Frugal Wedding?

Prom dresses are available during May and June for low low prices. For $50 or less. Some of them are white or ivory.

Simple food, cooked yourself, is supposedly more work than having a catered reception. And yet, hunting up which caterer, and making decisions about menu, and checking to make sure it's being done right ... that's not necessarily easier than sandwiches and carrot sticks. On the other hand, Andrew and I got four grocery carts full of food today and had to be wise packers to manage to fit it all into the car to bring it home. And we bought wedding items last week and have to get more produce later this week. Whoa!

Office Max sells invitation kits. You just print 'em up with your computer. It's possible to skip the response cards (have people phone or email), or save postage by using postcards for responses instead of envelopes.

Get the music you want at the reception instead of the music the DJ wants. Burn CDs and plunk them into a boombox. Forget the DJ. You might even consider outrageous things for reception entertainment, like playing football. But the guests might want to know to bring shorts and t-shirts for after the ceremony.

A nice new suit is about twice the cost of a tux rental. And the suit can be worn for many years. Or maybe the guys already have suits. Do the guys really need to be exactly matched?

Rather than trying to find a less expensive way to do something, rethink whether you need to do it at all. For example, do you really need napkins and candy packages and matches engraved with the bride&groom's names and the wedding date? Do the mothers and fathers need corsages and boutonnieres? Will guests be disappointed if there are not party favors? Of course, some couples will want these things, and that's great too. But if you can't afford it, no sense trying to have these things just because you're "supposed to."

When I was checking out of the grocery store last week (with gobs of paper plates and cups and pop and water jugs) the clerk asked about our party. I told her it was for my daughter's wedding. She asked how many people we were having. I told her about 130-150. She said, "Wow, that's a big wedding!" Funny -- for most of the people that I know, 150 is a SMALL wedding. I was told Katie and Nathan's (with 65 guests) last summer was an "intimate wedding" (apparently one step up from "private").