Top 5 Wedding Budget Tips from a Recent Bride and Wedding Insider

Just because your wedding budget doesn't exactly match that of Donald Trumps (ok, it's far from it) does not mean you must settle for a bland cookie-cutter wedding. Set on serving filet mignon and champagne? Envisioning an extravagant 7 tiered wedding confection adorned with crystals and a classy aperitif station? You can still have it! There are some easy, steadfast ways to create the wedding of your dreams without breaking your wedding budget. You can still wow your guests! Here's how…

Cut the list, cut the list, cut the list!
The easiest and most efficient way to slice your costs in half is to shrink your guest list. Food and beverage costs are charged per person, and whether you choose to serve filet and caviar or vegetable pasta and chicken wings, the cost is going to multiply by the number you are feeding. Also consider things such as table linens and centerpieces, chair set up fees, cake cutting fees etc. The cost of these services is based on the number of guests at your wedding. Fewer guests mean less spent on these wedding standards and more money available for those luxurious extras your guests will remember - the decadent chocolate fountain...the Rolls Royce getaway car...the sassy martini station.

Not ALL your best friends
In going with the "less is more" theme, reducing the number of attendants in your wedding party will also save money. With fewer bouquets, boutonnières, bridesmaid gifts and people at your rehearsal dinner, you will save all kinds of money.

Lose the Formality
Stuffy weddings are over anyway. A truly awe-inspiring wedding does not have to be black tie. A simple yet elegant beach wedding can be equally chic, and it lends itself to steel drums instead of a 10 piece orchestra, a casual buffet or barbeque instead of a 5 course meal, and simpler wedding attire - all of which can save some serious cash in your wedding budget.

Make like Martha and Do it Yourself
If you have the time and the skill, why not take advantage? Lose the wedding coordinator, calligrapher, hair and makeup artists, made-to-order favors and welcome baskets, and create your own! (What better way to put your personal stamp on the big day than to leave guests with a memento you made yourself?). You can save a lot of money on these services and use it towards something else. Hmmm - that Monique Lhullier designer gown you've been eyeing??

Be an Off-Peak Bride
Avoid Saturday nights in June - it's cliché anyway. Why not do something different? A wedding does not necessarily have to take place on a Saturday night in the spring or summer, and if you're willing to be flexible with your date and time, you can drastically cut your wedding budget. Weddings in January can be equally romantic and beautiful, and afternoons, Friday or Sunday weddings just as fun. More than likely, you and many of your guests will have to take some time off of work to attend your wedding anyway; with the money that you will save by having it at on a Friday or Sunday, you can throw an exquisite extravaganza that will make it worth their while.

For more articles and advice to help you plan your wedding, visit Elegala.com's complete Wedding Planning Guide