Today's blog is a all about saving you money on your wedding. We all wish we could spend £25,000 on our weddings, but in these financially hard times we have to set our sights lower and that doesn't always mean you have to settle for second best! with a little hard thinking and wedding planning, here's how to create the dream wedding at the fraction of the cost.
How do you get as much wedding as possible for your money? and, without blowing your budget?
Knowing what you want is your starting point.
The key to this point is communication. Communication between you and your fiance is the most important thing ever when wedding planning. I wanted a big wedding for 100-150 guests, my boyfriend wanted everyone in his close family and our closest friends and that resulted in alot of compromise. Once we decided on the number of guests, we moved on to our ideas of themes for the perfect day. Instantly, we agreed on a collection of things. The idea of a venue, (hotel), the location (city centre), and the colours we wanted to use (pink silver and ivory). This gave us a starting point that would allow us to start our planning and by making mood boreds it helped to keep our vision as we did our research and arranged meetings with suppliers..
Research, research, research and more.....
A organised couple is one that has researched every part of the dream. It means that you can more or less stick to your original vision and budget and in the end, it will help you get the most for your money. The Internet can be vital invaluable tool for getting ideas of what things cost and you can also e-mail companies to get estimates, without high phone bills!!
VenueDon’t rush into making final decisions about venues until you have selected a date and the type of ceremony you require. But, take my advice, most venues will often book a year in advance, sometimes two if its a popular month. Try not to let a feeling of 'having to get it booked,' result in additional fees or paying more than you budgeted. For me, my perfect venue turned out to be best value for money, not because what it looked liked, after I had researched many hotels, it turned out to be the one offering the most value for our money, with a marquee on offer and gardens for the children to play in! Not only did we end up with our picturesque garden Terrence, an outdoor setting, our overnight accommodation was given to us for free! and we saved money! Look for a venue that fits your budget and is meaningful, widen your idea of what the perfect venue might be. It doesn't have to be a church and an expensive reception hall, a meaningful ceremony and memorable celebration can just as easily take place at a historic site, a zoo, even a family's backyard!
Manage your budget.Then, shop shop shop! The research you've already done will help. Once you know what kind of budget you're working with, you can use some of that information to eliminate vendors that might be inflexible or out of your range. Now you can get serious about choosing what you want to work.
with.
For decorations and vases, check out local antique shops, car boots, and charity shops,
Dresses, check the auction Internet sites, Social networking sites often have groups set up to sell pre -owned dresses and wedding items.
Meaningful ways to add to the celebration, and still save the penny's!!
Now that you have a clear idea of what you want, remember to say no to the up sell of items that would put you over budget.
Use yours and your friends own DIY talents. My fiance, spent hours with a butterfly template and making glittering butterfly's for my invites! which if brought would have blown our invitation budget. While he was busy designing invitations, I looked for things I could make myself. I rummaged through charity shop fabric bins to make bunting and had a friend who created my bridesmaids jewellery. Finally, my fiance and I recycled the 10 dozen jam jars we had collected in the build up to our wedding to use on our tables for candles and flowers. Not only will you save money by doing many tasks yourself, you can also include friends and family by having a crafty hen party, a great time to spend with the girls before you marry! Nothing brings people's generosity with time and energy like an important wedding!
Talk about your wedding. By sharing some of your ideas with friends, family, even those who work in the wedding business on wedding blogs and directories, you might discover a great money-saving tip or the name of a wedding vendor who might do incredible work at a discount. And ask other brides, people can always recommend other people.
Look for local wedding suppliers who run a "side" business or work from home. I used a cake maker who had just started out and saved my self a fortune as she was trying to get her portfolio up and going, Lots of people are making home business a success making flowers or cupcakes.
Although I purchased my dress from a auction website, I did need to spend money on having it altered, and I did miss out on buying my dress from a boutique, the champagne on arrival and boxes of tissues on standby for tearful mums, remember not to cut yourself short. Don't miss out on the important memories by cutting costs. I purchased my tiara from a vendor on Ebay and my shoes and accessories from a high street clothes store (and found exactly what I wanted) I had my mums oldest ring on, its the small things that are important.
Be original. Sometimes saving money can be as simple as celebrating your individuality or use the venue as decorations, maximise on features such as big old oak trees and large fireplaces and windows. Instead of a guest book full of names that you will put in a draw and forget about, we decided to have a backing frame done with our engagement shoot picture in the centre with space so people can wright messages around it. Now we have changed the picture to one of us on our big day its hung on our stairs and you cant help reading a new comment every time you go to bed ! Seeing what everyone wrote on that wonderful day is so meaningful to us, and we saved on the cost of a of an additional guest book,
A little hint about your honeymoon. Try to avoid booking the honeymoon package at big resorts. You'll often save hundreds could even be thousands, of pounds. While many couples go for an "all-inclusive" deals, take a look at what you're really getting. What if you want to travel off the resort? You'll only be adding costs. Is that bottle of champagne on the dolphin cruise really worth the extra £100 you might spend? Look at costs and see whether being in first class will really save you money or cost more.
So, I hope you have a few ideas to help you begin your wedding planning,
for extra information or to enlist the help of a wedding planner please contact me.
but remember, enjoy this magical exciting time, wedding planning can be stressful, so every now and again take a step back and breath dont let it take over your life!
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