These days an average wedding costs about $20,000. For most young couples, that’s not quite in the budget. For those of you trying to save money on an upcoming wedding or another big event, consider the following tips when planning.
Venue
Wedding venue prices tend to skyrocket when booked for a Saturday. Book your wedding venue any other day and watch as prices drop by as much as $1000. A wedding venue outside city limits can also be much cheaper. Even a place five miles outside of your city can save you money without being a burden on you or your guests.
Food and Drink
Not all weddings need to have a sit-down meal. Sometimes an appetizer heavy selection with circulating hors de vours ensure that guests can snack at any time and still dance and mingle without being chained to their seats. In some venues, you can even bring your own alcohol. If you focus on the basics with one red wine, one white wine, two types of beers, and a few hard liquors, you’ll save some serious money.
Decor
Flowers are probably the most expensive part of any wedding. Instead of overspending on fresh flowers, mix in silk and satin flowers. You’ll save a ton of money and most people won’t even notice. You can even ignore fresh flowers completely in favor of fake ones. It’s also easier to find the right color flowers when they aren’t natural.
DIY centerpieces are also a great idea. With just a few vases, LED lights, and embellishments, you’ll have lovely, eye catching decor. Buying ahead of time when craft stores run sales is also a great idea. Since fake flowers and vases never go bad, buy your decorations whenever you see a great sale at stores like Paper Mart.
Wedding Help Instead of Wedding Gifts
Photographers, DJs, and hair and makeup are a big part of the wedding budget. If some of your guests happen to be talented in these areas, ask them to help with the wedding instead of buying you an extravagant gift. You’ll be surprised at how talented and generous some of your guests can be.
Display Vendor Cards
While you can do a lot of the wedding planning on your own, you’ll still be using vendors for food, drink, decorations, and more. Ask for discounted rates in exchange for placing small cards on each table with the names of businesses who helped make your wedding happen. Since it’s effective advertising, most vendors will be happy to give you a discount.
Dress and Tux
While shopping for your dress, it’s important to stick to the budget. Many women find the dress of their dreams for much more than they want to spend and eventually regret the added expense. Stick to dresses that are on sale or off the rack. For men, the best budget option is to rent a tuxedo for the event.
Using these tips as a guide for wedding planning, you can stay under budget and still have a beautiful and lavish wedding.
