Tips on Keeping a Wedding Affordable

Let's face it; we can't all have a Beverly Hills style wedding. If the thought of your wedding day makes you cringe at the thought of the bills you will have to pay to afford it, it is time to plan a budget. Yup, that B word.

That doesn't mean we can't have fun with what we have. You too can have a beautiful wedding on a budget. It just takes a bit of extra planning and knowing where to go.

Budgeting On The Small Things - To Spend More On The Important Things

The trick to planning a wedding is to be realistic as well as knowing what is important. Do you really need to have expensive roses at every turn? Do you need for your wedding party plates to be porcelain and gold? Realize that the more you can save on certain aspects, the little bit more you could spend on the things that matter to you most, like the wedding dress.

Start with knowing how much you would like to spend, and be realistic. Here's a list at the necessary expenses you can expect from a wedding:

Ceremony site

Reception site

Food/Caterers

Wedding cake

Bride's dress

Groom's tuxedo

Bride's maids' dresses

Invitations

Photography/Video

Tables and other equipment rentals

Transportation

Flowers

Decorations

Wedding favors

Music

Thank you cards (for after the wedding)

You might notice that really, it can be a very simple list when you put it all together and know what you will need. You can go through the list one by one. Note what will be most important to you and where you would be willing to budget. There are tricks to getting the wedding you want, and spending what you want. You don't need a wedding consultant or a high priced caterer to help. In fact, you'll save money if you can do it yourself.

Locations For Your Wedding On A Budget

It all starts with where the wedding will take place. It could be something as simple as a park and gardens. Imagine you might have to decorate less if you pick a location that is already beautiful.

If it will be a church, perhaps see if the church might already be decorated itself. Many churches do not need much decorating additions at all; some already have flowers already in place. If many weddings happen at a particular location, see if you can conspire with another bride and split the cost on flowers and decorations at the place, by having your wedding a little later in the afternoon on the same day.

The location itself doesn't have to be expensive. This is especially true if you call ahead and plan early. The earlier you pick a location, the easier it is to get what you want and at a good price. Remember, a weekday wedding might actually be more affordable than a weekend wedding.

Wedding Cake and Food

Let's start with the cake. There are now tricks that many bakeries are doing to be able to help you get a nice cake without spending a lot. One of the newer tricks is to make a 'fake' cake. The cake has only certain parts that are real cake, like a certain corner of the cake where the bride and groom will cut into, and the top part for saving.

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