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
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:
Huffington Post:
She Knows:
Resources:
Money Crashers:
Brides:
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