Emily’s recent post on wedding favors got me thinking.  She’s right, it is really is hard to find a favor that is affordable, fits your wedding personality, and is something that your guest will appreciate, and actually use.

Over the years, I’ve been to over 200 weddings. And I can’t remember the favor from a single one.  Really, I can’t.

So, I took a look at the (millions of) favors available on Beau-coup.  And, speaking strictly as a guest, here are the four favors I would definitely make sure were in my bag before the end of the night.

This wrapped mint tins are $1.85 (if you buy at least 30).   And who doesn’t likes to have a mint in their desk or bag.

This could be my favorite. (Maybe it is because I’m always looking for my own coffee scoop). But I really would use this.  And I really would remember where I got it. The scoops are $1.85 – $2.50 (depending on the quantity).

I would definitely put this little flower pot on my window sill or desk. And they would look so sweet lined up on a table with a mixture of different flowers.  $2.50/pot, contents not included.

You can get these wine stops with hearts, shells, snowflakes, golf balls, or stars, but I like these starfish ones the best.  And as a wine drinker, I can attest to the handiness of these little devices.  The stoppers range in price, but start as low as $2.00. (The starfish are $2.50 – $2.95 depending on quantity).

Well, I’m finding that as I go along in my wedding planning, I’m learning things that I wish I would have known before I had started this whole mess (and when I say “mess”, I mean it only in the best sense of the word!)

Take rentals, which I haven’t discussed yet (it’s been a slow real-time planning week, which is why I’m going back to this now): expensive! I mean, I kind of remember reading a little something in some wedding planning book before I started the planning myself about how ten-cent silverwear and fifty-cent cups can really add up, but it didn’t actually get through my thick skull until I was sitting behind the desk at a rental place in Elkhart, waiting for the lady behind the desk to finish calculating the damage.

Seriously. For my wedding, it’s bad. My site fee only includes the site, and nothing else–which means that I have to rent the chairs, reception tent, tables, tablecloths, napkins, silverware, cups, plates, butter dishes, three-tiered trays (more about that ordeal later), pitchers, serving platters, caraffes, vases, and everything else I’m forgetting right now.

And then there’s the fact that it’s Elkhart. Martha Stewart, curses on her! She makes it look like it’s so easy to rent beautiful wedding-day items. Fifteen teapots with a floral motif? No problem! But wait a minute, big problem in Elkhart, a.k.a. podunk-town USA. What I’m trying to say is that the selection at the rental place in Elkhart (no names mentioned here) was measly, and I’m sure it would have been the same at any of the other rental places in the city. I mean, we’re talking three plate patterns here. They did have some pretty cool highball glasses, I have to give them that.

And I just had to have a tea. The lady at the rental place who helped us was lacking in knowledge, to say the least. When I told her we were going to have a tea, she looked confused. “You know, with the three-tiered trays that hold the tea cakes and scones and things…” She still looked confused.

Jarrod’s mom, Kelly, did an amazing internet search and found a place in Midway, Illinois that had an abundance of three-tiered trays for us to rent! It also had some wonderful plates in the perfect style for the reception. I still have to use the Elkhart place for the tent rental, as mandated by my venue’s rules, but Classic Party Rentals, the rental place in Midway, is pretty awesome, and has a much better selection.

One day this spring, I was to fly out to Colorado through the Midway airport, so Kelly and I went up to Classic Party Rentals to check out the stuff and put a deposit down.

The experience there was about sixty times better. Meg, the woman who helped us, was planning her own wedding, so she knew what she was talking about. We got our own room to the side, and she had set up a little demo table so we could see what the reception table would look like. Also, the selection there was huge! Kinda stinks that it’s three hours away from the actual wedding, but what can I say? It’s what Bridezilla wants.

Okay, well I was trying to upload a picture of the set table that I took at Classic Party Rentals, but it’s raining here, and my internet’s being kind of slow. So expect that either later this week or next week! It’s pretty cool…I’m pretty excited…It’s breaking my budget! Eh. It’s what I get for being picky, right? Right-o.

I often read how hiring a wedding planner can actually save you money, but I’m always left wondering how? And how much?

Monica Saenz is a San Antonio wedding planner at Dos Chicas who recently emailed me an amazing wedding she planned with a $15,000 budget – and how she was able to save the bride and groom over $8,000.  She achieve the couple’s dream wedding for 160 guests. And proves that a wedding planner who knows who to call and how to negotiate can definitely save you money (not to mention stress).

Here’s how Monica made the numbers work:

INVITATIONS-STATIONARY
We went to my favorite invitation place where invites can go anywhere from $2.50-$12.75 a set.  We discussed different budget options and chose a selection that folds itself into an envelope, for about $1.70 a set.  They even made a separate invite for $0.89 cents in Spanish for the couple.

The couple also saved money by having friends and family print their ceremony programs, table numbers and escort cards with a little help and our templates. This saved them more than $700!

VENUE-
Since the couple had family coming from Mexico, California and regions of Texas, we knew we wanted to show off the historic San Antonio Riverwalk. But with catering prices at $60 and up, we definitely could not choose this option.  I talked to one of our venues who is managed by the city of San Antonio and they worked out a $1600 dollar rental INCLUDING tables, chairs, set up and clean up.  It was a very modern, contemporary space with a patio that overlooked the river walk and two huge walls with windows leading to the patio.  They fell in love and we were so happy to be able to afford it!

CATERING-BAR-
Armed with an approved catering list of 12 vendors, and a vast knowledge of each of them, we scheduled a tasting with two potential caterers.  We chose to go with a buffet dinner to save on labor costs and worked a deal with the agency to put together an ALL INCLUSIVE PACKAGE.  This included dinner, beverage, china, glassware, flatware, floor length linens, chair covers, coordinating sash and candle centerpiece for only $20 per person!  (This usually runs $25 per person plus $35 per table of 8)  With the money we saved we were able to add hand passed appetizers for the cocktail hour and a hosted bar package of beer and margaritas for $11 per person. By limiting the beverage choices we cut costs and still allowed guests to pay for premium liquor if they chose.   Total catering and bar savings was over $1500!

MUSIC
We saved them $100 by referring a preferred group for their dinner music and they saved $200 by shopping around for the right DJ online and allowing us to assist with their final choices.

FLORAL
The bride was not very particular about her floral needs and had no idea what flowers cost or how they quickly the price can add up.  We decided to only have flowers made for the bridal party.  Since the caterer included floating candle centerpieces, we created a centerpiece design with candles, feathers, and ribbon and then suggested the bride purchase the items wholesale to keep h er centerpiece cost under $4.  It was the only wedding we had ever done without floral centerpieces, however it turned out beautifully.  She was happy she had her friends and family help her tie the ribbons and create the look, and this saved her almost $1000!

CAKE
Instead of opting for a traditional cake, the bride had an idea for a cupcake cake.  Average cake slices start at $3.50 a slice in San Antonio, so we recommended to Cupcake Couture.   Prices started at $2 a cupcake, and we added a small 6′topper so the Bride and Groom could still do the traditional cake cutting.  They loved how we were able to tie in the colors and theme and save $250!

LIGHTING
I knew a lighting specialist, Illuminating Celebrations, who was trying to get his business more exposure.  After working three weddings with him previously I knew he would be happy to help this couple get what they wanted.  His lights are 100% LED and really make any room pop and look like a platinum wedding.  He was able to give us more than half off the lighting quote based on the fact that it would be a new venue where he could possibly earn preferred vendor status.  He called this the wedding planner discount, the bride and groom loved it! We saved $650!

FAVORS
The couple really did not know what to do for favors and the ideas that they originally presented were about $2.50-$3.50 per person.  Based on their Hispanic Heritage, we suggested they use the traditional Mexican cookies and package them in a unique way as a sweet thank you to guests. An Aunt of theirs was happy to bake them and they purchased packaging for $ 0.75 a box.  It was truly personalized with print at home labels and ribbon, saved them over $300!

PHOTO
Average cost in San Antonio is $3500 for a talented photo journalistic wedding photographer with experience.  I knew vendor, Nachyelli, who has recently opened her own business but had been doing photography for almost ten years.  Her style was a perfect fit for the couple. We were able to get a $2000 package for $1500 since her date was still open and she was willing to work with a planner.    We saved almost $2000!

ACCOMMODATIONS
A soon as they told me about the out of town guests I knew we would need a room block.  We researched and found a hotel with free hot breakfast, complimentary evening beverages, and high speed internet and across the street from the reception, it was a perfect fit!  After a little negotitating with the Sales Managers I was able to get their rooms starting at $135/night instead of $189.  Since we secured over 20 rooms, the Honeymoon suite was complimentary for two nights and the Sales Manager threw in comp nights for me to stay and handle any issues that came up.  This made the couple so comfortable knowing they had me there at anytime and directly saved them more than $500!

TRANSPORTATION
Originally the couple wanted to hire a hummer limo to transport their family/wedding party from hotel to ceremony then back to reception.  We saved $250 by booking a stretch limo and having it make three trips instead of one, plus the cost per hour was negotiated to half the hourly wait during the ceremony idle time.

Enjoy the pictures from their friendly photographer!

Whenever I start to think that I’m not a total sucker for weddings anymore, I watch a video like this.  Honestly, I tear up every time I see it (usually at the part where he watches her come down the aisle).   Take a look and see if it does the same for you.

Michelle + John Highlights from StillMotion on Vimeo.

And if you want even more chills, revisit the video from Rosalind and Jonas!