Throw a bash on a budget

Cost-saving tips prove helpful for weddings and more

Real flowers can dress up a plain cake at lower cost than labor-intensive frosting flowers. This photo shows a 3 cake decorated with 0 worth of flowers.

Going into debt for a wedding is no way to start married life. Maxing out credit cards is a bad example to set for the teenager having a bar mitzvah, sweet 16 or quinceanara. And by the time 50th birthdays and golden anniversaries roll around, people know that friends and family matter more than pricetags.

Besides, it’s easy to have a big, beautiful bash on a budget. Here are eight tips.

¢ Invitations. Thermographed invitations cost 50-70 percent less than engraved invitations, “and no one can usually tell,” said Alan Fields, co-author with his wife, Denise, of “Bridal Bargains.” Or make your own invitations, said Sharon Naylor, author of “1,000 Best Wedding Bargains.”

She recommends Mountaincow.com for invitation software and paper, with CDs starting at $29.99. Or order invitations online from a site like Invitations4Sale.com, which Naylor said offers 40 percent off retail prices.

Limit enclosures so you don’t go over the 1-ounce maximum for envelopes with a 41-cent stamp. Note that square envelopes and oddly shaped envelopes cost more to mail. Consider postcards for the RSVP – less postage. Or skip reply cards for teen parties and informal weddings; ask for RSVP by e-mail or phone.

For kids’ parties, you could even go paperless with e-vites.

¢ Gowns. “Buy online,” Fields advised. Online discounters can order name brand-name dresses for 20-40 percent off retail, and some wedding dress factories in China have Web sites that will ship gowns direct to consumers for $50-$100 – a bargain even with $100 shipping. Fields’ recommendations include Netbride.com, PearlsPlace.com, BlueCatalog.com and JuliusBridal.com.

Robert Brokamp, who writes about personal finance for The Motley Fool said he found a dress for his wife Elizabeth at David’s Bridal, which has 285 stores, for $250. “It was on the discount rack,” he said.

Check out department stores when prom season ends: “You might find sophisticated prom dresses that work for a wedding gown,” Naylor said.

To save on high-end gowns, wedding planner Samantha Goldberg advises brides to sign up for trunk shows at department stores like Saks Fifth Avenue or wedding retailers like Kleinfeld Bridal. Also compare state sales taxes. Buying a $5,000 dress in a state with no clothing tax could save hundreds, said Goldberg, who is known for her work with Style Network’s “Whose Wedding Is It Anyway?”

¢ Flowers and decor. Naylor notes that the cheapest flowers will be those in season the month you’re getting married; that “greenery filler is less expensive than flowers and makes for a beautiful natural look”; and that smaller bouquets show off gowns to greater advantage.

Casey Cooper, co-author of “What’s Your Bridal Style?”, says do-it-yourself brides can learn the basics of designing centerpieces, boutonnieres and bouquets. The event design firm Botanicals in Chicago offers classes like “Wedding Design.”

Inexpensive ways to dress up tables: candles, bright balloons, wildflowers in jars, potted plants in season – tulips in spring, mums in fall.

At Congregation Beth Elohim in Brooklyn, N.Y., kids celebrating bar and bat mitzvahs sometimes make centerpieces by filling baskets with nonperishable food for a soup kitchen. Wrap the baskets in colored plastic wrap, add a bow and card about the charity, and you’ve got a centerpiece that’s both beautiful and meaningful.

¢ Drink. Instead of open bar with bartender, have a serve-yourself table with wine, beer and/or champagne. Wine retailers can recommend wines in your price range and often give discounts by the case. If you opt for the full bar, Goldberg notes that restaurants and hotels charge more for premium brands like Johnny Walker and Grey Goose. Ask for Smirnoff vodka or house brands for a lower price.

¢ Food. Catered meals with chicken or fish can run 35 percent of your budget, “but if you start getting into filet mignon, prime rib or lobster, you’re going to find yourself in the 40 percent bracket,” Goldberg said.

Buffets are cheaper than sit-down meals, because you don’t pay for table service. But you might want a server to control portions on the buffet for pricey items like smoked salmon, steak or sashimi. Consider ethnic food. Having a Thai restaurant cater chicken sate – grilled chicken on a stick – with pad Thai noodles might cost less than traditional alternatives.

¢ Cake. Have the cake of your dreams – only smaller. Then order a sheet cake with the same frosting and flavor, Naylor advised, and have servers plate dessert off the sheet cake in the kitchen. Fields suggests that buttercream frosting is cheaper and tastes better than fondant icing, and that fresh flowers “spruce up a plain cake” and cost less than labor-intensive frosting flowers.