Top 10 Ways to Save Money on Your Wedding Reception

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1. Reserve your banquet hall early so they put a cap on the price per person.
2. Instead of a traditional banquet hall, consider a community center or church hall for your reception.
3. Get married in the morning, on a Friday or Sunday and/or in the winter months. You will save a considerable amount of money.
4. Have a cash bar instead of an open bar.
5. Instead of dinner, have a cocktail or dessert reception.
6. Keep the guest list small. The less mouths you have to feed, the cheaper it is.
7. Buy your own alcohol, if you are allowed.
8. Limit hor d’oeuvres. Consider three or four food stations, instead of eight or nine butler-passed hor d’oeuvres.
9. Don’t drive up catering costs by having seafood and beef tenderloin entrées. If you must have these selections, serve them for an appetizer.
10. Ask your reception site about guaranteed numbers. You might still have to pay for 150 guests even though 120 showed up.