Low Budget Wedding - Some Great Tips You Must Know
When planning your special day, determine what your low budget wedding will need.
Where will the money come from? Will parents be picking up the tab for certain items, or will you be footing the bill entirely? Accept that planning a low cost wedding will require a great deal of time and effort on your part.
Once the budget is set, determine how those funds will be allocated.
The following is a good guideline: Reception 50%: Venue, food, drinks, cake, tables, chairs, table service and bar ware, linens, table scape, music, favors; Ceremony: 3%: Venue, officiate fee, music; Photography 15%: Photographer, videographer, albums; Attire 10%: Dress, veil, shoes, jewelry, hair and makeup, tuxedo or suit; Flowers 15%: Ceremony, bride's bouquet, bouquets, corsages, boutonnieres; Stationary 4%: Invitations, response cards, thank you notes, postage; Gifts 3%: Bridesmaid, groomsmen, parents.
Expenses will grow very quickly when you have a large guest list.
A small, intimate affair reduces the financial burden, and allows the bride and groom to interact with their guests.
The size of your guest list will have a great impact on the venue of your wedding and reception.
In many cases, reserving a venue at least a year in advance will result in a lower price than if you wait until all of your guests respond.
Planning your wedding during the week will result in lower costs for both guests and venue.
Most venues will have a significant discount if a wedding is held off-season and during the week.
In addition, most people will not take off from work to attend a wedding held during the week, so you will not have the response that you might expect from a traditional weekend wedding.
The venue will normally have linens, plates, and other accessories for the wedding party that are included in the fee.
The linens are normally white and they do not have the "frills" of catering places.
But, this is an extremely cost effective way to take care of the basics of your wedding reception.
Among the many benefits of planning your wedding during the week, off-season, is the fact that just about every service associated for weddings will be less expensive.
You will be able to get a caterer at a discount and will get a further savings if you use a package menu that the caterer offers.
For the reception, a disc jockey will be more versatile than a live band.
If you have an afternoon wedding, you may be able to contract a lower fee with a disc jockey that has an event in the evening, giving you a specific time slot for a reduced fee.
Most disc jockeys have day jobs and you may need to do a little searching to find one that can take care of your weekday wedding, but it will be worth the savings to do so.
The wedding cake is the focal point of the wedding reception.
The cake will be much less expensive if you order it well in advance of the wedding.
While most cakes are sold at a price per serving, if you want an artistic cake it will be more expensive than a more traditional wedding cake.
If you need a fewer number of servings than your cake design allows, ask your baker about faux layers.
This trick of the trade reduces the extra cost of servings that will not be eaten, allowing for the full effect of the cake.
Taking up nearly 15% your budget will be flowers.
Flowers can provide a beautiful and fragrant element to your day, however their cost can quickly climb.
Collect pictures of flowers and arraignments you like.
When meeting with your florist, be exact in your budget restraints.
Your floral professional should be able to suggest less expensive flowers to accomplish the same look.
Getting a professional photographer is the one part of a low budget wedding that you do not want to cut corners with.
Find a photographer that has experience photographing weddings and offers package deals for weddings.
In most cases, because your wedding is being held during the week, the price will be discounted.
Where will the money come from? Will parents be picking up the tab for certain items, or will you be footing the bill entirely? Accept that planning a low cost wedding will require a great deal of time and effort on your part.
Once the budget is set, determine how those funds will be allocated.
The following is a good guideline: Reception 50%: Venue, food, drinks, cake, tables, chairs, table service and bar ware, linens, table scape, music, favors; Ceremony: 3%: Venue, officiate fee, music; Photography 15%: Photographer, videographer, albums; Attire 10%: Dress, veil, shoes, jewelry, hair and makeup, tuxedo or suit; Flowers 15%: Ceremony, bride's bouquet, bouquets, corsages, boutonnieres; Stationary 4%: Invitations, response cards, thank you notes, postage; Gifts 3%: Bridesmaid, groomsmen, parents.
Expenses will grow very quickly when you have a large guest list.
A small, intimate affair reduces the financial burden, and allows the bride and groom to interact with their guests.
The size of your guest list will have a great impact on the venue of your wedding and reception.
In many cases, reserving a venue at least a year in advance will result in a lower price than if you wait until all of your guests respond.
Planning your wedding during the week will result in lower costs for both guests and venue.
Most venues will have a significant discount if a wedding is held off-season and during the week.
In addition, most people will not take off from work to attend a wedding held during the week, so you will not have the response that you might expect from a traditional weekend wedding.
The venue will normally have linens, plates, and other accessories for the wedding party that are included in the fee.
The linens are normally white and they do not have the "frills" of catering places.
But, this is an extremely cost effective way to take care of the basics of your wedding reception.
Among the many benefits of planning your wedding during the week, off-season, is the fact that just about every service associated for weddings will be less expensive.
You will be able to get a caterer at a discount and will get a further savings if you use a package menu that the caterer offers.
For the reception, a disc jockey will be more versatile than a live band.
If you have an afternoon wedding, you may be able to contract a lower fee with a disc jockey that has an event in the evening, giving you a specific time slot for a reduced fee.
Most disc jockeys have day jobs and you may need to do a little searching to find one that can take care of your weekday wedding, but it will be worth the savings to do so.
The wedding cake is the focal point of the wedding reception.
The cake will be much less expensive if you order it well in advance of the wedding.
While most cakes are sold at a price per serving, if you want an artistic cake it will be more expensive than a more traditional wedding cake.
If you need a fewer number of servings than your cake design allows, ask your baker about faux layers.
This trick of the trade reduces the extra cost of servings that will not be eaten, allowing for the full effect of the cake.
Taking up nearly 15% your budget will be flowers.
Flowers can provide a beautiful and fragrant element to your day, however their cost can quickly climb.
Collect pictures of flowers and arraignments you like.
When meeting with your florist, be exact in your budget restraints.
Your floral professional should be able to suggest less expensive flowers to accomplish the same look.
Getting a professional photographer is the one part of a low budget wedding that you do not want to cut corners with.
Find a photographer that has experience photographing weddings and offers package deals for weddings.
In most cases, because your wedding is being held during the week, the price will be discounted.
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