Secrets On The Perfect Budget Wedding

Your wedding day is always a special time, but nowadays they have become so lavish that for the same price, you could make a Hollywood movie. Yet a wedding on a budget can be just as special. Apart from the expensive trappings, your guest list is the key to a cost conscious wedding day. You will want as many friends and family around you to share your big day but the more people, the bigger the cost.

With costs that can and do spiral into the thousands, couples who don't have lots of savings or rich parents may be tempted to get a bank loan or run up their credit cards. This is not a good idea, especially in this time of economic turmoil. Your life together may start out with a big debt, your mortgage, so you really do not need to add to it.

It is very easy to get carried away with the added luxury that a huge wedding has, big church, huge reception and a fleet of limousines, yet these will add to that millstone of debt around your neck. Your day is for dedicating the rest of your lives to each other for ever, sharing it is with family and friends is an extra joy for you. True friends will appreciate this and will not miss any of the razzmatazz that normally happens.

For the ultimate in budget weddings, you can walk or get a lift with your witnesses to the registry office and have a pizza for lunch. Although effective, most people will want something a little more elaborate to celebrate their union.

The wedding list is one of the key items to the cost of a wedding as the more people you invite, the larger the venue and of course, the more food and drink will be consumed. Your parents may put you under pressure to invite all sorts of obscure aunts and cousins but unless they are paying the bill, you need to keep control. You may also have problems when it comes to friends and work place colleagues as you don't want to upset one person by not inviting them when inviting another friend. Prioritise the list into three or four categories starting with the must haves and going down to the well maybe.

Using this list, you will be able to work out the size of venue and roughly how much it will cost to feed and water the pack. Where the numbers remain small, you could utilise your house, community hall or even take over a restaurant.

You may want to decorate your reception venue, especially if you want a themed wedding. This is usually an expensive idea so you have the chance to save money by doing it yourself or with friends. Get what you need from a wholesaler, rather than retail outlets as they will be much cheaper. Cheap fabrics can be used to good effect when it comes to creating coloured areas, bows and other decorations.

Many couples getting married either have their own flats or may even be living together so that wedding gifts will not really be needed as they already have most of the items needed. A good money saving idea could be to get your friends to make some food instead of a wedding gift which will save money on hiring a wedding caterer. You can either create a menu and see who can create which dish or get them to tell you what they can bring. This will need a bit of organising in case you end up with a mountain of chicken and nothing else.

Further savings can be made when it comes to the wedding garments, renting is usual for the gentlemen, but there are now a number of shops that rent a traditional white wedding dress as well. If renting is not for you, there are shops that sell pre-used wedding outfits or you can find them online. If you are getting late in the year, you may find a discounted wedding outfit from the specialists shops end of season sales. If you are not planning a white wedding, you have much more scope to save money. Apart from using something that you own already, you can buy a new outfit that can be used either for work or social occasions after the marriage.

The church arrival is an important part of the wedding but limousines are costly, considering they bring only take you from your house to the church and on to the reception. Savings can be made if you have a friend or relative who may have a large fairly new car. They may even have a classic car that they would be willing to lend for the occasion. Failing that, you can rent a self drive car and get a friend to drive it.

There are some things that are imperative to have and an official photograph is one of them. Yet even here there are savings to be made without compromising the quality of the pictures. Once again, look to friends and family, in case there is a talented amateur amongst them. Failing that, check out the local college to see if there are any photography students who would be willing to act as your official photographer. The only down side is that your prints may take a little longer to arrive.

Cakes and flowers are another expense that can be reduced by doing it yourself. You can buy fruit cakes do the decorations yourself as getting hold of the pillars and other decorations quite easily. They can be prepared in advance and kept in airtight containers. If you want to buy floral decorations, don't mention it is for a wedding as the cost tend to rise. Alternatively, you can get your flowers from a wholesaler or the market and arrange them yourself. If you have a cool place to store them, it can be done a couple of days before the event.

Even wedding rings are an area where savings can be made. The pawn broker or second hand jewelers often have some great bargains and you can pick up some really beautiful antique rings. If you have a superstition against rings that have already been used or would prefer a new one then the key to saving money is to keep it simple. A plain gold band is the cheapest option as you are really only paying for the gold, more elaborate ones will mean you are also paying for the craftsmanship.

Honeymoons are important, it is a time to be together as man and wife for the first time. Some savings could be made if you either book well in advance or take a more exciting option of booking at the last minute. You will have to be flexible in your destination but it can turn out to be a great surprise. Where ever you go, don't forget to play the honeymoon card which may get you flight and room upgrades, free flowers, wines or other discounts. For the really budget conscious, there is always a tent or caravan, simple but all you need is each other.

A wedding on a budget can include all, or some of the above depending on the money you have available to spend. How ever much you spend, keep some back to splash out on a really good photo frame so that you will have a really good memory of the day. There are lots of ideas that can be used to create a perfect budget wedding, these are just some that are available.