Wedding planning is one of the fastest growing retail industries. In 2010 the average American wedding cost $28,000! That’s a huge sum of money and most people do not have that kind of a budget to plan their wedding. Does this mean that you cannot have a grand wedding without completely breaking your bank? Of course not! Here are some tips to have a grand wedding on a low budget.
1. Have a day wedding. Late evening weddings evolve into sit-down dinners that are far more expensive than lunches. Also, since lunch is a less formal affair you can go for a buffet instead of a sit down dinner and save money on the serving staff.
2. See if you can plan it on a weekday or Friday at least. Saturday is the most expensive day of the week and rates are inevitably higher for ceremony and reception sites.
3. Plan a 3 course meal instead of a 5 course one. It is cheaper to have 3 fabulous courses than have 5 individual ones. Also, don’t try to get too exotic and import food items that are not indigenous to your area. Instead select items from the menu that are popular and easily available and add a new dimension to them.
4. Buy your own alcohol! Much cheaper. Also, serve Dom Perignon for the toast but switch to cheaper champagne for the rest of the evening. No one will ever know the difference since they never see the bottles!
5. Get a gorgeous cake in a small size to be cut by the bridal couple. Also have several sheets of the same cake in the kitchen from which everyone is served. Also, request your caterer to decorate each plate of cake with different sauces instead of expensive sugar icing flowers.
6. Request a friend or close family to help with the planning and film your wedding video for you. Splurge on a good wedding photographer instead. You’ll save a fair amount of cost on the video and yet have professionally clicked photographs too.
7. Hire a DJ for the music instead of a band. Much cheaper and you can ask him to double as the Master of Ceremonies as well.
8. Forget about orchids and other tropical blooms that cost the Earth. Opt for an easily available flower that costs much less. Also, request your florist to create the arrangements so that they can be easily transported from the ceremony site to the reception site. Also, you could opt for small potted plants as centerpieces and make them do double duty as wedding favors!
9. It’s OK to ask friends and family to pitch in with the wedding planning efforts. Hire just one limo to transport the bride and maid of honor or the bridal couple. Get the rest of the wedding party to carpool. Also, a Lincoln would serve just as well as a limo!
10. Keep it informal. This will allow the groom and other men in the wedding party to wear suits they already own instead of spending on tuxedos. Also, it means less expensive invitations, decorations, seating, food and favors.
11. One important thing to help maintain your budget is time. Often we end up paying a lot extra simply because we haven’t planned ahead or spent enough time researching. Take your time to make decisions and make the most cost effective decisions that you can.
Also, remember that the budget overshoots without any help from you! So keep a tight rein on it and start your marriage debt free.
Samet Bilir is a freelance writer who writes about wedding topics such as budget wedding tips and traditional wedding vows.
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