Weddings are one of the happiest times in a couple’s life, but they can also turn out to be the most stressful. And last year certainly did not help in the stress arena. With many couples having to reschedule their weddings or face strict guidelines. Guidelines that often changed what they envisioned their Wedding Day would look like.
However, prior to the pandemic, most wedding planning stress is often thanks in part to the sheer amount of planning and expenses involved in the whole process. Hiring a planner to take care of the details is a good way to reduce your overall stress, but these types of services don’t come cheap.
Here are few other ways to help you with your Wedding Budget.
Wedding Budget Tips & Tricks
These wedding budget tips & tricks can help you create a memorable wedding, for less than you think.
Bridal Shower
A bridal shower is a time for all the women in the bride’s life to come together and reminisce, give advice, and prepare her for the new life of a married woman. Most often these showers will feature a planned meal at a fancy location. Some showers will also have a cake to mark the occasion. Instead of spending a lot of money on a fancy location, consider catering your meal at home. To go the extra mile, you can make everything on your own or ask your gal friends to each bring a dish. The cake should also be a simple affair that is similar in style to the wedding cake. With the pandemic be sure to check local guidelines.
Wedding Invitations
Every couple wants an elegant and customized invitation for their special day, often, the card is as elegant and memorable as the dress. It is the one item that your guests are able to keep as mementos from your wedding that will last for years to come. Instead of splurging on heavy card paper and invites that have moving parts, keep it simple.
Wedding invitations must be mailed to their recipients each will generate a charge according to their size and their weight. Save money by choosing lighter cards that have other thoughtful details instead. You can save a couple of hundred dollars by the time your invitations and RSVP cards have all been mailed.
If you are planning on doing another favor or take away for your wedding guests, you could also consider using your wedding website to send out electronic invitations, saving that cost all together and streamlining tracking your RSVPS as well.
Outfit Alterations
Wedding dresses are one of the biggest expenses of a wedding, but simply buying the dress is not the only expense. Wedding dresses are unique and meant to be worn only once, hence there is often a need for alterations. Most stores don’t disclose that there is a fee each time you need to have a wedding dress altered. Plenty of brides start their dress search as early as two years before their wedding date. Bodies change weight can go up or down in that time frame. The closer to a wedding you get, the more alterations you will have. Always ask about the alteration policy and charges prior to purchase.
This also holds true for men, though, they tend to buy their tux much closer to the wedding and generally only need one alteration sitting. Also, keep in mind that you don’t have to use the in-store seamstress, there are plenty of local ones who charge only a fraction of the rate of the department store.
Try to limit the number of alterations appointments, for example, there is no need to start that process over a year away from your date. Have a real conversation with your seamstress about the timeline and if 3-6 months out works for your first fitting, do that!
Transportation
Everyone wants to feel like a celebrity on their wedding day and with good reason. However, not everyone has a celebrity paycheck. One large expense that is not always justified is transportation. Stretch limos often charge by the hour so having one wait outside your venue for the duration of your wedding and reception can get pretty costly very quickly.
If you really want limo services as part of your wedding, consider hiring them on an hourly basis that will cover the time from the end of your ceremony to the start of your reception. If you are taking your pictures ahead of the ceremony, this will also cut down on wait times. You will only have to book them for perhaps an hour or two to pick you up from the venue of the wedding to transport you to the reception venue.
Catering
Talk to your caterer about your options! Because you could save quite a bit by doing a buffet vs a plated dinner. You could even opt for food stations or just heavy hors d’oeuvres vs a full meal.
Flowers
Flowers are indeed beautiful but can be quite expensive. Talk with your florist about what will be in season around your wedding, and using blooms that are more common and cost effective. You can also consider artificial flowers, we are in love with the current trend of wood flowers! They look so real!
Cake
Instead of opting for the 5 tier over the top cake, have a local baker create an elaborate single or two-tier cake for you and do cupcakes for all of your guests! It will save you a ton of money and we love a good dessert table!
Complete Weddings and Events in Sarasota, FL
If you’re looking to tie the knot or throw an epic event, you have come to the right place. Complete Weddings + Events in Sarasota, FL will help you find the right event or wedding photographer, videographer, and DJ to throw a phenomenal party, plus we have a fun photo booth and lighting rentals to elevate your event and give you the type of unforgettable experience you’re looking for. When you party with Complete Weddings and Events, it’s completely about you! In addition to Sarasota, Bradenton, & North Port, we also serve Parrish, Venice, Palmetto, Lakewood Ranch, Anna Maria Island, Englewood, Holmes Beach, Longboat Key, Siesta Key, Osprey, & Port Charlotte.
Complete Weddings + Events, Sarasota’s leading provider of event and wedding photography, videography, lighting, DJ services & photo booth rental.
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