Flowers . We were amazed at the differences in cost from one florist to another, in both silk and fresh flowers. For the first wedding, the church was already decorated with poinsettias so the only flowers we needed were the bride’s and her attendants. Long-stemmed roses tied with a ribbon (“hand-tied roses”) were less expensive than a bouquet and my daughter liked that look for her attendants. She chose a rose bouquet for herself. Her “throwaway” bouquet doubled as a centerpiece on the bridal table at the reception. Total floral bill, less than one hundred dollars. For the summer wedding, the bride designed her own bouquets and altar flowers with the assistance of the florist. Total bill for six bouquets, altar flowers and the groom’s boutonniere was $175. All other boutonnieres and corsages were made from silk flowers for less than $30. How-to books are readily available at craft stores.

Photography and videography. The photographer was the most expensive single item on our budget. Since we had saved so much in other areas, we did splurge here and hire a professional photographer. We did, however, choose one of his less costly package deals. I also took pictures, standing alongside him whenever possible. That way, I got many of the same poses and pictures, using his special lights, but the cost of getting prints of them was a fraction of his cost for the same. And, in fact, some of my pictures were better than his and he offered me a job when he saw them. Many couples place disposable cameras on tables at the reception and ask guests to take pictures. That isn’t cheap and often you will end up paying for photos you would not have taken had you had control over the camera.

A high school videography instructor who was a friend of my daughter’s from school offered his services and equipment and we paid only for tapes and copies of tapes. The result was a professionally edited tape of the wedding and reception.