A wedding is a big day that requires a lot of planning and money. It’s definitely an exciting moment that everyone wants to be perfect. But, you don’t want to spend too much at the wedding and have nothing left for the honeymoon and the marriage. However, no one likes a boring wedding either. The best thing is to have a frugal and yet elegant wedding with beautiful memories. Also, it is important to stick to the guidelines stipulated by the CDC for gatherings because of the pandemic. Here are the tips on how to have a lovely wedding without breaking the bank.
Top Ideas to Help You Plan an Affordable Wedding
While you may love many and desire for all of your friends, family, and coworkers (and possibly their pets as well!), it is best to tighten the list. By limiiting your guest list, you will be able to save on your budget. Keep your wedding invites intimate by sending invitations to those who are closest to you. This would include any person whose absence you would greatly regret on your big day. Spend more time on the list and review it. Once you’ve made that list, be sure that you stick to it and do not allow additional guests at the last minute. This way, you can be sure that additonal costs do not creep up from non-RSVP’d guests.
2. Get an Attractive Location That is Affordable
Location is one of the things that can demand a lot of money for a wedding. You can try to see what locations in your area offer lower cost reception accomodations. This would include places such as a golf course, church venue, local community center, or similar. Alternatively, you can have your reception at your home or a friend’s home that can is large enough for your guests. A garden can be used for the location if the weather is good. While the reception can be planned in another location at the home, or at an offsite venue. A great way to save money!
3. Purchase a Pre-loved Tuxedo and Wedding Dress
Attire for a wedding can certainly get costly. A Tuxedo and wedding dress are surely some of the major expenses for a wedding. However, with a little bit of shopping around, you can save quite a bit here too. The Black Tux offers tailor-made custom fitted suits that are affordable and highly wearable. Websites such as Borrowing Magnolia allow ladies to purchase pre-owned high quality wedding dresses. They offer a multitude of sizes, and provide budget friendly options for your occassion. And if you don’t plan on keeping your dress to pass down to any future children or relatives, you can always opt to rent your dress as well.
You have so many options to get the attire that you want for your wedding if you are willing to be a bit creative. But remeber to plan ahead and avoid procrastinating. You should try to plan any tux and wedding dress rentals or purchases at least two to three months ahead. Waiting until the last minute can end up costing you more money in the scenario that you need to make last minute alterations or changes. Another idea is to search for places where wedding dresses are produced in large numbers. Places such as these often will offer sample sales and discounts for their older stock merchandise. A little digging might lead you to some great deals that you might not have found otherwise!
4. Get Married on a Friday
The pandemic has delayed a lot of weddings and has subsequently caused an increase in couples trying to get married on Saturdays. This has somehow made Saturday weddings cost even more money, as this has traditionally been the most popular day to tie the knot.You can consider moving your big day to Friday instead. You can also check with your desired venue to ask them what days they have the lowest traffic. You can then see if they will give you a discount for renting out on a lower-volume day. A plus for sales managers who need to keep their numbers up, and a plus for you who needs to keep your budget down.
5. Hire a Friend or Family to Cook
You can significantly reduce the cost of food by getting a friend that can cook for the wedding. Think of the friend of yours who loves to entertain, and feed everyone samples of their Chef Giada style menus. Now would be the time for them to shine! You can also get the help of a family-owned restaurant from your local community to handle the catering. Family-owned businesses will be ready to satisfy the cooking needs of the wedding within your budget.
6. Get Family and Friends to Decorate the Venue
You don’t have to spend lots of money to make your location for the wedding beautiful. Interior design enthusiasts are not hard to find. There will be someone who has an interest in decorations. Just show them your color and style ideas and let them work their magic (with your input of course). Since you have a short guest list, the decorations should be easy to complete. In addition, you don’t have to spend lots of money on buying flowers, keep it simple and stylish. You can purchase supplies ast your local party supply store. And check out affordable decor options on websites like Amazon and numerous others. There are many great deals available if you take the time to explore them.
7. Create a Wedding Playlist
A professional DJ can cost you quite a bit of money and some of them don’t have the type of music that you want. You can create a playlist of the songs you want and designate an attendee as your on-site DJ. You can also check out local music centers for equipment rental for speakers and other accessories that you will need to keep your guests dancing the night away.
Final Advice
While you absolutely deserve to have the most wonderful wedding event possible, keep in mind that a successful wedding doesn’t need to be expensive. Planning smart can save you ample dollars in costs. And leave you with extra money for your honey moon, or a down payment for your first home together as a couple. Make no mistake you can have a great wedding that is both fun and easy on your pocketbook.