3 Ways to Save on Your Wedding Day (Volume #3)

The wedding cake is a tradition that dates as far back as Ancient Rome with modern renditions kicking in over the last few hundred years.  As the number of cake tiers have risen, so has the bill from the bakery.  Walk into any high-end bakery and you’ll notice that they have seemingly flawless and eternally perfect wedding cakes on display; that’s because they’re fake.  Speak with a baker who will use a cake façade of tiers with a base of not sweet bread, but cardboard instead.  The top, and smallest, tier will be real so that you can cut into it for the “cutting of the cake.”  In the back, have cheap sheet cake that tastes the same to the tipsy audience that is just happy to get a little sugar in their system and appease the kids at the party all while saving some dough (see what we did there?).

 

Properly decorating a wedding venue takes a lot of money and man hours from friends and family (and the wedding party, in particular).  But what’s the purpose of all this decorating when you’ve spent countless hours picking the perfect wedding venue?!  Most added décor will look cheesy so you’re either cheapening the ceremony, or you’re spending the extra cash for a slight increase in ambiance.  Rather, pick a place that doesn’t require your interior decorating skills because a true professional already did it long before you arrived.  This will save money, time, and the numerous headaches that are inevitable in such a logistical nightmare.

It’s always shocking when people are concerned about saving money on the wedding day, while trying to justify having a live band.  The obvious solution to save money in such an instance is to nix the band and hire a DJ.  The problem with this is that while it may feel like a financially responsible decision, your average wedding DJ costs between $500-1500; for music, music that you already picked, music that you already own (or can stream at $10/month on Spotify).  Save even more money by renting a large speaker that works with an auxiliary cord which can be plugged into a smartphone, or other listening device.  This way, you can make your playlists (which you were going to do anyway) and simply plug the device in and dance the night way.  But what about the announcements, who will do them?  The answer to that is easy: someone who actually knows the wedding couple, the bridal party, and cares about you; virtually anyone at any wedding other than that damn hired DJ!