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Wedding Planning on the Cheap
Planning a wedding during prosperous times can seem financially inconceivable, let alone in a recession. But it can be done; you just have to be willing to think outside of the wedding cake box. Here are my tips to cutting costs fast while maintaining an elegant event:
Slash and burn your guest list.
Think of it as making your wedding the ultimate exclusive affair. Super immediate family and friends only.
Make your own invitations and programs.
Sure, it’s more time-consuming, but it will truly make your invitations one-of-a-kind and save you big bucks. The wedding stationary components are all about memorabilia anyway.
Wine and dine them.
Who says you have to give your guests a whole freaking meal? Find a caterer of your choice and pick three or four appetizers. Then ask the caterer to pair the appetizers with three or four different wines. Create your own menus that detail what goes best together.
Use natural beauty.
Get married at a public garden, park or in the fall when there’s tons of gorgeous colors.
The most important thing is that you both are open and honest throughout the entire process. Set aside no more than 30 minutes a day to talk about finances and strategize about savings.
And if the wedding of your dreams still seems impossible—wait until it is! Why put the extra stress and pressure on yourselves now?
—Laura Lee Bloor
My fiance and I actually just decided to postpone our wedding for a year because the stress of planning was becoming way too much. It wasn't money that was so much the issue, but, instead, the fact that we had recently been through so many huge changes in our lives.
We moved to a new city, both took on a new job, etc. By the time we were adjusted, we only had six months to plan!! We were lucky because the vendors we had already booked were willing to just do a switch without charging us -- we are getting married May 31, 2010!!
At first, I was bummed because it seems so far away, but now I realize that it will come just as quickly as our original date did. Plus, I keep reminding myself that I want this event to be a joyous one --- not a stress magnet. I am excited to marry my fiance and ENJOY our big day.
It's funny that you mention all those tips, because that's exactly how I managed to plan an affordable wedding! I had the ceremony at the Queens Botanical garden, then my reception was at our favorite bar and we just served appetizers for a few hours to about 50 people. We printed our own invitations on nice stationary, and I even had my dress made by a seamstress to cut down on the costs (only ended up being about $300 and it was exactly what I wanted). The one thing we did was splurge for engraved glasses for our guests to take home as gifts.
I didn't really think about keeping it "on the cheap" but since my husband and I were paying for the whole thing ourselves we were not going to be sucked into a black hole of debt just so people could get drunk for four hours. I think it's important for brides to know that they shouldn't be bullied by family members into throwing a wedding they can't afford.