The most important day of your life has finally become a reality. You have the fiancé, a ring, and forever after to look forward to, but thinking about wedding budgets is overwhelming you. There’s no reason to think about eloping: it is completely possible to have the wedding of your dreams without going broke. With careful and thoughtful planning, you can save money and still have a memorable ceremony by following these points:
• Short engagements: Waiting a year or more between engagement and the wedding actually gives you more time to get lured by unnecessary wedding details. A shorter timeline will force you and your partner to streamline all plans and make important decisions sooner rather than later. If you have the luxury of 2 months to decide on a venue, caterers, a dress, and a cake, it can get tempting to spend more instead of focusing on priorities and deadlines.
• Prioritize: Before you begin planning wedding budgets, have discussions with your partner about what your top priorities are. This will help you determine which aspects of the wedding are more important to you both and thus deserve a little more spending, and which aspects you can cut corners on. For example some couples may find it more important to have a DJ that plays good music, while for others it may be more valuable to spend on a reception that has sentimental value for you both.
• Limited guest list: An intimate reception with a small guest list is an effective way to dramatically cut down on costs, given that food is often the biggest expense in weddings. The difference in costs for feeding 150 people will be significantly different as compared to a guest list of just 100. A good way to start trimming the number of invitees is by having two guest lists: one is the group of must-invites which will include family and your closest friends; while remaining people go on the next guest list. It may be best to avoid inviting high school and college friends who you don’t see often, as well as your parents’ friends unless they are helping you with the bill.
• Off-peak weddings: Scheduling your wedding and honeymoon during the off-peak season will provide you with an opportunity to negotiate for better rates for almost all wedding vendors since they are hungry for business! Better rates will give you more leeway to save money on big expenses such as banquet halls and caterers. This might mean getting married in less desirable weather conditions but the significant savings will be worth the sacrifice. Start doing research about off-peak seasons in your area, as these seasons will vary depending if you live in warm or cold climates.
• Wedding planner: Professional reinforcements in the form of a wedding planner can save you time and money while reducing the stress that comes with preparing for the biggest milestone of your life. Wedding planners already have insider knowledge of the market and have already worked with local vendors as well as suppliers. They already know of quality suppliers who can give them a good deal for your wedding, and will gladly do all the legwork. The best part is that if something goes wrong on the day itself, wedding planners will take care of troubleshooting while you have fun.
Wedding budgets don’t have to break the bank; as long as you and your partner carefully consider these aspects you’re sure to have a day you won’t forget.
