Buy a gently preowned dress
Okay, if you're really not into buying a used dress, then skip this paragraph and read below. But, if you are open to buying used, I would check out your local craigslist and search there. I would recommend craigslist over ebay just because you can go and try on the dress before you buy it! Plus, you can probably bargain more if you're in person with the seller.
Dresses on average probably run about $1,000.00! I know, it's ridiculous isn't it!? Or is it? Haha, anyway, if you really want to save money, then consider buying a gently preowned dress!
Go to the bridal bazaar
More than likely, you should be able to find a local bridal bazaar near where you live. Try google searching bridal bazaar and your city. I found going to bridal bazaars to be helpful because most of the time the shops that exhibit there will pass out discount cards.
Shop at the mom & pop shops
I went to a local mom and pop shop and tried on a few dresses. There was one that they said was on sale. However, the color isn't your typical white or ivory, but it's more of an antique creme color. Hard to explain, but my point is that I asked for a big discount and they accepted! The Maggie Sottero dress had a price tag of $1,069.00, and I was able to take it home for $550.00!
How did I bargain?
At first I was kidding around and I asked for a 50% discount. The reason I asked for that amount is that I knew the dress couldn't be worn as a summer or spring dress. Considering that most of the brides have already bought their dress for this fall 2011, I knew they probably couldn't sell the dress until next fall! When I asked for 50%, the sales girl helping us asked her boss. And, they said yes! Then, I ran to the bank and came back with some cash. I asked them to not charge tax and they didn't.
*Cash has power!
Sign-up online with bridal stores
Sign up with the different bridal stores online like David's Bridal and Alfred Angelo. Most of the time, they'll send you some coupons to your e-mail. Also, try signing up for their free bridesmaid and wedding dress giveaways! You just never know!
I got married on 11-11-11 and had a beautiful wedding that I planned in less than 5 months (and no I wasn't pregnant)! A lot of my friends have asked me how I planned everything, so here are some of my tips! (Picture above is of me and my hubby. I love this pic!)
Thursday, August 4, 2011
How to find good vendors
Geez... finding a good vendor seemed to be tricky for me. I went to the San Diego Bridal Bazaar, but how am I supposed to know whether or not a vendor is really good. Especially, the DJ's! They all had their booth setup with some DJ equipment and some cool lighting, but are they going to work the crowd? Do they know how to emcee? Are they going to crack corny jokes?
Ask your married or engaged friends
I personally think the best way to find great vendors is asking your friends who are currently planning their wedding or who recently got married. More than likely if you're in the season of getting married, you should have at least some friends who can tell you who they used for their wedding. Plus, your friends can tell you what they liked and disliked about their vendors.
Check out yelp or other review sites
These days there are plenty of review sites, where you can get some good feedback on local vendors. I particularly like yelp and find the reviews to be pretty helpful. But, sometimes on yelp, there aren't that many reviews for the wedding vendors, so just ask the vendors directly if they have a list of references!
Meet with the vendors
Maybe not everyone are good people readers, but I think it's extremely helpful meeting the vendors in person. You can get a feel for how they are and if you can get along with them. Even in my own wedding planning process, I find that TRUST is huge! If I don't feel like I can trust that person, I won't even bother giving a dime of my hard earned money! Or should I say, my parents hard earned money! Haha
Ask your venues or other vendors
If you've already booked your venue and some other vendors, try asking them for a list of referrals for other vendors. For example, I asked my photographer if he knew of any videographers, and he said he did. So, use your resources.
*Sometimes, some vendors will actually give you additional discounts if you used their preferred vendor list.
Ask your married or engaged friends
I personally think the best way to find great vendors is asking your friends who are currently planning their wedding or who recently got married. More than likely if you're in the season of getting married, you should have at least some friends who can tell you who they used for their wedding. Plus, your friends can tell you what they liked and disliked about their vendors.
Check out yelp or other review sites
These days there are plenty of review sites, where you can get some good feedback on local vendors. I particularly like yelp and find the reviews to be pretty helpful. But, sometimes on yelp, there aren't that many reviews for the wedding vendors, so just ask the vendors directly if they have a list of references!
Meet with the vendors
Maybe not everyone are good people readers, but I think it's extremely helpful meeting the vendors in person. You can get a feel for how they are and if you can get along with them. Even in my own wedding planning process, I find that TRUST is huge! If I don't feel like I can trust that person, I won't even bother giving a dime of my hard earned money! Or should I say, my parents hard earned money! Haha
Ask your venues or other vendors
If you've already booked your venue and some other vendors, try asking them for a list of referrals for other vendors. For example, I asked my photographer if he knew of any videographers, and he said he did. So, use your resources.
*Sometimes, some vendors will actually give you additional discounts if you used their preferred vendor list.
How to bargain with your wedding venues
Wanna save mula?
If you really want to save some mula on your wedding day, you really can't be shy or embarassed about asking for discounts! I just wanted to start off by saying that just because I find that in our American culture, we generally don't try to bargain. At the end of the day, who cares!? Are you really going to see or know that person again? Probably not. Plus, it's nothing personal, just business :)
Is your reception going to be at a church?
Generally, if you call your local church, they will already have a set price for their wedding ceremony fee. Be sure to ask what exactly is included in their price. For example, my wedding is going to be held at a church which includes a bridal changing room, pastor, organist, and coordinator.
How to bargain with the church
After you know exactly what services the church will provide, you can sit down with your fiance and figure out what services you don't want or need. My fiance and I decided to have his own church pastor officiate the wedding. So, when I told the church we would provide our own pastor, they said they could knock off $100.00. My fiance and I are still in the process of considering whether we want an organist to play during the ceremony just because we really don't like the sound of an organ. Once we know for sure whether we want an their organist, I plan to call the church to ask if they can give us another discount since we won't be needing their organist.
Another way to get more bang for your buck is asking the church to include more services such as an usher. Be creative and try to think of other ways to get more value for your money.
Is your reception going to be at a hotel?
When I first started to call around the different venues for a wedding reception, I was seriously discouraged and annoyed. Anytime I mentioned the word "wedding", it seemed like their prices would skyrocket! I read online somewhere that we should try to avoid telling the venues that it's for a wedding, but I just thought this was nearly impossible to do.
I had no intentions of calling a local hotel only because I know hotels can charge a lot for everything! But, for some reason, I decided to call a local Hilton hotel. At first they said I had to spend a food and beverage (F&B) minimum of $8,000.00. But, I was able to work my way down all the way to $6,500.00!!
What is Food & Beverage Minimum
What some hotels will do is they will have you spend a minimum food and beverage amount instead of charging you a separate room rental fee. For example, the hotel won't charge you a specific amount to rent the place, but you will have to spend a certain amount by ordering foods and drinks directly from the hotel.
How to bargain with the hotel
If you really want to save some mula on your wedding day, you really can't be shy or embarassed about asking for discounts! I just wanted to start off by saying that just because I find that in our American culture, we generally don't try to bargain. At the end of the day, who cares!? Are you really going to see or know that person again? Probably not. Plus, it's nothing personal, just business :)
Is your reception going to be at a church?
Generally, if you call your local church, they will already have a set price for their wedding ceremony fee. Be sure to ask what exactly is included in their price. For example, my wedding is going to be held at a church which includes a bridal changing room, pastor, organist, and coordinator.
How to bargain with the church
After you know exactly what services the church will provide, you can sit down with your fiance and figure out what services you don't want or need. My fiance and I decided to have his own church pastor officiate the wedding. So, when I told the church we would provide our own pastor, they said they could knock off $100.00. My fiance and I are still in the process of considering whether we want an organist to play during the ceremony just because we really don't like the sound of an organ. Once we know for sure whether we want an their organist, I plan to call the church to ask if they can give us another discount since we won't be needing their organist.
Another way to get more bang for your buck is asking the church to include more services such as an usher. Be creative and try to think of other ways to get more value for your money.
Is your reception going to be at a hotel?
When I first started to call around the different venues for a wedding reception, I was seriously discouraged and annoyed. Anytime I mentioned the word "wedding", it seemed like their prices would skyrocket! I read online somewhere that we should try to avoid telling the venues that it's for a wedding, but I just thought this was nearly impossible to do.
I had no intentions of calling a local hotel only because I know hotels can charge a lot for everything! But, for some reason, I decided to call a local Hilton hotel. At first they said I had to spend a food and beverage (F&B) minimum of $8,000.00. But, I was able to work my way down all the way to $6,500.00!!
What is Food & Beverage Minimum
What some hotels will do is they will have you spend a minimum food and beverage amount instead of charging you a separate room rental fee. For example, the hotel won't charge you a specific amount to rent the place, but you will have to spend a certain amount by ordering foods and drinks directly from the hotel.
How to bargain with the hotel
- Make sure you're talking with the manager or someone who can make the final decision
- Ask the hotel to upgrade the honeymoon room to a suite
- Ask the hotel to provide complimentary breakfast for the next day
- Ask the hotel to waive projector and mic rental fees
- Ask the hotel to lower the F&B minimum (you will have a leverage if you're wedding is off-season like in the fall or winter and if it's on a weekday)
- Tell the hotel you'll book a certain number of rooms (this should give you some bargaining power)
- Ask the hotel to waive any cake cutting fees
- Ask the hotel to allow outside catering each hotel has different insurance liabilities, so some may not allow outside catering at all. But if you say you want to have ethnic food, they may allow it)
- Ask the hotel to provide complimentary self-serve parking
- Ask the hotel provide coupons for breakfast for your guests who book a room
- Waive overtime charge for if and when your wedding goes over the allotted time
- Waive bartender service fees
How to bargain with other venues
I'm sure each venue will be different, but keep in mind that if your wedding is going to take place during the off-season months like January, February, March, November and December, you should have more bargaining power. Just sit down and list some of your main priorities. Do you want to party later? Do you want to have a lot of bartenders? Do you want to have a traditional cake but want to avoid cake cutting fees? And so on... from that list, you should just directly ask the venue to provide or waive their fees.
One creative example is when I was considering to have a wedding at a winery. I wanted to make the reception really fun, so I asked the venue to provide complimentary wine stomping! This is just one idea, but I hope you catch my drift on how to be creative and don't be afraid to ask.
My slogan: YOU NEVER KNOW UNLESS YOU ASK!!!
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