ALT-7 Best Ways to get Married on a Budget
If you try to have a regular wedding on a budget, you will always be aware of the corners you've cut. Sure, you can buy some nice paper and print off the invitations yourself, but are you sure the relatives won't notice the difference? Will Aunt Mabel be able to tell that your dress was bought on eBay, and that your friend Angela did the flowers instead of a professional florist? Will your relations look down their noses if you serve slices of wedding cake instead of dessert at reception? And how many people will be upset if you keep the invitation list short?
Add to this the fact that most cost-saving measures require you (or your friends and family) to do-it-yourself rather than pay professionals, and you are faced with a mountain of extra work and a pile of extra stress. And you do want to enjoy your day, don't you?
A resort wedding may seem expensive at first glance, but bear in mind that the cost replaces all your wedding AND honeymoon expenses. Plus, all your money is going into providing you with a holiday (and a wedding) to remember - whereas in a normal wedding, a large chunk of the budget goes to entertaining everyone else in your family!
When you announce that you are going to get married on holiday, you immediately solve the problem of who to invite. Everyone immediately understands that you can't afford to pay for guests, so there's no more worrying about upsetting Auntie Flo because you invited Uncle Phil, and vice versa. You may wish to pay for your parents to attend, or alternatively you may decide to keep the occasion just a romantic getaway for two.
You may also save money on a wedding dress. Sure, you still need That Special Dress - but if you are getting married on (say) the Maldives, Hawaii, the Greek Islands or the Great Barrier Reef, it may be more appropriate to wear an exquisite white silk sarong, rather than a beaded and laced meringue dress.
Provided you do your homework, you can also save yourself a lot of stress. In the major wedding destinations, there are many hotels who will organise the whole wedding for you, so all you need do is turn up in your finery.
Do be aware that if your resort destination is outside your own country, there may be some complicated bureaucracy to get through, so allow yourself plenty of time to prepare. In many cases, it's possible - and easier - just to have the ceremony and celebration without applying for legal recognition in the foreign country. Instead, have a "quickie" civil ceremony in your home town before or after your trip to take care of the legalities.
For me, this option worked very well. My immediate family came along to the civil ceremony and I had a fun party - a quarter of the price of a big fancy reception - for friends and family the day before we flew out to the Greek Isles. The hotel were fantastic, organising everything from flowers, music and photos to the mayor who married us - all we had to do was get dressed! I now have a wonderful memory and a fabulous photo album, all at a fraction of what it would have cost me to get married the traditional way.
