Weddings on a Budget

“I just did not realize how expensive everything was” – Brides everywhere.

You have just gotten engaged and are starting to plan your wedding. The excitement of the engagement is very quickly over shadowed by the reality of just how expensive weddings actually are. You should not have to break your bank account to share your joyous moment with your loved one. Here are our top ten tips for keeping those wedding costs low.

1. Have a budget – the most important advice we can offer is to have a budget and stick to it. Tell your venue your budget, 9 times out of 10 they will be able to come up with a solution to fit that budget. Having a small function is better than not having a function at all for venues.
2. Look at different venue options – Function venues are known for having very high minimum spends to ensure they are covering overheads. Look at different venues. Restaurants are a great options as they already have a fully functioning kitchen, staff, furniture and décor.
3. Sharing Plates – Sharing plates are without doubt one of the best options any venue can have. They allow for guests to have options and portions that suit them. They are also a great way to bring your guests together. Sharing plates are usually less expensive and often able to be tailor made to suit your needs.
4. Drink Packages – Often drink packages sound like a great idea but then can quickly turn expensive. Why not opt for a bar tab with selected drinks available. Avoid the top shelf and see how much you save. Speak to your venue about customized drink packages. Any good venue would be willing to assist you.
5. Food Stations – Cocktail functions are great but can become quite expensive when wanting to feed everyone on canape options. Why not opt for a few cocktail items in conjunction with food stations. Your guests will go away you full bellies not to mention you have the wow factor of being served by your very own chef.
6. Utilize the furniture already within the venue – you can save hundreds, even thousands of dollars by seeing what furniture your venue has and utilizing that instead of hiring out. Also ask your venue what they suggest, they have been doing this for years and probably have lots of ideas to ensure you stay with your budget.
7. Use your Wedding Cake as your dessert – Often couples spend crazy amounts of lavished wedding cakes only to have a different desert served to guests. You will save a lot of money by serving your guests your cake as opposed to having a separate desert provided by the venue. You can event opt to having a cheese wheel cake and serving cheese and fruits as desert. Yummy!
8. Décor­ – Ask your venue what they are able to offer? Often venues have tea lights and fairy lights tucked away in storage. Put these with some flowers and you have beautiful timeless centerpieces for your tables. Venues also have suppliers at hand who are able to offer reduced rates. It never hurts to ask.
9. Get Creative – Think outside the box! Surprise weddings are a great way to avoid doubling costs of an engagement party and then a wedding. Not only will you surprise your guests you will also feel far less stressed!
10. Entertainment – Why spend thousands on entertainment when there is such a thing as Spotify? Why spend thousands on a photographer when every man, women and child has a phone to take edited and filtered photos. Why not set up a hashtag and then you have all your photos to pick from after then event.

You are about to start your new married life, so start it with some money left in the bank.