How to save money – low cost / budget weddings

How can I save money with my wedding? How can I have a beautiful wedding affordably? How can I avoid overspending on my wedding? How can I have a cheap or low cost wedding? My wedding is on a low budget, can it still be a beautiful one?

Besides the obvious cut of the guest list and conversion from a huge wedding to a small and intimate one with only 40 to 80 guests, there are a few more money saving tips to make use of when planning your wedding.

1.     Make wedding gifts

Making your wedding gifts can save you a huge chunk of cash. Party favors can become pretty pricy when you multiply that number by the amount of guests attending. By making the gifts yourself you not only save money but you also add a personal touch to your gifts making them more valuable to your guests.

2.     Go for package wedding
Packaged weddings have many advantages.

-       They save you money in transport costs

-       Many cater directly to the budget bride making costs very affordable

-       They’re convenient for you and your guests in that everything is located in close proximity to everything else.

-       Many package wedding venues / planners will provide insight into providers of other things you may need for your wedding that may be more affordable too.

3.     Use semi pro photographer

Photography is extremely important when it comes to your wedding. The photo’s and/or videos you will have of your wedding are the only things you will basically have as a visual memory of your day Wedding picks are something you will show your children and grandchildren and they will show there’s. It’s a precious keepsake that you can’t afford to have messed up. You can save money on your photographer though without compromising the value of your wedding pictures.
By looking at a semi pro photographer in contrast to a complete professional, you will get the enjoyment of good value while having your pocket ease up through an affordable price. Student photographers, those who take photos as more of a hobby and others who are still recently new to the industry would usually have amazing skills in capturing priceless moments while being affordable. The number one way of ensuring that you still like the photo's the photographer takes in comparison to the price they’re charging, you need simply need to have a look at a lot of their past photo’s. Most photographers will have tons of photo's they’ve taken before even if they are still new to photographer. Have a look at the quality of some of the photo's they’ve taken before or request that a mini ‘trial shoot’ or even an engagement shoot be taken with you and your fiancé prior to your wedding day. Be sure to set up the trial shoot way in advance of the wedding so that if you’re not completely satisfied you will still have enough time o source another photographer.

4.     Choose winter date

For obvious reasons, winter weddings are more affordable. Although the winter chill may be in the air, the prices are remarkably lower especially at the peak of winter. The chill can be conquered easily by having your wedding dress and wedding itself ‘winter wonderland’ themed. You can still have a beautiful wedding while saving a lot in catering, venue, photography and many other costs.

5.     Choose morning wedding

Morning weddings are also cheaper. A morning wedding or a breakfast wedding will save you money in catering and venue costs as many people rush to have afternoon weddings. Morning beddings are in less demand o you could benefit from booking one.

6.     Choose midweek wedding

Another affordable choice would be opting for a midweek wedding. With many having to go to work the day of the wedding and/or the day after, prices for midweek weddings are notably lower due to convenience. If our having an intimate little wedding or have family members and friends who you’re sure would be willing to take a day or two off work or school to show you their support then a midweek wedding is definitely worth considering.

7.     Go to a clothing store for bridesmaid outfits

If you’re looking to save money on your wedding and are considering getting your bridesmaids outfits for them or looking to save them money when they purchase their dresses, why not have ‘ready-made’ dresses purchased?
By going to clothing store which offers smart casual or formal dresses (depending on the theme or style of your wedding) you’ll save costs you would have incurred by having dresses specially made. Make a date with your bridesmaids, visit a store and have them each pick out any dress they like in the color of your wedding.

8.     Rent a wedding dress!

One of the biggest costs surrounding the wedding comes in the form of the wedding dress. Wedding dresses can be priced hirer than the rest of your whole wedding put together!

A good money saving trip is to rent or hire your wedding dress. There are many reasons why this would be an awesome idea with the top two being:

-      You’re never going to wear your wedding dress again anyway so why not save money on it?

-      You get to wear YOUR DREAM DRESS! As has been previously mentioned, wedding dresses can be extremely costly – this means that your perfect dress ay be well out of your price range BUT renting or hiring a wedding dress cuts costs by leaps and bounds meaning you really could afford to walk down the isle in your perfect dress!!

9.     Make your shoes your – Something old

The age old tradition of ‘Something Old, Something New, Something borrowed, Something Blue’ can really come in handy when you’re looking at planning your budget wedding. Whether you have your prom shoes, shoes you wore as a bridesmaid or shoes from any other occasion; chances are that they would match or blend with your wedding colors (glitter, silver, gold, white, etc. are common colors that will match with anything) so why not use this to your advantage?

10. Make your invitations

Making your own invitations will not only save you money, it will always a personal element to your gifts and make them highly unique. If you love ‘unique’ then this is a dual tip for you.