Wedding Planning on a Budget

New Year and new resolutions?

Perhaps like me you are planning to get married this year? In this current financial climate we all seem to be very cost conscious and rightly so.

The implications of a marriage in any case can be many and complex it might seem like it’s a simple thing but when you begin to think and prepare for it the implications are wide ranging.

Prince William and Kate Middleton’s marriage will likely cost the Royal House hold around £40 million pounds. Any bride would love to have a dream wedding and not have the costs to be an issue but sadly with financial constraints this won’t be possible for most of us.

That is why like me you will have to set a sensible budget and stick it. We can still make it good though so that it’s an event to remember!
Some of the things that spring to mind immediately:

• Size of the wedding
• Location (indoors or outdoors)
• Time of year
• Photos and video
• Music

When I first began to look in to this I did a lot of research on the Internet as well as buying the usual magazines to get some useful tips and information. I’d really like to employ a professional wedding planner but the costs here are really off putting to say the least.
Let’s not lose heart though as I’ve discovered some really good web sites and they have helped me a lot in getting started with my plan.
Good planning is crucial to the success of any project, and thats effectively what your Wedding Day is – a big project. The only difference between this, and any other large project that you may have worked on in the past, is that this time you are doing it for yourself and your partner. Everything you are working on is for one 24-hour period in your life, and most importantly, it’s fun and exciting!
There are a number of ways you can cut the costs when planning your wedding – maybe you haven’t thought about it, but the tips below, will undoubtedly help to trim the excess from that budget, or allow for you to spend more in certain areas.

1) The wedding date
Obviously weekends are at a premium, and you can add on that little bit more in the summer months as well. Decide how important a weekend wedding is – in most cases it can’t be avoided, but it will have a significant effect on your budget when you realise how venues, photographers, car hire etc. all have increased prices for these prime days and dates.

2) The location
For both receptions and civil ceremonies in licensed venues, it pays to have a good look around before setting your heart on one. Compare prices for the room, the catering and the accommodation. Don’t be afraid to negotiate – remember, at the end of the day, you are business for them.

3) The guest list
Here’s a tricky one! We’re going to be mean here – now if you’re paying for the wedding yourself, only invite people you will be happy to see and share your day with. Imagine which of your friends and family will bring a huge smile to your face as you see them for the first time on the big day. If you only exchange Christmas cards and haven’t spoken to them in over a year, are they really worth all that cost?
When parents are involved with paying for the wedding, you have an obligation to listen to their requests. The best way to do this is draw up your own list as above and then allocate ‘x’ number of people to each set of parents. Let them make the hard decisions and it takes the strain off you. Don’t forget, for your sanity, if you have any family members you most definitely do not want invited, discuss this with your parents when giving them their list to fill. It’s always better to be open and honest from the outset.

4) The rings
Having your rings made especially for you may not cost as much as you think and you’re guaranteed something truly unique. If you want something special, discuss this with a local jewellery designer. If you have some ideas, sketch them and take them along – you’ll never know until you ask! You can find jewellery designers at this website http://www.gemget.com.

5) The dress
Magazines are great for ideas (or go to http://www.images.google.com and type in ‘wedding dresses’ as the search) – cut out pictures of your favourite styles and take them along to a few dress designers and get quotes for them making something similar. Ask for their advice when choosing fabrics that may still look fantastic, but may be more cost effective. As I’ve mentioned before, don’t be afraid to negotiate – especially if you have bridesmaids dresses or other outfits involved.

6) The honeymoon
As with any holiday, peak season will affect the price. You want a fantastic time and a holiday you will always remember – but don’t let that stop you from shopping around! There are so many travel websites offering amazing deals, that once you’ve decided when and where you are going, take the time to phone, visit or e-mail as many travel agents as possible to see what they can quote. Try http://www.expedia.co.uk/daily/holidayshop/default.asp as a starting point.

7) Photography & videos
Let’s start with photography first – you definitely get what you pay for, so my advice here for trimming costs is to spend time discussing what sort of shots you want, and exactly how many. Think about whether you want photos of the hours before the ceremony as well as the hours after. The fewer shots and less time your photographer is around, the cheaper it will get!
Video – do you really need this as well as the photos? If I’m being blunt, how many times will you ever watch this again in comparison to flicking through your photo albums. You will have to pay a fair amount to get a decent result so you could save the money here and get more photos instead.
If you really want to cut back, approach the local college and see if there are students on any photography or film & video courses that may be interested in the experience. Make sure you see a portfolio of their work first to have an idea of their style and talent. You will be amazed at the number of students that are desperate to get this sort of experience under their belts – and just how good they really are!

8) Florists & Flowers
Fresh flowers are beautiful, but they also come with a hefty price tag and sadly don’t last much beyond the day. Keep flowers to a minimum but with maximum effect! Cut the costs by doing the flowers yourself, or if you have a family member who’s good at arranging, I’m sure they’d be happy to help out. You, or a relative could always attend a night class for flower arranging at your local college. Flower arranging classes can last anything from 3 weeks to a few months – depending on how advanced you want to get.
You can look in Yellow Pages for a local flower wholesaler rather than paying full price from the florist – or take a look here for a uk list of wholesalers, http://www.flowers.org.uk/wholes.asp.
Instead of table centres, try floating nightlights in glass bowls with scattered rose petals and just have one large floral centrepiece on your top table or cake table. How about tiny potted miniature trees or box hedges on the table centres – you could even weave miniature lights through them for a truly magical display. (We sell the miniature battery operated lights in our online store).

9) Cake
Have you ever noticed how most wedding guests don’t get around to eating the cake? They’re usually so full after the reception meal that there’s just no room for cake! One option is to make your cake the dessert – and cut the costs of that third course. For this option, you may want to consider a more ‘dessert’ style cake like a croquembouche.
Croquembouche comes from the French “croquant” meaning crackling and “bouche” for mouth. Thus croquembouche refers to the crackling in your mouth when eating this traditional dessert. The croquembouche is often the dessert at a French wedding. For full details and a recipe to make your own, visit, http://www.boboli-intl.com.
Alternatively, have a smaller cake with guests being served ‘fingers’ rather than slices with their tea or coffee.

10) Booze & Drinks
Unless you want a massive bill and a free for all, do not waste money paying for a bar. By all means go for champagne (or Bucks Fizz is a cheap and popular alternative), wine and water but guests fully understand that you can’t be expected to pay for everything. If they want to hit the alcohol, let them pay for it!
If you want to find the best prices for champagne, beer, wine and other drink, visit http://uk.kelkoo.com/category.jsp?catId=128701 for great comparison shopping.

And finally….although budgeting and cutting costs will always be an issue, don’t let it give you sleepless nights. Your day is supposed to memorable and enjoyable and not a financial nightmare, so get as much of the cost cutting and budgeting discussions out of the way very early on so you can enjoy the weeks ahead, rather than dread them.

I’d like to recommend a useful planning tool to all prospective couples:

Wedding Planning on a Budget calculator

Links

Wedding Planning on a Budget
http://www.find-me-a-gift.co.uk/
http://www.wikihow.com/Save-Money-on-Your-Wedding-Ceremony-and-Reception
http://www.creative-wedding-planning.co.uk/blog/hire-a-wedding-planner-and-save-money/
http://www.topweddingsites.com/
http://www.thehappyguide.com/marriage/

Discover How to Plan the Ultimate Honeymoon – great honeymoon planner and lots of helpful tools