With the average wedding now costing $20,000, many couples are now looking for ways to have a ‘celebrity’ stylish wedding without the celebrity price tag. The first tip is simple – ask for a discount. The worst that can happen is that they say ‘No’. You might be a bit embarrassed, but what have you lost?
We’ve pulled together 5 other top tips to help you create your dream wedding on a shoestring
budget.
1. Choosing The Wedding Venue
Your venue will probably be the single biggest wedding expense you’ll have to pay, with many of the more popular venues charging $2000 upwards. But you don’t need to spend this sort of money to have a fabulous venue.
Wedding Venue Cost Saving Tip:
Many village halls, golf, and country clubs have suitable rooms available for a fraction of the price. The trick is to see past the existing décor and imagine it sprinkled with hundreds of fairy lights or candles.
If you’ve found the wedding venue of your dreams, but it looks like it will be out of your budget, don’t despair. Many venues offer significant discounts for mid-week or ‘out of season’ weddings which can run into thousands of dollars.
2. Food At The Wedding
Deciding what kind of menu you want to offer for your wedding can be difficult enough without seeing the price tag that goes along with it!
Food Budget Cost Saving Tip:
There are many ways to cut back on your food budget and still have a memorable day. Selecting a venue where you can bring in your own caterers is often a much better value than using the existing venue catering. You can even prepare all the food yourself, though be careful of taking too much.
If you don’t have a choice about which caterer you use, there are still ways that you can trim your spending costs. Try replacing the starter course with finger foods instead of having both. Or, replace dessert with your wedding cake – so often, wedding cake gets forgotten about because guests have already had so much to eat.
A new idea that brides are buzzing about is the wedding cheesecake. Literally, it is three slabs of cheese turned into a wedding cake for that special ‘cutting of the cake’ photograph and ceremony. Why not combine the two instead of having a separate cheese and cake course?
3. Drinks At The Wedding
To have a free bar or cash bar? Such a difficult question to answer. Of course, offering a free bar to all your guests all day would be fantastic, but with limited funds, it’s not a realistic option for most people.
Booze Budget Cost Saving Tip:
The ideal in this instance is to use a venue where you can bring your own booze. I was lucky enough to be able to do this at our wedding. We had a lot left over, and our guests were restricted to beer, wine, or soft drinks, but no one seemed to mind.
Another option is to arrange with the hotel regarding corkage. A friend got married in a hotel, which charged $10 per bottle of wine. She arranged a flat fee of$500 for all of her beer and wine openings. Although it seems like a lot, it meant that she could afford to supply beer and wine for her guests.
4. Bridalwear
With most bridal dresses starting at around $600 and running into thousands of dollars, this is a huge expense.
Bridalwear Cost Saving Tip:
You can still look fabulous for a fraction of the price and feel that you’re minimizing the eco-footprint of your wedding by buying a ‘pre-loved’ wedding dress.
Many charity shops have specialist ‘bridalwear’ departments where you can purchase new and designer dresses that have been worn once. You can try the dresses on before buying.
If you’re a little braver, you can venture online, where some fantastic bargains can be had in the ‘pre-loved’ lines. Take a look at some of the ‘For Sale’ forums of popular wedding websites, and you’ll see bridal dresses, veils, tiaras, and those Jimmy Choo shoes that you know you want for a fraction of the cost.
5. The Wedding Photography
Many couples feel that photography is a major part of the day and are prepared to pay upwards of $2000 for a beautifully presented wedding album. Photographers have confirmed that it isn’t the actual photography, which is the major part of this expense, but the printing and preparation of the formal wedding albums.
Wedding Photography Cost Savings Tip:
Many photographers are prepared to attend your wedding day, starting at around $400.
Another excellent tip for having a photo keepsake of your wedding is to use several Instant Photo Guest Books, which combine Polaroid Instant Photos and hand-written notes from your guests. These photo guest books are ready to enjoy the “instant” your wedding is over — and creating them adds great fun to the wedding reception!