Six great ways to find discount party supplies for your wedding day!
Warning: Tips on Discount Party Supplies below. If you’re totally loaded and own a home that was once featured on MTV’s Cribs, STOP reading this article immediately!
Now. Here’s something for the rest of us.
Did you know that the average cost of a wedding is almost $29,000?! Did you also know that the average household income in the United States is around $40,000 per year for a family of four?! When it comes to planning and budgeting a wedding, that’s some tough math to work with.
But at the same time, you’ve been planning your wedding day for practically your entire life! What kind of red-blooded American female hasn’t imagined what the biggest day of her life was going to look like? Chances are you’ve done it…all the way down to the details too. The sound of the music piping in as you start your first dance, the smell of the plated dinner service, and the elegant décor of the evening. Now…it’s time to find ways to get that elegance using the aforementioned math cited above. As you’ll see in the details that follow – it’s all about discount party supplies.
Here are the six suggestions we have to help you get the discount party supplies you’re looking for.
- First things first. Always ASK for the discount. Let’s face it. It’s a tough time to be a retailer right now. Sales at most stores have plummeted faster than my 401K plan this past year. While it’s a grim time to be in the business of selling anything, that means it’s a good time to be a consumer.
As the owner of my own small business for the past several years, I will let you in on a little secret. 90% of the time, if you ask for a discount, you’re likely to get one. Why, you ask? It’s simple. If you ask for a discount, it likely means you’re serious about purchasing. Almost every business I know of is in it to make money and close sales. If you indicate that the ONLY thing stopping you from reaching into your wallet to fork over the cashola is a small price issue, the retailer will more than likely oblige. It’s worth it for them. If all it takes is to knock a little bit off from their profits, they’ll do it, because the alternative is to have you go to a different location to buy the same thing.
Keep in mind that this tactic works best at smaller stores where you can speak directly with a decision maker, which is why this tactic works well for finding discount party supplies. Most party supplies are smaller stores or web storefronts. There are very few large national chains that carry party supplies, so negotiating a discount on your party supplies for your wedding might not be as difficult as you might think off the top of your head. For instance, going into Pottery Barn or Wal-Mart and trying something like this, might not get you very far, although I REALLY encourage you to try. Remember: The worst that can happen is that someone will say, “NO”, but a true business person will have respect for a good negotiator! - Prioritize “high-profile” items vs. “low-profile.” Another great idea for discount party supplies to be used for your wedding is to focus your budget on areas that I call “high-profile.” These are the areas that your guests are sure to notice and perhaps even comment on. It’s hard to skimp on food, because your guests will notice when they’re hungry. Therefore, Food = High-Profile. Get it? Other high-profile items include stuff like: alcohol vs no alcohol, or DJ vs. band, or Sunday vs. Saturday.
Likewise, however, there are a TON of “low-profile” items that are right in the sweet spot of party supplies. It’s easy to find ways to discount party supplies in areas such as: toasting glasses, ring bearer pillows, wedding cake knife, or recorded dinner music vs. live dinner music. As you go down the road of wedding planning, you’ll quickly see that budgeting is a reality, and that corners need to get cut. My suggestion is you cut them in places where no one notices.
As you go through your budget checklist, you should be putting a small star next to the items that are low-profile. Then, when it’s time for purchase, borrow, negotiate, or look for these items at mass discount stores like Target, Wal-Mart, Big Lots, etc. - Be creative about what can go where. Want to know what one of your biggest wedding related expenses is going to be? I’ll give you a hint: They usually get moved since they block out dinner conversation, and they DIE within a week! That’s right … Your flowers! Don’t get me wrong. I’m in no way suggesting that you not have flowers at your wedding. Weddings and flowers go hand in hand, like Tom and Katie. BUT! I am suggesting that you think creatively about your flower arrangement and centerpieces in general, as this is a great opportunity for discount party supplies.
Case study time: Recently, I attended a wedding where the centerpieces were tall glass vases filled with oranges and limes, tied off with an elegant brown silk ribbon. The color theme to the wedding was lime and chocolate brown. The couple happened to have a lime tree and an orange tree in their friggin’ backyard! So, guess how much their entire set of centerpieces cost them? About $100 for the tall glass vases they bought online!
Like I said…I’m not saying you get rid of flowers as a way to provide discount party supplies. But I am suggesting you try to be creative about what goes where at your wedding! - Know what you want. All the way down to the SKU. Part of getting discount party supplies for your wedding is knowing how to LOOK for discount party supplies! But with the power of the web these days, you can save a bundle if you just know how to look for the right items as you search for your discount.
Almost every prouct in the world is categorized by a bar code. Some refer to this code as a SKU (stock-keeping unit). It’s a way for the large retailers to keep track of what gets put on their shelves and what gets put into your shopping carts and taken home. Use this to your advantage!
Every time you find something you think would be a great party supply, you should turn the item over and write down the SKU code that’s on the price tag. Then, when you get home or at your desk at work (yeah…right, like you’re the ONLY person in the entire world not surfing the net at work, right?!), go to Mother Google and type in the SKU. You could even do the same thing at eBay. In both cases, you’ll find the EXACT same item and will be able to compare the prices. - Google and coupon should always be used together. Similar to how you can price compare on Google and eBay if you know the SKUs to the items you’re purchasing, you can also use Google or eBay to find coupons to your favorite retailers. Almost every retailer we’ve worked with at our wedding services company has a coupon that is always handy. If you find a retailer that’s carrying the items you want, and they’re on-line, be sure to take the extra two seconds it will take for you to open up a new browser window, type the word “COUPON” next to the name of the retailer and return to you a code that can be used during your checkout process. Those two seconds might just save you a bundle!
- Plan early to avoid rush fees. Do you know how much it costs to overnight a one pound box from San Francisco to New York City? It’s over $120 if you use UPS. Depending on the weight of your items, you’ll never realize your discount party supplies for your wedding if you don’t plan ahead and order in advance.
The shipping fees are simply too high to take any chances with last minute decisions. Companies (like the one we operate) also charge a pretty stiff premium to rush items out the door within a day or two of placing your order. And if you want it personalized (like most party supplies tend to be), fuhgeddaboutit! It’ll cost you more in personalization, rush, and overnight freight fees than what you’re buying!
So, do yourself a HUGE favor in this regard. If you need party supplies for your wedding, make sure you plan ahead and order early! This will have the additional benefit of sending it BACK if you don’t like the way it looks!
