Each of you has your own dream wedding in mind, which you’ve probably created ever since you were young. Maybe you’ve always wanted to have a beach wedding, a garden wedding, or any unique and lavish theme in mind. Perhaps you’ve also planned for spectacular festivities and a romantic honeymoon getaway to complete your wedding album. But sometimes, your dream wedding can be more expensive than you’ve initially expected.
No wonder many upcoming brides or grooms end up being stressed and overwhelmed with the wedding planning as they try to fit everything into their proposed budget. So, is there really any way you can plan your anticipated dream wedding without breaking your wallets? Yes, there is!
Do you want to achieve your wedding on a budget? To start, here are five money-saving tips to remember that will help materialize your dream wedding.
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1.Extensive Wedding Planning And Research
The goal here is to achieve your dream wedding without going overboard with your budget. To start, make sure to plan and research your wedding as early as possible. If you can, you can even plan your wedding the moment your partner puts a ring on your finger. The earlier you plan, the easier it’ll be for you to research and find early-bird wedding deals that will help save you some bucks.
An example of wedding research is for your wedding decorations. For instance, you can search for some wedding centerpiece ideas or wedding flower arrangements to give you ideas on how much they cost and which designs suit your proposed budget.
Moreover, don’t forget to talk about your wedding plans with your future spouse. Money may be a sensitive topic for both of you, but it’s necessary. Figure out together how much you’re both willing to spend for your wedding day and manage your expectations.
2.Allocate Your Budget Efficiently
The reason that doing wedding research is important is that it helps to allocate your wedding budget easier. Budget allocation will look like this:
- Wedding decorations – 25%
- Wedding couple package – 20%
- Wedding ceremony and dinner – 40%
- Honeymoon – 15%
If you find it hard to allocate your wedding budget, you can call on the help of a wedding planner. However, make sure to check first their services and package deals and see if hiring one is affordable for your budget. Most importantly, always have a budget for unexpected costs. The last thing you’ll need is to get stressed on your wedding day due to financial unpreparedness.
3.Only Take A Loan When Necessary
Some couples tend to take a loan even if they have enough money and savings for their wedding day. As much as possible, only limit yourself to take a loan when necessary or if you don’t have enough savings for your wedding day. If you decide to take out some loan, make sure to consider how much you’ll need and how much you can afford to pay every month.
Avoid borrowing money that’s beyond your financial capability to avoid drowning yourselves with debts in your first years of marriage. Take your time to shop around for any affordable loan interest rates, and never stop until you find one that’s best for your financial capability.
Most importantly, avoid paying your wedding expenses with a credit card. As you see, some credit card payments have ridiculously high interest rates, making debt payments more difficult.
4.Have A Shorter Guest List
Your guest list plays an essential role in your wedding budget. The shorter your guest list, the better it is for your budget and sanity! Some wedding couples find it stressful to deal with hundreds of wedding guests, especially if they barely know these people because most of them are plus-ones. To manage your guest list, make it clear with your A-list guests to limit their plus-ones.
For instance, you can only limit plus-ones to people who are engaged, married, or in a serious and long-term relationship. You don’t need to offer every single one of your guests a plus-one. This way, it’ll be easier for you to cut down your guest list achieve fewer and intimate wedding guests. A smaller wedding affair requires less money and work, which means you’ll have quality time with guests you genuinely know.
5.Consider To Do-It-Yourself
One of the wedding trends nowadays is to DIY some parts of your wedding. If you’re up for this, you can DIY your flowers or have a friend to help you with the flower factors of your wedding. For your wedding gown, you can have your mother’s wedding dress if you’re feeling traditional and just DIY some parts of it. But if you don’t want to compromise your wedding gown for your special day, make sure to set aside enough budget for it. Other factors you can DIY include your make-up, wedding hairstyle, and wedding decorations.
Aside from DIY, you can also lower your wedding costs and save money if you opt for cheaper alternatives. For instance, if hiring a professional photographer seems too much, you can ask a relative or a good friend who’s skillful with taking pictures.
However, if that option appears risky for your wedding photos, you can hire a professional photographer for eight to ten hours instead of booking them for the whole day. For food catering, you may be able to get an affordable deal if you go for local catering businesses or order from your friend’s catering service.
Takeaway
Achieving your dream wedding doesn’t mean you need to spend your entire bank account. Instead, it’s all about how you effectively do your wedding research, allocate your budget, and minimize some of the wedding costs that will help materialize your dream wedding. After all, your wedding day is about the celebration of your lifetime union with your soulmate.
