Wedding Wednesday- How to Save on Wedding Decorations

Oy, wedding costs! You go into it with a vision, and then slowly, that vision can be chipped away just by the shrinking amount still left in the budget. Before you are really planning, you spend a lot of time plotting decorations and cool details, but those are often the things that get cut for the sake of the event as a whole. Some of that is inevitable, but I do think there are cool ways to approach decorations that can save you BIG money.

Even better, if you shift your approach to the stuff you buy for the wedding, you can save things from landfills and create less waste. So many of these decor pieces are used one night only, but if they are shared between many couples, they can have much longer and happier lives.

1. Let the Space do the Work- You picked your venues for a reason. Start with that premise and just let the beauty of your wedding and reception spaces shine through. If it's already a good-looking spot, you may not need much. Don't pick a theme that doesn't fit the room, and you have already saved yourself tons of money.

2. Focus on Lighting (and someone can always lend you lights)- If I had to decorate a whole reception with one item, it would be white twinkly lights. Lighting sets the mood, makes everything look intentional (even when it isn't), and adds that magical thing. Even better, you can almost always find lighting as a rental or used. Twice this summer, I have seen brides gifted tons of Christmas lights for their weddings on Buy Nothing. If you do get lights lent to you, be sure to mark who each strand belongs to. Otherwise, you can get this high impact item for very cheap or even free.

3. DIY it- I love browsing the decoration ideas on Etsy, but I am often struck how many of the things on there can just be made- you don't need to buy them! Sparkly branches? Glue, glitter, and a walk in the woods. Tissue paper flowers? Buy some bulk tissue paper and wire. Peg doll cake topper? Paint that business yourself. We made our escort cards from paint swatches- it doesn't have to be expensive to be memorable and fun.

 When you buy decor, you are paying for time and skill. Work ahead so you have the time, and you can self-assess which skills are within your wheelhouse. You can a little bit of money go a lot further this way! Only trick is to plan ahead!

4. Focal Points over Details- I have seen so many weddings where there were fussy centerpiece things at the table but nowhere to look in the room. Make a few spots really worth looking at and don't bother trying to make every corner beautiful. People will only remember a handful of things anyway.

5. Multi-task- Use your favors or cake or guests as decor. You have millions of choices dependent on your favor, but it's a nice way to have something do double duty. I went to a wedding last year where the cakes were the centerpieces, which saves tons of money on flowers, and you get more time with cake, so who can complain? Stepping out of the box even a little might help you figure out how to make what you are already paying for a key part of the room.

6. Everything Doesn't Have to Match Perfectly- Matchy matchy can be great if you are meticulous, but a little variation never hurt anyone. One of my best friends is very detail-oriented and got all the colors to match perfectly at her wedding. And it looked amazing, but it doesn't have to go that way. If you can find 40 free plates that look one way and 50 that look another, and they both fit, just use them both. It's more important to have a set sense of style than an overly particular matching set mentality. That sense of style and vision for the big picture is what will have the impact in the end.

7. And Please Don't Monogram your Napkins- Why. Why. Why. Why is this even still a thing? If you are doing the little cocktail napkins, by all means, get them in a color that resonates with your scheme (even better, get them recycled from a company like Susty). But why is this insta-garbage a good time to remind people whose wedding they are attending? No one has forgotten, and honestly, it is never all that classy. Put your money into other details, and then whatever you don't use can be for another couple or your dinner parties. Put the date on your favors, and skip the rest.

8. Get It Used- This is the most cost-effective AND eco-friendly thing you can do for your wedding decorations. So many wedding decorations become one time use things, and I hate to think of all the perfectly useful objects that get thrown out. But the bright side is you can find so much out there if you just know where to look and don't mind some browsing.

You can find great used decorations:

Newlyweds- We all know these big life events happen in waves. If you have friends getting married before you, check and see what you can get off their hands once they are hitched. We definitely gave decorations away to the Boy's beloved cousin, and our lights to the high school for dances. Your friends will have stuff they are happy to part with. Doesn't perfectly match? Get creative about what you can stretch to fit or change the color of and then offer the rest to others. After your hitched you can pay the favor forward!

On Buy Nothing- Have you joined your local Buy Nothing Project yet? I have seen it all on there- people offering their table runners to other asking for (and receiving) tons of glass vases for their center pieces. Check with your Buy Nothing and you could save 100's of dollars.

Goodwill and other Consignment Stores- Sometimes, this kind of shopping is a bust, but if you know what you need, you might find a steal. Also, lots of cities have craft consignment stores that might sell the ribbon or fabric you need as well.

Online Resale sites- Thank goodness for the internet, because you can now find everything you would ever want to decorate with used. Cheaper, convenient, and keeping things out of landfills? Amazing.

Ruffled is an absolute treasure, and you can find so many gorgeous things on their "Recycle your Wedding" pages. They have at least a thousand items, so it's a lot to go through, but you are sure to find something.  Make sure to check the price against the brand new cost, and don't be afraid to ask them to lower it a little (I mean, what else are they going to do with 100 extra mason jars?) Browse often, because things are going up all the time! You can find a steal on beautiful decorations.I may actually buy some things from them for a non-matrimonial party.

Tradesy- Tradesy started as wedding only, but they have had enough success to branch out. They have all kinds of wedding stuff, from bridesmaid dresses to wedding papers, but their decorations section is especially amazing and well-organized. They have 5,500+ items up right now! Easier to browse than most of the other sites as well. Be sure to join their mailing list so you get even more money off.

Wedding Recycle- This website also has lots of selection (about 3000 items) and they are connected to the Can't Buy me Love Project, where you donate wedding dresses that can be given away to brides who otherwise couldn't afford them. Pretty cool.

So you may be overwhelmed with the amount of money you have already spent nailing down the DJ and planning with the caterer. I don't blame you- weddings are expensive! But decorations is an area that with a little creativity, you can make huge impact with a little bit of money.

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Wedding Wednesday- Vendor Love- Jeremy Ganss

 

Ok, now it is time to sing the praises of another one of the vendors that helped for our wedding. This one matters a lot, I think, because it's not like we will have the chance to hire Jeremy too many times in our life (I mean, I am not sure if he dj's 2 person dance parties), so the best way we can show him support is to highly recommend him, which we definitely do. He is based out of Clarion, and works a lot of Pittsburgh weddings, but if you are planning a wedding in Western PA, you can't do better. He was our big splurge for the wedding, and it was totally worth it. 

 

Jeremy keeps up a blog of his own that you can find here-  http://jeremyganss.blogspot.com/ To be honest, this blog was what won me over in the first place. I never saw a dj who was that serious and enthusiastic about his weddings that he kept track of song choices and took pictures himself. He clearly cares. Then, when I called him to chat (actually the first time we talked I was just getting his opinion on Wanango, but we talked for practically an hour), he was generous, funny, and a well of information. He knew about all the sites, all my regular wedding complaints, and how to best strategize his weddings. He was genuinely a pleasure to deal with every step of the way.

 

These are all pictures from his blog- for real, check it out! Jeremy knows his stuff, but he has a very humble, open, and generous Western PA personality. He is not hungry for the spotlight. I have been to those weddings too.  The whole night the dance floor was full, and everyone told us that they had a good time. We didn't have to worry about the schedule, because Jeremy was on top of all of it.

 

I could go on about Jeremy a long time, but The Boy wrote Jeremy a note that I think sums up his awesomeness pretty well:

 Jeremy,

Where to begin? You were absolutely phenomenal in every way, from the moment Barbara contacted you out of the blue to ask, not about DJ’ing, but for your opinions on Wenango (having seen your online review for it, not knowing you were a local DJ), it was immediately clear that you were passionate about your job and fully committed to delivering well executed, extraordinarily fun weddings. You always went above and beyond reasonable expectations to offer exceptional service, and it really showed.


You were always proactive, patient, and flexible to our schedule, not an easy thing to do when Barbara and I both were thousands of miles away for all but a handful of whirlwind visits back to Pennsylvania through the year+ of planning. You actively sought our opinions and took the time to meet us to get to know us, our tastes, and our goals for the wedding. You did more than pick a bunch of songs (though you did do that too, and your website made that easy to do in our own time!); you helped us to create the overall schedule of the night.


Once the reception began, you kept us on task and on schedule without ever being pushy or controlling or trying to take center stage; you gently guided us and our guests from dinner, to toasts, to cake, etc. without any jarring transitions. Once the dancing began, the floor was never empty—not even close—for more than four hours!  You transformed our eclectic requests (modern pop, Motown, obscure big band music, etc.) into the non-stop dance party we asked for.


You kept everyone, from the youngest cousins to our grandparents, excited, pumped, and moving the whole time. Unlike most of the DJ’s I’ve seen at weddings, you take your craft very seriously: your equipment is modern and your library and tastes are trend-leading rather than trend-following (Norah Jones: out; acoustic covers of the Bieb: yes, please). Most importantly, you actually know how to DJ: you did more than put together a giant playlist, press the ‘play’ button, and then walk away to eat cookies, take MySpace pictures of themselves, or fiddle on their phones for the majority of the night (yes, we’ve seen these before).

The level of service Jeremy provided was unparalleled, and he was key in making our night the most fun I’ve ever had at a wedding. Thank you for making our wedding kick ass!

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Wedding Wednesday- Vendor Love- First Blush Photos

 

Alright, so I am mostly going to try to wrap up wedding stuff now- I want to give a list of things I wish I had known/ would have done differently, and I just want to talk about how incredibly great our vendors were. If I could only give future brides one piece of advice, it would be hold out for vendors who you are really excited about and who are genuinely excited themselves about what they do. People are better at their jobs when they love it. 

We loved First Blush Photos before they ever took our picture-  They are made up of 2 photographers (this is a HUGE help in keeping the day moving), Chris Padgett and Rachel Reinders, who are both fantastic on their own and really complement each other perfectly (they have been friends for a long time, and share a business with Rachel in PA and Chris in Illinois, so everyone in these states should hire them). Rachel took my cousin Paige's graduation pictures about 4 years ago, and at the time I was struck with how incredibly cool she was while still being enthusiastic and fun. I was also impressed with how quickly she pulled Paige out of her shell, and I think Paige's senior pictures are still my favorite ever. Rachel did a great job of really capturing the many things that are specifically beautiful about Paige. This may not seem like much, especially because Paige is gorgeous, but throughout the day I could see that Rachel really saw Paige, and that is an invaluable skill in a photographer.

After that, I liked checking in every so often on First Blush's blog (http://www.firstblushphotos.com/blog). I loved their approach and their photographs- they take really cozy looking group shots and embrace color! So when we started trying to pin down wedding dates, we actually wrote them beforehand to take their schedule into account. Our wedding date won because it was the only August date we could get the Bishop, Anchor Village, and First Blush all together. 

It was so worth it! They were quick to communicate with us, and a year before the wedding, they came to visit us in California to take our engagement pictures. Even though we love taking pictures, we are exceptionally awkward in front of the camera together. We are also tragic when we are forced to be affectionate in front of other human beings. So the engagement pictures, more than anything else,would give us a chance to get used to it. It was so much easier than we expected, and we really had a nice day. Chris and Rachel are fun, young, and generally seem to be having a good time just hanging out with each other (even after a miserable red-eye, so well done to them!). They even tolerated eating at the least Italian Italian restaurant ever. We loved the, so we were so excited to see how the wedding would go.

 

First Blush came to our rehearsal the night before the wedding to talk to the priest about limits and to watch how the whole thing would go down. They showed up bright and early the next morning, a little after nine (everything being said, Chris and Rachel worked a 14 hour day for our wedding, if that doesn't tell you what kind of photographers they are, I'm not sure what will!). They were cheery from the very beginning and made a point to learn names as the day went on. I had tried to give them as much info as I could before the day, and they brought a print out of the list with them, so they were sure not to miss anything. They kept things moving, so we never felt behind or overly rushed. They happily bummed rides off of us, and were in no way high maintenance at all. They worked quickly (and intelligently), without things feeling rushed or unpleasant.  The Boy said the 3 words to describe them are helpful, enthusiastic, and creative. In short, they kicked ass.

I got so many compliments on my photographers even on the wedding day, before anyone had seen one shot they took. My mother, no joke, has been trying to find sites on the internet where she can sing their praises. My dad, who is a very discerning judge of photographers, was struck that night that they were professional, unobtrusive, and, most importantly, he could tell that they genuinely were enjoying the whole thing. 

 Case and point, when we told them we were having a classy nerd picnic, and that we were having a running robot theme, they made us robot heads and arms.  And seriously, who does that? Who makes extra photo props for their clients just because they are pumped about their ideas? They were amazing! And trust me, somebody had put a BUNCH of work into them! Then we snuck off with them during dinner and cracked up through this whole part of the photo shoot- they were hard to keep on our heads! I was just so impressed that they were game at the level that they actually took the license to go be creative. We reminded ourselves going into the wedding that even if it was a big deal for us, it was another weekend of work for our vendors, but it didn't feel that way at all with Chris and Rachel. We felt like they were excited with us! That is having pride (and joy!) in your job.  Like I said, they stayed through all of the dancing, even dancing themselves a little bit! We couldn't have been more impressed on the day.

  

I tried to put up  some of the pictures from the day, so I don't need to tell you that the pictures are soo soo pretty! They made my grandmother cry because they were so beautiful! All we have seen so far are the ones they posted on their blog, but we are elated about how they turned out. 

If you are planning your wedding, I highly recommend checking First Blush out, but these are the criteria I would be sure to look for- 

2 photographers- it makes a world of difference

Enthusiasm, creativity, and aesthetic excellence in their work- It is worth the extra money! It is what you get to keep of the entire day. 

Professionalism and kindness- trust me, you probably see your photographers as much as anybody on your wedding day, if there is  anything about their personality that isn't clicking, do not hire them! I have seen too many creepers or slow pokes really put a dent in wedding festivities. Everyone loved Chris and Rachel before they saw any pictures, so the fact that the images are also amazing speaks so highly for their talent. 

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