Money-Saving Tips with Jessica Bishop, Founder of The Budget Savvy Bride

Leah Longbrake:
Jessica, I'm so excited to have you on the show today and to share all your amazing tips.

Jessica Bishop:
I am so excited to be here. Thank you so much for having me.

Leah Longbrake:
So for those that aren't familiar, which I can't imagine there are people that aren't, tell us about The Budget Savvy Bride and what made you decide to start it.

Jessica Bishop:
Yeah, of course. So I started The Budget Savvy Bride back in 2008, which is like the good old days of the Internet. At this point, I feel like a blogger OG, but yeah, so 2008, I was newly engaged and like thrown into the wedding planning process, and I was pretty much fresh out of college, was in an entry-level job, and during the time that I was planning my wedding, I actually got laid off, of course, in the middle of the recession at the time, not too different from a lot of people's circumstances now, and so-

Leah Longbrake:
Right.

Jessica Bishop:
I was really like trying to figure out how I was going to plan this wedding, because I was engaged and working towards planning a wedding and then I got laid off, like, how am I going to pull off this dream day that I've been dreaming of my entire life and still stick to this budget? And so there was not a lot of resources out there, at the time, for couples who weren't spending, the quote unquote average amount on their wedding day, and so I started The Budget Savvy Bride really to keep track of my own ideas and inspiration along the way, and then fast forward, it turned into this really amazing resource. I didn't want it to continue to be just about like my journey, but I want it to be able to pay it forward and share what I learned with other couples to help them save money and still plan a day that they're super happy with.

Leah Longbrake:
And you offer so many great resources on the website. I can attest when I was planning mine, I utilized your website for sure.

Jessica Bishop:
Oh my gosh. That's so awesome to hear.

Leah Longbrake:
Seriously, so many great tips. I mean, I love how, in your Real Weddings portion, like you give a price tag to what some of these weddings are, because, when you're looking at Pinterest and different things, you don't know what the cost really kind of runs, and so seeing these weddings and getting a ballpark figure what they spent, and then the things I want to talk about for couples out there listening, like you had these great free printables for couples. Tell us about these different resources that you offer.

Jessica Bishop:
Oh my gosh. Okay. So first of all, the Real Weddings section is really the gold mine of our website, truly because if you're working with a small budget, whether it's $5,000, $10,000, $20,000, you can go to our Real Weddings section, visit TheBudgetSavvyBride.com/weddings, and we have this filtering feature, which is new. We spent so much time rebuilding this feature to make it easier for couples to browse our real weddings, so you can go in and you can say, "I want to look at weddings that were $10,000 that happened in California."

Jessica Bishop:
And you can literally see all the features that we've published from those specific points, and then you can see each of our real wedding features, we do a questionnaire with a couple where we ask them what was their biggest splurge or how did they save money on their wedding, so you can really learn from other couples who've gone before you and see an actual budget breakdown of what they spent. There's so many amazing wedding, inspiration resources out there, but not many that are realistic about showing the actual costs of things, and that's what we have really tried to do at The Budget Savvy Bride.

Leah Longbrake:
Yeah. It gives you a dose of reality of what couples do spend, 'cause like you said, like you're looking at magazines and Pinterest and stuff, and there's all these gorgeous ideas for your ceremony and your reception, but you don't know that that price tag is like 50 grand plus.

Jessica Bishop:
Exactly. And you know, I think another thing we really try to do is show like, if you do see this pie in the sky, absolutely gorgeous, stunning, Pinterest worthy wedding inspiration, we love to find ways to break it down to recreate that on a budget. If you want to DIY something, if you want to work it out yourself, like ways to get the look for less, like that's something that we really love to focus on, and to that point, you mentioned the free principles.

Leah Longbrake:
Yeah.

Jessica Bishop:
So we're actually getting ready to relaunch this section of our website too. We're really trying to just enhance and provide more and more valuable resources to couples to help them get that beautiful look for less, and so very soon, we'll be relaunching the printable section and you'll be able to browse different collections of wedding invitations, it's going to be complete wedding suites, is what we like to say. And so everything from the save the date to the invitation, RSVP card, programs, place cards, table numbers, like you name it, from start to finish, they're all going to match, editable in Canva templates, completely for free. It's going to be like a game changer.

Leah Longbrake:
That is fantastic. And so I'm a super organized person and I really need to be in life, and I feel like all couples, when it comes to planning your wedding, whether you hire a wedding planner or not, you need to keep some kind of organization because there's a lot of details that go into it, and you created The Budget Savvy Bride wedding planning guide and organizer.

Jessica Bishop:
Yeah.

Leah Longbrake:
And that's available on your website, correct?

Jessica Bishop:
So it's sold on Amazon or you can get it at Barnes & Noble, any major bookstore or online. We actually don't sell any merchandise at all, like directly through The Budget Savvy Bride yet, but maybe that'll be another thing to come in the future. But yeah, it's The Budget Savvy Wedding Planner and Organizer. It's a mouthful.

Leah Longbrake:
But it's jam packed with great advice and tell us more like what it offers, because I know that there's just different layers to it.

Jessica Bishop:
For sure. So I think the thing that really resonates most with couples, the thing that I get the most feedback about in regards to the book, is the first chapter, which is all about setting the foundations for your wedding planning. It's talking about not just, what do you want your wedding day to look like, but what do you want it to feel like? Like the who, what, where, when, why and how of wedding planning and getting really clear with your partner on creating a shared vision for your day that feels authentic to you. Whether that's like choosing the size, like, do you want to have a big, huge, like ruckus party, hopefully like someday in the future that'll be possible again, or do you want it to feel more intimate and small and really just like your closest loved ones there.

Jessica Bishop:
Things from like, do you want it to be like an epic dance party or would you rather just have like a nice sit-down dinner. Everybody's preferences and personal styles are so different and your wedding day should reflect what matters to you and your partner and so the first chapter of the book is really about just getting really clear on what that looks like for the two of you, so that you can base all of the decisions you make along the way of your wedding planning process, on that shared vision.

Leah Longbrake:
You launched in 2020, your podcast, The Bouquet Toss. It is so good. I love it. I'm subscribed to it and I encourage everyone else to check it out as well. Tell us what made you decide to start the podcast and what we can look forward.

Jessica Bishop:
Yeah, for sure. It was super fun to get into the podcasting space and I've been a podcast listener for such a long time, so super excited to launch that in December of 2020 and myself and my Real Weddings editor, Sari, host the show, and basically we have been unpacking different wedding traditions and trends, just to get into the history of like where some of this stuff came from. A lot of it is a little weird and wacky and like dark and archaic and like outdated traditions and you know, the whole nine. And so we really like to get into the history of it so we can help couples decide if that actually feels authentic to them, again, to ultimately empower them to plan a wedding day that feels authentic to who they are as a couple.

Leah Longbrake:
It's so fun 'cause like I love history and learning the tradition of things. My husband and I bucked some of the trends which you talk about on the show.

Jessica Bishop:
Love it.

Leah Longbrake:
I never wanted the bouquet toss or the garter toss. My husband and I got together in our thirties, early forties, so like I was single a long time and not to be put on display. And so I didn't want to put that on others, and I love that you talk about that. And the sixpence, the something old, something new, borrowed, blue.

Jessica Bishop:
Yeah.

Leah Longbrake:
The sixpence in the shoe I actually did do.

Jessica Bishop:
Oh did you?

Leah Longbrake:
And I did.

Jessica Bishop:
Where did you find it?

Leah Longbrake:
My mom, I wore my same one my mom did.

Jessica Bishop:
Oh, that's so sweet. I love that.

Leah Longbrake:
She passed it to me to wear, but that is a forgotten one, and I'm so glad you brought it up, 'cause I even forgot that I wore it on my wedding day until you brought it up on the show. So there's all these fun tidbits that y'all need to check out because the tradition really is important.

Jessica Bishop:
It is. And I think with everything, it's not like we want to discourage anyone from taking part in these things just because they are traditional. It's really just, again, like letting people know the history so they can decide like, does that mesh with what we actually want to include in our wedding day or not?

Leah Longbrake:
I love that you shared your personal story when it came to, I mean, you shared with a lot of aspects of the show, but in particular with the bouquet toss, you didn't want to do the bouquet toss or the garter toss.

Jessica Bishop:
I didn't.

Leah Longbrake:
But you felt like you had to because the whole, like this is what goes in a wedding. Like you had to check all these boxes and you didn't feel like it was authentically you, but you did it anyway.

Jessica Bishop:
I totally got caught up in the moment. The whole time I was like, "We're not doing that. Let's not even included in our timeline at all." And then somehow, like in the heat of the moment it happened, I think I had bridal blackout. I don't know.

Leah Longbrake:
And you're divorced now, correct?

Jessica Bishop:
I am, yeah.

Leah Longbrake:
So I know you're in love. You have a great partner now. I'm sure you guys are going to get married. This time around, would you buck all these traditions and trends? Like what would you do differently that you've learned from the first time?

Jessica Bishop:
Oh gosh, well, so much to be honest. I've learned so much over like the last 13 years of being in the industry, but I think, like any future wedding that I might plan, I think I would probably go for something a bit more intimate, and I think, at the stage I was in my life when I got married the first time I was pretty freshly out of college, we were very much still living in our kind of hometown and like around a lot of our local family and friends. And so you get into that mode of feeling obligated to invite, if you invite this person, you have to invite that friend and it kind of balloons out of control. And so then we were left with this challenge of, "Okay, we only have $10,000. This is what we have decided to spend on our wedding and what we can actually afford without taking on debt," which is another big focus of our mission at The Budget Savvy Bride is, we don't believe in taking on debt for a wedding.

Leah Longbrake:
Mm-hmm (affirmative).

Jessica Bishop:
So like, when you have a larger guest list, you're spreading that $10,000 or whatever that budget that you've set across, like that many more people, and so I think for me, like I would definitely take a totally different approach to wedding planning at this phase in my life. But I think everybody has to do what's best for them at the point that they are in their lives and with their partner and what they're planning for.

Jessica Bishop:
So yeah, I mean, not to say that there's like any right way or wrong way, but and I think that's the beautiful thing, and the thing that we really try to encourage with the podcast, especially, is just getting really clear with yourself and your partner on what actually matters to you guys and then figuring out how to make it work and working together.

Leah Longbrake:
Yeah, not feeling you have to check all these boxes that are the stereotypical traditional wedding.

Jessica Bishop:
Totally. Well, and that goes for everything in life, right?

Leah Longbrake:
Yes. Amen. So let's go into budget saving tips. What are your top five for our couples listening?

Jessica Bishop:
Oh gosh. So I mean, I will preface, I feel like I've already said this, but not to be a broken record, but I think getting really clear on what matters to you and your partner is super, super important before you start, because honestly there's ways to save on every single aspect of the wedding, but you want to make sure that you're making sacrifices in the areas that aren't as high of a priority to you, because you're going to want to spend more on the areas that are more important. Like if it's a live band that you want to splurge on, or you want to have like an incredible cake that like just takes everyone's breath away, whatever the case might be like, you're going to splurge on the areas that matter most to you and your partner.

Jessica Bishop:
But in terms of saving money, number one, I always say like being really ruthless with the guest list is a great way to start because keeping it small and intimate is obviously going to help you save money across the board. Every additional guests you invite to celebrate with you, basically adds exponentially to your costs, we're talking like an extra invitation, program, chair, meal, drinks, plus like, you know, for every 8 to 10 guests, you're adding a table, a linen, the center piece, you can see how quickly adding additional people to your guest list can add cost. And so, in these times that we're in, pandemic times, a lot of couples have been forced to cut things back as a result of that.

Jessica Bishop:
And so in some ways, I think it's a good exercise to think, if we could only have X number of people, who would make the cut, who are the VIP's and really start there. So yeah. Guest list is a big one. I could go on and on and on about this, but I don't want to go too long. And then my next one would be like your choice wedding date. So obviously there's many ways to be strategic with the choice of your wedding date to save money. It might be less than ideal or a little less convenient for people if you choose, a weekday, obviously, but even choosing like a Friday or a Sunday versus a Saturday can save you money, especially when it comes to, your venue and certain vendors who are most often booked on those peak Saturday dates and prime wedding seasons like a fall or spring, depending on what area you live on, it could differ, but being smart with your wedding date choice can definitely save you money on all sorts of different aspects of your day.

Leah Longbrake:
Right.

Leah Longbrake:
Something I love in your, one of your episodes that you mentioned, I think you coined this phrase, is the Bridal Rental Revolution.

Jessica Bishop:
Oh yes.

Leah Longbrake:
And I think that's a great money saving tip. Guys have been renting tuxes for forever.

Jessica Bishop:
Yes.

Leah Longbrake:
But brides, and couples can really get on the rentals in other aspects.

Jessica Bishop:
For sure. Yeah. That was actually included in my third tip, which is to consider alternatives for traditional wedding services, and so one thing that's kind of new that you can rent is silk wedding flower arrangements. Have you seen these?

Leah Longbrake:
I have not.

Jessica Bishop:
Oh, they're so incredible. So there's this awesome company called Something Borrowed Blooms and they create these gorgeous like silk wedding flower arrangements, everything from like the boutonniere to mother's corsages, bridal bouquets, bridesmaids bouquets, centerpieces, garlands. I mean like everything you need, that's floral, but they're made of high quality silk flowers and they ship them to you and you use them for your wedding and you ship them back. And it's literally like over 70% less than the cost of using fresh flowers, arranged by a traditional florist.

Leah Longbrake:
Wow. That is huge.

Jessica Bishop:
Yeah. It's incredible. I'm a big fan of that, and there's all sorts of other stuff you can rent for your wedding as well, whether you're a bride and you want to rent, a veil instead of paying like tons of money for one or hair pieces or sashes or a lot of girls, women are like renting bridesmaids dresses from Rent The Runway.

Leah Longbrake:
Yeah. I was just about to say that, like I know a few brides now that have done that, which is great, 'cause I know a lot of bridesmaids don't probably want to keep that dresser or spend that money, renting it's the best option, then if they end up loving it, then if they end up loving it, they can just purchase it and keep it.

Jessica Bishop:
For sure. I'm all about the rental revolution, and I've become a bit of a minimalist over the years because I kind of live a little bit of a nomadic lifestyle, and so I don't have a lot of room in the suitcases anymore, so being able to rent something and not have to keep it and haul it with me to my next place is very helpful.

Leah Longbrake:
I want to quickly go back to the guest list for a second, just because with COVID quarantine changing the whole wedding and bridal scene, are you seeing a trend of couples purposely wanting to keep it small going forward, after having being forced to anyways, but like this is going to be the trend going forward.

Jessica Bishop:
You know, I don't know that I'm seeing any specific trend in terms of couples wanting to keep them small, but I think to be on the safe side right now, a lot of couples are focusing on planning smaller events, just because they're more likely to go forward as planned, than something bigger. I've, along with our website, The Budget Savvy Bride, we also have a really great community that brides can join and be a part of, and I'm seeing a lot of brides, especially talking about feeling nervous about planning, like a bigger event, even for the summer and fall and wondering like, "Should I just go ahead and postpone again? I don't know what's going to happen."

Jessica Bishop:
And so I think, in terms of our current global situation that we're in, thinking small for now is probably for the best. That isn't to say that you can't still have a bigger celebration later. I know a lot of couples do still want that big, fun celebration with all of their people that they love, and so that could come into play maybe on your one year anniversary or something like that if you wanted to plan an anniversary party. I think I saw on The Knot, they were calling this the Mini Moni and then the Happily Ever After Party or something, right?

Leah Longbrake:
Yes. Yeah. I love the term Mini Moni. I think that's a great way of putting it.

Jessica Bishop:
I really like Happily Ever After Party. I'm like, that is genius. I love that because it is, it's like you're going to have that meaningful ceremony where the two of you actually get married. I mean, at the end of the day, it really is just about the two of you joining your lives together, right? Like the wedding is technically just a party, and so why not have the meaningful, intimate ceremony with just your VIP's, your very dearest, closest, loved ones and then have the Happily Ever After Party after a year, like, I think that's amazing.

Leah Longbrake:
I think it's great, and another way to save money.

Jessica Bishop:
Totally.

Leah Longbrake:
So, okay. You and I are both pop culture freaks, especially when it comes to all things weddings.

Jessica Bishop:
Yes.

Leah Longbrake:
So my question for you is what is your all-time favorite celebrity or Royal wedding dress?

Jessica Bishop:
So I've listened to your show a lot and I hear a lot of people say Mandy Moore, and I was like, I have a better one, or not a better one, but I just, I have a different one, you know?

Leah Longbrake:
Yeah.

Jessica Bishop:
And, and it's funny because I chose this one not because I think it's like the most amazing dress I've ever seen, but because I think it speaks to a lot of like the values that are important to me when it comes to wedding planning, and so my choice is Maren Morris, are you familiar with her wedding dress?

Leah Longbrake:
Yes. I forgot who designed it though.

Jessica Bishop:
So it was like a local Nashville designer. Oh, I can't remember the name off the top of my head, but of course, because she's a country singer, right? She had a Nashville designer make her dress.

Leah Longbrake:
Yeah.

Jessica Bishop:
But if for anybody who's listening, who hasn't seen it, it's very eighties inspired. It's a short dress with a long detachable train. It's like, it's very eighties. It's very much a look, right?

Leah Longbrake:
Yeah.

Jessica Bishop:
So it's not about the look for me. It's more about the fact of like, why she chose it, and I think she mentioned in an interview I saw, that it was inspired by the dress that her own mother were in her wedding in 1989.

Leah Longbrake:
Aw.

Jessica Bishop:
And so she wanted to pay homage to her mom and also just wear something that she felt awesome in, and reflected who she was as a person. And so to me, that's what I feel like weddings should be all about, and so that's why I just love Marin Morris too. Her songs are the best.

Leah Longbrake:
Yeah. What a fun choice. And yeah, I never would've thought of that, but her dress is awesome. I did not know about the story about her mom, but she's just so young and fun and sassy and a country rockstar, really.

Jessica Bishop:
She was the last concert I got to see before the pandemic. So a special, special place in my heart.

Leah Longbrake:
Oh wow.

Jessica Bishop:
But yeah, I love her. Her music, her style, and she's just like an awesome woman, I think.

Leah Longbrake:
Yeah. This isn't to be like a negative in any way, but do you have a celebrity wedding dress that you think is overrated?

Jessica Bishop:
Oh. That's a good question. Overrated.

Leah Longbrake:
That you're like, "Ugh, do they have to make this list again?"

Jessica Bishop:
That's a good question. There's none that are really coming to my head really. I mean, I remember when I watched the Royal Wedding of Kate and William thinking like, "Oh, that's kind of like boring," but I mean, honestly at the time, that was my reaction, but when I see the dress now in photos, I'm like, "Oh no, it's beautiful. It's classic. It's timeless. It's elegant. I love it." You know?

Leah Longbrake:
Right.

Jessica Bishop:
But in the moment I was like, "Oh, okay. I don't know."

Leah Longbrake:
It's crazy how that dress-

Jessica Bishop:
Don't come for me people who love the Royals.

Leah Longbrake:
Right? You're going to have so many emails, like, "How dare you say that about Kate." But like, it's crazy how when her dress came out, all of a sudden everyone was running to get long laced sleeves.

Jessica Bishop:
Yeah.

Leah Longbrake:
Like the impact.

Jessica Bishop:
Yeah.

Leah Longbrake:
And now you're seeing the Meghan Markle effect, where everyone wants clean, classic lines, slightly off shoulder.

Jessica Bishop:
Totally. Totally. Oh, my second, like runner up for my favorite semi-recent, I think would have been Hillary Duff. Do you remember hers, from her recent wedding?

Leah Longbrake:
I can't picture her recent wedding. I'm picturing her first wedding dress.

Jessica Bishop:
The first one. Yeah.

Leah Longbrake:
Yeah, which was great. I think, oh no. Her second one had like the really cool like jacket cape type thing with the, yeah, no, her sleeves at the shoulders.

Jessica Bishop:
The pointy shoulders, yeah.

Leah Longbrake:
Yes. Yeah. It was super modern and completely unexpected.

Jessica Bishop:
And like very sleek and had the long cape sleeve situation.

Leah Longbrake:
And she had the wet slicked hair to go with it.

Jessica Bishop:
Yeah. She's beautiful. I loved that too. And I loved that they got married in their backyard, so.

Leah Longbrake:
Yes.

Jessica Bishop:
Budget savvy.

Leah Longbrake:
You know what budget savvy look at least comes to mind, is who's the girl Amber Tamblyn from Traveling Pants.

Jessica Bishop:
Oh.

Leah Longbrake:
She married David. Oh, I can't think of his last name. He plays Drea de Matteo's, not Drea de Matteo. Portia de Rossi's husband on Arrested Development.

Jessica Bishop:
Oh yeah. Oh yeah. David Cross.

Leah Longbrake:
David Cross, yes. She wore this stunning deep v-neck yellow lace dress.

Jessica Bishop:
Oh, wow.

Leah Longbrake:
And it's gorgeous. If you can look at the photos online, she came in from a boat on the lake, like a canoe or rowboat.

Jessica Bishop:
Wow.

Leah Longbrake:
And walked barefoot in this gorgeous yellow dress, which she has this auburn brownish hair that just, it just was perfection.

Jessica Bishop:
Wow. I don't think I've ever seen photos of that. I'm going to have to look it up. That would've been a good one to include in our episode about like non-traditional wedding color dresses, you know?

Leah Longbrake:
That's what I was just thinking about, your episode on why do we wear the white wedding dress and how there's this whole thing with, after Queen Victoria, then it kind of faded off and you had these different colors.

Jessica Bishop:
Totally.

Leah Longbrake:
I think Marilyn Monroe wore like a brown or black suit when she married Joe DiMaggio, and I forget who it was wore a blue wedding, a lot of people in the fifties and sixties wore blue, but yeah. Check out Amber Tamblyn's, it's incredible.

Jessica Bishop:
I am going to do that. I know Amber Tamblyn because she was on General Hospital, which was my mom's favorite soap opera.

Leah Longbrake:
Right, I forgot about that. That's great.

Jessica Bishop:
Full circle.

Leah Longbrake:
Okay, we can go all day on these pop culture references so you have to come back and talk-

Jessica Bishop:
Don't get me started.

Leah Longbrake:
No, I'm having you back and we're going to go down the pop culture wedding dress rabbit hole.

Jessica Bishop:
We have to, have to.

Leah Longbrake:
Jessica, what is your final tip for couples planning their wedding and looking to save?

Jessica Bishop:
Okay. So a big one that tends to bust people's budget is the bar. Alcohol. Booze, it's expensive. If you can find a venue that will let you purchase your own alcohol to supply for your guests, it's a huge way to save money. You can easily save, you know, 70%, 80%, depending on the type of booze that you buy. If you end up finding a venue that won't let you supply your own alcohol and wants you to buy a package like in-house, you can cut back by either offering only beer or wine, or maybe a signature drink, or even a big batch cocktail, like a sangria to be more cost efficient.

Leah Longbrake:
That's a great idea. Sangria, especially for spring, summer wedding, I guess you can do it all year round. There's different flavors, but-

Jessica Bishop:
Yeah, I love-

Leah Longbrake:
That's a great tip.

Jessica Bishop:
I love a sangria.

Leah Longbrake:
Or maybe do like a John Daley.

Jessica Bishop:
What's that?

Leah Longbrake:
So a John Daley, so the Arnold Palmer, this is after golfers.

Jessica Bishop:
Yes.

Leah Longbrake:
The Arnold Palmer is half iced tea and lemonade.

Jessica Bishop:
Tea and lemonade. Yeah.

Leah Longbrake:
Well, John Daley, who is known as more of the drinker of the golfers, has the Arnold Palmer, but adds vodka.

Jessica Bishop:
Oh, there you go.

Leah Longbrake:
So that's another way.

Jessica Bishop:
I'm into it, you know?

Leah Longbrake:
So how can we learn more about The Budget Savvy Bride and the Bouquet Toss Podcast?

Jessica Bishop:
Yeah. You can find us at TheBudgetSavvyBride.com or on Instagram at Budget Savvy Bride. That Bouquet Toss podcast is available anywhere you can listen to a podcast. And, we also, like I said, have a great community. You can find it at TheBudgetSavvyBride.com/community. And it's a great way to interact with other brides, grooms, couples who are currently planning to share resources and get advice and vent, if you need to. I know, like for so many brides, it's their friends, they feel like they're annoying their friends and their loved ones, talking about weddings all the time, and so come to this dedicated space to chat all things weddings, whenever you want.

Leah Longbrake:
Thank you so much, Jessica. This has been so fun.

Jessica Bishop:
Yes. Thank you so much for having me.