Wedding Budget - Tips and Ideas for Planning Weddings on a Budget - VENDORS: List your wedding coupons

Ideas for Planning Weddings on a Budget

Money Savings Tips for Planning Weddings on a Tight Budget 

As long as you are willing to do a little work and lots of thinking, your wedding budget can be manageable. You don't have to spend a lot of money, but, you will have to spend time. So, consider the following money saving tips to help you plan a frugal, yet elegant, wedding on a tight budget.

1. Enlist the help of friends and relatives - Think about friends and family members' talents and hobbies. Perhaps you have a relative who bakes great cakes for all the family get-togethers or maybe a friend in the party rental business. Put the word out through the grapevine that you are soliciting help. Contact close friends and relatives directly. Let them know about your wedding budget and allow them to suggest ways they might help.

2. Location - Location - Location - Consider hosting the ceremony and/or reception at your own home or the home of a relative.  Rent a local club room or church hall and decorate it yourself. There are lots of ideas for making elegant, yet cheap wedding decorations right in this website.

3. Cut the guest list - I know, obvious tip, but, the fact is, the less people you invite the more money you save. Really, you should only invite those closest to you anyway so resist the urge to fill a room with second cousins and coworkers with whom you have no relationship. It isn't polite and can only appear as a pleas for additional gifts anyway.

4. Buying Invitations - One word - Internet- Use E-Bay or sites you find on Team Wedding's wedding invitations list to order online and save. Same goes for accessories, favors and all other wedding supplies. If you've got time, talent and access to a good printer try to print your own wedding invitations. Again, shop the internet or a local craft store to find DIY invitation kits. Etiquette tip: do not use printed address labels. Major faux pas. Use the scripted font that most resembles handwriting if you are going to use your printer to address. Best is to hand address. Get a bunch of friends, such as the bridal party, together and make a night of it. Address the invites and then have a pitcher of margaritas to celebrate! The key is to have the margaritas after the addressing though!

5. Budget Friendly Reception Menus - Depending on the time of day you choose for your reception, consider serving hors d'oeuvres and champagne, wedding cake and punch, or limit alcoholic beverages to simply pitchers of beer and wine. But, please, never a cash bar or any such activity where your guests have to reach into their own pockets. A good host never expects guests to pay. Besides, if your guest is not expecting to pay, and most won't, it could be embarrassing for all involved. A good host always considers their guests' feelings. Even if your guests say they're okay with the cash bar idea, trust me, they're probably thinking "cheapskate". Find a way to make everyone comfortable, while looking like a well mannered host. It can be done!

6. "Cutting the Cake" Costs

• Get a smaller cake. Show off a small version of your beautiful wedding cake, then have a sheet cake of the same flavor cut up in the kitchen to be served to your guests.
• Offer a dessert bar with mini-pastries and coffee to offset a piece of wedding cake. Have a small wedding cake for the two of you to cut and feed to one another.
• More information on wedding cake prices.

7. Not your typical weekend affair. Host your wedding mid-week for the best value. Friday nights and Sunday evenings are most times less expensive than Saturday night. Call around to venues to ask for pricing.

8. Dressing - Check out local consignment shops for wedding dresses. It could be worth the time. Shop the bridal salons clearance racks or the department store's formalwear sections fir bridal, bridesmaids' and mother's dresses. If you're lucky, the dress of your dreams will be in your size. Be sure to check the dress for any stains or tears which might not be able to be repaired. Negotiate the price if there are imperfections or ask for a guarantee that the dress can be cleaned or repaired. More information on buying wedding dresses.

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