Planning A Wedding On A Budget

Most brides-to-be are looking for ways that they can save a little money when it comes to planning their nuptials. With all of the different wedding services and vendors offering such beautiful (and expensive) ideas for a fairytale wedding, it's sometimes hard to choose which ones to say "no" to. Well, here are a few ideas that can help you trim down that perfect wedding without sacrificing style or beauty.

Off Season - The period from early June to late July and from mid September through October are the busiest seasons for weddings. Consider a winter or early spring wedding. You will find it much easier to haggle pricing when it comes to reception spots, catering and other services if you plan your nuptials when these merchants need the money.

Bridal Party - The larger the bridal party, the larger the budget. Think smaller here. If you have six bridesmaids, you have to buy six bridesmaids gifts. The same goes for groomsmen. By slicing the bridal party to three instead of six, or two instead of four etc., you can shorten your budget for wedding favors in half. Don't leave out anyone that should be in your wedding, but it's a good idea to not put people in your wedding that you haven't seen in five or ten years.

Photography - Think about having a friend who is into photography and has a good camera take your formal shots at the ceremony. A word of caution here. You should really have faith in this individual. If this is not a choice for you, hire a professional to take pictures only at the ceremony. This can shorten your photography obligation in half! Put disposable cameras on every table at the reception for your guests to take pictures. It's amazing how often I hear that these photos, taken by friends and family, are the most prized.

Entertainment - Instead of hiring a live band at $1000+ or a DJ at $500+ to entertain your guests, dust off that CD collection of yours (and your friends) and burn your own customized music selection. This way, you are sure to have every song that's a must, played at the time you want it. Make various CDs with different song types and mark them accordingly (dance, slow, background, father/daughter, etc).

Now here's the tricky part. Find a friend you have faith in to pop in the arranged CDs when needed. Create a little outline of what kind of music to play and approximately when to play it and give it to your friend. Don't make this too complicated. If you have a reception hall for 3 hours, separate the music schedule into 30 minute chunks or whatever works best for you. If you have to bribe your friend $25-$50 to make sure they keep an eye on the CD schedule, do it! In the end, your guests will enjoy themselves and you will have saved yourself some considerable bucks!

Confections - It's become commonplace to have a groomsmen cake at receptions today. In fact, one of the latest crazes in weddings is to have a dessert buffet, also recognized as a Viennese Table. Save your money and do without these extra sweets. Let your wedding cake be what it was meant to be. Dessert. Your only dessert! It's worked well on its own for two centuries and it will work just fine for your nuptials.

In conclusion, it's easy to get bogged down by the thousands of details and budget decisions to make when planning your wedding. So, try not to lose sight of the ultimate goal; to enjoy and celebrate the start of your new life together!

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