Beautiful Weddings On a Budget






No doubt, every bride wants her wedding day to be perfect!
Nevertheless, seeing wedding pictures on the Internet can make you think planning a wedding requires breaking the bank.
Not necessarily! You don’t have to be extravagant to plan a beautiful wedding on a budget.
Though it's really hard not to splurge during your wedding preparations – we know you'd love a Vera Wang dress coupled with Louboutin shoes. But when  you consider cost of all these and the surge in cost of planning a wedding, it can prove a bit tasking to plan a wedding with a budget. 
All the same, if you're on a budget, you might want to cut out the excesses (the prices of those designer wedding outfits can plan an entire wedding).
Regardless of what your budget limits are, you can still throw a beautiful wedding while staying firmly within your budget.
Here, we have put together some tips that will help you reduce the weight on your budget and give you a stunning wedding.

1. Create a budget
The most important part of a budgeted wedding is actually having a realistic BUDGET!
You need to check your prices and be certain of the amounts you pencil down.
To make it easier, you can ask for advice from your friends and family when you are faced with indecisiveness.
Above all else, STICK TO THE BUDGET. It's not enough to have a budget you need to follow it strictly. 

2.  The dress
This has got to be the biggest challenge in a budgeted wedding. It's most likely that you have a dream wedding dress that your budget won't allow you to get. Worry not!
Firstly, call up your fashion designer friend or if your sister is good with a sewing machine ring her up. Next, go searching for a beautiful dress with the same outline as your dream dress and lastly with the help of your friend or family member make some alterations.
You'll be amazed at what a little alteration can do. It may not be your dream dress but it'll be a unique and beautiful dress. 

3. The ring 
This is the next major issue with cost restrictions.
Your wedding ring must make a statement but that doesn't mean it has to be Cartier. You can ask for a family heirloom (if you weren't offered) or you can visit your local jeweler and ask him to create a unique design by melting your old or unworn jewelry.
If you plan to make your wedding ring a family heirloom you're allowed to splurge a bit on the gem.

4. The Venue
Most brides opt for different venues for the ceremony and the reception which results in an overweight budget considering cost of decor and transportation.
You can have the wedding ceremony and the reception in the same venue and still dazzle your guests. If you'd like an indoors wedding, you can have bright white lights during the ceremony and colorful wedding themed lights during the reception- just to alter the look of your setting.
For an outdoors wedding you can make use of your parents backyard or the local beach and create a beautiful scene with uniquely strung lights. 

5. The Decorations 
Your decor should be romantic and unique.
Get your flowers from your family, friend or neighbor's beautiful garden (with consent, of course) and you can create a special flower arrangement all by yourself.
Visit your local store and buy do-it-yourself decoration items that you and your bridesmaids can design during your bridal shower. Get creative with sitting arrangements and table decor. You can make use of colored water or scented candles for centerpieces on each table.
If you're having an indoor wedding, rather than expensive backdrops, you can string up little bright lights with your wedding theme colors all over the room or around the sides of the tables to create a bedazzling effect. 

6. The cake

This is one aspect of the reception that everybody looks out for so it has to be beautiful and tasty. Choose a wedding cake that will double as dessert for your guests rather than having to pay for dessert or create a cupcake tower. You can bake your wedding cake yourself or with your family and friends (to create bonding time). You can also use artificial tiers covered in frosting to make your cake look larger. 

7. The catering  
Make use of your favorite local restaurant to cater for your food menu and instead of having waiters, you can make it a buffet. Let your menu consist of low priced, creative dishes rather than overpriced typical dishes, you can make your appetizer with your family and friends rather than have your caterer make it. Don't forget to negotiate well in order to reduce the cost and if possible be in charge of the transportation to cut that out of your costing too.

8. The Music  
Hire a local band or DJ to provide entertainment for your wedding reception. If you want to cut lower, you can simply set up a music deck with a playlist of wedding songs and dance music and have a family member or friend control  the deck for you. Another alternative is to have karaoke instead of a DJ- this will be fun and entertaining- and when it's time for the slow dances you can plug in your MP3 player.

9. The stationery 
Your wedding programs and invitations actually take up more of your budget than you realize. To reduce the cost of printing you can design your invitations by yourself- make it an activity during your bridal shower and you can get the supplies you need from your local store.
As for the wedding programs, most of your guests know the order of events and it's likely that a lot of them would leave their programs behind at the venue so it's advisable to leave out wedding programs entirely. 

10.  The photography
 In place of a high priced professional photographer to capture the moments during your reception, you can have a photo booth at the reception and hire a photographer for your posed pictures. Alternatively, you can hand out mini cameras to your guests and let them take pictures by themselves, you can collect the films and print at your own comfort. With the increased quality in phone cameras, photography is definitely not going to be your problem on your big day. 

These tips are sure to help you plan the perfect, beautiful, budgeted wedding. 
You definitely don't have to spend an enormous amount of money before you can bring your dream wedding to life.

References: 
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Resources: 
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