1.Go Eco-Friendly
Photo: http://www.flickr.com/photos/rene_ehrhardt/
Most Top 10 lists end with the best that it is offering, but let’s start this one with the best, or at least most original: recycling aluminum. Check out the website called Wedding Cans. It sounds weird, but only a month after the woman started the project, it was making news. Check out the Wedding Cans journal for a full report on the media madness.
2. Corporate sponsorship
This is another sort of strange idea that I came across on Wise Bread. Sure, it could be seen as “selling out” and turning something that some people consider “sacred” into a commercial, but who are we kidding here? Weddings have been as commercialized as Christmas, so grow up. If you agree to have corporate logos or feature products at your wedding, you can avoid having to pay back personal loan companies.
3. Participate in a dare
One pretty bizarre idea that I saw on Romance Fire is to “take a video of yourself conquering a known fear if the price is right.” Yes, in the grand tradition of “Fear Factor” and “Jackass,” one groom suggests you harness the power of mortification.
4. Use your registry
The website Worst Case Scenarios opines that you could put items for the wedding, like limo services, flower arrangements, and food and beverage, could be put in the registry instead of for gifts.
5. Sell Stuff Off
Of course, there are numerous tip lists out there that suggest you sell your stuff, either online, at a yard sale or some other way. Maybe you could hold an auction.
6.Simply Ask
You could start a website, or social networking group, and solicit donations like other people do for other charitable causes.
7. Have everybody pitch in
Similar to the registry idea, which has people helping pay for the wedding instead of just buying gifts, you can ask certain people, close friends and family members, to pay for one thing. For instance, someone could pay for the cake; another person could fund wedding favors. Pick the stuff you want and tell people that’s what you want as your gift.
8. Vacation home instead of wedding hall
This is how to save money instead of make it, but it’s a good idea. Wedding halls know they can gouge you, and they do – they can cost thousands per hour. Check for nearby vacation home rentals and hold the reception in a beautiful house or yard. You can rent these places for days and still spend less than a few hours at a hall.
9. With a little help from your friends
This isn’t so much for the bride and groom, it’s for the guests who are getting fed and possibly drunk at YOUR wedding. A common custom in some places is to hold a “Jack and Jill,” which is a big party in honor of the bride and groom, and charge $5 or so to get in. The happy couple gets the cash.
10. Plan ahead
Pretty much every site I’ve gone to suggests that you plan ahead and save money in advance. They also suggest getting a second job or offer a service and put money aside. That’s obvious, but it merits a mention because weddings are incredibly expensive things.
