Every girl is said to dream about what her perfect wedding day will look like. Hopefully, you will only have one wedding in your life, so you want it to be as special as possible. However, what often prevents us from meeting those aims is budgetary constraints. Having limited finances doesn’t mean that you can’t plan a wonderful experience with a few luxuries. So let’s look at how to spend your wedding budget wisely to get more of what you want from your special day.
Limit the guest list
Yes, you would like to invite all of your friends and family members from around the world. However, if you’re planning a meaningful, affordable ceremony, you may want to invite only those closest to you; otherwise, you will have to make other compromises. By limiting the number of guests, you’ll be able to treat your guests to a special celebration! People will generally understand if they’re not invited for financial reasons, so don’t worry about offending them.
Choose an affordable location for the wedding
If you’re not religious and a church wedding isn’t a must, a registry office should be a cheaper option. You may wish to consider other locations, but you will probably have to pay extra for the registrar to attend.
Choose an affordable location for the reception
The wedding reception is going to be the biggest expense, and so it has the potential for big savings.
You may wish to hire a stately home, but you can still achieve your dream by adapting to a less expensive location.
A venue will likely offer various packages. Choose the best one for your budget, but don’t be afraid to negotiate and seek flexibility on what you do or don’t want included.
You could hire a venue only, rather than a package. So consider all options.
Bear in mind, when it comes to food, this is one aspect it’s best not to scrimp on. You don’t want the day remembered for a disappointing menu or your guests leaving hungry. The food should look and taste delicious and be plentiful enough to provide a proper square meal, leaving your guests delighted.
Make your invitations
This is one of the easiest ways to save money while planning your big dream wedding. There are many websites available where you can buy basic accessories and raw materials to make your own wedding invitations. There’s no need to splash out on using a graphic designer or employing a professional printer.
Bring out your creative side and make some beautiful invitations that will impress everyone. Canva is a good option to get started.
Timing
How about a winter wedding when demand for venues, catering and other services is lower and therefore likely to be cheaper?
Hire instead of purchase
Although many girls like to have their wedding dresses to look back on years down the road, those very dresses could end up with mould and mildew two or three years later.
Why not avoid the mildew nightmare scenario and hire your wedding dress, bridesmaids’ dresses, tuxedos and whatever else you can? It works out much cheaper to rent than to buy.
If you want to go down the ‘buy and keep’ route, you can still save money. Wedding outfits bought from a dedicated wedding shop will always be more costly than, say, a gorgeous cocktail dress from a department store. An evening gown with simple accessories can look fabulous. Bridesmaids’ outfits can even be bought from supermarket clothing departments. Nobody will know just by looking at them!
Make full use of family and friends
You’ll likely have friends or family members who have talents or assets that could prove very useful for your wedding.
What about your aunt, who is a talented confectioner/baker? Could she make a stunning wedding cake?
Your best friend, who works at the flower shop down the street, could provide decorations, and he has a friend who’s a DJ, and another friend who does wedding photography.
The band from college could probably do a good job of entertaining your guests at the reception.
Even if you just applied one or two of these ideas, you could make significant savings. It’s all about striking a balance, making use of what you have and can do, to keep it affordable. Then again, you don’t want to cut back so much that the day falls flat. Try to leave room for a few treats to give the day the ‘WOW’ factor.
Just buying a few sparklers will create more great photo opportunities. You don’t have to spend a lot to create some special touches that guests will appreciate.
It’s very possible to have the wedding you’ve always wanted without making too many compromises. Spend a little time considering your options to achieve this aim, without breaking the bank, leaving enough money for a romantic honeymoon if you plan to have one.
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