Friends, I know it isn’t easy. Hosting a wedding in the Washington DC area is tough stuff. It is expensive! (More expensive than planning a wedding in other parts of the country, might I add!) Here are five simple things that you can try to do to save a little money for your wedding in DC, Maryland or Virginia:
Photo Credit: Schmitz Wedding Photography from Melissa + David’s wedding
1. Reduce your guest list. It is hard to cut friends and family, but reducing your guest list by say 15, can really save you a bundle on catering and rentals. Around $250 per person for food at a downtown DC hotel is not unheard of, so if you cut your list by just 10 (only 5 couples!), now you’d be talking serious savings. At $250 for 10 people that is $2,500, which could cover your whole transportation budget.
2. Get married in the off season. It can be hard around here with political events, national conventions and protestors galore going on all year long, but I know for a fact that many DC area wedding locations and vendors are slow from November to March. A wedding in February might save you some cash!
3. Hire a planner. I know is seems counter intuitive. But, I promise you that having a knowledgeable DC area based wedding planner who knows what they are doing will keep you on task and on budget. You give them your budget, and it is their job to keep you to it!
4. Offer to pay in full. Some, not all, wedding vendors appreciate full payment up front and many will give you a discount for doing so. Also, many vendors really appreciate checks or cash over credit cards, so they can avoid credit card transaction fees. It can’t hurt to ask, right?
5. Buy consignment. You are only going to wear that dress once, so look into buying your dress from a local consignment shop like Fabulous Frocks of Alexandria. If you can’t pull the trigger on your wedding dress, consignment for your rehearsal dinner or bridal shower is an option. My go-to local consignment for cute party dresses is Current Boutique with spots on 14th Street, NW, Clarendon and Old Town Alexandria.
Here is a bonus #6 because I love you! Check out local wedding flash sales like Wedcoupon and Gilt DC. You might be able to snag an unexpected local deal, especially on wedding beauty prep like manicures and spa treatments. It is the little extras that really tend to add up, so saving wedding related money where you can will help you in the long run.
Any other money saving tips specific to weddings in the DC area that I didn’t think of? Leave a comment, I’m sure other readers would love to know your money saving tips and tricks!
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Get married on a day other than Saturday!!! We were married on a Friday and the discounts began with our venue and were extended to several of our other vendors as well. Another bonus is that all of the vendors we wanted were available. There is much less competition for vendors on days other than Saturday.
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