With the holiday season behind us, many recently engaged couples are ready to set the date and start planning the wedding! It can be tough to keep the budget in check during the planning, but Greg Jenkins of Bravo Productions is here with tips to help you stick to the food and beverage budget, barter with the venue for provisions, and maintain a quality and affordable wedding.
The key to sticking to your wedding budget is to do your homework first! Approach the planning process from a standpoint of strength and knowledge to barter and negotiate with the best results. If done successfully, the wedding couple will save money on their Big Day!
1. Review the big picture and put your dollars into what is really important. Don’t spend money on expensive appetizers when simple cheese and fruit platters might very well suffice. Do you really need to spend $20 per bottle for champagne or will a simple one-glass champagne toast be just as nice? Barter with the venue to see if they might offer a complimentary glass of champagne to all of your guests. If you are using a hotel for the reception and generating room nights, you are in a better position to barter.
2. Opt for less pricey food. Eliminate the carving stations of prime rib and jumbo shrimp, opting for more inexpensive fare such as chicken, fish and mini appetizers. Barter with the venue to provide you with something comparable at a lower price. Mini crab cakes could easily replace the jumbo shrimp.
3. Skip the cake. Instead of the big wedding cake, suggest that the venue create a wedding cake using mini cupcakes. The rule of thumb is that most guests take two bites of dessert and the remainder is tossed. Let your caterer know you want something that is tasty and a great photo op, but not something that re-creates Princess Diana’s. Set a budget for the dessert and stick to it.
4. Go seasonal. Serve seasonal vegetables instead pricier items that are out-of-season such as asparagus, artichokes and exotic fruits such as mangoes, papayas, etc.
5. Talk to the venue. Ask the venue whether you can purchase food on consumption. Many venues won’t propose this to a bride, but the benefit is that you pay for food and drinks that are actually consumed.
6. Negotiate with the reception hall. Maybe they’ll provide the space free with a guaranteed amount that you will spend on food and drinks. In addition, negotiate the contract where the venue reduces their service charge — perhaps from 18% to 16%.
7. Ditch the bottles. Request pitchers of water instead of bottled water.
8. Lunch over dinner. Negotiate for the luncheon menu for your evening dinner function. It’s basically the same menu and dinner menus always cost more.
9. Barter for complimentaries. Perhaps the venue will throw in charger plates, perhaps they will provide you with a one night stay if you are using a hotel.
10. Reduce the number of invited guests to your reception. Instead of 200 guests, you can probably live with 150. If you multiply 50 people x $40 per person, the savings is $2,000.
11. Research the venue. Consider their ‘peaks and valleys’ in deciding when to host your reception. You can negotiate a better price during a less popular season or timeframe. June, July and August weddings will cost you more.
12. Go smaller. Suggest using smaller plates to control guests’ consumption.
13. Buyer Beware – Do some research and compare whether the venue’s ‘wedding package’ will actually save you money. Many venues hire a florist to create the centerpieces and then mark up the price when offering them to you. It might be well worthwhile to hire your own florist. In addition, some deals sound too good to be true, and you’ll often end up spending more money in the long run. Save money, but be a wise and smart shopper in making decisions for your wedding needs.
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Greg Jenkins, partner of Long Beach-based event planning and production company, Bravo Productions, has 25-years of experience in the special events industry. Jenkins is a five-time Gala Award nominee and has won two Galas by Special Events Magazine. Find him on Facebook, Twitter, or reach him by email.
I bet you loved the convenience of a wedding website – the perfect place to keep your guests updated with pictures, information, and the registry. If a baby’s on the way, you might be missing the convenience of your wedding site as friends and family start peppering you with questions about due dates, gifts, and health updates. With Deposit a Gift, you can create a website just like you would for wedding with all the same convenience, but dedicated to your impending arrival!
Pregnancy is an exciting and busy time! Make it easier with a baby website. With all the important info in one place, you’ll take a lot of pressure off yourself to keep everyone updated!
If you’ve stepped foot in a baby store recently, then you know the overwhelming feeling that comes with endless choices between strollers, car seats, and cribs. Deciding which to register for can be a daunting task, but it shouldn’t be!  A baby registry is a great way to share with family and friends what you need and to let them help out.  But before you go registry crazy, be realistic about what you want – items that seem cool in the store might end up in their packaging forever or your baby will quickly outgrow. You want to think bigger picture and longer term than the first few months. Let’s face it, babies are expensive and most of the important baby needs are too.
Register For What You Really Need:
A Deposit a Gift registry lets you register for what you actually will use long term: money. But it’s not just money for money’s sake; it’s money to be used for exactly what you need, when you need it. You can register for things that you never could with traditional store, and you have the flexibility to buy as needed instead of everything at once, such as:
What are the Benefits of an Alternative Baby Registry?
Given that a lot of the baby gear decisions are based on lifestyle preferences, it’s important to give yourself the time and space to figure out your parenting style and what works for you. Therefore, a traditional registry can often be inefficient. An alternative baby registry is perfect for:
Registries are a fantastic way to make it easy for friends and family to know what you need, but you shouldn’t feel pressured to go the traditional route if that doesn’t fit your style. A Deposit a Gift registry can help you manage and customize what you buy for your new baby to give you the most flexibility with this new phase of life.
There’s so much advice teaching new moms how to keep it together fashion-wise after a little one arrives on the scene. As a men’s Image and Style Consultant perhaps Julie Rath of Rath & Co. is biased, but sometimes new dads have just as much trouble maintaining a fresh sense of style. The keys are to keep it straightforward and functional, and we’re so excited for Julie to share her six tips for new dads to do just that.
Masculine Baby Accessories
The heading may sound like an oxymoron, but there’s a whole industry catering to hip dads who don’t want to carry around flowered diaper bags. Companies like Diaper Dude and Storksak design bags with these dads in mind: they come in solid dark colors like carbon grey and army green, not to mention in brown and black leather.
Stylish Functionality
It’s no secret that you need to tote a lot of gear when you have kids. Luckily for the fashion-conscious dad, slim cargo pants are currently on-trend, so these guys can stow some of what they’ll need in those pockets for easy access. I like this khaki pair from Lands’ End Canvas, the black camo’s from Rogue or J Brand’s vintage trooper cargo.
Dark Matter
The first thing I usually hear from clients who are parents is how easy it is for clothes to get ruined from drips, drools and worse. With this in mind, new dads should look for machine washable clothes in forgiving dark colors.
Know Your Fabrics
Style-savvy dads can further protect their clothes by wearing stain-resistant fabrics. A company called Nano-Tex has engineered an incredible fabric called Nano-Care Stressfree that literally repels stains; brands like Gap, Levi’s and Eddie Bauer sell clothing made with this technology. New dads can also protect themselves from looking worn out by wearing fabrics that look better when a little wrinkled. Think chambray, linen or flannel shirts and washed cotton chinos from inexpensive stores like Uniqlo.
Basic Grooming
It can be easy to get lax about haircuts, hair trimming and shaving once the little one shows up, but part of looking good is maintaining these elements of style. Many hair stylists make house calls, making it easy to fit cuts into your busy schedule.
Stay Organized
When you’re sleep-deprived, you won’t want to contend with a messy, confusing closet. Clean and organize your closet regularly so you can get dressed quickly. And if you need help, call in a professional.
Most importantly for new dads: Have a clear game plan at the outset. There’s no need to descend to a dad jeans + hoodie combo when you can just as easily put on a casual sport coat and well-fitted jeans – even if you’re just heading to the park. I hope the above tips help, and I welcome your questions and comments!
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As seen on CBS’s The Early Show, in Men’s Health magazine and in The Wall Street Journal, Julie Rath runs Rath & Co., an Image and Style Consulting service that gives men an extra edge. Julie specializes in image and style strategy, color analysis, closet edits, wardrobe planning, and personal shopping. She hangs out mostly in stores and other peoples’ closets, but otherwise you can reach her at julie@rathandco.com or 646.434.7842.
Weddings are very traditional affairs – almost every aspect comes with its own history and ritual. Though tradition can be one of the most special parts of marriage, it sometimes blinds couples to all the possibilities available to get creative. What’s always worked for generations past may not make sense for many couples today.
Case In Point: the wedding registry. How many couples really need or even want table settings for twelve, or crystal bowls and vases? Especially in a city where extra space is hard to come by, the typical registry just doesn’t always make sense.
This is where a cash wedding registry comes in. It allows couples to register flexibly so that you aren’t stuck with physical items for which you aren’t ready or don’t have space. Using the format of a traditional registry to communicate your non-traditional wishes is a way to abide by etiquette and is sure to please guests because it looks, feels and functions just like a department store registry. This way you get exactly what you want, not ‘stuff’ you don’t and guests still have the fun of picking out a special gift. If you can dream it, you can add it! From honeymoons to home down payments, electronics to a Broadway show, even date nights and charity. Yes, it’s true, a non-traditional registry can include all that and more!
Register For Your Honeymoon
Modern minded couples who aren’t looking for more household items absolutely love honeymoon registries! Instead of dishes or towels, friends can give you nights in the honeymoon suite, flights to your dream destination, romantic dinners and all the memories that come with them.
Register For Your Home
A non-traditional registry is perfect for the big-ticket items that are difficult to register for at a department store because they make great group gifts. For city dwellers, fancy china and appliances are hard to fit into a small apartment. If you’d prefer is a new flat screen TV or new (grown up!) furniture, then put your guests’ generous gifts towards something that will truly be of use in married life.
Register For Date Nights and Hobbies
The fun doesn’t have to end after the honeymoon. Keep romance alive by asking that guests help you purchase dinners and tickets for date nights. Or, set aside some time for fun and register for what you love to do together, like camping equipment, beach supplies or cooking lessons.
Register For Cultural Activities
When you live in a place that’s just brimming with culture, it’d be a sin not to take advantage of it! Register for show tickets, museum passes and even yoga classes. What better way to use your gifts than by gaining new experiences?
Weddings are all about tradition, but be excited to go in a slightly different direction if that’s what is more meaningful for you.  Guests want to give you a special gift, so if the traditional ‘stuff’ isn’t for you, give them options that would really make you smile and that you’re sure not to return. There are lots of options out there to let your creativity run wild. Have fun and happy registering!
