One of the biggest and most exciting highlights in someone’s life is marrying the person who they want to spend the rest of their life with. Next to that is having the kind of wedding they’ve always been dreaming of, right? However, behind all the love and fun is a pocket full of bills and expenses to pay – a reality that is hard to escape. For that reason, it’s much better for couples to be practical these days.
Apparently, The Knot revealed that the national average wedding cost in the US skyrocketed from $32,641 in 2015 to $35,329 in 2016. Such circumstance has led for some couples to go into debt so that they can cover the expenses for their wedding day, which is not an ideal thing. As for me, I decided to have a low-key, civil wedding since we don’t really have much to spare.
But you can still have a beautiful marriage ceremony without going into so much debt if you choose to. Like what my teacher once said, life is a matter of choice. If you choose to budget your money well, then there is nothing else to worry about. It will also help if you avoid these 6 costly mistakes while you and your significant partner are preparing for your big day.
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Customizing your wedding invitations
I know your wedding day is a special event in your life, and it’s totally understandable if you want everything to be perfect, right down to the smallest details. However, if you don’t have enough budget to spare, then it’s best to avoid spending so much on items that are usually thrown away like the wedding invitations.
As much as possible, avoid customizing your invitations so much to the point where you have to spend a big percentage from your budget. I’m not saying that the wedding invitations are not important. My point is that you don’t have to use a lot of money when you can be crafty and resourceful. You can buy cheap materials, and create your wedding invitations with a personal touch.
If for instance, you don’t have time to make the invites, then you can search for online stores and order from them. Truth is, they are way cheaper than those invitations sold at wedding shops. Or if you know someone who can do it for you, then a discount may be in talks.
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Picking a luxurious wedding gown
There is no issue if a bride-to-be spends a bit more for her wedding gown. She definitely has to be the most beautiful bride on her wedding day. However, if you have a limited budget, then avoid buying a luxurious dress at popular bridal shops. They tend to be more costly than you think.
But you don’t have to settle for a low-quality wedding gown when you can actually get the dress you have always wanted at a more affordable price. All you have to do is search for wedding boutiques in your locality or look for it online. The latter is less hassle since you can do it at home or wherever you are. But always make sure that you are dealing with a credible online wedding vendor. You don’t want to lose your money to a scammer so be careful.
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Overdoing the setup at the wedding reception
In every wedding, there is always a reception where all guests gather and enjoy a sumptuous dinner, filled with music and lots of fun. Although it would be nice to see a setup that amazes the guests, it wouldn’t be impressive if the arrangements were overdone like having too many flowers on the table or in every corner of the room. Moreover, overdoing the setup is also costly.
The wedding reception doesn’t have to be grandiose and expensive. You can ask your florist to come up with a flower arrangement that can be used during the wedding ceremony and in the wedding reception. You also have the option not to get any flowers for the centerpieces, and go with candles or personalized crafts instead.
Remember, you still have to spend for the catering service, which has an average cost of $2,500 for 350 persons. It’s best to cut down the unnecessary details of your reception as much as possible.
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Early bookings of the wedding photographers and videographers
What’s a wedding day without photographers and videographers? Nowadays, couples hire professionals to take care of the documentation, making sure that every important moment is captured on still shots, and recorded on video cameras. I find nothing wrong with that. But just a piece of advice – avoid booking your photographers and videographers several hours before the main event because it’s going to cost you a lot.
In case you don’t know, photographers and videographers usually charge per hour, that is in addition to the costs of photo prints and video copies you request. They usually begin their work when the bride is preparing for the big day. With that in mind, getting their services is a bit costly.
If it’s difficult to take them out from the budget, then an alternative will be scheduling the reception program at an earlier time so that you’ll be able to dismiss them earlier as well. Of course, they will still be able to cover the important events in the reception like your first dance, emotional speeches, bouquet tossing, and cake cutting.
The social media can also take part in the documentation. You can ask your guests to post their photos and videos using a personalized hashtag, then you can view their posts by clicking the hashtag. It’s easy, fast, convenient, and best of all, free of charge.
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Spending on sophisticated live music
I’ve been to different weddings, and I must say that live music really makes the atmosphere livelier and more fun. But hiring a live band is usually expensive, especially when they are famous. Nonetheless, you can cut down on this expense by booking a band, which is recommended by one of your friends. Or if you know someone who is a member of a band, then that would be much better since you get to have discounts.
Another option will be hiring a disk jockey (DJ). A DJ is less expensive than a live band because there is only one person who does the job.
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Opening the bar all night
If your wedding reception has its own bar, then try not to make all the beverages available at the same time. You may be spending so much on drinks that won’t even be consumed. To settle this, you can set an amount of time for each type of drink. Let’s say, you give one hour for cocktail drinks, and during dinner time, guests get to drink beer and wine only. After dinner, you open the bar again for an hour for beer alone, then the remaining hours will only be cocktail drinks.
By doing this strategy, you don’t only get to save some of your money on liquor, but you also avoid unexpected drunk fights among the guests.
Post Contributed By: Mary Alusin
All photos sourced from Pexels