Nov 29 2011
Posted by Hannah Grace as Family Life, Lifestyle and Leisure, Strategies
Our family has been to 4 weddings in a span of 3 weeks, with 3 of them being garden weddings and only 1 church wedding. I’m not going to write a piece on garden weddings though, but about weddings in general.
Now I have nothing against weddings; in fact I’m one of those silly guests that always get choked up during weddings, but in my opinion the last thing you should bring with you when you get married is debt, and sadly a lot of couple do end up going in debt just to have a grand wedding. Of course there are those that do save up for the big day, and so can enjoy as grand a wedding as they want without paying for it in the future. Unfortunately, more people are overspending on their weddings.
If you want the nicest possible wedding but have a budget you need to stick to, here are some tips to help you save some money without sacrificing your dream day.
Cut the guest list – Opt for an intimate wedding. This will let you save on the venue and the food, since you can hold it at a smaller place, rent less tables and chairs, and pay your caterer a much smaller bill. It will also mean not having to see people you just feel obligated to invite to your wedding, but aren’t really close to.
Skip the live band – Live bands may be more romantic, but they also cost more than a solo DJ, especially if the DJ is a sound-system savvy close friend or family member.
Shoot your own pre-nup photos and make your own video presentations – This will entail more effort but save you a lot of money. Just use your own digital camera and get a photography enthusiast to do the shoot for you.
RTW – Instead of waiting for months for the perfect wedding dress from a famed, and super expensive, gown designer, shop around for ready-to-wear wedding gowns. You’ll be surprised at the quality of gowns you can find. Top designers like Vera Wang also offer ready-to-wear wedding collections for a fraction of what custom wedding gowns cost.
Image source: The Wedding Planning Institute
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