Your wedding day is potentially going to be the most expensive day in your life. With the pressure of a once in a lifetime dream wedding to pull off getting carried away with spending is easily done.
Luckily there are a number of ways you can cut your wedding budget without feeling like you have compromised on your big day arrangements. In this article there are five suggestions you might consider in order to cut your wedding budget.
1. Timing is everything
On so many levels the timing of your wedding can make a big difference to the cost. You can save considerable amounts of money and retain your choice of venue by simply having your wedding midweek for example or by avoiding peak times such as the summer months.
Special deal websites often advertise such offers even if they are not mentioned on the official website of the venue. However, if you do look to take advantage of such deals it is essential you are absolutely clear on what you are buying. In other words, what is included, what is not included and the cost of any items that you are likely to want to purchase. Don’t assume that someone is included if it is not specified and always check before your purchase not afterwards.
2. Please yourself
It is very easy to become stuck on comparing your wedding day to someone else’s or making arrangements to please those around you like family members or friends. This is your wedding day and you must please yourself! Those who love you will support your decisions even if they do not understand or agree with them.
On a more practical level, pleasing yourself can save you money. Of course, it can also cost you more money if your wishes are grandiose but generally speaking it is a money saving approach. You don’t feel pressurized into spending money on things that really are not very important to you. In fact, I know several couples who got married in a registry office and went out for a drink (just the two of them) afterwards.
3. Shopping around
Can I tell you a secret? There is an amazingly clever sales technique that makes people pay far more for something than they need to do. If you get quotes from wedding florists you are likely to pay more for the same flowers than you would if you just ordered some flowers. In other words, there are companies who put the word ‘wedding’ into their company name, title, catalogues and this can dramatically increase the price. You see this not just with weddings but in a lot of industries.
When buying anything for your wedding day there are two things you should consider. First of all, you should consider if you can get the same thing for a lower price. Secondly, you should consider the reputation of the person or company that you are looking to purchase from when it is possible to do so.
4. The guest list
One difficult aspect of budgeting is who and how many people to invite to the wedding reception and the evening. The cost per head of your guests can make this a big chunk of your overall wedding day costs. Luckily there are a number of things you can do to resolve this particular dilemma.
Your budget is obviously the primary consideration of this article and therefore work out how many people you can realistically invite to the reception and evening and still remain within budget. Usually immediate family will be your first consideration followed by closest friends but this is a matter of personal circumstance and choice.
Of course, the guest list is not all about guest numbers. It is also worth considering what services and extras to pay for if it makes the difference between inviting people who are important to you or not. Your choice of food, drinks and entertainment can all make a significant impact on the cost of your reception in particular. Even simple extras such as coffee can work out surprisingly expensive if you have a large number of guests.
5. Get creative
With a little creative thinking you can save a considerable amount of money. Let’s explore a few examples –
Wedding photographs – Why not minimize the use of a wedding photographer in order to lower your costs. With many people having digital cameras and high quality camera phones you can get lots of free pictures of your big day but asking your guests to take and share their pictures of your wedding. There are even apps designed for this purpose.
Wedding Cake – Do you know someone who can make and decorate your wedding cake? Any recommendations from other people? You can save a lot of money but finding a talented amateur cake maker/decorator rather than paying a professional to do the job. If you do decide to do this it is worth asking to see pictures of other cakes they have made or having the cake made and delivered in plenty of time.
Wedding stationery – Printed wedding stationery can be very expensive so why not make your own or get a talented friend or relative to create it for you. With the increasing popularity of large craft store chains it is easy to get hold of high quality paper, rubber stamps, paper cutters, foil lettering and pretty much anything else you need to create your own wedding stationery. If this all sounds a little too complicated or unappealing then there is also a Wedding Budget Calculator and lots of free on-line and desktop software that can help you design your wedding stationery and print it out on your home computer printer.
As you can see there are lots of ways in which you can cut your wedding day budget without compromising on your dreams. This article is just a starting point and you can find endless other ideas by searching the internet, buying wedding magazines or talking to other people.