Should you save on a wedding?
Should a celebration of your relationship have a quite significant budget you’ll save up for a long time? Should you wait to get married until you’re ready to afford organizing a big and fancy event with a long list of guests? Does great and nice wedding equal great expenses? Frankly speaking, I don’t think that it’s what wedding is about. Any wedding planner will prove these words. And I certainly think that people may get married any time they both feel ready to start a family and live together as a couple, embrace not only all love, but also obligations and responsibility. They may get married once they understand that they don’t want to look for someone else and that they want to spend the rest of their lives together. And, planning a wedding and actually getting married is a way to establish those intentions, proclaim those wishes and start embodying them in life. That is the moment to make this decision. Material things are important in life, but they’re definitely not its main goal. It’s vital that each person understands that before getting into the most serious stage of their relationship.
And, if you’ll look into the core of the things, it doesn’t really matter if the bride wears an expensive dress or if the couple invites a ridiculous number of guests. The only thing that matters is the happiness and the joy you’ll experience during the ceremony. And it will be not the kind of flowers, or the band, or the location of the venue, or the number if bridesmaids and the color of their dresses that will make that day perfect. It will be the eyes of your partner and his/her words ‘I do!’ And, those may be told almost under any circumstances. Of course, if they’re said in the presence of a priest or a state official.
That’s why you may totally plan a wedding on a tight budget and turn it into the greatest celebration. Moreover, when you don’t get an opportunity to buy all the things you’d like to have at your wedding, you’ll get creative and find the alternative wedding organization ways to get those things done. You’ll enjoy the preparation process way more.
Someone will disagree and say that the wedding is the best day of the bride and groom’s lives. So, they shouldn’t save on it. Again, I would say that. I would rather think and hope that it’s just the first day of the better and happier life together. And it is the anticipation of greater future that makes it so exciting. Moreover, you’ll need that money you won’t waste in one day later on.
So, if you’re a couple who doesn’t want to spend a ridiculous amount of money on their wedding but still get a nice experience, use these tips and show those skeptical people how to celebrate the love.
How to plan a wedding on a budget
- Once you’ve decided on the vibe you’re going for, hunt for a reception site—and consider venues that aren’t wedding hotspots. Think about public areas like parks and historical landmarks or wide-open spaces owned by someone you know. Eliminate places that have prices and packages for wedding parties, because it’s a near-guarantee you’ll pay a premium. Consider a home-based or a farm-style wedding.
- Ask if someone among your friends or family owns a restaurant and may allow you to use it as a venue at a lower price or as a wedding gift. Or maybe, one of your friend or grandma has a house with a cool green and flowery backyard just perfect for a private ceremony. You may save the florist costs if you find the spot with natural growing flowers and greenery.
- Hiring a wedding planner might seem a ridiculous decision while planning a wedding on a budget. However, it’s probably the best thing you can do to stick to the budget. This person will figure out a bunch of ways, facilities and options which will help you not to spend a ton of money on one single day. Post a task for a wedding planner
- Just because something has always been done—like, say, the bouquet toss or having a slew of bridesmaids—doesn’t mean you have to. Instead, decide what you value as a couple and stick to that, regardless of judgment—or other weddings you see on the internet.
- When it comes to big-ticket items like wedding rings, there are surprising ways to save, whether you go directly to a dealer or a wholesale. You may take it even further with an unconventional approach and end up spending the unbelievably minimum amount of money on both rings. Ask if your family members have old gold. Old wedding rings from the parents or grandparents of each side will be even better, as they’ll have a sentimental value. They’ll mean the union of two families and long successful relationship. Moreover, you’ll be able to take them to the jeweler to customize the design.
- Do you want to have a cool honeymoon but have no idea how to make it happen? Well, make it your main wedding gift. Let your each of your parents, family members and friends give their own share and fulfill the honeymoon dream of yours. Most of the ordinary wedding gifts end up being returned anyway.
- Wedding invitations are quite overrated. And they’re extremely expensive to print and send out to the guests and family members. You may totally get them designed in a pretty way. And, you may even attempt doing that on your own. Then, print a couple of them to put into your wedding album, but send them to your guests via e-mail. Do the same to the save-the-date and thank-you notes.
- White dresses and a smart suit. Those are expensive as heck. Wedding gowns may cost thousands of dollars. So, they may devour a good portion of any wedding budget. You and your significant other want to look amazing, but you’d also like to give your guests something to eat, drink, and ideally sit on. And, you’ll need to have something to eat after the wedding is over. Wedding gowns belong to the sphere of the wedding must-haves where you can significantly cut the costs. Of course, you want to and you need to look absolutely stunning and beautiful on your wedding day, but it doesn’t mean that your gown should cost a fortune. In the end, you’re the one the guests and, most importantly, your future husband will admire, but not the dress you’ll wear. Even an expensive gown won’t give you a perfect look if it doesn’t suit you or if it doesn’t fit right. And, vice versa. If you find an affordable gown and make it work, you’ll look just amazing. And, no one will even think about how much the dress costs. Their mind will be blown by your immaculacy.
- So, you may find quite nice and not so budget-painful gowns at the mas retailing stores. And if something doesn’t completely satisfy you, you may fix it at the tailoring shop. Moreover, you may make that gown completely unique. Brides may think that the most important part of wedding preparation is going to the salons and trying on a ton of gowns. But let me tell you, you’ll get tired, lost and completely bored really fast. And, you’ll spend a lot of time in vain doing that. Instead, you may settle down in your couch at home and shop for the wedding dress and all the accessories online. And, a good old tailor will help you make the dress perfect. Also, you should check out local sample sales and trunk shows at your bridal salons and department stores. Buying a used or sample dress at a crazy prize might be a good idea too. Just make sure that the gown is in a good shape and doesn’t require a lot of remodeling.
- The best way to save on food, drink, and desserts for your wedding is to provide your own. Enlist your friends and family to help, and make sure that you don’t overextend yourself with complicated fare. If you don’t want to make your own, consider serving heavy appetizers instead of a sit-down meal, and find a venue that allows you to bring your own liquor, beer, and wine. The bar tab is generally the most expensive part of the refreshments.
Check out catering services - Hiring a band may be really expensive. Instead, compile your own playlist and hire a DJ to play the down-the-aisle walk song and keep you entertained through the night. Or, you may ask a wedding planner to keep an eye on the automatic playlist playing through the iPod connected to powerful rented speakers.
- One of the best ways to have a special event while keeping prices down is to go “high-low.” Hire a photographer and videographer just for the ceremony and install a photo booth for the reception. Ask a friend or a bridesmaid to film the party on your camera in a popular ‘vlog-style’ to keep it real and low-cost. Just make sure that your memory card has enough space. Also, you may ask the guests to bring their small cameras and get the pictures showing different perspectives of your wedding. You won’t get such a great wedding photography even if you hire a professional. However, the quality of photos may be a little bit down, so stick to the ‘professional photographer for the ‘I do’ part’ rule. Finding a beginning photographer and videographer in one person will decrease the costs too.
Post a wedding photography task - Wedding flowers can cost thousands of dollars, but if you are frugal you can easily cut your flower bill down to only a couple hundred dollars and still have beautiful arrangements. Be smart about what types of flowers you choose, and think about how you can repurpose them throughout the wedding. Make the full use of the outdoor venue.
- Hair and makeup is really important for every bride. But, salon services might turn out quite expensive. That’s why you may want to head online and book the services of an independent makeup artist. It will be even convenient if he/she agrees to come to your house and conduct a wedding makeover right on the spot. You may ensure that your hair will be done for a wedding by booking the hairdresser’s visit this way too.
- When it comes to wedding décor, it’s something that may pull your budget up. And, you won’t even notice that happening. So, remember that sometimes less is more, and this will help you keep the price of decorating your wedding ceremony venue reasonable. Keep in mind that depending on your venue, the setting itself may be all you need. Consider DIY centerpieces, DIY floating candles and self-made flower decorations for the seats.
Thanks for the tip about finding a wedding venue like a historical landmark so it’s less expensive. My fiance and I have been saving up for years, but we still don’t have much so need to plan an affordable wedding. There’s a pretty meadow outside of town that’s a historical site, so maybe we can use that.