A glamorous wedding needn’t break the bank, and it doesn’t mean trimming the guest list, sacrificing the must-haves, or going crazy with DIY. All that’s really required is a little resourcefulness. So what are the secrets behind a high style and yet low cost wedding?
Go through the list given below and you’ll find that by following these tips, you may be able to save a lot of your precious money while at the same time fulfilling all your wishes for your big day.
The Gown
A bride in a beautiful laced wedding dress and pearl necklace with a bouquet of white rosebuds. Photo Courtesy: Smartphotostock.com
Opt for simple and elegant, as it’s the handwork of adding beads and trim that skyrockets cost. Even better, leave the bridal boutiques behind and shop for a designer evening gown, many of which come in wedding-worthy shades and styles but cost hundreds or even thousands less. Check out formal wear rental shops, which are constantly selling off last season’s gowns at deep discounts. Where accessories are concerned, borrow items like the veil, purse, gloves and shoes from friends and choose family jewelry like grandmother’s pears instead of buying new bling.
The Flowers
Find out whose weddings are scheduled just before and after yours. If you can coordinate flowers with either bride, you can share expenses. Ask the florist to use plentiful in-season blooms rather than expensive exotics and don’t overlook blossoming shrubs like lilac and hydrangea. For the bouquet, an arrangement in a holder will look larger and fuller than the same flowers hand tied.
The Invitations
DIY Wedding Invitation of Yaffa and Kerin – Photo Courtesy: Yaffa Phillips
Avoid extra postage by saying no to anything that weighs over an ounce in its envelope or is a square or other non-standard shape. Handle RSVP by email and phone rather than enclosing cards and envelopes. For super savings and the option to personalize, design and print your own invitations.
The Music
If you have a friend with a beautiful voice, explain that you’d love to have a solo as a wedding gift. If there’s a nearby college, music majors often support themselves by playing events, and hiring a trio or quintet for the ceremony and receiving line is an affordable touch of elegance.
The Photography and Video
Many a time, wedding pictures clicked by friends come out even better than a professional would have taken. Look above at this excellent shot of Lotta & Sebastian clicked by their good friend Camilla. Wow. Photo Courtesy: Camilla
Hire professionals only for the ceremony and start of the reception, then rely on friends and family for the rest. Look for a photographer who offers a gift registry, where guests give cash to defray the costs, and skip the extras like special effects, editing and multiple copies.
The Cake
Order a modest two tier cake for the bride and groom to cut, and serve guests less expensive sheet cake, or order a cake that’s been frosted but not decorated cake and have your florist add a few blossoms and ribbons. The current trend of replacing the huge cake with fanciful cupcakes or a cake tree is popular and saves $1-2 per serving.
The Food and Drink
Go with hors d’oeuvres, finger foods or a dessert buffet instead of a full meal. Limiting beverages to wine and soft drinks, rather than liquor, cuts the bar tab and eliminates the need for a bartender.
The Decorations
Alex & Brin’s backyard wedding in Westport, Bristol County, Massachusetts – Photo Courtesy: Kenji Ross
Bypass the done up wedding hall and look for a reception venue you can decorate yourself, such as a friend’s large back yard, church hall, or community center. Rent good quality linens, silver, glasses and plates, and instead of expensive flower arrangements, opt for simpler centerpieces like lanterns, candles floating in water tinted to your colors, scattered rose petals, trailing ivy, crystal bowls of fruit sprayed gold or silver, flowering branches or placemark flowers in miniature pots.
A good general strategy is to get married in the off-season months of January through April, which means more choice and bargaining power in everything from the DJ to the reception venue. Post-Christmas is also sale season, and a good time to stock up on candles, ribbons, and other decorations. Be an indefatigable bargain hunter and use the internet, where Ebay, Save on Crafts and other sites discount everything from gowns to chair sashes to shaded tea lights, vases, favor tins and other accessories.
Stylish Weddings Melbourne specialise in stylish yet affordable accessories and decorations for your wedding, including essential items for the bride & groom.
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A tennis court tranformed beautifully into a wedding venue. You would hardly know what is was. And just the right size for a party for 400 people. Just shows you the only limitations are imagination and budget. Photo Courtesy: Tracy Hunter
Some ways you can save money when planning a wedding which won’t have an impact on the day.
You don’t have to spend a fortune on your wedding. There are some areas where cutting the budget can create a more personalised event you will always remember.
Invitations
Everyone loves handcrafted cards for Christmas and birthdays, so wedding invitations needn’t be any different. Investing some time in making your own can save money and produce lovely cards to impress your guests. All the supplies you will need are readily available from craft shops and online and you will be able to choose any theme.
The Cake
You may be lucky enough to have someone to make the cake for you but if not, any cake can look stunning with fresh flowers cascading over it. If you do not like cake, why not choose a centrepiece that you do like instead, something like a massive display of ginger biscuits could provide a real talking point.
Photographs
Some of the best wedding albums are made up of snaps taken by many guests and collated later. Leaving a disposable camera on each table will ensure that you collect many informal photos. Rather than engaging a professional photographer, just ask a couple of reliable friends to take the shots you definitely can’t do without.
The Dress
If you are sure of your size and willing to take a slight gamble, there are plenty of dresses available on the internet, both new and second hand. You could end up with a designer dress for the cost of a chain store one if you buy it online.
Wedding Favours
This is another area where you can give your guests something really different by which to remember the occasion. There are many small gifts available, from individual soaps or a few sugared almonds in an organza bag that you can personalise yourself by adding a heart shaped label.
Table Decorations
Place cards can be made in the shape of a heart, a butterfly or any other shape that fits your theme and printed in your colours. A slit in each card means it can be slid on to a glass for an unusual way of showing guests to their places. Tea light candles are inexpensive and can be placed in hand decorated glasses.
A little time spent planning and preparing for your big day can leave you with more funds to spend on whatever you want, be it a luxury honeymoon or the deposit for a house.
Madeleine Small is interested in crafts and posts blogs and tutorials on various craft websites. She has used www.imag-e-nation.com for a number of years and has always been happy with the service she’s received.
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Wedding Budget – Photo Courtesy: Elizabeth Murphy
Getting married is usually a very expensive affair. So much so, in fact, that some people shy away from getting married because they simply can’t afford it. However, it doesn’t need to be this way, particularly when you consider how to save money by organizing your own wedding without using a wedding planner.
The Wedding Planner Myth
An ancient Greek wedding – “The groom took possession of the bride by grasping her wrist.” No wedding planners then!! – Photo Courtesy: Tilemahos
Anybody who is anybody uses a wedding planner, but try to keep in mind that this is really only a fashionable thing. People have been organizing weddings for thousands of years, and wedding planners really are something of the past ten or so years. If you want to know how to save money by organizing your own wedding without using a wedding planner, it is all about simply doing it yourself. Use your own wits and think about your own likes and dislikes. Yes, it means you have to do all the running around, but it isn’t as if you have to do nothing if you do hire a wedding planner.
Wedding Planners are not Needed
Preparations for Klein & Holmes wedding in the backyard of the bride’s parents’ house – Photo Courtesy: Kenji Ross
What does a wedding planner really do? They make phone calls to venues, cake makers, dress makers, invitation makers and florists. But you still have to choose all of these yourself. So it’s quite simple, if you want to know how to save money by organizing your own wedding without using a wedding planner, it is about making those phone calls yourself. You pick the venue and arrange it, you decide on your dress, the invites, the food and the flowers. And you can go even cheaper if you consider how much money you can save on all of these things. For instance, if you know someone with a beautiful home or garden, you could use that as your venue. Perhaps you know someone who is a great cook and they would be happy to deal with the catering for you, or make you a fantastic wedding cake. Consider it a wedding gift, for example.
Make Plans Yourself and Save Money
Bridal gowns…from the interior of an amazing second hand clothes shop in Totness, England – Photo Courtesy: Ben Salter
A wedding planner really is nothing but a fashion accessory that you don’t need at all. There are many ways of how to save money by organizing your own wedding without using a wedding planner. You could wear a wedding dress that has been in the family for generations. You could buy one second hand from a store or from bidding websites. You could go foraging for your own flowers or get advice from an experienced florist with a comprehensive website who can genuinely try to save you money. Perhaps you know some people who can play an instrument, in which case you even have the band sorted. Yes, it means you have to do a lot of running around, but who is better equipped to sort out your day than you yourself?
Nobody knows you and your partner better than what you do, so you guys are the only people that can really make this day the perfect day.
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Photo Courtesy: Toftrees Golf Resort
Weddings are a momentous occasion. Not only is your wedding day a time to celebrate a new beginning with you and your spouse, it’s also the largest event most of you may ever need to plan. Putting together a huge celebration can be taxing on your energy and your wallet. Fortunately, it’s possible to plan your dream wedding without breaking the bank or relying on credit. By combining a mixture of smart planning strategies, DIY projects and budget-conscious choices, you can have the wedding that you want without an unwanted price tag.
Seven Tips for Budget-Conscious Wedding Planners
1.) Cut the size of your guest list
The fewer people you need to feed and accommodate, the more flexibility you will have in planning the event. Confine the event to just close family and friends, and request that people not bring dates unless specifically invited.
2.) Plan an informal wedding
A black-tie event will usually cost more than a more relaxed, casual wedding. You can have it outside and take advantage of beautiful natural scenery to save money on a venue, or dress in clothes you may already own like a lacy tea dress to cut down on costs.
3.) Have your wedding in the morning or afternoon
If the reception occurs in the morning, you can cut down the reception costs by serving a light breakfast brunch and mimosas. You can cut alcohol out of the reception entirely for hefty savings as well.
4.) Rent what you can
Photo Courtesy: Cory Doctorow
Some things can be rented for a fraction of the cost of buying them. See if you can rent wedding supplies for your ceremony or reception. You may also want to look into renting a dress or tuxedo rather tan buying one.
5.) Make things at home
DIY weddings are a huge trend, and you can recruit your wedding party to help make decorations, favors or invitations. You can search online for inspiration or browse wedding supply stores to get an idea of the sort of things you can replicate.
6.) Invest where it matters
Figure out early on what is most important to you, and budget around that expense. For example, if the venue is the most important part, you may want to save money on decorations and let the beauty of your chosen venue shine through.
7.) Offer buffet-style food
Photo Courtesy: savv
Food served in a buffet will be much less expensive than a sit-down fare, and the money you save can be invested in buying the best possible food for your budget. Focus on a handful of delicious dishes rather than offering a larger menu, and be sure to offer a self-service appetizer platter.
Planning a wedding can be expensive, but people on any budget can afford the wedding that they want if they plan it carefully. By incorporating these tips, you can start putting together the wedding of your dreams no matter what your budget.
If you’re planning your wedding and are looking to save money, visit Stylish Weddings Melbourne. Offering a range of classy yet affordable wedding accessories, jewellery, decorations and just about everything you need for a wedding.
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