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Wedding on a Budget: Save Money Without Skimping on Quality
By Sarah Borroum
Your wedding should be one of the most important days of
your life. As such, you want everything – even the tiniest detail – to be
absolutely perfect.
Unfortunately, your wedding budget does not allow for the
best of everything. You have only a certain amount of money to spend. That,
however, does not mean that you have to have a cheap wedding. These tips will
help you create the perfect wedding day without skimping on quality.
Set your priorities before you start shopping and booking.
Do you care more about where you have the reception or what food you
serve? You can more easily compromise on things that aren’t the most
important to you.
When you have your wedding is almost as important as where
you have it. Many couples want to wed in summertime. As a result, many
venues are booked and prices can be higher. Marrying in an “off season”
can help, but so can setting your date for a weekday.
Trim the guest list. A small wedding can provide a close,
intimate setting for your special day. You’ll save money without
sacrificing one of the most important things: your family and closest
friends.
City prices are usually more expensive than country
prices. You can find a beautiful, country setting for the ceremony and/or
reception – and save a lot of money on things like catering, photography
and the cake.
Don’t tell florists, boutiques or other vendors that
you’re shopping for a wedding. Prices often rise when you mention that
you’re getting married.
Reserve everything that you’ll need in advance – way in
advance. Late or last-minute rental fees and surcharges will eat away at
your wedding budget. Confirm your reservations and rentals two or more
weeks before your wedding date: that way, if anything is wrong (or lost),
there’s time to fix the problem.
Ask your friends for help. You might know people who can
help you with the music, place arrangements, invitations and other things.
Remember, though, that nobody wants to be around a Bridezilla: stay cool
and thank your friends with a nice, relaxing night on the town.
You can get a designer-label wedding dress at a fraction
of the retail price. If you can find a “sample sale” in your area, you can
save quite a bit of money. You can also check wedding expos and online
auction sites for great dresses that aren’t too pricey.
In fact: if you don’t want to wear a “proper” wedding
dress…don’t! You can select more casual attire that is still elegant and
dressy enough for this special occasion.
Printing your own invitations is cheap, but not
cheap-looking. If you have a decent printer (laser or inkjet), visit your
local stationery store and tell the clerk that you want to print your
invitations at home. You can find all sorts of elegant, beautiful
invitation blanks that you can print yourself.
Alcohol prices can skyrocket if you don’t pay attention to
what’s happening. Look at various ways to save money on alcohol. You can
offer only beer and wine; bring your own alcohol instead of paying the reception
site to stock and serve; or eliminate it from your reception altogether.
Elope. Sometimes the best thing you can do is to take off
for a distant location to get hitched.
After your wedding, nobody is going to remember what type of
flowers you had or how many sequins were on the wedding dress. They’ll remember
how much fun they had coming together to watch their loved ones marry. And
that’s what you’ll remember too!
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