Most brides, whether they on a small wedding budget or a large one, love to find ways to save money. As a wedding planner, you should be able to give them tips on how they can do this. Last month I wrote a post with 5 ideas for cutting wedding costs. The Winter 2012 issue of Martha Stewart Weddings magazine has more tips that you can use and share with your brides.

Here are 5 more ideas on how to cut costs:

1) Select a venue that is “all-inclusive”

Rather than choosing a site that requires the bride to bring in all of the items needed to set up her ceremony and reception, choose a place that has just about everything she needs. This means she doesn’t have to rent tables, chairs, china, flatware, linens, a stage, dance floor, and a sound system.

2) Don’t splurge on the tablecloths

Guests have more contact with the napkins. Rent the best ones the bride can afford.

3) Have a lunch or brunch instead of a dinner

These meals are usually less expensive and not all guests will want to drink a lot of alcoholic beverages during the day.

4) Rent high-quality stemware for serving wine

Stemware made of high quality crystal or thin glass enhances the experience of drinking wine so the bride can serve a less expensive brand at her reception.

5) Expensive flowers should only be used in the bridal bouquet

If you bride has her heart set on a type of flower that is very expensive, suggest she use it only in her own bouquet. This will keep her costs low while still giving her the blooms she loves. A florist can help select flowers that are in season and locally grown, and therefore less expensive, for her attendants and for the decor.

There are more cost cutting tips in the magazine, including ideas on how your brides can save money on their wedding dresses, accessories, hair, and makeup.

As a wedding planner, you’ll want to share with your brides that it is the unexpected expenses that can add up and throw their wedding budget off course.

The current, January 2012, issue of Brides Magazine has a wedding budget guide that includes a list of surprise expenses that you should  share with your brides.

Here are 7 “surprise” expenses from both the article and my experience, that you’ll want your brides to be prepared for:

1) Tips

The limo driver, hairstylist, manicurist, delivery people, waiters, bartender, band or DJ and anyone else who provides services should receive tips. Many times you will also get one from your brides.

2) Taxes

Most vendors will tell your brides the price of their products or services and say they are “plus tax.” Unfortunately, many brides don’t calculate how much that tax could actually be. Remind your brides that sales tax applies on almost everything, both products and services, and should be included in their budgets. (You may also need to be charging tax for your services, check the sales tax rules in your state.)

3) Additional postage fees

If your bride selects an invitation that is bulky or has a square or over-sized envelope, she will need to pay more than the normal cost of first class postage to mail it. Add to that the stamps for the RSVPs and postage could add up to be a hefty sum.

4) Alterations

Wedding dresses usually need alterations to fit perfectly. When a bride sets her dress budget she should include enough for alterations, which can be expensive if she wants or needs a lot of changes made to her dress.

5) Corkage and cake-cutting fees

Many brides don’t know that if they provide their own wine, the caterer will charge a corkage fee for pouring it. If they use a baker who isn’t affiliated with the caterer, they will be charged a cutting fee for the service.

6) Cosmetic dentistry

Brides want their smiles to look their best for their wedding photos so they invest in professional teeth whitening or veneers or they get their teeth straightened or fill in gaps and cracks. If this is something a bride is considering, she needs to add this to her wedding budget.

7) Change charges

If a bride has trouble making up her mind and makes changes to her contracts with vendors, they may charge her to do it. She should not make deposits or sign contracts until she is ready to make commitments.

If she asks you to spend unanticipated time on her wedding because she has made changes to your duties, be sure you let her know of additional charges right away, so your bill is not a surprise.

Brides expect wedding planners to know how to help them manage their wedding budgets and trim costs. If you are a new wedding planner and not yet aware of all of the ways to do this, you might want to pick up the January/February 2012 issue of Bridal Guide magazine. They offer 50 tips on cutting costs that might help your brides.

Here are 5 cost-cutting tips you might want suggest:

1) Hold the ceremony and reception at the same venue

This eliminates the cost of shuttling guests from one place to another and you might be able to negotiate a better deal with the venue.

2) Find a venue that doesn’t need a lot of decor

A garden, museum, or a location with a spectacular view doesn’t need a lot of additional decoration and may help the bride’s floral budget.

3) Compare the cost of a sit-down meal versus a buffet

Contrary to popular belief, buffets are not always less expensive. Caterers are unable to predict how much food guests might serve themselves so they prepare more food than they would for a seated meal.

4) Choose wedding favors or centerpieces that can do double duty

Small frames that can hold table cards can be favors. Small plants that are grouped to be the centerpiece then can be taken home. Cupcakes on tiered platters can be centerpieces that guests can eat as dessert.

5) Keep you bride and groom on schedule

Your couple could incurr overtime costs if they keep a limousine driver, band, DJ or other wedding professional waiting. Overtime time can be as much as time and a half or double time. This can add up quickly if a lot of vendors are involved.

Learn more great wedding tips in the magazine.

Brides like wedding planners to help them negotiate good deals on contracts and help them keep their expenses down with cost cutting tips. The July 2011 issue of Brides magazine has an article on ways to cut costs when planning weddings that you can use with your brides.

Here are 5 of the tips along with some additional ideas:

1) Skip the favors

Favors are nice but unless they are something guests really want, a bride could be wasting hundreds of dollars. Inexpensive favors can look cheap and items engraved with the couple’s name and wedding date aren’t as welcomed as the couple may think.

2) Skip floral centerpieces and use tiered platters of cupcakes

Centerpieces using cupcakes decorated to coordinate with the colors and theme of the wedding can be less expensive than flowers and are a fun way to serve dessert.

The article suggests skipping the wedding cake when you have tabletop cupcake tiers but your bride may still want to provide a cake and have a traditional cake cutting ceremony.

3) Give the bridesmaids something to carry besides bouquets

Parasols and fans mentioned in the article are a great idea, just make sure the attendants know how to carry them. You don’t want them poking someone in the eye at the wedding.

Another idea that can be less expensive than a bouquet is a clutch purse accented with one flower. Celebrity wedding planner David Tutera attached peacock feathers and calla lilies to clutches for the bridesmaids in his “Great Gatsby” themed wedding on his show, “My Fair Wedding.”

4) Use full-bodied flowers and create a lush look with fewer stems

A few large blooms or multiple stems of one kind of flower can create a bold look.

And don’t forget to suggest your bride select flowers in season for the best deals.

5) Downsize the bar

Suggest the bride serve only wine, beer and her signature cocktail to save on her liquor tab.

The article suggestsbrides supply their own alcoholic beverages but before you suggest this, check the corkage fees. Some venues and caterers charge high fees when clients provide their own drinks abd it might not be worth it.

By the way, never agree to buy alcohol and then sell it to your brides unless you have a liquor license.

Do you have ideas on helping brides save money? Don’t hesitate to share a few tips on your blog. Let brides know that you are a wedding planner who is respectful of their money and can help them stick to their budgets.

Wedding trends and tips were the topics on the ABC television show, “The View,” on Friday. They filled their entire program with guest experts from the wedding industry.

Here are some of the trends and tips which will give you ideas when planning weddings for your brides:

Wedding Dresses

Wedding gown designer Amsale Aberra showed some of her beautiful gowns which highlighted the latest trends:

• Lace wedding gowns inspired - by Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge.
• Non-white dresses.
• Skirt interest (see above).
• Lightness – using tulle and organza.
• Short dresses – can  used for engagement parties, the wedding brunch and the reception.

Amsale also offered these additional tips:

• A bride should not worry about what size she is when selecting a style, it’s the body shape that matters the most.
• The cost of a gown is dependent on the fabric, the time spent on making the dress and beading.

Amsale has a television show starting on June 12 on WEtv.

Catering

Carley Roney of “The Knot”  shared food the drink trends

• Wedding theme should be carried out in the food and drink.
• No more boring chicken and beef dishes.
• Food inspiration comes from food trucks and food street vendors around the globe.
• Your brides should be taking their guests on an excursion, serve food such as European crepes and Chinese dumplings (dim sum).
• Cocktails should also follow the theme.

Flowers on a Budget

Carley gave these tips for saving money on flowers:

• Select less expensive flowers, such as carnations and mums, and use them in bulk, they will look amazing.
• Stay with flowers that are in season.
• Colors are hot right now but a bride should not use too much color in her bouquet, it will be overwhelming in front of a white dress.
• If she wants a colored bouquet, keep it small, let the bridesmaids carry the color.

Wedding Attire

Randy Fenoli of Kleinfeld ( you’ve seen him on, “Say Yes to the Dress”) offered this information:

• The groom’s attire should be the same level of formality as the bride’s.
• 80% of wedding gowns today are strapless and they are not just a trend. Wedding gowns are fitted garments. If you put sleeves on a fitted garment, the bride will not be able to move her arms.
• If your bride is self conscious about her arms, she can add a shrug or bolero in a light-weight fabric that doesn’t add bulk.
• Your second time brides should feel free to wear veils. Just make it lower and longer than a first time bride. (Nothing poofy or outrageous.)
• Alternatives to a veil are flowers or a jeweled headpiece.

Makeup

3 things every bride needs in her wedding day makeup bag – from the makeup artist at “The View”

1. An all-in-one compact that includes blusher, lip gloss and eye shadow
2. Waterproof mascara
3. Long lasting lipstick

You can see the entire episode of the show on the ABC website.

Need to find ways to save money while planning a chic wedding?  The June 2009 issue of Vogue magazine gives 17 inspired ideas from three fashionable brides.  Here are some of them:

• Food – serve only one course, other dishes can be placed on the table to be served family style.

• Bouquets – keep the bride’s bouquet grand, since it appears in many photos, but order small attendant’s bouquets.

• Decor – request flowers that are in season and move the arrangements from the ceremony to the reception and the morning-after brunch.

• Centerpieces – instead of cut flower arrangements, use small potted plants then give them away as favors.  This is also an eco-friendly choice.

• Photography – have guests follow a dress code such as wearing black and white, this produces dramatic and memorable photographs.

Pick up the June issue of Vogue to get the rest of the ideas and take a look at the photo of tennis star RogerFederer’s bride, Mirka Vavrinec, in a beautiful wedding dress from Oscar de la Renta’s spring collection and the fashion photos of model Sasha Pivovarova’s “reenacted” wedding.