Your wedding will be one of the most memorable events in your life. This is why you need to do everything within your power to make sure everything runs without a hitch. You also want to create a perfect impression that will remain in the minds of your guests for years to come. However, doing this requires money. On average, a wedding costs about $25,000. This is not a small amount to raise. The good news is that you don’t have to spend a fortune to make your dream wedding a reality. Here are some things you can do to bring the costs down.
Avoid the expensive traditions
Hiring a wedding venue will typically cost you about $5,600. You can save up to 20% or even more by opting to get married at a time when venues are not in high demand such as on a weekday. Getting married when the suppliers are less busy will further help you negotiate up to 10% on supplies. There is no rule that states you have to be married on a Saturday. To save money, you should go for the unconventional options. You should also keep an eye out for last-minute cancellations.
Cut costs per guest
To bring the costs even lower, you need to cut the costs on food and alcohol per guest. To do this, you should consider a buffet wedding breakfast where the wedding cake is served for dessert. Additionally, there is no harm in baking your own large cupcakes instead of buying a large wedding cake. When considering a venue for wedding hire, check if you can bring your own food.
Ditch the expensive invitations
A lot of money is spent on the wedding invitations. The invitation cards have to be amazing; creating and distributing the cards costs money. To bring the costs down, you should embrace technology. Almost all your guests are on social media or on a popular chatting app like WhatsApp or Telegram. You should consider creating a website for your wedding then send e-invites. Doing this will save you money. What is more is that the e-invites are much easier to keep track of.
Ask guests to contribute
You don’t need to drain your savings just to create your dream wedding. It is possible to ask your friends to contribute. It is common to suggest that guests contribute to the wedding expenses and even for the honeymoon. This will free up your budget remarkably. All in all, you have to tread carefully here. Asking family and friends to contribute directly to your wedding can lead to the problems of family politics. You don’t want your wedding to be hijacked by your relatives who think they have control since they paid for it.
These are a few suggestions you can use when looking for a good way to bring the costs of your dream wedding down. There are many more things you should consider doing including buying a bargain wedding dress. The general rule here is not to make too many compromises else your wedding will look cheap.
Photo courtesy of Brides on a Mission.
