Shoestring budget wedding? Yes….We all know the answer to that. Many couples are now looking for ways to have a ‘celebrity’ stylish wedding, without the celebrity price tag. The first tip is simple – ask for a discount. The worst that can happen is that they say ‘No’. The embarrassment comes with the plan, but what have you lost? We’ve pulled together other “tips” to help you create your dream wedding on a shoestring budget.
Your venue is probably going to be the single biggest wedding expense that you’ll have to pay, but you don’t need to spend this sort of money to have a fabulous venue. Many village halls, rugby clubs have suitable rooms available for a fraction of the price. The trick is to see past the existing décor and imagine it sprinkled with hundreds of fairy lights or candles. If you’ve found the wedding venue of your dreams, but it looks as if it will be out of your budget, don’t despair. Many venues offer significant discounts for mid-week or ‘out of season’ weddings.
<-336x280 Large Rectangle - center->
Second, deciding what kind of menu you want to offer for your wedding can be difficult enough without having to see the price tag that goes along with it! There are lots of ways to cut back on your food budget, and still have a memorable day. Selecting a venue where you can bring in your own caterers is often a much better value than using the existing venue catering. You can even go as far as preparing all the food yourself, though be careful of taking too much. If you don’t have a choice about which caterer you use, there are still ways that you can trim your spending costs.( replace dessert with your wedding cake – so often wedding cake gets forgotten about because guests have already had so much to eat.) A new idea that brides are buzzing about is the wedding ‘cheese’ cake. Literally, it is three slabs of cheese turned into a wedding cake for that special ‘cutting of the cake’ photograph and ceremony. Why not combine the two instead of having a separate cheese and cake course? Or serve this with crackers or your evening guests?
The third most important question: To have a free bar, or cash bar? Such a difficult question to answer. Of course, it would be fantastic to offer a free bar to all your guests, all day, but with limited funds, it’s not a realistic option for most people. The ideal in this instance is to use a venue where you can bring your own booze.
Fourth and probably the most important (from our points of view): the bridal dress. You can still look fabulous for a fraction of the price and feel that you’re minimizing the eco-footprint of your wedding by buying a “second worn” dress. Many second hand shops have specialist ‘bridal wear’ departments where you can purchase new and designer dresses that have been worn once.