USAA - Spring 2015 - (Page 20)

Seek Out Savings From table decorations bought with craft store coupons to a wedding dress and flowers ordered online, USAA members Christopher and Brittani Fontana orchestrated the ultimate do-it-yourself wedding for more than 150 guests. They spent $4,700, or 84% less than typical newlyweds in 2013. "I was a restaurant manager, and my husband worked at the post office before he joined the service," she says. "We didn't want too extravagant of a wedding, but we didn't want it to be a backyard party either." Brittani looked online for her dress and found a $189 taffeta-and-chiffon gown with an empire waist and sweetheart neckline. A seamstress added beadwork and made alterations for less than $200. "I admit I did a lot of things a bride shouldn't do," says Brittani, who rushed through wedding preparations in just 3½ months to ensure the ceremony took place before Christopher left for Officer Candidate School. Brittani says she didn't have that "aha moment" of finding her dress in a bridal store. "But when I had the dress in hand and tried it on, I still got that moment," she says. A Groupon discount for an online custom printer sliced the cost of wedding invitations by 60%. In Know how to bake c hr is t oph e r & br i t ta n i f on ta na another money-saving move, the couple decorated the church with hanging plants and held the reception in Christopher's parents' backyard. A friend catered the meal, which included chicken cacciatore and pasta salad made by Brittani's mother. Homemade cupcakes augmented a small wedding cake costing $200. "My advice to future brides is know how to bake, thread a needle and sew, and become a coupon clipper," Brittani says. "We saved so much money by using Groupon and local coupons." Consider cheaper locations jim & k at i e c r e m e a n MEMBERS SINCE 2011 20 USA A SPRING 2015 PHOTOGR APHS COURTESY OF THE FONTANAS; PHOTOGR APHS BY BREANNA SHAW OF PHOTOGR APHY BY BREA (CREMEANS) MEMBERS SINCE 2014

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USAA - Spring 2015