There is little doubt that Weddings are costly affairs. The average cost is $33,391. However, You do not have to fork over your savings to have the wedding of your dreams. There are lots of ways to keep wedding costs down.
Eloping
Eloping may not be on your radar, but maybe it should. By eloping you can shrink your wedding costs a great deal. You don’t have to worry about hosting a wedding and all the expenses that come with that. On the negative side, your loved one’s may be very upset at you because they could not share in your special day. Some reasons you should consider eloping are:
- Less anxiety to plan a wedding
- You will save energy and time
- You won’t have to make any painful wedding decisions
- You can avoid controversial issues (who will marry you)
- You can save money and spend it on the honeymoon
- You can focus solely on each other
If eloping isn’t for you, don’t worry.
Here are some other ways you can save on your wedding.
Formal Wedding
1- Serve meals buffet style because they are more cost effective than sit down dinners. This is because you don’t have to have a large waitstaff. You can use this savings to update your menu to more lavish items if you want. Going from a sit down meal to a buffet can save you a few hundreds of dollars at least.
2- Start a bidding war for your wedding. You heard right! Reach out to many different photographers, DJ’s and other vendors you need. Get price quotes from them all and have them start bidding for your wedding. If they really want your business they will work towards quoting you a price that will work for you.
3- You can ask your friends for help. Your friend may have some great talents. Within them you may have a friend who is a great videographer or who can make amazing cakes. This can help save a lot of money. The end result maybe something great. Make sure that the friends you enlist know what they are doing otherwise you maybe very disappointed with the outcome.
4- As a result of basic rules of demand and supply, having a wedding during a weekend in “wedding season” is a costly time to get married. Venues will generally charge less at times, and lots of wedding professionals (for instance, musicians, photographers, and perhaps some caterers) will have no reservations , say, a Thursday in January, therefore that they could be pleased to take your work in a discounted rate.
5-See if you’re able to think about a cheap yet beautiful and meaningful place for the wedding — maybe a friend’s lawn, a beach, the playground in which you and your spouse went to your first date, or another location that has special significance for you.
6- Forget about favors. Your guests probably will not care that you did not spend $300 or $600 on small favors for everybody. After all, they are showing up for you, not to get free goodies.
7-Invitations are expensive. Sometimes they can cost a few thousand dollars. You can save on invitations by purchasing them from Etsy or you can also opt for sending an online invitation.
8- Alcohol is a huge expense at weddings. Its a good idea to purchase your own alcohol for your wedding. By doing so you will save money and be able to get exactly what you want alcohol wise.
9- Cut the cake early during your wedding reception. This will allow the photographer and videographer to leave early. Once all of the major wedding events are done they can leave. The cake is one of the largest events at a wedding and usually the last.
10- Getting married is a huge deal, but please don’t invite the whole world. Even trimming the listing from 50 may save you about $5,000. Spend some time considering how many individuals actually must be in your wedding.
If eloping is not the right type of wedding for you, never fear. There are lots of other ways that we have noted that can help save you money when planning the wedding of your dreams.
