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Negotiating Wedding Reception Costs

Jane Martin — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 16:01:57 +0000

Everybody knows that weddings are not cheap in any aspect. They are difficult to save for, but definitely worth the end result. Having proper negotiation skills can definitely help anybody keep the costs of their wedding down, especially if you know exactly what you are doing.

Having prior information about competitive pricing is a great way to keep the costs of your own wedding down. Negotiating is not about robbing the person who is providing services for your wedding, but coming to a more appropriate common ground when it comes to price. If you are not willing to pay a certain price for the band, the venue, or the caterer then they will lose your business completely.

Many wedding planning businesses and those who contribute their services toward making your wedding a festive event would rather complete the task for you at a better price than lose your business altogether, so it is all about the way you look at things and talk to people.

As far as the venue goes, be sure that you never sacrifice what you want in the name of your pride or a few dollars. There is nothing quite like having your wedding where you want to have it, and unless the deal is good enough there is never a reason to sacrifice what you want for something else. The way to get the venue you want for the price you want and on the day of your wedding, it is important to book the area far enough in advance that you don’t have to come out of six months’ worth of salary to be able to get married. As sad as it is, venue hosts sometimes take advantage of last minute wedding plans and that can mean extremely high venue costs for you in the end. If you want to save money, plan in advance and that is the best way to negotiate a good venue price.

The same goes for negotiating wedding reception venue costs—the earlier the better. Negotiating wedding reception costs are the only way to keep costs down for your wedding. As far as food goes, the caterer is definitely going to be one of the more expensive aspects of your wedding planning. Negotiating costs for wedding reception food is a good way to keep the costs of your wedding under control, rather than compulsorily accepting the offer that the caterer makes to you. Remember that they need your business, and are mostly willing to negotiate price with you. If you are concerned about refreshments, try to keep the appetizers and favors to a minimum—usually these are the things that are left over anyway.

Also, the band or DJ is another aspect of planning a wedding that can get a little expensive. A live DJ is usually cheaper than a live band, but many live bands (especially local ones) can be booked for a great price if you do it well enough in advance.

One key thing to remember is that if you have more than one choice for each thing then you can truly give the impression to the supplier that you are not desperate for their services. You should set a realistic target price in your mind for the service and if the offers you get back are not reasonable be prepare to "come back to them". Often it is helpful to have "someone to consult with" who is not present at the meeting. This could be for real or pretend. If you can’t make a decision without refering to someone else this can help remove any pressure if it being applied to force a decision.

Good luck and remember it is your wedding. Take your time and make sensible decisions and have a budget.

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Choosing a Perfect Wedding Ring

Jane Martin — Mon, 13 Mar 2006 22:48:46 +0000

Do not forget the wedding ring a saying famously drummed into the best man before the wedding, well that goes for the future bride/Groom as well. With all wedding preparations it is quite easy to slip your mind to buy the most important item that makes the wedding ceremony a memorable one.

The wedding ring is so important because it bonds two people together and it is the exchange of wedding rings that finalize the vow (I do). Do a check list of all your wedding plans and be sure that choosing a perfect wedding ring is one of your top priorities besides turning up on the day?

Choosing a wedding ring is not as simple as you think, much thought is needed behind your chosen design. What you have to remember the wedding band binds the happy couple together forever. This ornate piece of Jewelry with so much meaning will be worn every day so we need to choose something pretty special. Back to your budget which will play an important role when making your choice, because of the penny shortage does not mean that you can not have that piece of warm gold or cool silver, if precious stones were to be embedded or mounted in your actual design then don’t expect to many diamonds with just a fist full of dollars.

Jewelry materials like what is used in wedding rings have evolved over the years. Popular is the 14K/18 yellow gold which you will find more of a favourable option worldwide. Close on its heels is the white gold gaining more popularity by the day. Why not consider platinum, known to be one of the hardest metals and once again a fine choice in a wedding ring.

Platinum is a durable material and therefore able to hold up to any wear and tear. Platinum wedding rings look very similar to rings made of white gold which many can be excused for the mix up but at the end of the day both look stylish and elegant. However, platinum wedding rings are more expensive.

For the man it has to be Titanium which is becoming a favourite among the male species. It is light and long lasting and far less expensive as platinum. Once again Titanium wedding rings can be mistaken for the white gold in appearance.

Styles and what to choose is where you come in, only you know what you are looking for therefore it is wise to shop around before making the final decision, you would never forgive yourself if you see a cheaper ring around the corner and more beautiful. There are so many designs and styles to choose from. You have traditional plain bands to more up market exquisite ones.

Modern society designs are worth checking out. Why not opt for a two-tone wedding band. Celtic wedding rings are famous these days with couples where they bond their marriage with highly carved and engraved work of a craftsman. In some cases the bride matches her wedding ring with the design of her engagement ring. This also has to be taken into consideration when mixing and matching especially when both rings are worn on the same finger.

It is best to know the ring size if shopping out of a catalogue or online. By going into a jewellers for the wedding bands will cause you less stress where if the rings are ordered they may not be the right size or wrong design when delivered therefore all the heartache of having to send them back. Now we dont want more heartache than necessary as you have that to come with married life (Only joking) Online shopping is an easy option just be sure to have the right measurements etc and all should be hunky dory just like the hunk you are about to marry.

About The Author: Kacy Carr Dress to impress on your wedding day with the help of this fabulous site. Everthing you could possibly need when planning your wedding can be found here at http://www.your-wedding-planning-help.com

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How to Save on a Wedding Dress

Jane Martin — Sun, 07 May 2006 20:16:20 +0000

Overview

It’s a bride’s dream – the perfect dress that makes her groom mouth "wow" as he turns to look at her for the first time. Going for the designer look that dominates the bridal magazines is one path to the dream dress. However it comes at a price. With an investment of your time, you can really save a lot of money. It is very important to have a budget for your dress as part of a bigger budget plan. Investing all your funds on a dress may lead to the bride wearing her ideal dress but the rest of the day being poor in comparison.

The first steps

The best way to decide on who, where and how the dress will be made is to gather all available contacts who could help. These include

finding close friends who know how to make one
checking out shops that offer large discounts on old designs and stocks
for people who are really working on a tight budget, borrow or rent a wedding gown for them to use.
Evening gown hire shops who might have a vintage dress or other ideas than may save money but still look stunning.

Ask around other recent brides for their contacts and talk to people like local hair dressers and florist for other ideas. You might find someone who doesn’t spend a fortune on advertising and likewise does not charge a fortune. Most importantly as you work through this list of suppliers and start looking a dream dresses … try not to show you have fallen in love with a dress. At least not to the supplier, if you do this they have the advantage in negotiating price.

Negotiate

Try to narrow the list of dresses and supplier down but if you can keep your options open. You need to have a plan B and be able to walk away from a negotiation if it going badly. If you can’t do this you need to be a good actor and be able to pretend to walk away. Being able to walk away and playing one supplier against the other is a key tactic. The supplier needs your money if they act like they don’t then they are either pretending or don’t need your money. If you meet the later you might wonder if you should go somewhere else. Do negotiate, don’t just accept the price on display. Make sure you are talking to the manager when negotiating price. If you can’t get the manager to begin with then press for what you can with the salesperson, get it in writing and then come back later and ask for the manager late. A good way to get started is to ask "how flexible are you on price?". This gives you a big clue. If they appear inflexible you need to appear as inflexible based on your budget. Point out that you have a budget which makes the price an issue. Ask for discounts for paying in advance. If they will be providing bridesmaids dresses ask for a discount on the whole package. Don’t disclose your real budget. If need be have pretend budget slightly lower than your real budget and let the supplier "win" by breaking your "pretend" budget. Don’t give in on this too easily, pick the right time. Another useful tactic is to leave with the offer in writing to consider it. Don’t forget your future husband has to agree to any breaking of the budget this is good excuse to leave. Leaving is very useful to allow you to think clearly and consider thing less emotionally. Leaving also gives you a chance to try negotiating with your plan B supplier. If you feel up to it have a plan C dress which you still love and practice the negotiating with this supplier first. Getting the dress you want is worth the effort, it will feel even better if you managed to negotiate a reasonable price. Just remember the more you save the more you can spend on other areas of your special day.

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Honeymoon ideas

Jane Martin — Wed, 01 Mar 2006 21:27:42 +0000

Your honeymoon is one of the major wedding expenses. There are many options available today to make your honeymoon cost effective and romantic at the same time. The following are some affordable ideas for a romantic honeymoon.

Gift of a honeymoon

Listing yourself at a honeymoon gift registry could reduce or offset the cost of honeymoon entirely. It works similar to a wedding registry. Your guests could buy you an entire honeymoon, or buy parts of it for you like a dinner or sponsor a part of your flight, or simply contribute money towards your honeymoon. There are a lot of honeymoon registries are available online (try www.notanothertoaster.co.uk/ www.myhoneymoon.co.uk/).

Home exchange

On a honeymoon, you would rather be with locals rather than in tourists, then why not look for a home exchange. Home exchange works with you staying in some one else’s house and they stay at your house. It might sound a little risky; many home exchange clubs have facilitated thousands of home exchanges over the past 5 decades. There are many couples who would like to swap places with you. Home exchange clubs are work through memberships and they are pretty cheap at approximately £30-40 per year. Home exchange can save a lot in travel and lodging costs, while allowing you to know the local culture better and make new friends. (Try www.homebase-hols.com/)

Hospitality Clubs

Hospitality clubs work by getting you into private homes of people who would like to host you. Membership to these clubs is free and works on an exchange basis. Someone might host you today, in return for which you may have to host someone voluntarily in the future. This not only saves money, but also gives you a local window to information and secure stay. The largest hospitality club boasts of about 25,000 members in 150 countries. can hook you up with people who are willing to host you in their private homes; the largest such club has more than 23,000 members in 148 countries. Membership is usually free, although you’re asked to provide hospitality to others (on a voluntary basis) sometime in the future. In addition to saving you money, it’s a great way to meet locals who can give you an insider’s perspective on your honeymoon destination. Other places you can look for free or reduced-cost accommodations include hostels (they’re not just for the young and single anymore) and monasteries and convents, some of which open their doors to guests for little or no charge. (Try www.hospitalityclub.org/)

Camping

Camping can be a great way having a romantic honeymoon under the stars and right by fires, saving money at the same time. Camping is very inexpensive, maximum of £20 at most places, cheaper if you can cook. Take proper clothing, sleeping bags, waterproof tents and mattress pads etc to make it more comfortable. Many national parks provide cabins to stay and are very affordable. You could mix up a few camping nights with hotel nights to make the whole honeymoon romantic and affordable.

Off season travel

Choose destinations that are offering off season pricing and coincide with your honeymoon. For example, hill stations in winter and sea sides in summer offer off season discounts up to 50% off the normal price. Off season in hill station winters may not be appealing but sea sides in summers certainly is. Off season does not mean enduring bad weather, it means going to a place where the tourist rush is lesser in a given period of time, all the more appealing for honeymooners.

Budget travel

Check the travel brochures for promotional deals that offer heavy discounts on travel and lodging. A lot of them have websites on the internet and are worth watching out for. Sign up for free newsletters with the sites; they will keep you abreast of their latest offers.

Plan Yourself

The last but not the least important is to plan your honeymoon trip professionally including budgets, hotels, travel arrangements and dates. We don’t want to end up spending the night in the airport for lack of planning. Do we?

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