Just because you don’t have an unlimited wedding budget does not mean you must settle for a cookie-cutter wedding. Save in style with these top wedding budget saving tips from a recent bride.
Just because your wedding budget doesn’t exactly match that of a celebrity, does not mean you must settle for a bland, cookie-cutter wedding. Set on serving filet mignon and champagne? Envisioning an extravagant 7-tiered wedding confection adorned with crystals and a classy aperitif station? You can still have it! There are some easy, steadfast ways to create the wedding of your dreams without breaking your wedding budget. You can still wow your guests! Here’s how…
Cut Your Guest List!
The easiest and most efficient way to cut costs is to shrink your guest list. Food and beverage costs are charged per person, and whether you choose to serve filet and caviar or vegetable pasta and chicken wings, the cost will multiply by the number you are feeding. Also consider things such as table linens and centerpieces, chair set up fees, cake cutting fees, etc. The cost of these services is based on the number of guests at your wedding. Fewer guests mean less spent on these wedding standards and more money available for those luxurious extras your guests will remember.
Not All your best friends
In going with the “less is more” theme, reducing the number of attendants in your wedding party will also save money. With fewer bouquets, boutonnières, bridesmaid gifts, and people at your rehearsal dinner, you will save all kinds of money.
Lose the Formality
Stuffy weddings are over anyway. A truly awe-inspiring wedding does not have to be a black tie. A simple yet elegant beach wedding can be equally chic, and it lends itself to steel drums instead of a 10-piece orchestra, a casual buffet or barbeque instead of a 5-course meal, and simpler wedding attire which can save some serious cash in your wedding budget.
Do it Yourself
If you have the time and the skill, why not take advantage? Lose the wedding coordinator, calligrapher, hair and makeup artists, made-to-order favors, and welcome baskets, and create your own! (What better way to put your personal stamp on the big day than to leave guests with a memento you made yourself?). You can save a lot of money on these services and use them towards something else.
Be an Off-Peak Bride
Avoid Saturday nights. Why not do something different? A wedding does not necessarily have to take place on a Saturday night in the spring or summer; if you’re willing to be flexible with your date and time, you can drastically cut your wedding budget. Weddings in January can be equally romantic and beautiful, and afternoons, Fridays, or Sunday weddings are just as fun. More than likely, you and many of your guests will have to take some time off of work to attend your wedding anyway; with the money that you will save by having it on a Friday or Sunday, you can throw an exquisite extravaganza that will make it worth their while.