You are engaged...now the wedding planning starts!  One of the most popular topics of conversation is how brides and grooms can save money when they are planning their wedding.  It is important to understand, you don’t have to sacrifice hiring quality wedding vendors to save money!  Remember, it's one of the most important days of your life so make it meaningful and special to you!

STEP ONE

When you are starting your wedding planning process, sit down with your fiancé and establish a budget. Talk with your parents and see if they are going to contribute to wedding financially so you know what you have to work during the planning process.

STEP TWO

Sit down with your fiancé and create a list of what are the most important elements of your wedding.  Use this list as a guideline when creating a budget for each element of your wedding.  Remember, it is what is important to you as a couple and every couple is different.  Here is a list of “elements” to a wedding that you can consider when creating your list;

Reception Venue                            

Ceremony Site                 

Photography                     

Videography

Ceremony Musicians                     

DJ or Band                          

Catering/Food                  

Cakes & Sweets

Invitations                                          

Wedding Planner            

Décor & Rentals               

Transportation

Wedding Dress                                

Tuxedo/Suites                 

Officiate/Clergy               

Flowers

Photo Booth                                     

Bar Service                        

Wedding Bands               

Honeymoon

Hotel/Accommodations                 

Rehearsal Dinner            

Hair & Makeup                 

Linens & Place Settings

Favors & Gifts                                   

Calligraphy                         

Guest Experiences         

Other Entertainment

 

STEP THREE

Attend one of our Premier Bride Expos and pick up your copy of Premier Bride Magazine of Northeast Florida!  The expos allows you to “Speed Date” wedding vendors and can offer discounts!  The magazine is packed with many other tips and advice on all aspects of the wedding planning process!

 Here are tips from each segment of the wedding planning process;

Wedding Planner Tips

1.      Hiring a wedding planner can save you money in the long run.  Experienced wedding professionals know many tips that can help you save money and eliminate expensive mistakes and misjudgments

2.       If you can’t afford a full wedding planner, consider hiring a Day of Coordinator.  The day of coordinator will work with all of your vendors and confirm times and keep you on schedule all day long

3.       Hiring a coordinator/wedding planner that is newer to the industry might be less expensive than one with many years of experience

 

Reception Venue Tips

1.       Reduce the number of guests you invite to the wedding!  The more people  you invite, the more of everything you need including; food, invitations, tables, flowers, and more

2.       Reception venues typically have different pricing structures depending on the day of the week.  Saturday’s are the usually the most expensive.  For a more cost effective option, think about a Friday, Sunday or weekday wedding

3.       Having a morning wedding and serving brunch can be a less expensive option in some cases

4.       Time of the year, Jacksonville’s more popular wedding months are October, November, March, April and May

5.       Avoid holiday’s and other major events like TPC or Florida vs. Georgia weekend

 

Ceremony Tips

1.       Having the ceremony in the same location as your reception saves on transportation costs

2.       Use pre-recorded music instead of live music

3.       Reduce the number of ceremony musicians from multiple musicians to one or two. 

 

Photography Tips

1.       Many photographers have pricing structures that correlate with the number of hours they work, to save money, hire them for 6 hours opposed to 10-12

2.       The time of year and the day of the week can affect the price for your photographer

3.       A lot of photographers also bring a second or third shooter with them, only having one photographer can also save you money

4.       Don’t order your photo album right  away, wait until after the wedding when you can save money to purchase your album

 

Videography TIps

1.      Consider hiring a videographer for fewer hours of coverage or only covering the ceremony part of the wedding

2.      Just like reception venues and photographers, the date of wedding could affect the price

3.      Some videographers are also photographers and vice versa, to save money on both services, considering hiring a company that offers both

Cake & Sweet Tips

1.      Instead of paying for multi-level cake to serve to all of your guests, make a smaller cake for pictures and serve sheet cakes to your guests

2.      Cupcakes can eliminate the “cake cutting” cost at some venues

3.      Having a sweet/candy table can reduce the cost of buying in bulk and you have the containers available

 

Catering & Bar Service Tips

1.      Smaller guest list means less alcohol you have to serve

2.      Limit your open bar hours so it does not cover the entire wedding reception  

3.      Just serve beer or wine and/or have a signature drink

4.      Plated dinners might cost less, but there are additional staff needed to serve

5.      Tell your caterer what budget you have in mind “Per person” – have them discuss options with you to create a menu that fits within your budget

6.      Talk to a few catering companies and get quotes to compare. 

 

Invitation Tips

1.      Size of the envelope, weight and thickness effects the postage rate – take to post office before mailing

2.      Addressing correctly will eliminate the returns, so make  sure you understand the USPS rules for addressing envelopes

Transportation Tips

1.      Having your ceremony and reception at the same location cuts costs on transporting the wedding party

2.      Most transportation companies charge by the hour with a minimum number of hours.  If you are having your ceremony and reception in different locations, have them close together in time to reduce the number of hours

Wedding Dress Tips

1.      All bridal salons have sales racks and many of them will sell you the sample dresses – don’t be afraid to ask

2.      Bridal salons also have trunk shows for wedding dress designers.  These trunk shows typically offer discounts or sales.   

3.      Buy your dress 9-12 months out to avoid rush fees

 

Tux Tips

1.       Attending a bridal show will get you discounted rates on your tux rentals

Flowers

1.      Reduce the number of attendants to reduce the number of bouquets and boutonnieres you need to have

2.      Fewer wedding guests, fewer number of tables you need to decorate with center pieces

3.      Use flowers that are in season, talk to your florist about flowers that are easier to order

4.      If you are trying to achieve a certain look (height or fullness for arrangements) work with a florist to find alternative flowers that might not be as expensive.

5.      Use the bridesmaids bouquets as centerpieces or to decorate the head table

6.      Florists that have storefronts typically purchase flowers in bulk at wholesale pricing, working with storefront florists could save you money

DJ’s & Musicians

1.      The day of the week and the month of your wedding can affect the price

2.      Larger DJ companies with multiple DJ’s have different rates.  Less experienced DJ’s charge less but still bring great equipment and the customer service is still great

3.      Bridal shows offer discounts

4.      Shorter reception times can reduce the cost

5.      Providing your own ceremony and cocktail music can reduce the DJ cost

6.      Having a wedding coordinator that handles the reception events (dances, cake cutting, bouquet tossing, etc) can reduce the cost of your DJ

7.      Have a bridesmaid or sister that is also getting married?  Booking the same DJ (or the same wedding vendors for that matter) could get you discounts! 

 

 

Just remember that hiring a true wedding professional will save you money and time in the long run.  Individuals and businesses that work weddings every weekend do it because they love helping brides and grooms create the wedding of their dreams.  Many of them have done hundreds, if not thousands of weddings so and they love to offer advice and tips to their clients….take advantage of their knowledge and experience.  You do not have reduce the quality of wedding vendors you hire…you just have to prioritize what is important to you, be honest with the vendors about budget, and plan smarter!

 

Save

Jacksonville, get ready for the “Rock N Roll” Premier Bride Expo happening on June 12^th at the Prime Osborn Convention Center!

The theme for the expo is inspired from the fashion and décor photo shoot that happened for the new edition of Premier Bride Magazine!

Over 40 wedding vendor came together to create over 5 table scapes, 6 guest experiences, and  17 wedding gowns for the “Rock N Roll” spread.  Make sure you pick up the newest copy of the magazine at the show and check out the décor showcase that is all about “Rock N Roll!” 

Expect to meet well over 100 of the top wedding professionals in the Jacksonville and surrounding area at the show.  There will be vendors representing all aspects of the wedding planning process.   There will be wedding venues, photographers, invitations, honeymoons & travel, catering companies, cake & sweets, videographers, bridal salons, beauty, health, grooms wear, florists, DJ’s & musicians, transportation, accessories, and so much more!

We encourage all brides & grooms to attend with their significant other!  It is also recommended that you only bring other people to the show who are part of the decision making process.  Large groups of people are always welcome, but if you are coming to the show to book your wedding vendors, having a large entourage it can be harder to talk to everyone you want too.

Another trick is to print labels so you can peel and stick instead of writing out all of our information.  Most vendors will have prizes at their booths, but they do require filling out a registration form.  Your labels should include your name, phone, email, wedding date and address! 

We also suggest pre-registering  and pre-paying for the bridal show online and printing out your tickets.   This will allow for a speedy entry at the show.  If you can not print out your tickets, don’t worry, we will be able to look up your registration and payment online.  This line is sometimes long, so if you can print your tickets out that would be best!

Tickets are $8 online or $12 at the door.  Doors open at 1 pm to 4 pm!

 

If you are planning a wedding...make sure you plan with us!

The Premier Bride Expo is headed back to the Renaissance Resort at World Golf Village in St. Augustine Florida on February 28^th!  The doors open to the brides, grooms, friends and family from 1-4 pm.

No matter what stage you are in the wedding planning process the Premier Bride Expo has something for you.  We have vendors representing over 20 different wedding categories;  Bridal Attire to Videography, Catering to Transportation, Cakes to Photography, Dance Instruction to Rentals and Décor, DJ’s to Reception Venues,  Flowers to Tuxedos and so much more!

Every bride or couple receives a swag bag when the attend the expo. 

Discounted tickets can be purchased online on this website or you can buy your ticket at the door. 

Make sure you pick up the latest copy of Premier Bride Magazine or check it out online here!

On January 10^th the Premier Bride Expo débuted at the Prime Osborn Convention Center,  in the heart of downtown Jacksonville.  This show was the first time the Premier Bride Expo was held at the Prime Osborn and it was a huge success.  On Sunday afternoon close to 650 brides/grooms walked the halls and met over 110 professional wedding vendors.

The show had Jacksonville’s and surrounding areas top wedding professionals exhibiting at the bridal show.  These top vendors represented over 20 different categories that are all part of the wedding planning process.  Since there is always a wide variety of wedding vendors at each Premier Bride Expo it does not matter what stage of the wedding planning process you are at…there is always something for you to see, find and learn!  We have vendors that represent reception venues, photography, bridal attire, videography, wedding cake, catering, invitations, travel and honeymoons, jewelry and so much more. 

At each show the Premier Bride Expo has live music, a décor showcase, fashion, food and plenty of prizes and give-a-ways! 

Here are some pictures of the latest show!