Saving Money on Your Wedding

Perhaps you've been dreaming of your wedding day since you
were a little girl, the princess gown, your handsome groom,
a beautiful spread and the entire town there. Or perhaps
it's something you never even contemplated…who me?
Getting married? Oh my gosh, this is really happening!
Where do we begin?

Although it's very easy to wish for the perfect dream
wedding, sometimes, if your salary is somewhere in the
thousands of dollars, not the millions of dollars, you have
to prepare a budget. But I'm here to tell you, having that
dream like wedding isn't as unrealistic as you think, as
long as you're informed and smart about it.

The first step in planning a wedding is to determine your
wedding budget. It is important for you to know what you
can realistically spend. Wedding costs can easily add up.
If not monitored properly, you may find that you are
spending much more than you had anticipated. By tracking
your expenditures, you can cut back on things less
important to you and allocate money to the more important
areas. I recommend a good wedding planner/organizer such
as Beverly Clark's, "Planning a Wedding to Remember". This
is an amazing tool for planning your wedding budget and
even provides an interactive budget planning tool available
online.

One way of trimming off the expenses is to consider
printing your own invitations. Often people don't
anticipate how expensive wedding invitations can be. A
homemade option is cheaper and can still look wonderful.
Purchasing fine paper and envelopes can save you, and
they're just waiting to be customized with some
professional techniques available with quality software
programs. If computers give you jitters, you're sure to
find someone artsy willing to help out for such a special
occasion.

Oftentimes, designer gowns, wedding favors, gifts and
accessories can be found on line at a fraction of the
prices in boutiques. Just be wary when shopping. Ask
questions, make sure the gown is in new shape and that the
size is correct. Correspond with the seller and make sure
the dress hasn't been damaged. As a form of etiquette,
reputation on these sites means everything, so if you are
not completely satisfied with your purchase or the seller
was misleading, you can reiterate this by providing
feedback. Check your newspapers, local re-sale stores, ask
at bridal boutiques for dresses that are no longer being
made, discontinued, or clearance dresses. You may find a
gem!

Although you may have envisioned thousands of guests
attending your special day, you may have to consider
trimming down your guest list. As a result, you will be
spending much less on food, drinks and the venue. Start by
making a list of family members from both sides of the
family, including children, then friends and acquaintances.
If the bride and groom are paying the full expense of the
wedding, they should have control over the invites, however
if they are accepting money from the parents they may have
to give them some say in the matter.

A suggestion could be to invite certain people to the
ceremony and dinner only (especially older relatives as
they may not want to attend the reception for various
reasons) and then invite more casual friends to the
reception portion of the day. Provide a cash bar, snacks
in the mid-evening, and all the festivities one can handle.
Keep in mind too that this can be catered by family
members consisting of cheese, veggies, cold meats, salads,
pickles, buns and dessert trays.

Remember too, that this day is for you and you want to
share it with all of the special people in your life. Time
passes quickly and you want to be able to enjoy all of your
guest's company, so keeping the numbers realistic and
within your budget will make your special day more
memorable for everyone.


About the Author:

Essential Wedding Favors is a company founded by Paul Darch
and Tracey Spencer in 2006. Wanting to provide a bride and
groom a source to find as much information about planning
their wedding, inspired them to create a website dedicated
to just that.
http://www.essentialweddingfavors.com