Planning a Wedding on a Budget? Make Your Low Budget Wedding Memorable and Affordable
June 5, 2008 by Anne Mathews
Published in Planning
He asked and you said “yes.” Now what? Unless your last name is Trump, Gates or Buffett, you’re probably working out a budget and realizing that your dreams of the perfect wedding venue and flowing wedding dress may have to be scaled back quite a bit. Even on a budget, a little diligence and research can make your wedding dreams come true.
Here are some tips and tricks and get the best prices on everything you want to make your wedding day exactly the event you envision.
Draft a Budget
Your first budget will be merely a draft. It’s a list of things you think you want and some rough estimates of what you expect them to cost. Once you have a draft, then it’s time to talk with your friends who live in the same area and who have recently married. This will give you a better idea of actual costs in your part of the country, and you’ll also get recommendations for a wedding photographer, wedding planner and the best places to order your wedding cake. You should also get ideas about local wedding venues and the associated fees, how early you need to book the venue and the services that are included. The key to planning a wedding on a budget is to get good numbers from people who will be honest with you.
Make an Invitation List
Your first list should include everyone under the sun that you, your partner and all of your parents want to invite. Of course not everyone you will invite will actually be able to attend your wedding, so try to get an idea of the number you expect to attend in addition to the number of invitations you will actually send. Many items on your list will be priced according to the number of people you are expecting. Knowing these numbers will help get other prices together such as your wedding cake, food at the reception, wedding invitation and wedding favor.
The Wedding Party
Be careful when deciding how many people will be in your wedding party because this will add to the cost of your wedding. Three attendants each, plus flower girl and ring bearer, can be plenty and will not look out of control in any size of church or other ceremony venue.
The Church. If you are members of a church, you will get the best rates there for using the facility and for the pastor to perform the ceremony. If you desire a church wedding but do not have a church of your own, you can call around your area and meet with the pastors to see which church might work best for you and your budget. Many pastors not only conduct the ceremony, they will also provide the couple with pre-marriage counseling to get you started on your future with some good communication tools. For your reception, if you intend to serve alcohol, you will most likely need a separate venue.
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