Weddings aren’t known for being particularly budget-friendly, and why should they be? This is your special day and you deserve everything you want and more. Unfortunately, our budgets can’t always stretch as far as they need to, and we find ourselves short on what we need. While the best payday loans could provide relief in a financial emergency, you’ll need to be careful with your wedding budget. To give you a helping hand, we’ve put together a few top tips to help you with your wedding budget below.
Start Saving Early!
Taking out time to enjoy your engagement is all well and good, but it’s also time to start saving up for your wedding! If you don’t already have a budget set aside for this kind of thing, chances are you’ll need a little extra time to start saving up before you can start shelling it out into hiring venues, buying dresses and suits and getting everything in order. As much as you may want to start looking for your outfit immediately, make sure you sit down and work out what you can afford, what you’ll need, and how much you’ll need to save every month as a result – you’ll thank yourself later!
The Reception
The reception is one of the easiest places in which you can cut how much you’re spending. Be brutal, but realistic, with your guest list. If you can’t afford to feed the 200 people you’ve invited, why not invite only your close friends and family to the meal and the rest to the party? You could also opt for hiring out a venue that will cover both your ceremony and your reception to save on travel costs, and the cost of hiring two venues in one day.
The Decoration
For decoration, we’re going to focus on one of the most expensive parts of it all – the flowers. If you’re looking to buy a whole host of foliage and fauna for your wedding, then this tip is for you! If you want to cut costs, try and use more greenery than flowers. As pretty as they are, flowers can be far more expensive, especially where popular wedding varieties are concerned. Similarly, you could opt for a cheaper alternative and only stick to one or two kinds of flower. In-season choices also tend to be more affordable too!
The Food
While this is a controversial topic at best, why not opt for skipping the main course? In most cases, offering ‘snacks’ or a buffet table can often end up costing you less overall and even cater to more tastes than a set menu might. Similarly, offering a specific selection of drinks as opposed to a full bar, or opt for hiring a venue that holds a bar your guests can pay for if they’d like an alternative choice.
The Extras
You’d be surprised at just how easily the cost of stationary and favors can add up during the planning of your wedding, but it’s also one of the easiest places to cut on costs. Single page, hand-made invites can cut on the printing and sending costs, or if your family are within a smaller area, you could opt for delivering them by hand. Similarly, making your own favors could potentially save you hundreds, and will add an entirely unique touch! It’ll also give you the chance to sit down and relax while you make them, and actually enjoy the run up to your wedding day!
A wedding is always going to cost, but by cutting costs and budgeting carefully, you don’t have to leave yourself out of pocket in the end. Hopefully our tips have given you a good place to start! Congratulations, and good luck!
