People who think that weddings can never be inexpensive are either extremely rich or are not creative. The truth is, with proper planning, inventive ways, and a little help from people close to you, it is possible to create a wedding that looks stunning and gorgeous without having to spend a fortune.
How do you that? Listed below are 20 brilliant suggestions on how to have the wedding of the year for a smaller price tag.
1. Jot down a budget. Before anything else, you need to enumerate the expenditures and allocate budget for each. This helps you avoid spending beyond what you can afford.
2. Keep the wedding simple. Extravagance does not always equate to beauty. Sometimes, the simpler it is the better. By keeping it simple but elegant, you will have a fabulous wedding that will not leave you broke.
3. Borrow your Mom’s wedding dress. This can be a sentimental move that will surely touch your mother and add meaning to the event.
4. Have a brunch instead of dinner reception
5. Trim down the guest list. An intimate wedding with people closest to you can be more beautiful than one filled with people you barely know.
6. Shop for a bargain wedding gown. Believe it or not, if you have flair for fashion you can easily find an exquisite wedding gown that does not cost that much.
7. Use flowers that are in season.
8. Be your own make-up artist. How many horror stories have you heard about brides ending up looking like Boy George or the Joker from Batman? If you do your own hair and make-up, not only will you save money, you can also be assured that you end up looking the way you want to. (If you do not have this kind of talent, one of your friends probably has, go ahead and enlist their help.)
9. Borrow jewelry from friends and relatives.
10. Hold the reception in your home. Holding the reception in your home (or in your partner’s) can surely add significance to the momentous occasion. It will also save you hundreds of dollars on venue rental. Now all you have to worry about is the catering!
11. Print your own invitations.
12. Have your bridesmaids wear their own dresses. Gone are the days when the bridesmaids have to look like replica of each other. Have them express their own style by letting them wear their own dresses. They would surely appreciate having the freedom of choice. If you want to have some conformity among your bridesmaids, you can ask them to wear the same color of dresses.
13. Go for balloons instead of flowers. Balloons, given the right creative touch and arrangement, can look just as exquisite as flowers.
14. Hold the ceremony and reception at the same venue. This can save on transportation expenses.
15. Create your own wedding souvenirs. Think out of the box and create favors that nobody has ever thought of before.
16. Buy Discount Shoes. Why splurge on something that nobody else would see? The important thing here is that you choose a pair that is comfortable and of good quality. You do not want broken heels in the middle of the processional, right?
17. Do not hold the wedding during peak season.
18. Have a wedding cupcake tower. This is beautiful, delicious, and yet very inexpensive!
19. Choose buffet over sit down meals.
20. Make your own CD mix or record your wedding song choices on your iPod and then rent good quality speakers. This is a lot less expensive than hiring a live band to play.
The wedding is an important event but it is not everything so it is never smart to spend your life savings on this one-time event when you can have a budget wedding that looks just as spectacular.
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