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Saving Money On Your Event
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- Category: Event Advice
5 cost savings tips for your wedding:
So you want to have a lavish, incredible wedding with all the bells and whistles without breaking the bank? Here are some simple insights on ways to save a lot with little or no sacrifice.
Key insight - Weddings are typically services-intensive so look for ways to save on the services: venues, caterers, music, photographers, rentals and other services.
Below are my top 5 tips for cost savings.
1) Select an "off" day of the week. Particularly if your wedding is going to be a destination wedding or have a significant contingent of out of town guests - the thinking is that many of the guests are already taking time off and traveling, therefore it matters little if the event is on Saturday or Monday. Selecting an off day of the week (any day other than Saturday) will give you huge negotiating latitude with each and every service provider. However, for many, a Monday or mid-week wedding doesn't sound overly appealing because it would be natural for some guests to not come or not party late because they will be heading back to work the following day. For this reason, I think the very best day of the week to negotiate cost reductions without sacrifice is Friday or even possibly Thursday. On those days of the week you will get great deals from vendors and your guest can appreciate taking a long weekend by only taking a day or so off. Also, make sure to schedule the ceremony early enough so that guests will not be tempted to work a full day and then come to your wedding. A 5:00 ceremony would be perfect.
2) If possible, stay away from summer peak. In the summer, all service providers work and work a lot. Supply and demand drives the prices up, particularly on Saturdays. If you are doing an outdoor event in the northwest you may have little choice but to have your event in the summer, however, if it is an indoor event, consider having your wedding in a non-peak month. Non-peak would typically be January-May and October-November (December gets pretty busy with holiday events and New Years). Again, this tactic can save you costs on all categories of vendors. Staying out of peak months and on off days you can also lead to better group rates at hotels for your guests as well.
3) Look for win-win opportunities in the negotiation. Understand that vendors want to get their base prices, meaning that there is a minimum cost to where the event isn't worth it to them. Vendors and potential clients should always look for ways to benefit both sides. For this I suggest the vendor provide something extra at no incremental mark-up, allowing the customer to get more for their money, but the vendor doesn't need to sacrifice on the base price and secures the booking.
4) Consider combo services where you can cut down on additional service providers. In the case of Media Jockeys you could add on ceremony sound or obtain a discount on live music for your ceremony. We also have discounted dance instruction available in connection with booking. You could also consider getting AV services from Media Jockeys - video slide show, etc. instead of hiring yet another rental company or paying the venue's mark-up.
5) Be cautious of all-in-one or closed systems. Some venues require the use of the house caterer, in-house DJ, in-house photographer, etc. This leads to limited or no choice and often results in higher fixed costs than you could probably negotiate at venues that do not participate in such schemes.
There you have it - all of these items will save you money and get you more for your money.
