ALT-5 Tips for a Great but Low Budget Wedding
There are lots of beautiful places and ways to get married in the United States. Many of them will put a major hole in your wallet. Everybody loves a beautiful wedding. However not everybody loves the expense involved in creating the perfect wedding event.
Mortgages are for houses, not for events that last only one day. You can have the wedding you desire for anywhere between nothing and $5,000, and not feel as if you have sacrificed anything. In fact, not only you will save money, you will also save time and energy, because the frugal wedding takes a lot less planning than an extravaganza. The wedding on a shoestring budget should focus more on creativity than advance planning. However, at least some planning will be necessary. Enlist the help of family and friends, and ask them what they might be willing to contribute.
Before you get started planning your frugal wedding, decide what is really important to you. Some people have their heart set on the perfect dress, and others are determined to have their wedding in a beautiful setting, or at a particular church. When you're working with a budget, setting priorities is essential. When you reexamine those priorities, you may discover that you didn't really want a fancy white dress, or to be married in a church, or to have a huge reception, but rather that you merely felt obligated to have these things because your partner or someone in your family wanted them.
If you make a few decisions, you may discover that your great grandmother's 75 year old dress fits you perfectly. You may find that a park filled with wildflowers is actually more romantic (and less worrisome) than a church filled with orchids and roses. You may decide that weaving daisies and wild Queen Anne's lace into your hair leaves you with fonder memories than any expensive veil could ever do.
However, if you do decide that you want to purchase a wedding dress, buying from a consignment shop is a good way to save. The great thing about getting your wedding gown from a consignment shop is that when you're finished with your it, you can have them sell it for you again.
Wedding rings can be obtained inexpensively. You can select something smaller, or go with a second hand ring. Sometimes rings which incorporate semi-precious gems along with the diamonds can provide a savings. But whatever you do, don't purchase cheap, knock-off rings made of imitation gold or cubic zirconia. Spend your money on the real thing.
Discover the joy of eclectic bridesmaids. Ask your bridesmaids to look in their closets and see what they've got that might serve the purpose. You'd be amazed what kind of clothing people have sitting in their closets that has only been worn once, and has been doing nothing but gather dust for years. Get the dresses together in one place and see how the colors, patterns and materials look together. If it doesn't work out, you can always purchase dresses later, or request that the bridesmaids purchase their own attire (frugally, of course.) Make sure everything fits before the big day.
Ask around to see who in your circle of family and friends is a budding photographer or videographer. There's a very good chance you'll be lucky enough to find somebody who'd willing to do the job for free. In fact, you may come up with more than one. If so, let them all bring their cameras to the event. Let your photographer friends get creative with the pictures, and take the photographs out of doors in daylight on a clear day. Have them take lots of extra pictures in case some of them don't come out. If the camera is digital, go for broke; there's never any harm in taking a hundred pictures with a digital camera, in hopes of getting several that are just perfect. Then send the digital files or film out to be developed by a professional. If the files are digital, edit them in photo editing software before having them printed. You'll have professional quality photographs of your wedding for a fraction of the professional price.
However, if you decide to select a professional photographer, consider an up and coming photographer who is new to the business.
It's insane to chuck money away to put a toddler in a gown or tuxedo that won't fit them next year. So when it comes down to dressing up the ring bearer and the flower girl, get creative. Do some more closet digging, or take advantage of the wedding foolishness of others by purchasing the children's wedding gear which they've put up at auction on eBay. Whatever you get, make sure it's comfortable. The child will thank you.
Try a themed wedding. For example, if you aren't fond of the typical white gown and tux affair, you may want to have a Renaissance wedding, a Victorian wedding, a Japanese wedding, a Texas wedding, or a beach wedding. Wedding themes are extremely popular, and can get the entire wedding complement enthused and excited about contributing. Let the members of the wedding party to do crafts at home to decorate the event. Giving them craft assignments and providing the materials can help to maintain the look and feel you desire for the final event. Whatever you do, it's usually best to keep the decorations minimal.
Music is often extraneous at a wedding, and is one thing that can be easily dispensed with. There's no need to save money by having your Aunt Mabel torture the guests with her rendition of What I Did for Love. If push comes to shove, and you aren't satisfied or happy with recorded music, and live music is simply too expensive, it's fine to do without. However if you do choose to go with recorded music, there are many CDs available on the market with tasteful piano music which will fade into the background of your wedding atmosphere, where it belongs.
Consider ditching the florist and instead having your wedding at the your local botanical garden or arboretum. This way you'll be surrounded by live flowers on your memorable day. The Arboretum charges only a nominal fee to have a wedding or reception in their venue. Be sure to sign up for the informal or day sites, which are dramatically less expensive than the evening sites. Be sure to check the local weather in advance of making your reservation.
The bouquet and any other incidental flowers, such as roses or carnations for the lapels of the groom, best man and father of the bride can be found inexpensively. Again, take a minimalist approach. Shop around to see what shop has the best prices for small purchases.
Don't be afraid of a pot luck reception. With a little bit of coordination you can come up with a wide array of delicious dishes that you didn't have to cook. Very likely you'll want the cake to be professionally made, however there's no need to spring for a three-tiered monstrosity. A simple yet attractive cake can be obtained at any bakery or grocery store.Also, you may still be able to find a qualified person who is willing to perform the ceremony for cheap or for free. So check around to see who's available, and what they charge.
There are many expensive weddings that look cheap simply because they went overboard with tacky and tasteless clothing and decorations. When in doubt as to what style to choose for your wedding, stick to tried and true classics, and elegant austerity. This will help you to achieve a stylish wedding and still stick to your budget.
Most people know that creativity is for the money challenged. But what they don't realize is that money is for the creativity challenged. Too many people nowadays use money as a crutch because they don't know how to use their brains and their hearts. Marriage is a commitment between two people who love one another. And while money inevitably enters into every marriage, love is what really matters.
