Cut Way Down On The Flowers
Bridesmaids can carry a single, elegant stem or a tiny “kissing ball” instead of an elaborate bouquet. Groomsmen can wear boutonnieres of greenery rather than costly blooms. Tables can be made to look just as festive with centerpieces made of wrought iron-style candelabras as they would with huge floral sprays. Less conventional decorative touches, such as branches or berries, can be just as elegant and striking as the traditional flowers would be, at a fraction of the cost. If the simplified décor is part of an overall event theme, no one will know the couple had a tight budget.
Start Thinking Through The Big Expenses
This next stage will require some research, but its also one of the most important steps of the process. As you start to envision your perfect wedding, take the time to research how much each of those components will cost. This will allow you to know if you have extra wiggle room in your budget to spend more on the parts of your wedding that you want to be perfect. Here are some of the big expenses to think about:
- Venue
Make Your Guest List The A
It goes without saying that a shorter guest list is easier on both your budget and your sanity! Even if it’s unrealistic to whittle your list down to 20, chopping it from 300 to 150 will still help take things from overwhelming to manageable. More often than not, an intimate affair really does requires less money and less workand it comes with an invaluable bonus: more quality face time with that cozier group of guests you invited!
Christophe Genty Photography | Alexis Solano Events | Kari Young Floral Designs
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Decide What Is Nonnegotiable
Based on your percentages, take a moment with your fiancé to decide on your top three must-haves for your big day. They can be practical or totally frivolous: an outdoor reception, a plated surf and turf dinner, loads of flowers, a live jazz bandwhatever is most important to you.
You can come up with your wish lists separately or together, but make sure you sit down and determine what you both really want. Let that vision dictate your budget.
With A Small Wedding You’ll Spend More Time With Your Friends And Family
Even if we love watching movies about weddings, a smaller gathering might be up our alley. Small weddings work because you’ll spend more time with your friends and family. You won’t have to say hi to 200 people, which would honestly take forever, and you can walk through the venue and mingle with various guests at different times during the evening.
This is a crucial thing to think about since your guests are why you wanted to have a wedding in the first place, right? Didn’t you want to share this important milestone with the people you love?
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Recruit Talented Friends To Help
Explore your network of family and friends and call in some wedding favors. Whether its having a friend design your wedding invitations or an aunt bake your wedding cupcakes, utilize the resources you have in your network to save money. Using people in your circle in lieu of hiring professional vendors can save you money on your wedding!
Plan A Bargain Banquet
Food is where most couples go over-budget, especially if you go for a meal during the day and a buffet in the evening. So, look at how many people you’ve invited , work out your budget and divide by the number of guests for your per-head budget.
Meals will cost the most, but buffets, hog roasts or even picnics can be just as smart as well as being far cheaper. Local independent caterers may trump all offers you have, so check out neighbourhood cafes and restaurants.
Another way to massively reduce the cost of food is to have the ceremony later, followed by one big meal, rather than the standard two. Many of our forumites said much of the evening buffet food at their weddings was wasted, and they’d have been better off providing just one meal.
For nibbles and platters, M& S* and Waitrose* have party food sections. Many supermarkets and off-licences offer free glass hire too. You’ll usually have to clean the glasses before returning them though, and will need to pay a deposit in case of breakages.
Also consider having the wedding cake as dessert, to avoid paying for pud. You usually have to provide a meal for the photographer, band and master of ceremonies, so ask caterers if they can do a cheaper option, such as fish and chips.
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Its Time To Create Your Wedding Budget
Theres no right way to create a wedding budget. The most important thing is to create something that feels realistic and manageable. Setting these realistic expectations from the beginning is the best way to create a budget that youll be able to stick to. Moreover, budgeting is a great way to start thinking through the details of your weddingso in addition to saving you money, your budget will also help you stay organized! So while it may not be the most exciting part of your wedding, it can make all the exciting parts that much better.
Choose A Venue Wisely
Consider venues that can host both the ceremony and reception in one place. Also, consider a destination wedding. The overall cost per person may be less than a wedding in Australia, especially in Fiji, Bali, and Thailand.
One thing to be wary of with destination weddings is that it may be challenging to alter options within the packages they offer without the cost blowing out, so check carefully if the package provides everything you want. As for decoration and decor, the venue may supply them, or you could be crafty and make some yourself. Ask someone strong to carry the flowers from the ceremony to the reception. Theres no need to buy completely new flowers for each.
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If Youre Getting Married In A Church Ask The Auxiliary For Help
If youre getting married in a church or in the hall of a civic organization, ask if the auxiliary club associated with that venue has suggestions or ideas. While they might not be able to directly provide a lot of savings, they may be able to offer ideas and small services that can save a little, and they sometimes can point you to something unexpected that can be a huge savings.
Strategy: Ask the auxiliary club associated with the church or other organization where your wedding is being held for help Savings: Small, but potentially big
Consider A Wedding Package
Many wedding venues offer packages that include, say, a glass of wine per guest, a three-course meal, and a DJ.
- These keep hassles to a minimum, cut costs and can sometimes work out cheaper than booking everything yourself.
- Its always worth comparing them with the total cost of a venue hire plus a local caterers fee.
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Create A Savings Strategy To Get A Realistic Sense Of Your Budget
The first step in creating a wedding budget is getting a realistic sense of how much money youll be able to save for your wedding. This can help you create a realistic budget that you can execute.
One way to get a realistic sense of how much you can spend on your wedding is to calculate how much money youll be able to save in the months leading up to your wedding. Sit down with your significant other and calculate how much extra income you have after your normal expenses like rent, loans, subscriptions, car payments, and food. Then choose a percentage of that extra income to set aside for your wedding. A typical amount to save for your wedding ranges between 10% and 20% of that disposable income. But if you know you want to have a more extravagant wedding, then you might want to save more! And dont forget to include your honeymoon costs in that budget, too!
Not Allocating Funds Correctly
Garrett Richardson Photography
Just like buying shoes, an apartment or a pair of jeans, when it comes to financing a wedding, you should figure out how much you need to spend to get what you want. Set your expectations accordingly, and use our budget breakdown above as a guide. To avoid stress, also allot 5% of your budget for a “just-in-case” fund. If you’re paying for your honeymoon yourselves, remember to budget for that as well.
If you’re asking yourself how you can possibly save up for something as expensive as a wedding, don’t worryâit’s doable. As soon as you’re engaged, start putting aside as much of your income as you can for the wedding. Saving 20% of your monthly income is a goodâthough loftyâgoal. The longer your engagement, the more you’ll be able to put away. You can also save up by limiting your spending on small stuff . These changes will hardly affect your quality of life, but after a year, the extra cash will cover some wedding essentials.
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How Much Does An Average Wedding Cost
Theres a lot to think about when it comes to planning a wedding photographer, catering, flowers, dress, to name a few. But what does the average wedding cost in the UK?
Well, the latest figures show that the average person is going to end up spending £31,974 on their big day. A survey of 2,800 couples, by Hitched and You and Your Wedding, also showed that its venue hire that comes out as one of the biggest costs, closely followed by the honeymoon.
Category : Up To 80 Lakh
This high-end budget wedding should not let you worry too much about costs. But even in this budget, venue and catering together take a huge chunk of your budget.
Tip: Including international cuisines in the menu can shoot up the costs. On an average, an Indian meal plate costs around 800 per person. But with international cuisines, the plate cost can go up to 1500 per person.
Increase in the wedding budget also means a simultaneous increase in jewellery expenditure . Whatever budget you choose, jewellery is one department that will see an exponential rise.
Tip: We suggest you buy jewellery around Dhanteras or Akshay Tritiya festivals so that you end up saving some money. A lot of jewellers offer discounts and promotions during these festivals.
Tip: Try bargaining or opting for packages when you are planning for your honeymoon. This will help you save up so that you can use the balance to shop your heart out!
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Don’t Be Embarrassed To Ask For Cash
Most people are happy to give cash as a wedding gift if asked many even prefer it to the hassle of picking a gift. Of the 21,000 who voted in our poll, 55% would prefer to give hard cash, while a further 34% would give it if requested .
Wedding gifts aren’t just a pleasant way of wishing a new couple a great life together. Historically, they’re there as a form of social banking.
So before you decide what to ask for on the big day, here’s what Martin has to say:
It’s worth understanding the function this ceremonial gift exchange performs.
Far too many think of wedding gifts as an added extra, yet financially it needs to play a core part in your plans. You’re likely to be shelling out a serious sum of cash for your wedding, but lots of people are willing to effectively pay you back in return for going to the ceremony.
Of course, etiquette rightly suggests no one should ‘ask for gifts’. So what we’re really talking about here is whether you can express a preference for cash over presents for those who want to give.
Gift giving is a form of social banking
Older generations would give gifts or money to younger ones to help them start off in life before they’d had time to build their own finances.
Then once that couple grew older they effectively gave back to the same community when they attended weddings of younger couples by giving them gifts. Thus the money moves in a circular way and is targeted at those who need it most.
Get Creative Where You Can
Getting creative while planning your wedding can go a long way in helping you save. “I’ve seen couples reduce
their costs significantly by thinking outside of the box,” says Melissa Trentadue, manager of community at wedding planning platform Zola. Trentadue says she has seen couples opt for donut bars and cupcake towers instead of the traditional wedding cake to cut costs, and DIY decorations for tablescapes.
Bride Catherine Badillo, founder of personal finance blog Wealth of Cents, used a mix of candles and greenery to cut down on floral expenses. “Candles and greenery work with any time of year, provide a nice romantic ambience, and are cheaper than large flower arrangements,” says Badillo.
If you have the option of using a close family member’s wedding dress, reimagining it could save you over a $1,000 says Beams. You can have the dress altered and updated to your style, and it will add a meaningful element to your special dayand you’ll already have your something borrowed.
Digital invitations will make for an eco-friendly wedding option and will save you time and moneyyour guests just want to know the important details. “The hand made, gold embossed, ribbon clad invites will sit in someone’s drawer until the day of,” says Badillo. If you are sending out invitations in the mail, Badillo suggests having your guests RSVP on your wedding website instead of having RSVP cards printed.
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How Do I Get A Nice But Cheap Wedding
There are plenty of ways you can have a nice but cheap ceremony. Cutting down on cost doesnt always have to mean cutting back on quality:
