Your wedding day should be the best day of your life and having an experienced wedding planner for the event can make things easier.
However, there are some who are more pressed on time and budget and would like to take the matter in their own hands. If you think you are one of them then you should start planning way ahead of time so that you can relax and have a stress free event.
Involving your family and friends in planning and even delegating some of the work would not only help take some of the burden off your shoulders but they will also be happy to give you suggestions and ideas that might be helpful to plan the occasion.
If you have some talented friends and family who can offer their services or talent instead of bringing gifts, it’s even better.
For example, it there is a talented baker in your family or someone who owns a bakery and invited to the wedding they can take care of the wedding cake and have it delivered to the event.
If one of your friend owns a salon and is willing to offer their business services as a wedding gift …take it.
Look up some amateur or student photographers who are willing to take the wedding photos.
Think of having the wedding at home or if your parents have a big backyard, ask them if you can have the event at their place. If not, think of having the event at a park but always have another place as a backup in case of a bad weather. You can also get some great photo shots at a park.
Having help like this will not only cut the cost of some the quintessential things at the reception. But will also help these people to get recognized and appreciated.
Let all the people (who are offering their services) know that you are open to the idea of them using the images of your wedding, depicting the services that they offered posted on their website. Try leaving a good review or a testimonial that would help them grow their business and become more reputable. Be generous and return the favor by letting your guests know in some unique way who is responsible for the services at your wedding. Leave some business cards of the people who have offered their services at your wedding at the entrance on a table.
You might want to invite a lot of people because it’s the happiest day of your life but it’s best to keep the list short, and intimate by narrowing down to the closest friends and family if possible.
When you have a strict budget it’s very important that you choose the right party help and catering service. This could be challenging when there are so many out there claiming to be the best.
Choose a company that would help you organize everything and have professional party helpers who can serve food, beverages and take care of the bar.
If you have a family member or someone who owns a small restaurant or a good cook and is willing to offer their catering services give them a try so that they can take care of all the food and beverages.
Alcohol could be one of the biggest expense and you shouldn’t go cheap on this one. It’s best to serve some quality red and white wine to your guests but instead of having a full open bar you can have a free cocktail hour, followed by a cash bar.
When it comes to decoration make the most of the sales and stock up on things that you think you would need for the wedding.
Flowers cost a ton and if you are okay with artificial flowers you can cut down the cost drastically. However, if you are like me who wants fresh flowers it’s best to have as little as possible to keep it simple and inexpensive. Look for coupons and sales offered by the florists and make the most of them.
Instead of buying gifts for the bridesmaids and groomsmen you can take them for a dinner and send them special thank you notes.
Same with the invitations, you can make your own. These days there are tons of printing options available online that can make things easy anyone.
Cut down on the DJ cost by creating your own playlist and choosing your own songs and using your own or a borrowed stereo equipment.
Try buying bride and bridesmaid dresses and tuxedoes on sales. If that is still not in budget, then there is nothing wrong with wearing formal black suits for the occasions.
For the honeymoon you don’t have to spend tones of money to go to a far and distant land. Just going on a short road trip stopping at small local places should be fine. After all it is the time that you spend together and not the places you see.
No matter what you decide you want to make sure that you have a stylish joyful event which expresses your unique style and personality and the desired wedding experience so that you can have the day that you’ve always dreamed of.