The Dreaded Wedding Budget
You want to throw the wedding of your dreams, but you’re not Richard Branson’s kid. What do you do?
Statistics say the average wedding costs £15,000. Most young girls dream of the fairy tale wedding: long white gown, 8 bridesmaids, a sit-down dinner, the band everyone dances to.
Many brides have been dreaming about their wedding day since childhood. These dreams come with an expensive price tag and the realization of their fairytale day may be distant. Although weddings are very costly today, your dream day can happen. I am going to share some tips to cut corners and save money without making huge sacrifices.
By taking the time to plan and investigate, you will be amazed at the amount of money that you save. Would you arrive at an interview for your dream job without prior preparation? No, you would not and that is why preparation and research will make your wedding a success without re-mortgaging the house!
It’s only natural to want the Cinderella fantasy wedding, complete with ice sculptures, a heavenly cake, and thousands of guests who’ve flown in from around the world to enjoy the accompanying dinner. It’s only human to cry at the bill that this dream can rack up.
Costs can add up quickly. Factor in the meal, the drinks, the music, the dress, the flowers, the photographer, the decorations and the dream wedding can seem way out of your league. But it doesn’t have to be How can the average person have a beautiful wedding with all the bells and whistles on a working person’s salary? Perhaps the three letters/words that say it best are – DIY (do it yourself!)
Spending your life savings on your big day is crazy. You can have elegant, beautiful weddings without breaking the bank.
Having a low cost wedding doesn’t mean giving up style or sentimentality. It means using your imagination, using your own hands or the help of friends and family. Ask anyone you know to help out. Almost everyone will be happy to oblige. They’ll be part of your special day which makes them special as well!
The attitude to take for your budget should be Save Big Without Skimping!
Plan the wedding you can afford. Don’t try to compete with anyone else, including magazines.
Money is a HUGE cause of stress – but if you know your budget, know what you can and can’t afford, and STICK TO IT, you won’t have any money-related stress or surprises.
Why look at 5K dresses when you only have the budget for a 1K dress? You’re just going to stress yourself out. Don’t even look at options that aren’t in your price range. Plan the wedding you can afford and be proud of it.
Consider extending your engagement. A longer planning period means a better chance of getting the best vendors in your price range. Plus, you can typically lock in rates that might increase by the time your wedding date arrives.
Avoid Saturday weddings if possible. Wedding vendors charge their highest fees for parties that are held on this evening. If you’re willing to move your event to a Friday or Sunday night, you’ll probably get lower rates-and even better ones for a weeknight wedding.
Marry in the off-season. Prime wedding times are from May to October in most parts of the country. If you instead plan your nuptials for January, for instance, you’ll have a better chance of finding vendors who will drop their rates.
A Valentine’s Day wedding will mean higher costs for flowers-and for nuptials on New Year’s Eve, your venue may charge you overtime rates for staffing. So stay clear of holidays!
When searching for a gown within your budget, avoid luxury materials and embellishments. Instead, go for textured fabrics like silk organza, crinkled silk and silk faille, which look and feel more expensive than they are.
Ask about freebies. Some venues include a cake, flowers or a honeymoon suite in wedding packages.
Look for a multipurpose venue. If you use one site for the ceremony and reception, you’ll save on site fees and won’t have to pay for transportation to both spots.
If you can fit all of your reception information on the wedding invitation, you’ll save on the materials and printing costs, and possibly even on the postage.
Look for non-floral centrepieces. Mix fruit with flowers to create a beautiful centrepiece for half the price of a flowers-only design. Or ask for extra greenery to fill out the arrangement at a lower cost.
For a destination wedding, select a hotel with an on-site wedding coordinator so you don’t have to pay for an independent planner. Also, choosing an all-inclusive resort can save cash; if there’s a reception fee, it tends to be small.
Throw a brunch (or lunch) bash. You’ll save on the food (breakfast and lunch entrées are cheaper), the bar (daytime tabs tend to be much smaller) and possibly even the fee for the space.
Look for a dress in sale or a sample. Twice a year, many bridal salons sell samples of the dresses they carry at a significant discount. You could land a bargain (but first find out what dry cleaning and alterations might cost, so you can take that into account before your purchase).
Guests will see flowers for only an hour or two, so stick with the basics. Consider placing one or two big arrangements up front, where all eyes will be, and leaving the rest of the room decorated very simply.
Instead of specifying the blooms you want for your wedding, ask your florist to choose the best bargains available in your color scheme on your big day.
Hire one car to get you and your groom to and from the ceremony, and then another for the end of the night. Often, you’ll end up paying less for two cars than for one with overtime charges.
Certain types of bouquets, most notably pomanders and nosegays, can be used twice. After they are carried down the aisle by your bridesmaids, they can be placed in vases to grace guests’ tables.
If you serve hors d’oeuvres when guests arrive at the venue, you can get by with a simple soup or salad, followed by a main course and dessert (or just wedding cake) for the meal.
For Centrepieces choose less expensive flowers that are in season (such as dahlias or local hydrangeas) to use at the base of the arrangement, since they’ll ultimately be covered by pricier blooms.
Play with texture and scale to make all of your centrepieces appear costlier than they really are. Three simple glass cylinders each holding a cluster of stems interconnected with a curly willow, for example, can be just as attractive as a traditional candelabra that’s packed with many blossoms-and way more unique.
Before you commit to a venue, inquire about all the little costs-for example, some sites will charge to cut your cake or uncork your champagne. You can save by adding them up and factoring this into your decision about a site.
Instead of carrying a big, lush bouquet, opt for just a few dramatic flowers, like sunflowers or calla lilies, tied with ribbon. You’ll get a chic look for a lower price.
A venue’s affordibility depends in part on how much decorating it requires. A grand historic estate, for example, may need only minimal florals for decor-so in the end, this venue might actually cost less than a bare reception hall.
Sites usually charge extra for toasting bubbly, but you can decrease the cost if you substitute a sparkling white wine for the French original. Or skip the champagne service entirely: No one will notice it’s missing-they’ll simply raise a glass of whatever they’re drinking.
To free up funds for other areas of your wedding, have craftsy friends (instead of your planner) create your welcome baskets, or ask a relative with neat handwriting to address all of your invitations.
Its obvious, but it bears mentioning: Each additional attendee means an extra meal, a bigger bar tab and one more invitation you’ll have to pay for. With eight to 10 extra guests, you’ll also have to purchase another centrepiece.
The bar tab can be the biggest budget breaker for many couples. Those in the know make it more affordable at their wedding by offering guests beer and wine only (at least one red and one white), along with a sophisticated signature cocktail.
You can save a lot by doing your own hair and makeup. Get ideas and tips beforehand from magazines and makeup counters, and ask a friend to help on the big day.
If your site allows, it can be cheaper to buy drinks from a supermarket and pay your site to provide a bartender. You can use any leftovers to stock your home bar.
If the photographer you have in mind seems priced beyond your reach, you may still be able to hire him without going over budget. Ask him/her to provide proofs only, then craft your own album out of those. You won’t have to settle for a different photographer-and you can always order more prints or a polished album later.
Scale back on videography costs by asking your supplier to give you just a very basic edit. You’ll get the footage you were looking for, in the style you wanted, and you can always save up to have him edit it further later.
Most top DJs charge a lot less than top bands. An added benefit is that a DJ can act as an all-in-one entertainer and announcer.
Forget the favours. Your guests will hardly notice that they’re missing. Another option: Give one favour to each couple instead of one per guest in order to pay half the price.
If you have time for this budget-friendly DIY project, make your own favours. (Enlist friends or relatives to help!) A bonus: Since homemade treats are more personal and unique, they’re always a hit among guests.
Consider delaying your honeymoon to your dream destination until the off-season, when rates will be lower. If you can’t be this flexible, try to schedule your departure and return on a Monday or Tuesday to secure better airfares.
