OTTAWA, ON (PRWEB) April 23, 2013
With creativity, utilizing the three Rs (Reduce, Reuse and Recycle) and buying used items, UsedOttawa.com Community Angel Lisa Higgs was able to have a memorable and environmentally friendly wedding with 100 guests for $ 2,500, about one-tenth the cost of the average wedding budget of $ 27,800 (recent survey by “The Knot”).
Here are some highlights and tips for different elements of a wedding to help brides and grooms plan to save and create lasting memories of a successful and affordable wedding day:
Invitations cost $ 0 instead of $ 500
The easiest way to save a ton of trees and a ton of cash go digital
Digital invitations are still beautiful, but theyre 100% free and 100% green
-There are dozens of beautiful wedding evite websites, and most of them manage your RSVPs too!
Nobody keeps the wedding invitation, and everybody has email
Venue cost $ 1,000 instead of $ 5,000
This is where you have a chance to save a big chunk of your typical wedding budget
Free or cheap venues are usually more intimate, unique and meaningful
Think big backyards, family members with large homes or local restaurants
Have the ceremony, dinner and reception all at the same venue
All the standards (tables, chairs, etc.) can be rented economically from a party store
Rings cost $ 0 instead of $ 1,000
This is a wonderful opportunity to use a family heirloom as your wedding ring 100% free and 100% green
Another option is to find a beautiful and unique vintage ring in the estate jewellery section at your local jeweller or from a private seller it will probably be the same cost or cheaper than a new ring, its green and your ring will be unique and timeless
Flowers cost $ 25 instead of $ 2,500
Lots of water and energy are used to grow flowers for decorations and they often die before the honeymoon ends
Crafty brides can DIY bouquets and boutonnieres for pennies, and theyll last forever
Even if you avoid the green route and still use fresh flowers, putting together the bouquets and boutonnieres yourself is not difficult and will slash your florist bill
Dress and Clothes – cost $ 300 (for bride and groom together!) instead of $ 1,500 or more
The wedding industry actually has this one right, at least for the guys – renting suits is a cheap and green option
Second-hand and vintage wedding dresses can be bought at some bridal stores, bridal fairs, or online classified sites such as UsedOttawa.com are full of recent dresses that have only been worn once
The second greenest option, and the best for your budget, is to buy a dress you will wear again. Buy a beautiful, unique white dress (or not white) from any store that doesnt have the word Bridal in its title, and youll be spending one or two hundred dollars, not one or two thousand
A wedding dress is, after all, just a white dress and even then, the only reason we wear white wedding dresses today in Western weddings is because Queen Victoria happened to wear a white one in 1840 and the craze took off (arguably the initial seed of the wedding industry)
Guys can wear suits instead of tuxedos and be able to wear them again
Photography and DJ – cost $ 150 instead of $ 3,000
This is a great place to save a lot of money and involve your friends and family in your wedding instead of hiring strangers
Do you have a photographer friend? Ask them if they will be the wedding photographer as a wedding gift
Another budget option is to hire a professional photographer for one hour to get the crucial formal portraits, then ask all your guests to freely snap away during the rest of the wedding and share the photos with you
Why hire a stranger to DJ, when everyone knows a friend that has a great music collection? A laptop with iTunes, borrowed or used speakers purchased online, along with microphone and light rentals and you have an instant party
Food and Drink – cost $ 1,000 instead of $ 10,000
When you avoid a typical venue, you avoid the typical expensive caterers that you are contractually obligated to hire by the venue
If you have the wedding on private property, liquor laws usually allow you to stock and serve your own bar
You can DIY the food, BBQs are the easiest and youll have a long lineup of uncles volunteering to be chefs. Wedding desserts are easy because surely you know friends and family who like to bake cakes and cookies
Renting dishes from a party store or buying used online is cheap and green
Centrepieces – cost $ 0 instead of $ 500
A centrepiece is, literally, just something interesting set in the middle of a dining table. Only the wedding industry says it has to be expensive. Your personality can really shine here
What objects can you find cheap or free that you can use as a centrepiece that reflect your tastes and interests? Jars with tea lights, stacks of books, framed photographs, interesting glassware, candle lanterns, anything decorative you already collect. Shop thrift stores and online classified sites for free and inexpensive items
Wedding Favours cost $ 10 instead of $ 200
Wedding favours are often the least green aspect of weddings. They are typically cheap, plastic, individually-wrapped things that quickly end up in the garbage
The cheapest and greenest option is to have no wedding favours at all, would anyone really miss them?
For the green option, try to offer something that people will use (such as a framed photograph), or something they will eat (with minimal packaging) to avoid waste
To save money, wedding favours are a good area for DIY and can be 100% recyclable such as paper origami
Dont personalize your wedding favours with names and dates; this way if you end up with dozens of extras in the end you can sell or give them away
Wedding Cakes cost $ 0 instead of $ 500
Another opportunity for huge savings with little effort
Who bakes your favourite homemade cake? Ask them to bake you one as a wedding gift. With your cake toppers in it, it will be the most beautiful, personal, and tasty wedding cake youve ever had
Other bakers on your guest list can be asked to bake a variety of cakes, cupcakes, or cookies to be offered as the wedding dessert
Wedding Gifts
Involve your friends and family in your wedding, just like simpler times. Instead of wedding gifts, ask for the gift of their time or skill in providing desserts, cooking, photographing, DJing, making wedding favours, etc.
When the wedding is over, you can continue to save money and save the environment by selling or giving away everything you don’t need anymore, from centrepieces to dishes to dresses, so they can be used again by another couple
About UsedEverywhere.com:
UsedEverywhere.com was founded in 2003 with the vision that an effective, free, online marketplace for the sale of used goods would reduce landfill content, benefit the environment and save people money. It is now Canadas biggest Canadian-owned online classified network with local city sites across the country, including UsedVictoria, UsedVancouver, UsedOttawa, UsedPEI and more. Our network of over 55 websites has now become the most efficient platform for buyers to connect with private and commercial sellers to find what they want in their local community.
