All images courtesy of Project Wedding.

The Look For Less is a regular feature on our blog.  We’ve reached out to leading wedding planners to get their expert advice on how to get a great look at your wedding, without breaking the bank.

I love today’s feature by Lynda Barness at I DO Wedding Consulting in Philadelphia. The idea is so simple and smart.  And when you think about napkins as part of your decor, instead of just well, napkins, it really can enhance your look.  Without adding cost.

This means many things but above all, try sourcing your flowers locally from local floral producers or even from farmers markets.  Put your flowers together yourself or make sure you work wit a local florist who is game to source things locally.  This not only decreases the carbon footprint of your wedding (dahlias from down the road versus tulips from the Netherlands), but saves you money because the flowers had to travel a shorter distance to make it from their home to your florist and into your gorgeous wedding centerpieces.

Another great idea is to have your caterer source their food locally.  This is now becoming a very hot trend (hopefully one that sticks) with restaurants and caterers. (You may not even need to suggest it, but be sure that you ask). The more “farm to table” you can get with your food items, the better off your budget will be and again, the friendlier it is to our planet.

When looking at the overall scope of your wedding, do the best you can to go local with all of your vendors.  Choose a tent company in your home town rather than one a town over, even if they have a style you like better.  Get invitations made from recycled paper (Crane’s, for example, uses all recycled paper), and find a band that is in town rather than one you need to fly in from New York City.

Every choice you make for your wedding impacts the environment and your pocketbook.  Why not choose local and affect them both positively?

We’ve reached out to leading wedding planners to get their expert advice on how to get a great look at your wedding, without breaking the bank. You can find all of these amazing tips in our The Look For Less category.

Today’s post was written by Grace Beason of Grace Leisure Events. They specialize in sophisticated, innovative and unforgettable weddings and events in North Carolina and beyond. Owner and head planner Grace L.P. Beason combines Manhattan style, savvy and class with Southern charm, wit and beauty creating events that are truly unique, and uniquely you.

I know what you have to say – Carnations – really?!!?!?? Yes – Carnations! They are a beautiful choice when appropriately used – plus they are a super affordable option and come in such a wide verity of colors they are the perfect flower for many wedding applications.

We searched the web for some great images of carnation uses at weddings and found these for you to check out. They are great for structured looks – like balls, and tight arrangements. I agree, they are not a great filler flower – they tend to stick out, but check out these great applications and uses of carnations and I dare you to tell me that they are not beautiful!

Photo courtesy of Wedding Jeannie.

Photo courtesy of Cornerstone Events.

Here is a wedding that I did this past August. Alicia’s colors were Navy and Hot Pink – and to her florist and my delight – she loved carnations and wanted her girls to carry hot pink carnation bouquets. The girls flowers really pop off their dresses, and were exactly what Alicia was looking for. It was perfect, and since she saved on their bouquets, she was able to splurge on her own bouquet of Calla Lilly’s!

The Look for Less is posted monthly.

About: Tricia Huddas & Co. specializes in destination weddings in historic Savannah Georgia and the Southeast.  Whether you are planning an intimate evening or a bold affair, Tricia Huddas & Co will bring your event together with style, elegance and grace.

They are eye-catching and, if you shop around, can be purchased on the cheap.  Potted plants are an amazing way to bring color and flowers into your wedding décor for a fraction of the price of cut flowers – and the abundant blooms on these Autumn treasures are the ultimate example.  Imagine them lining your aisle or the foot of the altar!  The right size could even be a full and beautiful centerpiece.

And don’t forget another benefit of potted plants – they are packaged to last!  Send them home with your guests, decorate your new nest or donate them to a local school, nursing home, or church.

Today’s The Look for Less was written by Ainsley Crowell  of Tricia Huddas & Co.

About: Tricia Huddas & Co. specializes in destination weddings in historic Savannah Georgia and the Southeast.  Whether you are planning an intimate evening or a bold affair, Tricia Huddas & Co will bring your event together with style, elegance and grace.

The Look for Less is posted on the first Monday of each month.

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!

The store’s owner, Wendy Beard, has some really great tips for cutting down on your invitation costs. (The embosser alone could save you $350!).  Take a look at Wendy’s smart advice:

• The printing method makes a huge impact on price.  Traditional engraving (where you can feel the ink when you run your finger over it) or letterpress (where the letters are indented into the paper) is 30-50 percent more expensive than thermography (which still has a raised-ink feeling).  Flat printing, as with a laser printer, is even less expensive.

• Purchase a return address embosser instead of having your return address printed on the envelopes. An embosser costs about $42-60, but return address printing will cost you at least $1 per envelope.  If you have a wedding with 200 guests, and you use the embosser for your wedding invitations and your thank-you notes, then you’ll save about $350.  And of course you can continue to use the embosser for personal stationery, invitations and other correspondence long after the wedding.

• Certain brands are more expensive than others.  Modern, high-end brands like Kashube and Lallie can cost as much as $30 an invitation.  Traditional brands like Crane and William Arthur have similarly expensive options, but they also have designs that are significantly cheaper.  William Arthur recently introduced a more affordable line called Rita Renning, which uses the same high quality paper, but arrives unassembled.  You’ll spend time putting everything together (like ribbons or vellum overlays) but you’ll save on cost.

• Stick to one or two colors – the more ink colors you use, the more you’ll pay.

• The design of the card is what really makes the statement – the rest is just icing.  Find a design you love, and if it is too expensive, have it printed on a lighter-weight paper.

• Opt for an unlined envelope, or skip the inner envelope altogether.

• Skip Save-the-date cards, particularly if most of your guests are local or if you can send the invitations early.  Or use postcards instead of a traditional envelope and card.

• Eliminate a separate reception card by listing wedding and reception information on the same card.  Or use vellum, which is lightweight and will help save on postage.

• Use response postcards – you’ll save on cost and on postage to and from.

• Bring your invitation to the post office and have them calculate the exact postage instead of rounding up.

• Choose a standard envelope size; square or differently shaped envelopes will cost more to mail.

• Professional calligraphers charge upwards of $1 per invitation.  Find a friend with nice handwriting, or print addresses from a computer.

With Adorn Brides, you can rent some truly stunning diamond or gemstone jewelry for your wedding – at a very reasonable cost (insurance and shipping included).  And they can even suggest what jewelry might compliment your dress best.

We sent them this Lara Helene Atelier dress, and asked them what they would pair with it:

They suggested:

I do thing both sets would look great with the dress and can you even imagine wearing your dream dress and then topping it off with $20,000 of bling.

Start drooling now on their website.  And if you use promo code POWD, you can save 20% on your rental.