I have a tons of money saving tips, but today I am only going to focus on PAPER PRODUCTS since this is one aspect of a wedding that most brides don't think of while planning her dream wedding.
I hope these tips and ideas help you create your special day on a reasonable and mom-and-dad happy budget!! Below, I have a few items from my wedding that I believe I got at the BEST possible price, but look awesome. It is more than doable to have a beautiful wedding while not paying top-dollar!
- Skip the programs! They are so expensive and they will just get thrown away. We bought a large chalkboard and wrote the program on it. I feel as though guests enjoyed that more. However, I have seen programs that were DIYed that looked awesome, but be prepared to set enough time to do this since it can take long to do and put them bridesmaids to work. Use your resources!
- I bought my save the dates from Staples. The save the dates were a postcard, which saved money on stamps (33cents/stamp vs. 46cents/stamp)!! And they were cheap!! Think outside the box when buying things like this. If you buy from a top-dollar wedding business, the product will be expensive just because they can be.
- I got my invites from Anna's Bridal Bargain. We got 125 invites for $150- came with response card, reception card, invites, and all the envelopes. They were beautiful and simple and came in after a week of ordering!! It was FANTASTIC!
- Instead of printing out menus for each individual, I made a menu board that went along with the chalkboard theme I had at my wedding. It was adorable. I also made it in time to use it at my bridal shower. If you like this chalkboard theme, here is what you can do: As I said before- THINK OUTSIDE THE BOX! Look for old picture frames at thrift stores and in the clearance section at stores, buy chalkboard paint and paint on layers to the glass of the frames. Since it is glass, be careful not to break it. But make sure you let the paint dry before adding on the next layer. Do this 3-4 times. Also if the frame is not in good shape, spray paint it to what ever color matches your color scheme. I actually found this board at Marshallâs for 7 bucks in the clearance section. The inner part was purple and was in the clearance section because it was completely useless! Look for things like that and put that imagination to use! (Chalkboard markers work best on these painted frames. These can be found at Michaelâs or any craft store.)
- Most wedding websites such as TheKnot.com can allow you to set up your own personal wedding website. The websites are so much fun to make. I really enjoyed it so this must be a great idea, right!? Yes, in some aspects. But here are some flaws that you need to think about when making a website: One can think, this can save so much on paper for our RSVP cards, stamps and return envelopes. However, the elderly population may not know how to RSVP through a website and it can often be overlooked when the invitations are sent out. Another thing is that it can provide so much information for guests to have so it is available to them (such as addresses, hotel accommodations and so on). However, these details are still overlooked!! Thatâs why I believe it is so important to include a reception card with the invites to give more information to the guests. Chances are, your guests will not realize or remember the addresses on that website when the big day comes. The website is such a useful tool and may save a lot of money, but donât rely on it for EVERYTHING, or else you may be Facebook messaging or calling every single guest to ask if they will be attending the wedding. Sometimes, it is worth it to pay a little more for convenience and to help decrease some of the stress.
- I admire those people who have that beautiful cursive hand-writting, but mine is not consistent, which made it difficult to make the addresses on the envelopes professional. AVERY paper products make labels that are great for making addressing labels a lot simpler, cheaper and neater. The packages can be found at Staples or Walmart and are 7-12 bucks for 300 labels. Many YouTube videos are available to help you through this simple process!
I hope these tips and ideas help you create your special day on a reasonable and mom-and-dad happy budget!! Below, I have a few items from my wedding that I believe I got at the BEST possible price, but look awesome. It is more than doable to have a beautiful wedding while not paying top-dollar!