How to Plan the Wedding of your Dreams on a Strict Budget

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You’ve met the man of your dreams, and now it’s time to plan the wedding of your dreams.  However, since you aren’t marrying Donald Trump, you have finances to consider.  In fact, you find that you must plan your wedding on a strict budget.  Believe it or not, it’s possible to plan a wedding that is truly elegant—even if you have only limited means.  Still, you must keep a few things in mind to ensure that you will have a wedding that is both incredible and cost-efficient.

Plan a Budget

            To begin with, it is important that you figure out exactly how much money you have to spend on your wedding.  Once you have an idea of the funds available, you’ll need to make up a detailed budget.  The key to such a budget is to establish priorities.  For instance, what’s more important to you—a stunning dress or spectacular photos?  Choose one item that you’re willing to invest extra money in.  Then, pair down the rest of your wish list in order to accommodate the money on hand.

           
Ways to Economize

Think of ways to economize.  For instance, you can ask each of your bridesmaids to buy her own dress—or you can just have a single bridesmaid at your side for the ceremony.  You might consider having the bridesmaids carry a single flower rather than an entire bouquet.  Rather than hiring a live band for your reception, you might hire a less expensive disc jockey instead.  There is also a growing number of photographers willing to take high quality digital photos of your event, then, provide them to you on CD, that you can then take to your local printing shop to have prints made.

Discipline

            Once you’ve established your budget, it is vitally important for you to stick with it.  This means that you’ll have to keep a close eye on expenses.  If you find you’re going over budget in a particular area, stop spending.  Otherwise, you could end up with a mountain of wedding debt once the ceremony is over.  If you know the costs ahead of time (call all your vendors and get quotes), you should have few surprises along the way.  Even so, you should definitely budget in an “emergency fund” – there is always something that pops up at the last minute! 

Funds for the Honeymoon

            If you think that your wedding will be so expensive that you will not be able to go on the honeymoon of your dreams – think again!  Introducing honeymoon registries.  A honeymoon registry allows you to “register” for your honeymoon the way you would “register” for wedding gifts.  This allows your guests to give you the wedding gift of paying towards your honeymoon.  An announcement for this type of registry can go out in the invitations, along with your wedding registry announcement.  Another way to have the honeymoon you want at a price you can live with is to research all inclusive honeymoon options.  These are often less expensive than piecing your honeymoon together.

Have a Family Member Act as Your Wedding Coordinator

            While you might want the luxury of a professional wedding planner, you might not be able to deal with the expense.  Therefore, you should consider appointing a relative or a trusted friend as your wedding coordinator.  Believe it or not, there are many people who would jump at the chance of taking on such a responsibility and who would be honored to be so involved in your special day. 

Article by:
Michelle O’Connor, Southern California Beach Wedding