Low Cost Budget Considerations for Your Wedding

Congratulations on your engagement, you are now about to plan your wedding day. This will be the most time, effort and money you will ever spend for a one day event so take some tips from below to try and help your wallet breath a little easier!. Deciding on a budget and sticking to it is often the most difficult part of the process. Keeping your wants and needs separate will be a great start to keeping within your agreed budget. It is a well known fact that weddings are expensive. There are so many things that you need to include into your budget. Give yourself plenty of time to shop around for quotes; this can alleviate rash decision making which can lead to over spending. Here are a few of hot tips to get you started: • Reception- When it comes to weddings with large guest lists the reception is generally the singular most expensive aspect, and you could expect to pay between $100-$150 and more per person. Try to keep the wedding guest list to a minimum. • Invitations – search online for DIY invitations, there are so many choices you’re bound to find an array of suppliers with beautiful stationary and easy to use computer software. • The dress- Although you may think your wedding gown is one thing you might not be willing to cut costs for, you can still find your perfect dress without sending yourself into debt. Online auction websites like EBay are a great tool for finding pre-loved dresses. • Wedding favours- DIY bonbonniere is also becoming more and more popular- and a great way to add more personal touches to your wedding. • Transportation- Before booking in a car from a hire company ask around- maybe someone you know has the perfect car you could borrow for the day in exchange of a small fee or wedding invitation? And if you don't know anyone with that perfect car you could always look into hiring a self-drive car, with a generous family member or friend offering to be a chauffeur for the day. • Photography - Professional wedding photographers can easily set you back thousands and this is one area that couples are not willing to risk the quality of everlasting memories. If you have a friend who enjoys photography why not offer them a small fee to take your wedding photos? With a meal thrown in also the person would likely be more than happy to help, and you could save yourself a small fortune. If you feel the need to hire a professional maybe consider hiring them for a half day just to get the “money shots” with family and friends. • Music - The music is important for creating an atmosphere and keeping your guests entertained- but again it doesn't mean you have to break the budget to achieve that. You could check out the local pubs, hotels or bars for a band that may be interested in performing on your special day? You could ask your friends if they know of any musicians that are available on your wedding day to help out. If you can’t afford a band, maybe a duo, trio or DJ would do the job. • Cake - Serve your wedding cake as the desert; this will enable you to book a two course meal package rather than a three course. There are lots more ways to save money when planning your wedding, so make sure you contact Karine to look through her FREE wedding budget planner and work out what your priorities are and budget accordingly.