Your wedding will undoubtedly be the most joyous day of your life. But when the average wedding costs between a whopping $17K to $27K it will also undoubtedly be one of the most expensive.
Wedding budgets fail when discount product options are stripped of the quality and appearance you expect. Here at BrideBox we are all about top quality products without spending top dollar. We’ve provided some very useful tips that can really lower your wedding bill, without compromising any of the quality products your wedding deserves.
Your Ring
Your engagement ring is a symbol of the bond and commitment you share with your significant other (and don’t forget that diamonds are a girl’s best friend!). So your diamond seems like a non-negotiable, right? Wrong! With today’s modern technology there are great ways to own the Tiffany’s-like diamond of your dreams at a fraction of the cost.
How do I get the Rolls Royce of diamonds for cubic zirconia price?
A lab-created diamond, or cultivated diamond, sells for significantly less than a mined diamond (similar to cultured pearls). Using high-pressure, high-temperature conditions, the natural process of creating a diamond is replicated to produce a real diamond, atom by atom. One company, Gemesis, sells cultivated diamonds with the same properties (cut, color, clarity, etc.) recognized by any jeweler, but with one HUGE difference – they average about 20% less than a mined diamond.
Photo Credit: Overstock
More good news about cultivated diamonds:
Man-made diamonds ARE real diamonds. They do not measure differently under a jeweler’s glass and hold the same appraisal value, without any exploitative trade or pollutive mining processes. Regardless of how they were sourced or ‘born’, Gemesis-created diamonds meet all criteria of the International Diamond Council (IDC) and are true diamonds.
Not only is it better karma to purchase a cultivated diamond, it is a better investment. They are appraised in the same way as traditional diamonds, so they hold their value, BUT they cost less to manufacture and sell. The diamond weight cost is reduced, so it is much cheaper to move between grades. This means you can buy more diamond with your bucks, and reduce the harmful effects of a controversial trade – that is a win-win!
Photo Credit: Chao Jixuan
Your Flowers
A traditional florist provides you and your bridesmaids with bouquets, venue flower decorations and centerpieces for your reception hall. That is a big supply of flowers that need to be prepped, arranged and kept fresh for a whole day; and sourcing flowers out of season can set you back thousands of dollars. But a bride doesn’t need to limit the flower factor on her special day, even if she is on a budget.
How can I source roses at carnation prices?
Our favorite company for flower budget power is BloomsByTheBox, a wholesale flower source open to consumers without a florist. They have a worldwide vendor network to maintain a steady supply of flower varieties consistently throughout the year.
BloomsByTheBox sells freeze dried rose petals that can be purchased up to 4 weeks in advance of the wedding day. This is a smart way to replace the need for ‘fresh’ rose petals, which are costlier and perish sooner (not to mention get messier), and the longer shelf life gives you more time to work with them. Freeze dried petals have the same look and feel of fresh petals (they are REAL petals, after all). Just think where you can use rose petals on your wedding day – carpeting the aisle for the ceremony, offering to guests to throw after the ceremony, filling centerpieces in advance of the big day, in the honeymoon suite, and anywhere else you want to bring in the element of flowers. You are only limited by your imagination, but you’ll be able to get the exact same results without spending the extra money.
DIY-ing all the flowers in a wedding may not be practical for everybody, but elements of your wedding that are DIYed or sourced wholesale can help you spend your money where it matters. Other options to consider for your flowers:
Hire a designer or florist to arrange and manage the flowers for you. If you are able to source the flowers for yourself wholesale, you will be hiring them for their time and talent of managing and arranging on the wedding day.
You can get creative and choose specific elements you want to source or DIY. Sourcing just the bridesmaids bouquets, or your own bridal bouquet in addition to hiring a florist can extend your flower budget.
Photo Credit: First Come Flowers
Wedding Photos
Photographs are the only thing that will last longer than the wedding, and you can pass on to your future generations. Naturally, you’ll want to hire the best photographer you can, whom you trust to create incredible images. So while you don’t want to cut costs on a quality photographer, you can cut the photo budget by going with their “shoot and burn” services, (purchasing their time, talent, and the copyright to your high-res images) and doing the easy stuff yourself!
How do you get top of the line photo products for bottom dollar prices?
When you purchase photo products from a photographer they must charge for two things: the cost of inventory and their time. BrideBox enables brides to access professional photo labs and products without needing a professional photographer; and without paying their prices. Once you’ve received your wedding photos, use BrideBox’s DIY Wedding Album Software or Online Design Tool to create a professional wedding album like your photographer would create. Your photographer spends their time shooting more weddings, and you can avoid unnecessary markup fees.
We have several design templates, one page spreads, and flush mount albums befitting for every bride!
Added benefits of creating your own photo products:
After the excitement of the wedding is over, it’s a great post-wedding project. You’ll beat the post-wedding blues, relive your special day, get mileage out of your photography, and feel good about getting the highest quality album on the market for less than what your friends paid.
BrideBox design tools fit any skill level. Use our online album design tool to cleanly lay out your photographs. Use the free DIY Wedding Albums software to customize every page from the ground up. Either way, your album is a professional piece created like a photographer.
More than albums can be created through BrideBox. Gallery wraps, prints, calendars and cards can all be personalized to display your wedding memories. Get the most out of that expensive photographer that was oh-so-worth-it.
You can add any kind of JPG file to your album, including photos taken by friends (see below) or scans of mementos, like wedding invitations, announcements, and certificates.
Have your guests help you collect wedding memories with a wedding photo app. BrideBox recommends Wedding Party for the days surround your wedding. Wedding Party is a free app that allows all of your wedding participants to upload their pictures to one common account. Apps like Wedding Party allow you to forever experience all those imperfect, dramatic, and hilarious moments that your professional photographer would miss, with the help of your loved ones. Use these images in your BrideBox wedding album and other custom photo products.
