you carefully evaluate what is important to you.

    last month
• • 
    lala

  • I don't know about the weddings you've gone to, but my wedding, which had 75 guests, devoured the entire wedding cake and the whole groom's cake too. I'm just lucky they took the top part of the 3 tier cake off before they started cutting it. Also, they take a gazillion pictures because it takes 5 or 10 to find a really good looking "in the moment". There's only a very limited number of posed photos from our wedding.

    last month
• • 
    Christine

  • What do you consider expensive? Yes, my shoes cost $100. But wearing shoes much less than that is a bad idea no matter what, because they have zero support. Lack of pain is worth it. And there is no way I would have wanted to hand-wash my dress. It was a long day, the dress was dirty. Had I not gotten it professionally cleaned I probably never would have worn it. And as nice as several of the other ideas are: is it really worth pissing off all your relatives, your wedding party and the groom to implement them? Don't buy anything you can't afford, but before you tell the bridesmaids that they should just wear any church-appropriate dress they like, ask yourself if you really want to tick them off that much. These women meant enough to you that you asked them to stand for you at the wedding. Is it fair to ignore their wishes entirely? Same goes for the rest of the family. Remember, you have to live with these decisions for a long time. Telling the groom "I'm going to buy a new dress, but you have to wear your suit instead of renting a tux" seems a little unfair.

    last month
• • 
    cen

  • If you're going to go through the trouble of hiring a professional photographer for several hundred dollars, why would you skimp on a makeup artist? Yes, there is such a thing as Photoshop, but you will risk looking bad in all your other pictures (pictures taken by friends and family) unless you yourself want to pay for the extra expense of having them edited, too. I'm not saying that on an average day your own makeup skills don't suffice, but this is not an average day. You will be under a lot of stress; there will probably be sweating, and more likely than not, tears. Wedding dresses are HOT. Even if you decide to go with a simple dress, the special underwear most of us will wear to keep everything in place, as well as to ensure a perfect hourglass figure, is generally not very comfortable or breathable. A professional makeup artist will know not only how to make you look your best but also know how to make it last even in the face of tears, sweat, and bad weather.

    last month
• • 
    Amber

  • Jerad is right, of course - it's all about the liquor and food. And location. And guestlist. If you can get even one of those at a discount or downgraded or decide to scrap an entire outer circle of acquaintances, you can spend as much as you want on favors/aisle runners/videographer. Totally agree about the video, btw. Hand somebody a Flip recorder (you can buy one for way less than a videographer costs) and you'll have the same precious memories for all time. Also, just sayin', it's way cheaper to go to Vegas. I actually got to *hang out* with the people at my wedding. We had *multiple meals together*. And my wedding, including a really sumptuous week in Vegas, came in under $6k.

    last month
• • 
    Meaghan

  • I did do a lot of these, but I truly regret cutting corners with the wedding photographer. I did that based on advice from websites like this or from the "bridal bargains" book. In hindsight, that $1000 I saved is not worth not being able to relive my amazing maid of honor/ best man speeches or the wedding ceremony which we wrote ourselves.

    last month
• • 
    Susan

  • I suspect that the author really has no clue what a bustle for a wedding dress is. The bustle is used to lift the train off of the floor for things like dancing. It isn't the Victorian bustle implied here.

    last month
• • 
    Noelle

  • This article is offensive, to anyone who has ever had a wedding, wanted a wedding, or even been to a wedding... seriously, "the people in your life don't matter, don't invite them"... or "who really needs cake?"... a DIVORCE video? and we wonder at a 40% divorce rate in the US... Favors? These people come out, spend money on a gift (maybe even travel, and shell out for a hotel), and support you, why give them 6 or7 m

    last month
• • 
    alex

  • Who wants to let their bridesmaids wear whatever they want? That's pretty ridiculous. Besides, traditionally, they pay for their own dresses, so as long as you pick something they like that is affordable for them, there's no reason NOT to have them dress the same. A better way to save is to cut the number of maids you need.

    last month
• • 
    SA

  • Your #17 looks like a picture of a hoop skirt, not a bustle. A bustle is a way of fastening up a wedding dress train so you're not tripping on it all night at the reception. Your other options might be picking a wedding dress that's short or doesn't have a train, or changing into a second dress for the reception. And regarding #7, a groom's cake can be an inexpensive way of having more cake (think sheet cake) to serve at your wedding without adding an expensive tier to your main cake. As with most things, it's all in how you do it, not necessarily giving up every detail you might want.

    last month
• • 
    ETC

  • Yeahhh, I'm a big saver but I'm not a fan of this article. It's clearly written by someone who has little to no experience with weddings or womens clothing. Shoes should be decently priced so that you don't hurt your back/knees/feet after standing all day and a bustle (like an above poster mentioned) is a part of the dress already that fastens the train to the dress for less formal times. Bridesmaids buy their own dresses so that's not even relevant to the couple's expenses for the wedding. Not that some of the tips (paring down the guest list, forgoing the frippery) aren't great, but the majority of them are out of touch. Do your research next time Alexis.

    last month
• • 
    bridal girl

  • I do not agree with some of the items on your list. Although some of them makes sense, but others do not. Like your last one on #20. Of course you won't be able to use your dress again. But would you really want to keep it inside your closet dirty? Your wedding dress can still serve other people and you may even sell it online after the wedding. I had my wedding dress dried clean after the wedding, although I do not have any plans of selling it. but so far a friend of mine used my dress for her own wedding, another friend used it for her pre-nuptial photo shoot, and a cousin of mine used it for a photo shoot. So my point is, keeping it tucked and safe can always serve you good in the end. and if you just simply want to sell it, then do so.

    1 week ago