Budget Wedding Secrets – Tip #13: The Cheapest Way to Buy Wedding Magazines for Budget Wedding Inspiration – Avoid Paying News Stand Price by Subscribing

By Diane Owens

Reading wedding magazines is a great way to get wedding ideas (especially if you need inspiration for flowers, food or decorations for a DIY budget wedding). Plus, they’re a lot of fun to look at!

Buying individual wedding magazines at a news stand, however, is very pricey. And, unfortunately, “preread” magazines are very hard to find on Ebay, Craigslist and through other sources such as garage sales or thrift stores. Apparently, women getting married must either keep the magazines or pass them along to their friends.  Or maybe they rip out so many pages with great ideas that they can’t pass them along?

Local libraries may have bridal magazines on file, but when I went to my public library (which has a fairly large collection of magazines) and talked with a reference librarian, she said they didn’t carry a single one. She did tell me about a way to access articles from one bridal magazine (Brides) through one of the library’s databases, though.

Although bridal magazines generally contain many pages of ads, some inspiration may come from the ad images, especially during early planning stages when you’re choosing bridal and bridesmaids’ gowns. Check out the interesting blog post at http://www.weddingbee.com/2012/06/03/on-bridal-magazines/– complete with charts — comparing content from various wedding magazines.

Even if you’re planning a wedding on a short timeline, subscribing through the websites below should save money. You can sell the magazines on Ebay, Craigslist, or through other sources after you’re finished with them and probably get most of your money back!

Check out these great subscription rates:

1)      Brides magazine – news stand price $5.95 – six-month subscription available at  https://subscribe.brides.com/subscribe/brides/75579?source=google_s... for $11.97; 12-month subscription available for $19.97

2)      Martha Stewart Weddings –  news stand price $5.95 – one-year subscription (four issues) available at https://martha.zt01.net/WD/April12/16.php?effort_key=WDAB5H9  for $12 a year (save $12 a year)

3)      Bridal Guide magazine – new stand price $5.99 – one-year subscription (six issues) on www.amazon.com for $9.97

4)      The Knot magazine – news stand price $9.99 – one year subscription (four issues) available at http://www.zinio.com/browse/publications/index.jsp?productId=500637... – for $16

Beware of buying magazines from unknown sources, on websites that are not secure (where the URL begins with http instead of https on the page you place your order), or at unreasonably low prices; some online vendors use deceptive practices or may not deliver the goods.

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