This year I learned a lesson the hard way when it comes to boys tuxedos. My son, who is 5, was in his first wedding party and the bride told me I could either buy a tux, or just rent on with the guys. You would think, since I am a wedding pro, I would have done research and foudn out what was best. Nope, I just assumed renting would be cheaper right? $145 later, I realized how VERY wrong I was! Of course, by that time, the wedding was only a week away and it was to late to order a tuxedo so I was stuck shelling out the money.
SO.. how could this have been avoided? Well, the bride had said he could wear any tux, as long as it was black. The groom and his guys did some shopping around and picked the cheapest place to rent for tux they wanted – but I never checked for kids prices. In fact, as it turned out, at this location the boys tux cost the same as the adults! Now, a little research probably would have led me to a rental shop that offered a better deal – but that may not have been the best answer either.
Remember, I avoided buying because I though renting would be cheaper? Well, I was checking out Tuxedos And More who specialize in tuxedos for infants and children. The same tuxedo that I rented for $145 sells on their website for $60! The only difference is that I would have needed to by shoes to go with it. Not a big deal, he has nice dress shoes already – so if I hade purchased his tux I would have saved $75!!
But what am I going to do with a tux he’ll probably never use again? Okay first of all, it’s CHEAPER then the rental, and he’ll never wear the rental again either will he? Besides – a tuxedo that has only been used once is resaleable provided it isn’t damaged – I could have listed it on eBay, a local classifieds or wedding classifieds and gotten at least $30 – bring my savings up to $105!!!
THE MORAL OF THIS STORY:
- RESEARCH EVERYTHING, never just assume you know what’s cheaper. And do your research early – leaving the tux till the week before the wedding cost me a lot of money!
- Renting isn’t always your best option, sometimes buying can save you money in the end.
