Setting your Wedding Budget

The time when the two love birds decide that it’s time to settle down and tie the knot, the logical thing that must be done next is to plan the wedding.

Planning the wedding is not an easy task unless you hire the city’s best wedding planner and let her do the dirty work. However, if you are on a wedding budget and hiring a wedding planner is not an option, planning and budgeting the wedding are your first steps.

Sit down with your fiancé/fiancée and let the wedding planning begin. In planning a wedding on a budget, there are two important things that you must remember. The first one is the fact that you’re not the only one who’s getting married. The opinion of your soon-to-be better half will always matter. Do not make decisions by yourself. The other important thing is that wasting money because of unplanned and unnecessary details is not a good idea. Setting a budget is essential. The second one is the specific budget where each wedding detail is allotted a particular amount.

If your general budget is not that much, you must be careful in allocating an amount for each detail. If you already know that you have a small budget, it is better that you keep the event small and manageable. Invite only your closest friends and relatives in order to avoid overspending.

The specific budget is the one that needs greater attention. Do not spend too much on one part of the wedding. There’s a chance that you’ll end up missing other details all because you already ran out of money. The key is to see that the funds given is reasonable and enough. It should not be excessive.

Impulse has no place in wedding planning. Before you give away a check or swipe that gold card of yours, make sure that the amount falls within the wedding budget. Many couples will reason out that they would only get married once. However, if the budget does not permit a luxurious and grand wedding, it’s better to keep everything in a budget. After all, a big celebration does not guarantee a successful marriage. Also, it is much better to start your new life as a married couple free from debts.

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First Things First for your Wedding Budget

After the boyfriend asked the magic question and the girlfriend gave her resounding ”yes”, the green light for the wedding is now turned on. Everyone around them automatically activates their excitement button. Even without being asked, they start to plan the wedding.

As the chaos of the wedding planning begins, there is one aspect that must be looked at before everything else begins. It’s all about how much are they willing to spend. In short, it’s all about the wedding budget.

Planning a wedding will not be possible without a budget. This is because a wedding is a gathering where there are so many details to look at. Details such as the number of invited guests, bride’s maids and groom’s men, bridal gown, groom’s tuxedo, ceremony venue, reception venue, flowers and decorations are considered. The more details, the more money needed. Not having a comprehensive budget plan would most likely result in waste of time and resources. No couple would want to spend their money on unnecessary wedding details. Also, no couple would want to start their married life indebted. It is therefore important that the budget be set as soon as possible and expenses be tracked at all times.

Wedding details that must go on top of the priority list must be those that will involve a big amount of money. Examples of such details are the venue for the ceremony and the reception, catering services and gowns and tuxedos for the couple as well as the bridal entourage.

There are two wedding details that must be placed on top of the wedding budget list:

• Wedding and Reception Venue

A wedding is a union between a man and woman before the eyes of God and the eyes of men. Without the venue, the declaration of the union will not be possible. A budget for the venue must be allotted as it will require to be reserved beforehand.

• Wedding Guest list

The number of wedding guests must be determined in the earliest time possible. Other details will be easier to plan once the guest list is finalized. This will give the couple an estimate on how much they should allot for the food in the reception. These details are the venue for the ceremony and reception. Catering details are also easier once there is a wedding list. To make most out of it, the couple must know which wedding details are to be prioritized and which are not. They must know how much they are willing to spend on such details.

Find the finest wedding favor gifts at Best Wedding Favor Gifts.com.

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Adding To Your Wedding Budget

Being engaged is so much fun right? Yes. Now you have to stay grounded and not go into debt to get you through to the most important day of your life. One of the best things about being engaged is having a partner to lean on and listen to before things become too stressful.

Budget

While the budget for your wedding shouldn't be the single most important thing, it does rank pretty high up there. Because a budget is such an important factor, this should be done soon after the engagement so you can begin to know how much you have to work with and how much you may have to work around.

Gather up everyone who may be responsible for the financial funding of your wedding and come to an agreement that everyone can live with right up front. This may include only you and your fiance or an entire family. Go into this discussion knowing that it will change and be revised by the time everything is over with, but coming up with a figure everyone can live with early is key to working your wedding budget.

Saving

Discuss with your fiance what your plan will be when unexpected costs arise during the planning of your wedding. This is a good way to have a plan ahead of time, avoiding arguments later. Working extra overtime may be an option, or picking up extra cash by working at a friends shop Saturdays may be a possibility.

Whatever you are able to do to make extra cash, start on it early and then stash that cash away. It may not even seem that you will need it at first, but more than likely it will come in handy at some point. Especially if your budget isn't exactly what you had hoped it would be. If nothing else, in the end that money can be used as spending cash on your honeymoon. Open a new savings account for your "wedding fund". As the wedding gets closer and vendors balances have to be paid, or extra expenses come up, go to your fund.

Do It Yourself

Another great way to save some extra cash is look at things that are important to you about your wedding that you can do yourself. How much do you really need to spend on invitations? Is it something that can be done from your home computer and look just as beautiful? More than likely you can find ways to save on vendor services that you can end up doing yourself.

Incorporate friends and family who are talented and crafty. Utilize the skills they have and combine them with your vision. If you don't have anyone like that in your life, use the internet to teach you what you don't know and what you would like to learn. Don't sell yourself short. You can do amazing things yourself, even if you aren't the most crafty person around.

If you and your fiance work as a team, you can accomplish great things for your wedding that won't put you in debt later. Having a wonderful wedding and a great honeymoon are exciting things, but who wants to come back and worry about bills? Not a fun way to start off a new marriage. Now you dont have to worry about that. One more thing you can check off your list.

About the Author

Rene Fletcher is the President of Sales & Marketing for http://www.fleurdelisfashions.com. She is also a recent bride who planned her entire 500 guest wedding herself.

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Creating A Wedding Plan Budget List - Wedding Planning Guide

No matter how wealthy or how poor one is, keeping a track of your expense always a good habit. And for the same reason anyone who has an upcoming wedding should have a wedding budget list.

Wedding budget list - how it is made?

Before you get to a final figure, start off by making a complete list of requirements for your wedding. One by one just recollect the requirements and write it on paper along with approx cost. Things that you should try and count cost for are the church / house of prayer, reception hall, decorations, dress, groom formal attire & brides evening gown or dress, flowers, menu, photography and music and many other. Once the list is prepared you can put a tentative price against each one and total up to know where you are headed.

The budget for a wedding ranges from anywhere between $15,000 to $30,000. You're your budget in a way that you could ending up paying more than you initially set our to. By dong this you are not splurging merely making room for any unforeseen expenses. So if you want that you would like to spend $15,000 on your wedding then have in place at least $16500.

Supposing you would like to meet your wedding expenses within $10,000 then create a budget which spends only $9000 or even less. An early decision on who will be paying for the wedding is necessary. If you both as a couple would meet out the entire expenditure or is they're going to be some family contribution or something else.

All this will just make you know that from where the finances are going to pour in. And at the end of the end you will not have to run from pillar to post to acquire the sum. So whichever way to look at the wedding budget it is of great importance the you plan out the wedding budget.

Have a small budget in which to carry out your wedding!

Never mind if you have a small budget in place to finance your wedding, many other people to have similar budget constraints. At this point wedding budget planning comes in handy and actually proves crucial to existence itself. You must have prepared the list of requirements for the wedding along with cash in hand status. Pick a pen and tick those things that cannot be separated from the list for instance your dress or cake and cross those that could be done away with.

Then put each of those items on a fresh page, when that is done put some alternatives to that item that will pinch your pocket less. For instance, your liking is designer/expensive watch, or some costumed stitched dress well it is highly unlikely that all these could fit into your small budget.

So find the alternatives to your requirements on the Internet where exquisite watches and handsomely crafted dresses can be found at much more better prices than you were willing to buy at. Surely it might consume some of your time but eventually it will be a fraction of what you set out to pay. Plan ahead of time so that nothing is left for the 11th hour.

Budgeting: A Complete Guide to Idiot Proof Your Wedding

KIS or keep it simple is something we all have heard. This goes unsaid for your budget as well. Though this is once in a life time day for you but it doesn't mean splurging on all your savings. Create a expenses dairy where in you can note your requirements as well expenses day to day. Various online sites offer information as well help to plan and execute your wedding planning. Theknot.com is one that comes instantly to mind.

There are tips that shall help you a great deal. Once you have given a particular heading to the expenses, you can assign the priority to each one and then spend money wisely. This will allow you to enjoy you wedding peacefully without having any regrets later on with regards to excessive expenditure.

About the Author

Learn how to get the best wedding receptions menus as well as tips on how to write personal wedding vows when you visit Jennifer 's wedding planning website at http://www.marryplanning.com

Article Source: Content for Reprint

On the Budget of Your Wedding

You need to decide on your budget before you start your wedding planning. To this end it should be the most important issue for your big day. Your every little decision will have to be following the budget otherwise it will certainly be a mess. Without any surprise, you need to go for some discount options if you are on budget. Yet you may be able to choose some more luxury options if you can allocate more resources to your wedding. No matter you are having plenty of budget or not, you have to make it realistic so that you can start your wedding planning well.

According to some survey, an average wedding can be as expensive as USD25,000. You may be squeeze it to a smaller amount of money but the point here is that you should set your budget in a way that it should be a realistic one. You have to gather a lot of information before you make your final decision on the budget. You should never just think of certain amount and claim that it will be the budget of your wedding. I bet you will be in trouble if you set it in this casual manner. The best way to plan your budget is researching, researching and researching.

In order to set a realistic budget, you will firstly gather information of different items you need for your wedding. These items include, but not limited to, wedding invitation, wedding favor, gowns and dresses, wedding photography, wedding favor, reception and ceremony venue. The above is only part of the picture and you will need to create a full list of the items.

Once you get your list of items, you should try to gather the price information of the items. You will probably search for the prices on the web. Again, Yahoo and Google are our best friends when we are searching on the internet. You will need to know the average prices of all the items. With the average prices and the list, you can then estimate the budget you will need.

If you feel totally comfortable with the budget estimated, it is fine and you can go ahead to plan for your wedding. However, in most cases you may find the estimated amount of money not affordable. In this case you will need to squeeze the budget. You need to set the priority of the items in your list. You will try to firstly save budget on the items which are of lowest priority. For instance, if you think that your friends or relatives can help you on your wedding photos, you may cut the budget of this part and save some money.

If you have tried every method to cut the budget but it is still not affordable, you may consider a wedding loan. However, you should only go for this option if you can be sure that you are capable of repaying the loan after your wedding. Otherwise I will suggest you to try to further squeeze the budget so that it becomes something affordable.

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About the Author: Jerry Leung is a wedding invitation designer with great interest in Chinese Style Wedding cards. He designs Custom Made Wedding Invitations. Besides, he runs a blog on weddings to share his ideas on items such as Vintage Wedding Gown - Bridal Dresses. You can also find Indian Wedding Card and Invitation from his website.

Wedding Favors -- How This Cheap, Little Items Are Eating Away Your Wedding Budget

As a thank you for your guests, give them a wedding favor to remember your special event by. This little items may cost from 50 cents to $15 or more. Most couple, though, limit themselves by having a budget somewhere from $2-$4 per item.

If they have 200 guests, they'd have to spend $400 - $800 on this little gifts alone.

See what I mean by the little things are actually expensive?

So how do I get cheap wedding favors but also high quality favors?

That needs a little bit of research. First ask yourself if you have a theme for your wedding. For example, if you're having a celebration on the beach, you could give wedding favors along the beach theme like Shell and Starfish Frosted Glass Coasters.

If both you and your fiance are wine enthusiasts and will be serving select wine at your reception, give something to remember the moment by like this Great Combination Wine Set.

Just remember that these little cheap items can easily eat away your budget because they come with little extras like favor tags or personalized favor tags that cost more. Also don't forget to take into account the shipping fees, which can be exorbitant if you choose a heavy item. Choose wisely and save your money!

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About the Author: Jeanne Riche is the owner/founder of www.jeanneriche.com, a big discount online retailer of 1200+ wedding items. Jeanne Riche is able to offer brides-to-be competitive prices because they source their items directly from manufacturers, therefore reducing costs and passing the savings to its customers.

Creating A Wedding Budget You Can Afford

by: Alan Allport

The most important part of planning a wedding is setting your budget. Your budget is important because it is next to impossible to know what you can afford for each major part of the wedding if you don’t set an overall cost that is comfortable for you. You will probably find that deciding the budget is the hardest job to do because, of course, you want to have the best and most memorable wedding you can possibly have.

The days when the wedding was paid for by the parents of the bride are almost gone now. Parents will often contribute to the wedding cost as a gift to the couple, but it is pretty rare for parents to cover the whole cost of the wedding.

Usually this is because the parents simply can’t afford it. But couples today often prefer to pay for their own weddings because it ensures that they can plan them the way that they want to without interference.

These days, 4 out of 5 couples pay for their own wedding and it helps to know how your budget should be broken down.

When creating your budget, you will first begin with the overall amount that you can afford to spend. The average wedding today costs approximately $19,000. This is not a definite, but this is what the statistics currently show.

Now you will need to take that overall budget amount and split it percentage-wise for each major aspect of your wedding e.g. how much to spend on the wedding clothing, the rings, catering, decorating the venue etc. If you are not good at percentages, you can always utilize the Internet and check with the various websites that offer you free or cheap wedding budget calculators that will do it for you.

With these calculators, all that you have to do is input the total budget amount and then they will calculate for you how much money in dollars you will be able to spend on each component of your wedding.

Once you have figured out the dollar amount that you can spend on each component of the wedding, you can then begin to create a list itemizing everything.

You will need to put together a list of all the areas of your wedding that are important to you and make sure that you allocate a sensible proportion of the total budget to each.

This is necessary so that you can see if the wedding of your dreams is a realistic expectation given what you can afford to spend. If you come up short, here are some ideas to enable you to trim the expenses:

• Reduce the size of the guest list
• Forego some of the services
• Reduce the size of the wedding party
• Forget the extras like limos

It is only by setting down on paper a budget you can afford and listing all of the areas that you have to spend money on that you can begin to refine your ideas on the type and scope of wedding that it is realistic for you to aim for.

Afterall, you will have plenty of expenses to cover after the wedding when starting out on your married life together. It just doesn’t make sense to create problems by over-stretching financially on the wedding.

About The Author

Alan Allport is Webmaster at http://www.wedding-source.best-gen.com where he has published a FREE Online guide to planning the perfect wedding on a budget

Setting A Good Wedding Budget

by: Rose Lenk

Depending on where you live, the average wedding can cost thousands of dollars. While some are in a position to spare no cost when planning the perfect wedding day, others simply can't afford to or would rather see their hard-earned money used for something more permanent, like a new house.

Weddings are a big business, and if you go the traditional route by hiring a wedding planner, you can soon see the costs of your wedding spiraling out of control. While I'm not saying that you should not hire a wedding expert, they can be a huge help in planning and organizing your big day, you should do a little research on your own and come to the planning table with a strict budget in mind. And when costs seem too high, do not be afraid to offer some cost-saving ideas of your own. After all, it's your wedding and your wallet.

The wedding reception is where you will spend the bulk of your wedding budget, almost 50% of it in fact. So, this is an area that you should pay particularly close attention to. Most of the money spent for a reception is spent on alcoholic beverages and the reception meal. You should shop carefully and keep your budget in mind when choosing caterers and meal menus. If you are still having a hard time meeting your budget, you may have to eliminate alcoholic beverages or cut your guest count to put your bottom line back in the black.

The bridal gown is also an area where a lot of money can be spent. Go to the bridal gown store with an idea of what you are willing to spend on the perfect dress. Browse the discount rack first before you start looking through the catalogues, you may be surprised by what you find. Also start shopping well in advance of the big day. A dress that is too expensive today can be marked down in the future, but you can't take advantage of markdowns if you wait till the last minute to find your wedding gown.

When setting up your budget you also need to factor in the cost of photography/videography, music, flowers, invitations and other expenses which can quickly add up. Keep in mind that while a wedding budget has a strict bottom line, there is plenty of room to splurge on the more expensive band if you are going to cut costs somewhere else. So, instead of keeping each aspect of your wedding day perfectly in line, focus more on what the whole day is going to cost you and wiggle and adjust until you are comfortable with what you are spending.

About The Author

Rose Lenk

For more wedding tips and articles visit me at http://www.mauiswedding.com.

Creating Your Wedding Budget – Yes, It Must Be Done

by: Amy Spade

As if getting engaged wasn’t complicated enough, then the conversation turns to planning the wedding. In order to start off on the right note, you want to be sure that you are clear about how much money will be involved.

It’s a sticky subject

There’s no doubt that talking about money is difficult for some, but factor in an emotional event and that’s a great way to keep everyone quiet. What do you do?

Traditionally, the bride’s family will pay for the wedding, but times have changed, so you’re going to need to negotiate a little bit more. You may hold true to tradition, but have the groom’s family chip in on additional costs at the reception or rehearsal dinner. Each situation is different.

Where is can become sticky is when one family is not as well off as the other. You don’t want the one family to have to shoulder the entire burden, but at the same time, you also don’t want to leave the other side out.

Many older couples are even paying for their own weddings in order to settle this discussion altogether. You could take out a loan as a couple as well in order to defray any wedding costs.

But it’s best to not have to go into debt at the start of a marriage.

Bringing up bucks

In order to get every family on the same page, it’s best to set up a meeting for everyone to talk at. This meeting will include the couple and anyone that wants to chip into the overall budget.

At this meeting, you will want to already have a list of all of the things that will need to be paid for—food, dress, reception, etc. It may even be helpful to put each of the budget items on index cards and pass them out to whomever volunteers. You will also want to keep a separate list so that you know who to ask for money.

Money doesn’t have to be a divisive thing at the time of your wedding. Give everyone a chance to chip in and you’ll have a happy family as well as enough money for everything that you want to do.

There’s no point in being dishonest about how much money you think you will need. Actually, it may be better to give yourself a little more than you think you’ll need to cover any unintended expenses.

About The Author

Amy Spade is an expert on planning weddings, and she has written an amazing totally free minicourse on how to make sure that you have the day of your dreams, and avoid wedding day disaster!

Get the free course "Your Special Day from Start to Finish" now at at http://www.weddingdata.com.

What To Do When Your Heart Says Yes, But Your Wedding Budget Says No

by: Amy Spade

Hopefully, you won’t need this section on budget trouble, but it does happen. Combine emotions with money and new families and it can certainly be the right mix for disaster. So, how do you deal with it and still see everyone smiling and happy at the wedding?

Making the rules

Silly as it sounds, it may help to have a few ground rules for all the adults that are chipping in for the wedding. Perhaps you could all go out to eat and discuss what you want to do. Figure out who will pay for what and write it down.

In the case of step and extended families, it may not be this easy. Unsettled discussions might creep in and accusations of one side doing more than the other can come to light. For this case, you want to talk to each side by themselves. This way neither side will be able to compare their amounts (and you won’t tell either side), and you can talk to them about their wishes in private.

It’s sad that you have to be the peacekeeper in this situation, but it will help for a smoother day.

A separate peace

Another way to deal with the budget and any possible arguments is to set up a separate checking account into which all of the contributors can make deposits. This way, only you know the balance because you’ll get the checks to make the actual deposits and everyone gets to chip in as they can.

You may also want to take the halves of the family out for different shopping errands. This way they can help with choosing items that you need, while also picking up the tab along the way. A lot of parents enjoy being active parts of the wedding plans, rather than just the money source.

In most cases, you won’t have to deal with too much fuss over the wedding budget, but if you should, the best advice is to talk about it immediately. The longer you wait on something, the more stressful it will become to you and you don’t need that when you’re trying to plan a happy day.

Sit everyone down and try to talk out whatever is bothering them. And if something is bothering you, it’s best to just be honest. Let them know if they don’t seem to be pulling their weight or if they’re constantly talking about your other parent negatively. There’s nothing to be gained from pretending that everything is alright.

About The Author

Amy Spade is an expert on planning weddings, and she has written an amazing totally free minicourse on how to make sure that you have the day of your dreams, and avoid wedding day disaster!

Get the free course "Your Special Day from Start to Finish" now at at http://www.weddingdata.com.

weddingsmarriage@yahoo.co.uk

Cut The Wedding Budget Fat: Trim Your Guest List

by: Amy Spade

After you’ve gotten a basic idea for how you want your wedding to go, you then have to make the guest list. You’ll be including family members, friends, relatives, work acquaintances, and many others. The problem is that you can’t keep everyone on that list, even if you have an unlimited budget.

Why you should keep the number low

Of course, a lot of couples may protest and say that they more people come, the more gifts we’ll receive. And while that’s true, let’s talk about what a wedding really is first. A wedding is a celebration of a couple’s marriage. And those that come to the wedding should be very happy to celebrate it, rather than just coming for the food or drink.

You want people there that have made a difference in your life. Of course, if you haven’t been close with your family, well, you’re stuck inviting them.

You want to invite people whose names you know and can repeat. This is not the time to invite everyone that you’ve ever met. Invite the important people.

If you’re nervous about omitting someone, then stop to think about how much you’d like to talk to them. If it’s not that much, then you probably can leave them off.

How to trim names

When you’ve finally gotten your list together, you should exchange it with your soon-to-be spouse. Let them look at it and start to omit names. Again, family members are not allowed to be scratched off unless there’s a special situation. And even if there is a family feud of some sort, they won’t come anyways.

In terms of friends, you will want to be selective here. Figure out who you really care about, and who you just ‘feel’ like you should invite. How long has it been since you’ve talked to them? If it’s been a long time, you can probably cross them off.

For the work people, you can invite whomever you have a close relationship with. This means that you don’t have to invite your boss, but it’s always nice to out of courtesy. Don’t feel that you should.

Making your invitation list shouldn’t feel like a burden. At the end of the day, you want to look at your list and see all the people that you care about and want to share this happy day with. And it’s your day and your time, so don’t let anyone else talk you into inviting people that you’re not too keen on.

About The Author

Amy Spade is an expert on planning weddings, and she has written an amazing totally free minicourse on how to make sure that you have the day of your dreams, and avoid wedding day disaster!

Get the free course "Your Special Day from Start to Finish" now at at http://www.weddingdata.com.

weddingsmarriage@yahoo.co.uk.

Wedding Cost Saving Advice: Top 5 Tips For Weddings On A Shoestring Budget

by: Helen Rankin

With the average wedding now costing £17,000, 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’. You might be a bit embarrassed, but what have you lost? We’ve pulled together 5 other top tips to help you create your dream wedding on a shoestring budget.

1. Choosing The Wedding Venue

Your venue is probably going to be the single biggest wedding expense that you’ll have to pay, with many of the more popular venues charging £2000 upwards. But you don’t need to spend this sort of money to have a fabulous venue.

Wedding Venue Cost Saving Tip:

Many village halls, golf and 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 – think of Ross’s wedding on the hit show Friends that Rachel ruined!

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 which can run into thousands of pounds.

2. Food At The Wedding

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!

Food Budget Cost Saving Tip:

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. Try replacing the starter course with canapés, instead of having both. Or, 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, chutney and pate for your evening guests?

3. Drinks At The Wedding

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.

Booze Budget Cost Saving Tip:

The ideal in this instance is to use a venue where you can bring your own booze. I was lucky enough to be able to do this at our wedding and managed to pop across to France and buy 180 bottles of wine and 240 beers, plus Pimms and cassis for under £500. We had stacks left and our guests were restricted to beer, wine or soft drinks, but no one seemed to mind.

Another option is to come to an arrangement with the hotel regarding corkage. A friend got married in a hotel, which charged £10 per bottle of wine. She arranged a flat fee of £500 for all of her beer and wine opening. Although it seems like a lot, it meant that she could afford to supply beer and wine for her guests.

4. Bridalwear

With most bridal dresses starting around £600 and running into thousands of pounds, this is a huge expense.

Bridalwear Cost Saving Tip:

You can still look fabulous for a fraction of the price and feel that you’re minimising the eco-footprint of your wedding by buying a ‘pre-loved’ wedding dress.

Many charity shops have specialist ‘bridalwear’ departments where you can purchase new and designer dresses that have been worn once. You can try the dresses on before buying and you’ll get a warm glow from doing something for ‘Charidee’.

If you’re a little braver, you can venture online, where there are some fantastic bargains to be had in the ‘pre-loved’ lines. Take a look at some of the ‘For Sale’ forums of the popular wedding websites and you’ll see bridal dresses, veils, tiaras and those Jimmy Choo shoes that you know you want for a fraction of the cost.

5. The Wedding Photography

Many couples feel that photography is a major part of the day and are prepared to pay upwards of £2000 for a beautifully presented wedding album. Photographers have confirmed that it isn’t the actual photography, which is the major part of this expense, but printing and preparation of the formal wedding albums.

Wedding Photography Cost Savings Tip:

Many photographers are prepared to attend your wedding day and then provide you with a DVD of your photos for around £600. With the DVD, you can then use some of the fantastic online services to prepare your own ‘Photo Book’ - costing much less. Or, as many guests will no doubt have digital cameras with them, combine place cards with little notes asking them to share their wedding photos on your online directory.

Another excellent tip for having a photo keepsake of your wedding is to use several Instant Photo Guest Books, which combine Polaroid Instant Photos and hand-written sentiments from your guests. These photo guest books are ready to enjoy the “instant” your wedding is over -- and creating them adds great fun to the wedding reception!