Welcome to your wedding. That will be $22,000, please!
Yes, it’s true — planning a wedding may be somewhat of a splurge for many
brides and grooms. But when Nina Willdorf, author of “City Chic: An Urban Girl’s
Guide to Livin’ Large on Less” (Sourcebooks, $12.95), got married, she received
so much advice from her married friends that she decided to write another book
called “Wedding Chic: The Savvy Bride’s Guide to Getting More While Spending
Less” (Penguin, $14.95).
“Remember, this is just one day in your entire life together,” says Willdorf.
“There is no reason that having the wedding of your dreams has to cause
financial nightmares for years to come.”
While Willdorf’s book is filled with tips on “getting more while spending
less” on everything from caterers to invitations to honeymoons, she is realistic
about calling in the experts when it’s time to plan a party for hundreds of your
best friends.
“There are moments when a girl just needs to admit that she could use some
extra help,” she says. “Swamped at work, cramming on deadlines, or even planning
an event 3,000 miles away can all make a wedding seem unmanageable.”
After you set the date (having a wedding on Friday costs 10 percent to 15
percent less than having the same event on a Saturday, according to the author),
Willdorf suggests hiring a wedding coordinator or consultant to pave the way.
You may ultimately save more money using one than by not doing so.
“This is because a good planner will use her savvy and experience to
negotiate the best deals for you,” says Willdorf. “To start, a planner can help
you come up with a budget that works for you, and then she can help you get the
best prices to meet that budget.”
But this is only the first step to spending your wedding budget wisely. One
of the most expensive parts of the big day is the cost of the bride’s gown.
According to Willdorf, the national average for a wedding dress is “a steep
$800,” but the price of a designer gown can easily reach $10,000 and up.
It’s the details that can add up to big bucks. Alterations also hike up dress
prices.
“Detailing such as sequins, beadwork or embroidery along the seams,” says
Willdorf. “When you get the dress altered, every single bead, thread or sequin
will need to be unattached and reattached with every snip and tuck.”
So Willdorf suggests sticking to something less fussy: “Simple is always
better on the budget, especially when it comes to your dress. And it’s also
often the most elegant and streamlined.”
And she adds, “Think outside the box and don’t automatically go for a white,
poufy dress. You can save big.”
For bridesmaids’ dresses on a budget, Willdorf encourages brides to buy all
their dresses at one store.
“Many shops offer small discounts if all your bridesmaids put in an order
together,” she says.
She also suggests brides think creatively. “Scout out dresses at national
chain stores like J.Crew (which has a new bridal line), Banana Republic or Ann
Taylor, among others.”
When it comes to the men’s wedding attire, the selection has long been a
matter of choosing between two roads — renting a tux or buying a tux, notes
Willdorf.
“But your man may want to seize this opportunity to buy a beautiful suit
instead of a tux, something that he can have forever and bring out on many more
occasions in the future,” she says, admitting that her own husband wore a dark
navy blue pinstripe suit from Barneys.
“The purchase — a man’s first Barneys suit — was as much a rite of passage as
the ceremony we were about to experience,” she says.
