Q & A: Unnecessary Details

Q: What are some easy things to cut back on or remove all together, that my guests won't notice? 

A: There are definitely a lot of extras these days that aren't going to make or break your wedding.  I think the following list would be a good place to start cutting out the details that aren't really necessary...

• Definitely don't need:
• bubbles/rice
• programs 
• menu cards
• aisle runner
• pew/chair decorations and/or sashes

• Might consider doing away with:
• favors (most guests forget to take them)
• table numbers and name cards (let everyone seat themselves freely)
• boutonnieres and corsages outside of the immediate wedding party (we didn't do boutonnieres or corsages at all for our wedding and it looked fine)
• limo (borrow a friend/parent's nice car and decorate with "just married" decorations)

DON'T FORGET TO ENTER OUR SUMMER GIVEAWAY!!

Budget Wedding Flower Fix- June

This month's budget wedding flower fix incorporates big sunflowers and fresh fruit to create a bright summery centerpiece that comes in under $25.




For more budget wedding planning ideas, visit http://www.budgetwiseweddingmd.com

My Guest Blog on Savvy Cinderella

I was fortunate enough to be asked for an interview by the bloggers of a website called Savvy Cinderella, a which allows newlyweds and soon to be brides to exchange wedding goods/items and advice for staying on a budget.  Here is the article...

Ask the Expert: Kerry McCullough, DIY Centerpiece Extraordinaire

by Maggie Lusher on Jun 03, 2010

Kerry McCullough is an expert on creating DIY centerpieces on a budget.  She has created a YouTube channel where she creates a new and unique centerpiece every month.  Her tips and suggestions will help that bride who is thinking about making her own centerpieces but doesn’t want it to cost a fortune! Kerry offers some great advice and helpful hints for our savvy readers.

Tell us a little bit about your background and how you got involved in creating ‘do-it-yourself’, savvy centerpieces?
I got married in September of 2008 and didn’t have a clue about wedding planning, never mind planning on a budget.  I decided not to go with a wedding planner to save money (which is a debatable subject in itself).  So, I started doing extensive researching on what things generally cost and how to lower those costs.  It can be really difficult planning a budget wedding when you don’t even know what is considered reasonable versus expensive.  After the wedding, I had learned so much and was able to help several friends save money with their weddings.  Then, I decided to start a website for planning an affordable wedding in Maryland (where I’m from), as well as a general budget wedding planning blog.

What is a good price range for a DIY centerpiece and what are some tips to stay within that budget?
It really depends on your budget, but I’d say that the least expensive DIY centerpiece you could make that would still look really good would be between $20-30.

What types of flowers look gorgeous in centerpieces but won’t go over budget?
The trick is to find really great fillers.  I think that you should be able to use your favorite flowers in your wedding centerpieces- just not a ton of them.  If you love hydrangeas, use one or two and use your creativity to find other ways to fill up the rest of the centerpiece.  Things like limes, lemons, water, sea glass, sand, flower petals and bear grass are great accents to compliment your central flower.  If you don’t have a particular flower in mind, the best way to go is by checking out what is in season at your local farmer’s market.

What are some staple items for a DIY centerpiece and where can you find them for the best price?
The number one staple item you need for a DIY centerpiece is the vase.  You can buy bulk vases online and save a lot of money.  Check out several sites and make sure you’re getting the best deal.  Google phrases like “discount glassware” or “discount vases” to find these websites.  Other staple items would be votive candles with holders, flower petals to spread around the tablecloth, some kind of filler accent for the vase (like the ones mentioned above).  You might also pick up some round mirrors to place your centerpiece on top of for an extra bit of flash.

Every month you create a DIY centerpiece on a budget.  Where does your inspiration come from?
My inspiration honestly comes from walking around the grocery store or farmer’s market.  I don’t go into it with any preconceived ideas.  I just walk around and see what is reasonably priced and then I try to envision the entire centerpiece as I start collecting things.

If a bride wants to create a unique, creative centerpiece, what ideas or suggestions would you give to her?
I would say to search Google Images and YouTube videos on wedding centerpieces, add your own personality and taste, and combine all of your favorite aspects to really make it your own.

What are the pros and cons to creating your own centerpieces rather than having them professionally done by a florist?
The only cons I see are a) finding the time to do it all and b) preserving the flowers for a couple of days (since you can’t do it all the morning of your wedding).  Everything else about creating your own wedding flowers is so much fun, in my opinion.  I had all of my bridesmaids and family over two days before the wedding and we put together the centerpieces and bouquets.  We had so much fun, and the bridesmaids really took pride in what they made.

Any other tips or suggestions for our followers?
Do a test run! I can’t stress how important it is to put a sample centerpiece together weeks ahead of time, and leave it out to see how many days it takes before it starts looking limp and dingy.  You might see something that looks great in a picture, but it might not hold up so well when you try it yourself.  Just be prepared to modify and have a back up plan if something doesn’t work the way you thought it would.

How can our followers contact you?

Email is best: kerry@budgetwiseweddingmd.com

Additional Information about Maryland Budget Wise Weddings:

This website was designed to help Maryland brides who are getting married on a budget.  It features local affordable vendors, a budget calculator, a timeline for people who are working while they plan, tricks and tips for saving money, local bridal shows, articles, and a community advice board.  For those who aren’t in Maryland, you will find all of the pages helpful except for the vendors and bridal shows.  The goal of Maryland Budget Wise Weddings is to take away the stress of planning a wedding on a budget and make it a fun experience.

Maryland Budget Wise Weddings

Budget Wedding Flower Fix- May

This brief tutorial will help you to incorporate expensive flowers into an low budget wedding for your centerpieces.  This wedding centerpiece is very affordable, coming in around $20.

What's Your Priority?

This may seem obvious, but it's really important to prioritize when you're planning a wedding on a budget. Since it can be difficult to know where to start, I thought I'd get the juices flowing and lay out a few decisions to think about. Once you figure out the 2 or 3 most important things to you, the rest of the pieces will kind of fall into place. Start here...

Which is more important to you--
a) the location of the ceremony
b) the location of the reception

If the reception is more important to you, try to have your ceremony right there, if the location allows that. This will cut back on the cost of transportation (limo, shuttles, etc). Vice versa, if you've always dreamed of saying your vows in your family church, try to pick a nearby affordable reception spot.

Point being... be reasonable- you can't have your ceremony in the church you grew up in and then take a limo an hour away to your favorite reception spot on the water.

Which is more important to you--
a) decorations
b) entertainment

If you blow a huge portion of your budget on extravagant flowers, you might consider using an iPod for your wedding entertainment. If you really want your guests to unwind and have a good time, you might make your own bouquets and centerpieces in order to have a really good DJ.

Which is more important to you--
a) food
b) bar

If you want a really nice seafood and steak meal for your guests, you might limit the bar to beer and wine (and limit the variety). If you have a bunch of partiers on your hands, you might focus more on the bar, skip the passed hors d' oeuvres and have a more unconventional meal like Italian style (pastas & salad) or pulled pork (pig roast).

Budget Wedding Flower Fix- March

Budget Wedding Flower Centerpiece with bamboo, flowers and sea glass...

Budget Wedding Flower Fix- October

This quick how-to video will walk you through an easy fall-themed wedding centerpiece that costs less than $20. Enjoy!

Best of, Worst of Budget Wedding Planning

Wouldn't it be nice if you didn't have any budget whatsoever for your wedding? You could have the most extravagant cake and flowers, the most eclectic and exotic food, an 8-piece band, you name it. I've watched my fair share of "Platinum Weddings" and I have to admit, it's a little depressing knowing that I could never have an event like that. But to be honest, I think it's kind of fun planning a wedding on a budget. It's so much more interesting. I'll take you through my favorite and most challenging/ least favorite aspects of planning a wedding on a budget.

The best thing about planning a wedding on a budget is the creativity. A fabulous wedding absolutely depends on it! On the show that I previously mentioned- Platinum Weddings- I saw a lot of gorgeous settings and spreads, but I also saw a lot of cafeteria looking backgrounds that had been not-so-successfully spiffed up by $100K worth of decor and details. To be honest, I can't understand why someone would pay double what you could do just as well yourself or with a scaled down version that looks better than the expensive one!

For instance, my specific budget wedding favorites are flowers and decor. I've seen centerpieces that will run you about $300 per table for basically a giant antique vase full of imported red roses. Maybe it's just me, but 75 red roses bundled together doesn't impress me. It's so boring and typical. On the other hand, you can fill a $5 vase with sand, water, seashells, grasses and brightly colored gerbera daisies for less than $20 per table. It looks so unique, fresh and classy and it doesn't cost an arm and a leg. There are so many other creative options and alternatives to the typical centerpiece- just use your imagination!

My other favorite aspect of budget wedding planning is the bar. There are so many ways to get creative here. The first and most obvious- the signature drink. Don't provide a full bar if you're on a tight budget. Just stick to a crowd pleaser like sangria, bay breezes, or margaritas. If you are serving wine, just pick a white and a red. Don't get into chardonnay, pinot grigio, cabernet, merlot, etc. One red and one white is more than fine. For beer, your best bet is to get kegs and keep them hidden behind the bar (keep it classy ;)... Depending on how many guests you have, you might get 3 kegs of Bud Light, 2 kegs of Yuengling, and 2 kegs of Amstel Light. This is a good enough variety of flavors and they're not too expensive (Amstel Light would be the most expensive of the 3).

My least favorite things about planning a wedding on a budget are the food compromises and the cake compromises. However, this doesn't mean it can't be done well- it just means I wish I could have the most amazing food and cake around because I'm a real foodie :)

The only things about catering that have held me back actually are seafood options (and of course filet, but we can do without that). So, if you are unable to do shrimp cocktail and crab balls, try to think of cheaper ways to incorporate seafood into your menu. This, of course, implies that you want seafood, so if you don't then there are plenty of wonderful alternatives for you. If you do like seafood, consider dips or fried things- like crab dip or fried shrimp. The crab dip allows you to feed more people because most people will take a spoonful and move on, while crab balls are more intricate and people can easily "pop" them all night. Fried shrimp are a cheaper alternative to crab balls. You get the idea...

If you don't like seafood, the sky is the limit- think black bean quesadilla wedges, meatballs, mini roll ups (like sandwich wraps), chips and salsa, hot spinach and artichoke dip, mini pizzas, cheese and crackers, etc for hors d' oeuvres. For dinner, you could spice up a traditional chicken dish by making it "Jamaican Jerk Chicken" or skewers/ kabobs with chicken and beef. I also like to stray from the traditional sides like potatoes and green beans because I think it's fun to disguise that you're on a budget. Instead of going really plane jane, why not make it something really different that leaves people guessing? I like sides like balsamic pasta salad with tomato and mozzarella and grilled, marinated veggie medley. These dishes hide the fact that you're on a budget because they are so different and delicious!

Ok, for cake, it's really just the decoration that gets the kibosh- but only from the cake designer. You can find unique ways to spiff it up yourself. Think ribbons and real flowers. Just because you can't have 20 hand crafted sugar flowers or pearl borders all over the place, doesn't mean it won't look nice. I think that simple can be better sometimes, too. When these cakes get too busy, they tend to look a little tacky and ridiculous. Try to keep it classy by cascading real flowers down the different tiers- flowers that were left over from your arrangements and won't cost much extra.

So even the tedious parts of budget wedding planning have solutions and can be a lot of fun once you get your creative juices flowing. Let me know if you have any other unique ideas for saving money on your wedding. Check out Maryland Budget Wise Weddings for more ideas: http://www.budgetwiseweddingmd.com

Wedding DIY Do’s and Don’ts

There are so many aspects of a wedding that can be done yourself, while still looking great and without getting stressed. Often times, you’ll enjoy making things for your wedding and take a certain sense of pride in giving your day that personal touch.

However, there are certain things about your day that should be handled by a professional. One reason is to keep your stress level down-- in some situations, you won’t even save that much money by doing things yourself. Another reason is that some services require a certain level of expertise-- you might think that some of these things are easier than they really are.

This list will take you through different wedding categories and how you can best utilize your own versus professional services for your big day.

Wedding DIY Do’s:

Makeup

You do your makeup a certain way every day because that is the way that you like to look. I’ve always found that a makeup artist who doesn’t know me makes me look like a completely different person. It’s either way too dark or I just don’t like the colors on me. I’ve always been happier doing my own makeup—when I get it professionally done, I usually end up wiping it off and fixing it myself anyway.

Save the Dates

Save the dates are a really fun way to get creative and let your personality shine through. There are a ton of options that can be printed online very quickly and easily, including magnets, postcards, photos, etc. You can also feed cardstock through your own printer and design them your own way.

Gifts/ favors

Gifts to your parents, each other, and wedding party should be personal. If you enjoy art, you might consider painting wine glasses or a picture frame with a nice photo in it. If you are beach people, you might fill a nice jar with sand and shells, etc. Think about what people appreciate about you and try to incorporate that into your gifts and favors. Favors can be as simple as buying bulk candies and scooping them into little sachet bags. If you are both really into music, you might want to make wedding mix cds to give out as favors. The sky is the limit!

Flowers

In season flowers can be picked up from local farmers markets for very reasonable prices. You can make your own bouquets and centerpieces that will look beautiful! All you need is flowers, some greenery, florist tape and ribbon. While you hold the flowers together, someone else tapes them together. You may want to consider ordering boutonnieres or nixing them altogether because they’re a little more complicated, but there are a ton of step-by-step tutorials on the internet if you’re feeling ambitious. Centerpieces are especially fun to make because you can get creative with things like lemon wedges, sand, shells, sea glass and many other accents.

Music

It is always nice to have a DJ or band to not only handle the music for your reception, but also to announce the various events. However, if you are on a tight budget, you could make a playlist on your iPod ahead of time (one that will last several hours) and ask an outgoing family friend to “em-cee” the events (announcing the wedding party, tossing the bouquet, cutting the cake, sending tables up to the buffet, etc). You can rent speakers and a microphone for less than $300 for the weekend, which is significantly less than a DJ or band would cost.

Video

Videography is a service that many couples choose to forego altogether. Many people are more concerned with photography. Wedding videos can be expensive if you choose to have the footage edited. If you just want to see snippets of the entire day, you could ask a family member or friend who has a video camera to try to record the big parts of the day so you will have something look back on besides pictures.

Wedding DIY Don’ts

Catering

A lot of people who have been involved in the restaurant or catering business have a hard time handing the work off to someone else when they know they could do it themselves for half the price. This is your day—you should not be worried about the timing and temperature of food for 100+ people. It’s simply too big of a task to take on without sacrificing the precious time that will fly by on your wedding day.

Cake

Baking a birthday cake is simply not the same as the mastery involved in creating a wedding cake. The design itself is just one aspect of it. When baking a cake for a large number of people, there is a lot of structural work. Think of a wedding cake as a piece of construction- if the building is not put together properly, it will surely topple over or collapse. If you wouldn’t try to build your own house, don’t try to make your own wedding cake.

Invitations

Printing your own invitations sounds like a great idea but it can be a nightmare of a headache. Things go wrong with formatting and you will become stressed out very quickly. You can easily find invitations (with response card, envelopes, etc) for less than $3 per invitation online. It’s worth the extra $2 per invite to have someone take care of it for you. This is one area that you should save yourself the hassle.

Photography

You might have several friends who enjoy photography as a hobby and are great at it. However, I would strongly consider their ability to shoot all types of settings before asking them to take your wedding pictures. These are pictures that you will want to look back on for the rest of your life. You want them to be perfect! Your friend might have an incredible talent for shooting nature and scenery, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that they know how to capture a wedding. Just make sure you look at several portfolios and are happy with what you see.

Hair

Unless you are wearing your hair very simply (all down or just a bobby pin or something like that), you should really consider getting your hair professionally done. You don’t want to get frustrated if you aren’t able to get it the way you like and the last thing you want to do on your wedding day is become stressed out. It’s also a really nice relaxing way to be pampered on your big day.

Of course, if you are on a really tight budget, you can find ways to make these situations work on your own—but if it’s simply a matter of prioritizing where you spend your money, I recommend following the outline above. I’ve listed both the do’s and don’ts in order of what I think are most important. So, the top of the Do’s list are the easiest things to make DIY projects. The top of the Don’ts list are the things that I would say absolutely do not do yourself.

As you progress down the lists, it’s a judgment call. I hope this helps as you begin your wedding planning. It is a fun process that can be as laid back or stressful as you make it, so try to think about what you enjoy, what is most important to you and work around the rest. Enjoy your day!

Budget Wedding Flower Fix- September

Click the title (above) to check out this "how-to" video on affordable centerpieces and bouquets...

Cheap Wedding Flowers that Dazzle

Wedding flowers & décor are one of the easiest ways to save on your wedding without anyone noticing. The price of flowers these days- especially when you add the word “wedding”- can go through the roof in a blink. Once factoring in all centerpieces, bouquets, boutonnieres, ceremony arrangements, buffet table arrangements, pew pieces, and accents, you’re easily looking at $1,500. What if you could spend under $500 on your flowers, knowing it would still look fabulous?

Here are some do-it-yourself flower ideas that will help you save a lot of money on your wedding flowers:

Centerpiece: $10 each

2 stalks gladiolus

Gladioluses are beautiful, tall, majestic flowers that come in a variety of colors. They are about $4 per bunch (8 stalks) at your local grocery store. This will be able to cover 4 tables for $4 ($1 per table)!

3 Lemons

Cut the lemons into ¼ inch slices and then cut them in half (like half moons). Lemons are about 60 cents a piece.

Vase

Buy 8 inch tall, 3-4 inch diameter circular vases from a craft store or online discount store. You should be able to get these vases for $4 each.

Mirror

Buy circular mirrors from a craft store or online discount store. You should be able to get these for $1 each.

Rose Petals

Buy silk rose petals to sprinkle around the centerpiece from a craft store or online discount store. Think about whether you want to get yellow to accent the lemons or the color of the flowers. You should be able to get 500 silk petals for $8 (you will only need about 20 petals per table).

Directions

Buy the flowers no sooner than 2 days before the wedding. Assemble the centerpieces the day before the wedding. Each centerpiece will only take 5-10 minutes to put together. If you are covering 15 tables, you’re looking at 2 ½ hours max for one person. Enlist the help of family and friends and get it done in an hour!

Snip the gladiolus stalks to the appropriate length for the centerpiece vase. Rubber band 2 gladiolus stalks together with a green rubber band (to match the stalk/ stem), so that the flowers are facing outward. Put them in the vase. Fill the vase around the flowers with lemons to hold the flowers in the center. Fill the vase with water. Put the centerpiece on top of the circular mirror, which will reflect the colors nicely and make the centerpiece appear to expand outward. Sprinkle the rose petals around the centerpiece.

If you have 15 tables, you’re looking at $150 total.

*If you have about $5 extra dollars per centerpiece, go ahead and add 3 votive candles in glass holders as accents around the centerpiece with the rose petals.

Ceremony and buffet table arrangements: $35 each

Buy large 24” tall glass vases with footing (around $30 each online), fill each with 8 gladioluses (around $4 per arrangement). Gladioluses come with palm like grasses that you can use as an accent. Either wrap the palms around the perimeter of the vase horizontally or manipulate them so that they are sticking out with the gladioluses. With all of the palms from the centerpieces that you won’t be using, you’ll have plenty to work with. If you are using 2 ceremony arrangements and 2 buffet table pieces, you’re looking at around $140.

Bridesmaid Bouquets: $18 each (max)

3 camellias, 3 daisies, 6 cornflowers, palms from gladiolus as accents (can bend them over to be upside down tear drop shapes). Wrap in florist tape and ribbon. One person hold the bouquet together, the other person wrap in tape and ribbon.

You can add a few flowers to the maid of honor’s bouquet to make it stand out or make her flowers a different color.

*Both of these flowers are available in some color in each season- not always available in all colors. These are cheap but beautiful types of flowers.

Have a bridesmaid luncheon the day before the wedding and include bouquet making/ centerpiece assembly. Each bridesmaid will assemble her own bouquet while you are assembling your bridal bouquet (with help from a couple other people). It may sound like you’re asking for a chore from them, but it’s actually quite fun-- I did this for my own wedding.

Total time: 30-45 minutes per bouquet

If you have 4 bridesmaids, you’re looking at about $75 total.

Bridal Bouquet: $35 (max)

3 large lilies (or other favorite flower), 5 camellias, 8 cornflowers, palms and/or other greenery for accents. Similar assembly as above. Don’t forget to cut the stamen out of the lilies- they will stain your dress!

You will most likely have to buy a bouquet of lilies- you probably won’t be able to just get 2 stems. Use the rest of these lilies to accent your cake and buffet table.

Boutonnieres: $5 each

Wrap a camellia and accent foliage (can be a piece of palm from gladiolus) in green florist tape and push a straight pin through it. Wiring may or may not be necessary, depending on sturdiness.

Follow detailed instructions on

http://howtoweddingflowers.blogspot.com/2009/07/how-to-make-boutonniere.html

If you have 4 groomsmen, you’re looking at about $20 total.

Pew Pieces: $4 each

Use large tulle bows instead of flowers. You can stick leftover flowers in the bows if you wish. If you have 4 reserved rows and you want to put 2 on the back 2 rows for decoration, you’re looking at about $25 total.

Visit www.budgetwiseweddingmd.com/tricks.html for more wedding saving tips and tricks.