Planning Your Wedding on a Well Thought Out Budget
Quite honestly expensive weddings are out and cost-cutting and budget weddings are in! Why spend a truck load of money on a wedding, which will last just a few short hours? Couples are finding that it is far better to make a down payment on a property rather than have a lavish wedding. The economy too has been in recession for a while and spending definitely is down!
While it is true that everyone dreams of the most memorable wedding of the century, unless you are fabulously wealthy and most of us are not, this is not really possible. Couples are planning their weddings very carefully and budgeting expenses to cut down on or do away with unnecessary costs.
It is one thing to dream and most brides do dream of the picture perfect wedding but the dream soon takes on a nightmarish quality when you see what it will cost you. Couples need to take up a ruthless stance in ditching all the expenses for things that really don't impact the wedding much, the extra frills and fancies if you will.
There are definite advantages to having a small wedding and they include:
* Your greatest saving comes from limiting the number of guests you invite but be prepared for some ruffled feathers among the non-invitees. You can limit the number of guests who bring a date along. These guests will usually comprise unmarried people who are not in any long term relationship. To avoid confusion, you can put only the guest's name on the envelope and the response card.
* Wedding invitations can be quite an expensive affair because you will be tempted to get the best. One of avoiding this expense altogether is to set up a wedding website on which you can give all the details of the wedding including timings and locations. You can also get your RSVPs by mail and save on postage and printing.
*If you feel you simply must have printed invitations don't order them till the guest list is completely finalized. Ask a friend who has beautiful writing to do the cards and save on a professional calligrapher's fee. You may also decide that a program is not really essential since the ceremony will be a short, traditional one. However, you will need to do thank you cards so get them in bulk to make a saving.
A budget wedding does not have to appear cheap if you spend wisely on stationery, flowers, favors and other things. The money you save can go towards a fine honeymoon and a new home.