What's are some ideas to save money of my wedding?

- my wedding is april next year


- i have already booked the chapel and reception


- i have booked the DJ, celebrant, photographer


- i found a dress on Ebay i like


- the men are buying pants and shirts from Myer, K-mart


- it's a hawaiian themed wedding


- i'm buying $30 shoes





how can i save money on flowers, invitations, bridesmaids dresses, hair %26amp; make-up, etc?


anybody have any good ideas?

What's are some ideas to save money of my wedding?
Make-up you can do yourself, start practicing, and figure our what you like, and same with your girls... If you know anyone that is good with hair, then ask them for some tips, or see if they will do it, for a lesser price, or you could attempt to do it yourself...





Flowers, could be silk or fake, and you could just use real flowers for yourself and bridesmaids..





Dresses: Google "bridesmaids dresses" and you can be sure to find cheap and nice dresses, or shop around, same with shoes...





Invitations, can be made up by you and your girls, along with RSVP cards, otherwise you can set up a free wedding website, and put all details into it, and have people RSVP on your site... I am currently on this site, and its so much easier...





http://www.momentville.com





It will explain how to set it up, and you can just email everyone, and get them to check it out, and to add themselves once it is set up. For those that do not have access to a comp, but you know are coming, then you can add them yourselves..





If its a Hawaiian theme, then you could scour the internet and ebay for lei's and whatever else... Unless they have a shop somewhere in your town that sells them..





*Added*





If you are unsure about the website, then I would be happy to show you mine, you can send me a private msg, and I will let you look at it, just so you get an idea of what you can do...
Reply:Old Navy has some really pretty hawaiian print sun dresses right now, you could probably find them on sale. Target.com has very reasonable bridesmaids dresses. You could do something very simple like one calla lily or one orchid for your bridemaids mixed with some greens and babies breath, or there are some really pretty silk flowers you can get now very reasonable. You could either have a florist make them or see if one of your friends is handy making bouquets. The nice thing about working with silk flowers is if you don't like the way it looks, you can take them apart and redo them easily. I made my own baskets of flowers for the alter in the church from silk flowers and they were gorgeous, and no one even knew they were silk! If you or any of your friends is computer savy, you could make your own invitations on your computer, or kinko's is very inexpensive!
Reply:do the invitiations yourself, don't pay someone, or go to kinkos its so much cheaper (paper is like 5.99 for a pack of 20) if you have a friend that can do hair, have her help with the hair or go to a beauty college.


bridesmaid dress can be sundresses from Target or K-mart, which are going on sale soon.


flower could be kept at a minimum with ribbons and other thinkgs (candles maybe) as fillers.
Reply:Flowers, I'd go here... can be a little pricey, but definitely worth it...: http://www.designsbyjan.com/





Bridesmaid dresses, go here: http://www.shopshop.com/





Invitations here: http://www.annsbridalbargains.com/





And do your make-up and hair on your own...
Reply:jcpennys for the bridesmaid dress or another store like it much cheap then salons. If you have a printer go to walmart and get do it yourself invitions my cousin did hers from there and they were very nice and affordable there are some choices to pick from too. this sites pretty cheap but has nice stuff as well.


http://www.orientaltrading.com/ui/shared...
Reply:elope...my husband and i got married in a body shop. Yes, a body shop! The owner was also a preacher, and he pulled his mechanic out from under a car to witness it. It was actually very sweet, and after 8 years I have no regrets.
Reply:Wedding Coupons...
Reply:Craigslist has several people that can do flowers hair and makeup for a good price.
Reply:1. Buy flowers from the grocery store, my parents did and didn't regret it.


2. For bridesmaid dresses, buy from here, my sister did for her wedding and loved them:


http://www.therosedress.com/dresses/dres...


3. Do your own hair%26amp;make up or see if you can get your mom, step-mom, grandma, aunt, cousin,etc. to do it for free!


4. Buy favors from here:


http://www.shopforweddings.com/shopforwe...


5. Get invatations from here:


http://www.vistaprint.com/custom-invitat...


or http://www.southworth.com/page.php?id=12...





Also, you can get cool centerpieces at Oriental Trading:


http://www.orientaltrading.com/ui/search...





Good luck!





EDIT:


Oh and for food! Buy a cake from your grocery store and also for the main courses and such, you can make the wedding pot luck or make the food yourselves!
Reply:Hi and congratulations!





You are doing very well so far....good for you!





~ Invitations:


Get one of the "kits" that are sold at Michaels, Hobby Lobby, Walmart, Target, Office Max. These run about $25-$30 for a box of 50. You get the invitation, envelope, reception or RSVP card and envelope, and anything "extra" like ribbon.


There are many different "sets" to choose from. Then, you bring them home....format the type yourself on your computer and print them off! Very inexpensive and they are beautiful!





~ Flowers AND Cake:


Check out grocery stores that have a floral department and a bakery. These will be substantially cheaper than a regular florist. Or....check out a regular florist and a bakery too!! Cost compare everything! Usually, however, the ones at the grocery stores are cheaper. If you live by a Costco, Walmart, or Publix....their cakes are really good! Yummy!





For the flowers: choose a lower cost flower (like carnations or daisies). They will be cheaper than roses, calla lillies, etc.





~ Brisemaids dresses:


Check out JCPenney:


http://www5.jcpenney.com/jcp/X5.aspx?Dep...





Check out Target:


http://www.target.com/b/ref=sc_fe_l_1_16...





OR, this one:


http://www.bridesonlinestore.com/





~ Hair and Makeup:


I'm not sure about hair. You may just have to spend the money and go to a good stylist. You don't want a "hair disaster" on your wedding day. For your makeup....go to a retailer with various cosmetics counters (like in a mall). Most of these places will do your makeup. I don't know what they charge.
Reply:If you can do your flowers yourself (or with a friend or relative) you can save anywhere between hundreds and thousands of dollars, depending on the type and how many.





This is where I got my flowers from and then arranged them myself. They were the most beautiful roses (they have more than roses), their customer service was fantastic, and I saved about $2000 off what local florists were quoting me!





http://www.freshroses.com/weddingflowers...





My sister in law is using this company to make her own lei's (they got married in Hawaii and are having a reception here) and also using the individual flower heads in the centerpieces, along with shells and sand...





Flowers:


http://www.paradiseflowers.com/leiflower...


Shells: (the 5lb. bulk ones)


http://www.saltwaterobsession.com/store/...


Favor Idea:


http://www.weddingfavorsunlimited.com/co...


This is what I am actaully making for her as favors for guests:


https://www.cakesnthings.com/scripts/pro...


http://www.countrykitchensa.com/catalog/...





We are doing clear celophane bags with chocolate palm trees (they will be green and brown) along with a pair of chocolate flip flops (they will be purple/yellow and blue/pink). It turns out to be a very inexpensive project...





I hope this gives you some ideas and I'd be happy to share more if you would like!