Getting married is a wonderful and fun occasion and it can provide some amazing memories with close friends and family.

Over the last few decades, I’ve picked up some great secret tips that most couples don’t know when they’re planning the wedding.

So today, after all this time, I’m going to share with you 5 secrets you will not find on other wedding blogs, so let’s get started.

Saving Money Through Your Taxes

Believe it or not, you can write-off certain things in your wedding if you do them correctly, it’s something I learned when I got married and it’s something that even most wedding vendors don’t know about.

The venue: If you are having your reception or getting married at a historical garden, museum or homestead, or even a state or national park, the fee you pay may be tax-deductible as a donation. Check with the site representative for more details.

The church: If you are paying a ceremony fee, it may be tax-deductible. If not, ask whether the church waives ceremony fees for members who donate at a certain level. It may be worth upping your donations for the year to get a triple benefit: a fee waiver, a tax write off, and a warm glow from donating to a good cause.

Wedding favors: Instead of soon-forgotten trinkets, make a donation to a charity on behalf of everyone at your wedding as a “thank you” for them being a part of your special day. You’ll help others while garnering yourself a tax deduction! You might even let your wedding party choose the charities they treasure.

Gift registry: Along with a traditional gift wish list, you can create a charity registry through My Registry and encourage guests to donate to your favorite cause. Donations are tax-deductible so your guests can feel good while giving back and celebrating you at the same time.

The gown: Donate your wedding gown to a non-profit organization such as Making Memories or Brides Against Breast Cancer, and you’ll help others enjoy their special day in style. The same goes for the flower girl and bridesmaid dresses, as well as candles and other decorations that won’t spoil.

The food: Thanks to the Good Samaritan Food Donation Act you may be able to donate the leftovers. Ask the caterer to package the leftovers and then you or a designated person from your team can drop them off at an IRS recognized non-profit organization that feeds others in need. The organization will give you a donation letter that you can use as proof of charitable contribution.

Flowers: Once your wedding is over, have a friend take the flowers to a homeless shelter, women’s center, or similar non-profit organization. Not only will you have done a good deed, but with a receipt, you’ll be able to take a tax deduction for the value of the items donated.

Keep in mind, that in order to claim a tax deduction for charitable donations, you have to have enough tax deductions to benefit from claiming itemized deductions and you have to donate to a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) charitable organization.

Gift From the White House

Regardless of your political standpoint, you can get a Presidential greeting from the White House after your wedding. This may be a great way to help remember your very special day (depending on who’s currently sitting in the White House and if you approve of them).

There is a limited number of greetings that each President will sign and send out, but it’s definitely worth doing if it’s important to you and your new spouse. The great thing about this is that it’s completely free and it usually takes about 10 days after your wedding date to get it.

Wedding Greeting: If you would like to receive your wedding greeting before the event, please make your request at least 6 weeks in advance of the date and submit using maiden names.

Best Way to Achieve this: Contact your U.S. Senators office and let them know you’d like to set it up. You can also use the direct link below although it’s best to go through your Senator if possible.

Get FREE Wedding Services

Believe it or not, some companies such as ours for example will give our services away to a lucky couple annually, but you have to ask. Free wedding services are not for everyone however, there are limits to it.

Many small wedding vendors will come to the rescue once or twice a year and give their services away to a couple.

They will normally choose a demographic for the year and seek out couples within it. For us, it’s great advertising that we’re helping the community, so many of us do this.

Some examples may include:

• Couple on limited income

• Military Couple

• First Responder Couple

• A Couple that meets select criteria

How do you find if a vendor does something like this?

Many times they’ll announce it through social media, sometimes post it on a corporate social responsibility page and sometimes you just need to flat out ask.

This can save you a good amount of money depending on the vendor and what they are offering.

We suggest that you try but don’t think that’ll you’ll be able to get a complete wedding for free, many times you have to be flexible with the dates and the services will be limited.

As an example, we offer our micro-wedding services to the couple which is smaller and less costly, but it’s still a $1,200 gift to the couple.

Advice: Rent Your Decorations

It’s funny seeing couples spending lots of money at places like Dollar General, making their own wedding decorations when they could be renting them from a vendor for the same price point.

In fact, many wedding planners, rental companies, and catering companies (and some venues) will have a room full of things you could use for the wedding at a fraction of the cost of doing them yourselves.

Example: You could get chargers, you know, those little plates that go under the real ones at the Dollar Tree for a $1, great price!

If you have 100 guests, that’s a $100, a great DIY project that doesn’t cost much… until you look at a local rental store. We found the same ones at Aztec Rental for just $.84 each.

You don’t own them, you rent them and give them back at the end of the wedding.

If you bought them, you’re going to be stuck with them for quite a while and most likely throw them out or give them to someplace just to get them out of your hair in a year or two.

It’s a common myth that DIY is cheaper and better.

TRUST me as a wedding vendor, rent from the professionals and you won’t have to deal with your décor months after the wedding plus your rentals will be top-notch looking too.

Trick the Flower girl’s and Ring Bearer’s

There is a little know trick that even a lot of wedding planners don’t know and that’s how to get the flower girls and ring bearer to the front of the venue without having a meltdown.

It’s candy.

Kids love it and will do almost anything to get a piece of their favorite candy.

Find out what sort of candy or chocolate they like and have a bridesmaid and groomsmen keep a few pieces with them.

As the flower girl or ring bearer starts to walk down the aisle, get their attention by pulling it out and waving it around.

TRUST me on this, once they see it, they’ll come walking down the aisle with a smile on their face to get it.

Many times you can also keep them at bay during the ceremony if you have a few more pieces to give them, with short attention spans, it can seem like an eternity to children, so keep them occupied if you want them to stay up there with the wedding party.

M&M’s and Reese Piece’s are usually great because they don’t melt so easily and toddlers love them, think snack sized candy.

It’s a trick that I saw a former wedding planner use many times over the years and it works great. An alterative is to have their favorite toy or stuffed animal up front with the parents which works equally as good most times.

And there you go, five wedding secrets that you most likely didn’t know about. Many of these just come from experience of being in the wedding industry over the years and seeing them in person.

Let us know what you think and drop a comment in the box below, also take a tour of our company and see how you can be apart of an exclusive wedding photographer and film experience.