Wedding Tips

10 Ways For Grooms To Save Money For The Big Day

It’s can be very easy for grooms to take a back seat when it comes to making arrangements for thier wedding day and let their bride to be take control but here are 10 Ways For Grooms To Save Money For The Big Day without too much effort!

1. Be involved in the wedding planning – keep an eye on what is being spent on what, printed silk napkins are lovely but…… If you do know what things cost, if you do not know about them!
2. Try and get three quotes for everything, and choose the best value for money quote – if you get only get two quotes one might be high, one might be low and you might not have any idea what the middle price range will bring. If you want a quote for a great wedding DJ click the link at the top!!
3. Spend money on the items that matter more to you and your guests, and not on the items that are ‘fluff’ – wedding favours can be lovely, but you would not believe the number that are left on the tables at the end of the night! It’s like leaving a £5 note eveywhere.
4. Cut down on your the numbers on your guest list that are invited to the meal – does your old flat mate your other half has not met and you have not seen seen in 5 years really deserve a table sitting?
5. Ask for discounts – get your quotes in, chose your favourite and then ask for a discount – you might not get one but if you do not ask you will not get them
6. Ask for money towards your honeymoon rather than gifts from people – many couple have established homes before they marry, so another 3 toast racks are not that useful.
7. Book your wedding during the off season or have it on a Sunday or mid week – many venues and suppliers offer discounts for off season dates and those not on a Friday or Saturday – bank holiday weekends can be ideal!
8. Be thrifty were it will not be noticed by your guests – will they notice if you just have plain table clothes and not those expensive to hire lace numbers? Most probably not. Will they notice the crap DJ they have had to ensure for 5 hours – they most probably will. Spend your money wisely.
9. Start saving early – weddings are not usually cheap due to the numbers of people involved – so start putting something away regularly to pay for it all. The earlier you start the easier it will be. Starting married life having to pay off the cost of a huge wedding is not ideal.
10. Set a budget for your wedding early on – researching for this will give you an idea of the total bill you are letting yourself in for for, the type of wedding you want. Keep track of what your are spending against the items in your budget and adjust spending accordingly. There will alway be something you have not thought about or something that is that little bit more extravagent than you has planner so add 10 % contigency to your budget to cover these and similar items.

By following the advice set out here listing 10 Ways For Grooms To Save Money For The Big Day, you will save money – it will not be an easy road, and sometimes there might be a bit of friction between you and your lovely bride to be, but by discussing it and doing it together, it will bring you closer together as a couple – hopefully!

Above all do not lose sight of the fact of why your are arranging this celebration in the first place.

Best Wishes and Good Luck

Wedding DJ Advice – Bridal Makeup

Now I am the first to admit that I am not an expert on bridal makeup, I could not tell you what skin type you have, or recommend the best foundation or lippy, but I do get to meet and talk to hundreds of brides every year.

Everyone of them, wants their day to be perfect, and spend much time and money  getting things just right, the perfect dress, lovely shoes,  beautiful accessories and the one area I think they should pay particular attention to is their bridal makeup.

You will most probably be meeting the most close friends and be photographed the most times on this one particular day than you will be for the rest of your life – so looking good all day long should be your top priority – getting your bridal makeup done by a professional is the way to go – it’s almost as important as getting the right Wedding DJ (See Enquiry Form below!!).

Here’s a link to an article that inspired me to remind you about this:-

http://www.lisafrechette.com/2013/03/wedding-tips-and-hints-face-to-face.html

As I previously stated, I’m not a bridal makeup expert, but when I meet my brides, I can usually tell, which ones have invested in a professional makeup artist and those that have not, there are exceptions, many of which are beauticians themselves, but there is a big difference between your normal makeup and preparing your makeup to last all day long.

There are obviously some brides that insist in doing their own make up, and would not trust their wedding makup to anyone else – no matter how good the other person was – and that is entirely their own choice – and as I always say it is your special day and it should be done done your way, but in the majority of cases hiring a professional makeup artist is a great investment for your special day – you will look great and be confident of looking good all day long.

I hope this gives a bit of guidance in preparing for your wedding day – a bit of pampering before the excitement begins is always helpful!

As you can see JMF Disco will provide you with all the help and advice you need to arrange your special day. With JMF Disco on board as your Wedding DJ you get more than just great music – we’ll also providing you with a custom Wedding Reception Planner to help organise your wedding day and the music you want to hear, to help make your wedding reception as stress free as possible!

Contact your John on Tel 01795 429777, Mobile 07895 546183 or by email to discuss your Wedding DJ needs or questions.

Click on the link for more Kent Wedding DJ advice.

Wedding Favours – Yes or No?

The tradition of giving wedding favours goes back many years but is starting to lose favour with cost conscious brides and grooms, so will you be giving out wedding favours – Yes or No?

As a rule of thumb all guests should receive the same wedding favours to emphasise that no guest is more important than another. Traditionally favours would consist of 5 items to represent the future health, wealth, happiness, longevity and fertility of the happy couple, often taking the form of 5 sugared almonds per guest. In recent times couples have moved away from this idea and favours come in all sorts of sizes, colours and prices including:

Flowers
Personalised chocolate bars
Tins of mints
Packs of seeds
Lottery tickets
Candles
Love Hearts
Alcohol miniatures
Small picture frames
Bubbles
Fans
Bath salts
Fortune cookies
Table trivia cards
Wine glass charms
Lip Balm
Fridge magnets
Key fobs
IPads (I wish!)

However do your guests really want these items? Often at the end of an evening, once you and your guests have disappeared, I look around the room and see many of these favours that have been left behind because they are either not wanted or forgotten about which is a bit disappointing (although after all these years I’m quite partial to a few handfuls of sugared almonds driving home!).

If you have 100 – 200 guests coming those favours will have cost quite a bit in terms of  either money buying the favours, or your, or someone else’s, precious time in making them and I have to ask would that £200, £300……. whatever the amount of money is or time, be better spent else where – maybe a better honeymoon or something for the house when you return?

I’m only letting you know what I see on a regular basis – only you can decide if it is to be wedding favours – yes or no?

Contact John on Tel 01795 429777, Mobile 07895 546183 or by email to discuss your Wedding DJ or Mobile Disco requirements or for any impartial practical wedding advice.

Looking for a wedding checklist?

I am a self confessed wedding checklist-aholic – if there is such a term!

One of the best investments you can make for your wedding is a small notebook – as small as possible to carry around with you where ever you go.

If you think of an idea, see something you might use for your wedding, a song you would like played at your wedding reception – anything that comes to mind write it down in your note book – those shoes, that tie, those shoes, that gift for the bridesmaid – wite it in your notebook. It will save you all the worry about forgetting things, and anything you do forget – where will it be………in your notebook – it will be the best 50p you spend on your wedding!

When you start out planning your wedding having a wedding checklist to act as a guide is very useful. There are loads of wedding checklists available on-line but none will be the perfect match for your wedding.

What I suggest is having a look at a few and form your own wedding checklist picking out the best and most relevant items and adding in your own.

Here are some examples from the internet I have research out for you to get you on your way:-

Get your big day organised and banish stress with our must-read wedding checklist!

18 months to go

•  
Announce your engagement!
•  
Talk about the kind of day you’d like
•  
Choose the type of ceremony you’d like
•  
Set your budget (and start saving!)
•  
Look at venue ideas
•  
Start your fitness and diet plan — now!

12 months to go

•  
Set a wedding date
•  
Choose bridesmaids and ask them
•  
Compile a guest list
•  
Arrange the wedding licence with registrar
•  
Book the registrar and time of ceremony
•  
Start a scrapbook or moodboard
•  
Book a photographer
• 
Start looking for the perfect dress!

Read more here

Rainbowclub.co.uk

As soon as possible

• Make key decisions – e.g. type of ceremony, wedding theme, colour scheme.
• Agree wedding budget
• It’s a great idea to set up dedicated bank account for all wedding costs
• Investigate venues and make a decision you both agree on and support
• Take out wedding insurance
• Book a church or approved a venue for ceremony
• Book ceremony time and date with minister or registrar
• Give notice at your local register office
• Book reception venue

Read more here

yourweddingmagine.co.uk

Wedding Plan Checklist

Planning a Wedding is simply getting organised. Our 12 month printable Wedding plan checklist which will help turn your dream into a reality!

12 Months or More Before the Wedding

• Announce your engagement
• Choose your engagement ring
• Determine the style and theme of your wedding whether this be (formal, semi-formal,informal)
• Make a list of what is important to you for a wedding this will help determine your budget
• Discuss the wedding budget and who will pay for what
• Decide on a wedding date and start searching wedding venues
• Find a wedding officiant (the person who will marry you) and apply for the necessary licence’s

9 To 11 Months Before the Wedding

Begin your search for vendors:

• Bridal Gown
• Formal Suit Hire
• Photographer
• Videographer

Read more here

I hope these wedding checklist tips have helped – buy that little notebook tomorrow and start using it!

When you have your wedding checklist – one of the items may well be wedding entertainment and in particular you might be looking for a good Wedding DJ.

Yes- you’ve guest it – I can help you in that department too!

Have a look at my Wedding DJ page for more details of the Wedding DJ service in Kent I offer and call me to discuss how I can help make your evening very special.

I like to provide my clients with that little bit more – I provide them with what they want, need and deserve for their wedding reception – it is a special occasion and should be treated as such. Doing it right requires a Wedding DJ with the right skills and resources that I will bring to your celebration.

It’s the personal attention to detail and planning that will bring your dream party to life. JMF Disco will provide you with all the help you need to organise your special day, including providing you with a custom Wedding Reception Planner (I love lists!) to help organise your special day and the music you want to hear to help make your evening unforgettable.

Contact John on Tel 01795 429777, Mobile 07895 546183 or by email to discuss your Wedding DJ requirements.

Check back soon for more great tips for your wedding or party on the JMF Disco Blog