You get what you pay for & be nice.

Quick bits of advice:
Do not ask for discounts.  When you ask for a discount, you often end up with discounted service & product. So I advise against it. True wedding professionals will always charge what they are worth anyway.  Your follow up to this advice may then be,

"Well then how do I save?"

I think its quite simple. Ask for what is possible for the amount you have to spend. Yes, its possible that the answer could be that there isn't anything. But you'll never know unless you politely ask.

This leads me to my next little tip.

"Lauren getting ready" Photo by Ashley Brockinton Photography

There is no reason why you can't reach out to who you think could be the absolute best in any given field because you're afraid they're going to cost too much or your wedding isn't going to be grand enough for them. You may be pleasantly surprised. For instance, let's say that you love hair & make up artist "Brillianta Wonderful", but she looks really really expensive. You saw her work in the fancy wedding magazine, the uber sophisticated blog, and her website portfolio is off the charts amazing.  Just because her name is everywhere does not mean that you can't have her and she's going to be insanely expensive.  What if she's been wanting to go where your wedding is taking place and this is the perfect opportunity for her, especially because she's just going to be on the next island over the week prior? It happens more often that you would think.  You don't know until you ask.

Finally, the nicer you are the more people want to go above and beyond for you.  It truly is that simple.

How much does it cost to be a bridesmaid?

The average cost of being a bridesmaid is apparently about $1695. Something interesting I came across on twitter this morning. Its a bit scary, when you look at it this way. However, my thought is that your bridesmaids should be your absolute nearest and dearest to you. Would I be willing to write a check to one of my nearest and dearest for $1695? Yes I would. Its the most important day of her life (to date) and I know that being an honored part of it would mean a heck of alot more to both of us than $1695.

The reason I was inclined to write this post was because so many of our clients stressed how they were so concerned about how much they were asking of their maids. Put yourself in their shoes- wouldn't it be worth it to you?

Photo by Hilary Hopkins, and she is lovely if you didn't know. This image was our Scottish & British wedding from a few years back.  Want to see the kilts?