The cost of a wedding can put many couples off the occasion; with an average day costing around 25,000 Pounds it accounts for why the industry is worth an astonishing 25 billion Pounds. Many couples just do not have that kind of money to spend on their wedding; you can still have a great day even if you plan to have a cheap wedding. This article hopes to show some of the areas where money can be saved, generally making savings on those aspects that are always expensive.
The Wedding Dress
Of course every bride wants a designed, hand made wedding dress; this is very expensive but savings can be made, especially if using a previously owned dress is considered. It is easy to buy a wedding dress that has only been worn once for less than half the price; many stores have begun to supply dresses this way, often hiring them just for the day.
The Reception
The bulk of the budget will be swallowed up by the wedding reception; if you want a cheap wedding, this is where you may have to start, firstly by reducing the number on the guest list. Don't invite everyone you know, in particular relatives you haven't seen since you were a child; as far as the meal is concerned why not have a buffet instead of a full, waited on, three-course meal.
The venue of the wedding reception can also be somewhere less expensive than the local golf club or hotel, using a small club for example will mean the drinks bill is less by only catering for wine, beer and soft drinks at the bar.
Create Your Own Invitations
Cutting down on costs can also mean creating your own wedding invitations and seating cards etc; a personal computer combined with a home printer means it is quite easy to produce very professional looking results. The quality of printers available combined with sophisticated programs means it is quite easy to do; in fact very professional looking results can be achieved on a home computer.
Wedding Photos
The obvious choice is to shop around for the best rates, but look at hiring the photographer just for the service, ask family members and friends to take photos of the reception - most will be more than happy to do this. If you really want to be "avant guard", why pay for a photographer at all; these days most people know someone who is a keen, capable amateur photographer, and there is nothing wrong with asking them to take photos throughout the whole day.
The Wedding Cake
If possible, try and get a friend to make your wedding cake for you; cakes do not have to be the traditional fruit so try a sponge cake with a chocolate flavour filling for example.
Wedding Cars and Limousines
A friend's car could be used as the transportation to the ceremony to make further savings; many have very nice cars and it makes a pleasant change.
If you use this advice your cheap wedding is possible, providing your guests enjoy it, that is all that matters!
Everyone has their own idea of what's important at their wedding. Personally, I would advise against cutting back on the photographer. I have seen this backfire many times and the couple being really sad after the wedding that they didn't hire a professional photographer to properly capture the great moments of their day. At the end of the day, all you have are your own memories, a dirty wedding dress and photos. If you rely on guests with cheap disposable cameras, it could be disappointing (and expensive to get those things developed!) We hired an expensive photographer, which was worth every penny. To save on this, you can just get photos and no album.
We did something that was great and very inexpensive. Instead of a guest book, we had a Polaroid camera, markers and an Adesso Album, where people could take a photo and write something to us. It's great - we still bring it out and look at it often.