We all feel giddy when we think of getting married. You imagine yourself walking down the aisle wearing your beautiful wedding dress at your wedding ceremony venue while your significant other waits for you at the altar.
However, we need to face the reality that this cannot be possible if you don’t plan for your wedding properly. Weddings are very expensive because you need to prepare in advance for a lot of things. If you are on a tight budget you will have to be resourceful and creative to be able to have your dream wedding.
But you don’t have to stress any longer! Below are a few tips and ideas that can be useful in planning for your wedding especially if you are tight on budget.
The average wedding cost is ranging from $30,000 to $50,000. That doesn’t include pre-wedding activities such as bridal showers and extravagant prenuptial shoots and post-wedding activities such as a honeymoon.
If you have a smaller budget for your wedding, you will need to look for ways to save costs and be able to incorporate more things to achieve the wedding you have envisioned.
See: EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW WHEN PLANNING A MICRO WEDDING
Set your wedding budget. Identify the things you will need for your wedding. Ask questions.
Before starting your actual wedding planning, you need to set or determine your wedding budget and identify the things that you will need. Identify which aspects of your wedding are the non-negotiables and nonessential parts.
Understanding the nonessential parts for you and your significant other will allow you to maximize your budget on important things. This is to help you effectively allocate your budget. If you are having a hard time pointing out and budgeting, ask yourself some questions.
“What are the things that should be planned for a wedding?”
“Where is my wedding venue? Decorations? My wedding dress? Food for the guests?”
“How much should I allocate for these things at my wedding?”
“Is this budget enough? Are there any alternative sources that I can find that can satisfy the budget I have?”
Time is the key
Planning ahead of time is the key if you have a small budget for your wedding. By starting early, you will have an ample amount of time to save money for the things needed for your wedding that require a big portion of the budget. Planning 1 to 3 years before your wedding will give you time to pay your expenses in installments.
Downsize your guestlist
Downsizing your guestlist can help you save expenses for your wedding. Invite the most important and closest people in your life as a couple. Choose the people who you think have a great impact on your life together in the future. Having a small number of guests can also help in creating an intimate and memorable wedding.
See: 7 USEFUL TIPS YOU CAN USE TO DOWNSIZE YOUR WEDDING GUEST LIST
Do it on your own
The secret for wedding planning, if you are tight on a budget, is doing things on your own. Below are some ideas that you can DIY for your upcoming wedding.
See: TIPS ON HOW TO EFFECTIVELY DIY YOUR DREAM WEDDING
Instead of renting expensive conference halls, you can use your backyard at home to hold your wedding. You can decorate your backyard with minimal flower arrangements, lightings, and draperies to transform it into a good venue for both your wedding ceremony and reception. You can also secure permits if you want to use a public park. The natural scenery from the trees and topiaries can serve as part of your wedding venue decorations.
See: THE ULTIMATE GUIDE ON OUTDOOR WEDDING IDEAS
For your venue decorations, you can create it on your own by using the materials you have at home. Reuse things such as bottles as an additional design for your lighting and old white fabrics for draperies. If you have blank wood planks at home, you can paint it and use it as signage for some parts of your wedding venue.
Serving your own food and drinks to your guests can greatly help in saving up costs for your wedding. Ask some of your family members or closest friends to help you prepare the food and drinks. You don’t need to pay for catering services for this. Home-cooked meals can make your guests feel homey which helps make an intimate feel to your guests.
Know where to buy a budget-friendly wedding dress or reuse
It is best to survey around your locality to know which company offers a wedding dress that fits the budget. There are a lot of wedding dress companies that offer a wide array of trendy wedding dress styles in New Jersey.
Reusing your mother or grandmother’s wedding dress is also a good way of saving up costs. If it has undergone wedding dress preservation, then you are very lucky! Walking down the wedding dress again on the aisle can relive the memorable moments it has made when it was first worn.
See: EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT WEDDING GOWN PRESERVATION KIT
Having a tight budget when planning for a wedding can be quite stressful. You have to think of a lot of things and sometimes you will need to compromise to fit everything into your budget. However, the tips and ideas above can help you in successfully creating your dream wedding even though you are tight on budget.