ALT-20 Best Ways to get Married on a Budget
It is entirely possible to have a dream wedding on a budget- and with the average cost of an American Wedding up to a breathtaking $28000, that is wonderful news.
1. Avoid "official" wedding stuff like the plauge! Wedding planners call that buy-everything frenzy brides can get into "white blindness", and it is easy to be taken advantage of in that condition.
2. Decide what you want from a wedding- it's not there to impress everyone. Is a casual party good enough for you?Is it more about friends or more about family? More focused on the ceremony or the reception? We decided that we just wanted a casual celebration- an informal ceremony and a pig pickin', with my fiance's uncle cooking the pig. Of course, we also invited a huge number of people, because that was possible once we took away the catered-sit-down option.
3. Decide where to Splurge and where to Scrimp- Honestly, I think most modern wedding dresses are ugly, or at least overdone. Consider a nice cocktail or bridesmaid gown in some shade of white, or have something simple and flowy made. I decided against a veil- just made a small crown and tied ribbons to it, in the back. The more thought you put into making your wedding really personal, the more affordable it can be. Perhaps an nice "goddess" gown would let you make, say, a brooch your grandmother gave you a centerpiece of the ensemble, and the way you organize the colors for the ceremony?
4. Everyone wants flowers. The key is not to buy those formalized, overpriced little bouquets. Use flowers from a nice grocery store, or better yet a local wholesale distributor. A casual arrangement of wildflowers in a container you could use a cup later might be lovely. For something a little more elegant, float candles or single blossoms in a shallow bowl of water, or put a single long-stemmed bloom in a slim vase. Or use potted plants, and let people take them home at the end of the day. Hit a "crafty" kind of store and see what jumps out at you.
5. Invitations. The more parts, the more intricate, the more expensive. Yes, I love the elegant little things with the ribbons and umpteen envelopes and embossed lettering and elegant scrollwork, all on vellum and heavy, creamy, almost scented paper in the nicest shade of cream... but if I get started down that road, I'm not coming back, I know me. If you can exercise restraint in that area, marvelous. If not, consider going to a "crafty" kind of store and getting some pre-cut-with-matching-envelopes sets and some calligraphy pens.
6. Location, location, location. Unless one or both of you are very religious, it might not be right, or most affordable, for you to have a big church wedding, and then a big reception- you have to decorate two places, pay renting and transportation and whatever-all else. It might be perfect- or you might want to consider alternate venues. Dance studios, art galleries, museums, theatres, even the large home of a friend could be wonderful options, as long as you can manage the parking and noise regulations.
7. Remember to bring yourself into it. The more you know what you want, the more confident you are in your decisions, the better you can control the budget.
