Espace Wedding

Weddings are back in a big way now that COVID-19 has
settled down, but it’s pricier than ever because of inflation.

“The wedding dress is
up 21.4%,” says Caleb Silver, with Investopedia. “Flowers up 12.7%. Wedding
cakes up 11% and a photographer will cost you an additional 8.2%. For some
reason, grooms’ attire is actually cheaper by about 2% and if you’re looking at
bridesmaid dresses, they’re a little bit higher — 1 to 2%, so you may save a
little bit on the edges there.” 

Somerset-based wedding planners Planned With Grace specialize in
budget weddings, and the partners say there is absolutely no reason to
spend way too much on your special day, especially now, and they tell News 12
how they saved tens of thousands of dollars when they got hitched.

Planning a picture-perfect
wedding on a budget is far from easy, but the ladies started a wedding planning
business doing just that after how much they were able to save on their own
weddings.

“I want to say our wedding was valued at $50,000 and
we spent close to about 27,” says Bianca Vale-Peralta.

Vale-Peralta says stick to planning at least a year
out and book a venue during one of their “off season” months. She
needed a big venue for a big wedding but couldn’t afford to spend big bucks.

“The wedding was priced at
$35,000 when I checked on Wedding Wire and when I went to physically view the
venue the price on the contract was $9,000, and this was the price of the venue
rental — it came with tables chairs and the open space,” says Vale-Peralta.

Wedding Wire is an app that
gives you access to wedding vendors from florists to venues. Tip number two is
to bargain hunt with vendors online before ever leaving your home to pay them a
visit.

“I’m not the best creative person but when it came
to my wedding all these talents came out that I had no idea I had,” says Priscilla Lopez.

Tip number three is to make
your guest list the A list. Lopez only had 40 guests.

“We cut down our list by
more than half, we made it adult only and we found a restaurant where we
enjoyed having dinner,” says Lopez, who also bought most of her wedding decor online.

Some other money saving
ideas include maybe renting a wedding gown instead of buying one, or letting
your flowers do double duty by using your ceremony arrangements at the
reception.

That’s what Lopez did and
it’s part of the reason her wedding only cost $4,000. Since wedding gift costs
are up too, both women say brides should register on multiple retail websites
so there’s something to fit all your guests’ budgets.