Once again I am going to try to keep up with Crystal over at Biblicalwomanhood and her weekly Frugal Friday post. One thing I am learning about this wedding planning thing is how to make the most of frugality. I believe a wedding should be a beautiful affair glorifying God's testimony of bringing two of his children together, what I don't believe is that God would be pleased with a over priced wedding ceremony that does not show a testament of being a good steward of the money he has blessed you with. So I prayed and sought ways to make my dream day as frugal as possible with out looking as frugal as possible staying in my modest $4,000 budget. I will admit, there is one area that I splurged on and that is rental. I rented most of my tablecloths, candelabras, columnnade, and other huge stuff. But for the most part I utilized these outlets:
Walmart
Hobby Lobby
Save-on- Crafts.com
Oriental Trading
DollarTreeDirect.com
Sams Club
Chadwicks of Boston
Burlington Coat Factory
Knot.com
Walmart- I bought all of my fabric from Wal-Mart's clearance fabric all of my fabric for the swags was $1 a yard. I had to go to a few Wal-Mart's a couple of time to find the type of fabric that I wanted but I found it and it was very inexpensive. I also bought the vases for my centerpieces there and my invitations. I found my invitations on clearance for $7 a box.
Hobby Lobby- I bought all of my flowers from Hobby Lobby's clearance sale. They were running a 50% off on all their floral bushes and bouquets, and since I am using roses, I had them special order all of the flowers that I needed for my day. I then went back a few weeks ago and took advantage of their 50% bridal sale. This was the mother of all sales for me and I loaded up with all of my bridal stuff and favors and again it was relatively inexpensive.
Save-on- Crafts.com- I found some really cool deals on here, but for the most part I did better at Hobby Lobby. My decorator and I decided to have my reception a different color than my wedding, so we are having an all white reception. It was cheaper and easier to find white fabric than my colors, which are champagne, cream, and chocolate. I also decided to use Calla lilies in my centerpieces which I ordered here for less than $1 each. I also bought my organza tulle at a very reasonable discount price here also.
Oriental Trading- They have some very inexpensive wedding favors, I haven't ordered yet, but there are a few things I am thinking of picking up.
Dollar Tree Direct- Dollar tree is one of my favorite stores, I can use them to buy most of my serving pieces here. Dollar tree in bulk is a dream!!!
Sams Club- I will probably purchase the food and or other items I can't find at Dollar tree in bulk. Not my first choice though.
Chadwicks of Boston- Very nice and a few modest bridesmaid dresses here! I wanted my bridesmaids to have nice modest dresses for a fraction of the cost that we were finding online, plus there was no long shipping turn around. I never knew that finding modest formals was so difficult and expensive!!! But we found a few here to choose from and I am totally satisfied with the product.
Burlington Coat Factory- I found my daughter's dresses here, and they had an awesome after Easter sale!!! A nice place to shop if you have the patience to hunt through the crowds of clearance stuff!
Honeymoonwishes.com- A nice alternative registry that allows guest to purchase items for the couples honeymoon. Most couples already have tons of housewares, and traditional bridal registry items, this registry allows guests to take part in blessing the couple to have a wonderful honeymoon. For Christian couples this is a God send since we are actually having an opportunity to take advantage of the real purpose of a honeymoon. It's refreshing to know that there are people out there who are partaking in the sanctity of the marriage bed as God has instructed!
Knot.com Last but not least, this was my most helpful site. I was able to send out e-vites and electronic save the dates for free. I was also able to set up a website detailing my courtship story. It is an excellent planning tool and you can even upload your guest list in it and your guest can RSVP online. It also has a spot for your online registries for those guest who may not be able to attend or have time to actually visit a store. And people can leave nice things about you on your guest book.
I know many of you may already know about this, but it was fun for me to discover and share. And I would love to hear if you have any ideas or advice for any better deals or places! Thank you all who have left comments on our wedding web page, it's truly a blessing.
Stay blessed and encouraged! Have a wonderful weekend.
