Wedding on a Budget!

So you're getting married and on a budget! Take a breathe it's possible, and doable! Once you've set a budget and know what you're working with you can start planning. Let's start first with utilizing the friends and family you have, don't be afraid to ask for help or their skills. If you have a family member or friend who is a photographer, DJ, baker, hair stylist, or florist ask for their services and see if they would be willing to give you a deal on them. The majority of your budget (usually half) will be the food. If your budget and crowd are small consider potluck style, I know it's not super fancy. However, you have to work with what you have. Also look into your favorite restaurants, most of them cater. Keep in mind going buffet style will lessen your food cost greatly, verses plated meals. I used a great app for wedding planning called The Knot. The Knot is a great resource for all things wedding, you can read reviews and ratings, and book vendors all within the app. We found our DJ and Baker this way. Ok so lets talk about the dress! this is also a big part of your budget. Of course take advantage of sales and bridal expos, but also look into used dresses. I know this sounds weird but, there are shops that sell or rent great dresses. If you think about it, most wedding dresses are only worn once so some decide to donate theirs after the big day. Even eBay has wedding dresses for sale if you're feeling adventurous. Next is flowers, hiring a florist can be expensive so consider making the arrangements yourself, or with a friend. We found that both Costco and Trader Joes allows for special orders for their floral departments, at a better cost than florists. We chose Trader Joes, their flowers are delivered daily and fresh. We spoke with the manager and placed an order for a specific date, and type of flowers. have buckets and vases ready to allow 1-2 days for the flowers to open a bit before building bouquets and such. Then put together a team to build the center pieces, bouquets and boutonnieres. You can find some great vases at the dollar tree, or thrift stores. We found a great set of vases on Amazon for our center pieces, all matching, beautiful and cheap! Speaking of Amazon, this was a great tool for wedding planning. I found a set of plates (dinner, dessert, cutlery, plus champagne flutes) that looked like real china, but were actually plastic! best part, you throw them away when done, no washing rented dishes! easy clean up. Instead of buying tables, chairs, and linens consider renting. We found a great company who delivered them to our venue, set up, tore down, and picked up all same day. The cake, also not cheap, but there are ways around that. If you have a family member that bakes consider asking them to make your wedding cake. If that's not an option find a baker whose willing to work with your budget. We had a small budget so we needed options, instead of a 4 tier wedding cake that would have cost well over 400 dollars, we went smaller. Small as in cupcakes, we found a 4 tiered stand on Amazon and die cut cupcake liners that looked like lace. The baker made a small cake for us to cut, it fit on the top tier, and the rest was cupcakes. Not only was it delicious it's a cheaper option! Plus they delivered and set it all up.  If you utilize Pinterest at all you know how helpful this can be. We found some great ideas for favors, flowers, and cakes on Pinterest. Etsy and Hobby Lobby are also awesome tools for wedding planning. Hobby Lobby has a great wedding section with all kinds of decor, signage, ribbon, etc a lot of great ideas there. Etsy was a great resource for wedding favors, some sweet and inexpensive ideas too. If budget is really tight, consider doing an alcohol free wedding, use sparkling cider for the toast instead. Remember you and your guests don't need to be wasted to have a great time. Plus no need to hire a bartender. Invitations can cost a lot if you go overboard, instead of multiple invites and save the date cards that get thrown away, consider e-vites or digital invitations. If you must have a physical invite do just one, forget the superfluous save the dates etc. We found a great invitation and rsvp set on vista print of all places, lots of cute options to choose from for just a few cents a piece. We spruced up our invites by wrapping them in paper lace doilies and twine to mimic the beautiful $6 a piece die cut ones we first saw (not in budget). Lastly, the venue, this will eat a good portion of your budget too, so consider using a beautiful park, beach, or backyard for your reception. Sometimes it is easier to have both the ceremony and reception in the same venue, less driving, gas, cost etc. Be aware if you use a state park or beach you may need permits (especially if alcohol is served) talk to your city hall to find out the requirements. Banquet halls, rec rooms, dance halls, community centers, auditoriums, churches, schools, and some restaurants have large rooms available to rent for events, always worth looking into. Ok bride to be, you got this. Let the creative juices flow and you'll be able to pull off the perfect wedding day. Remember don't sweat the small stuff, do the best you can, and most importantly enjoy it! Your wedding day flies by fast, take in all the moments before it's gone.