The challenge of how to plan a wedding on a tight budget can lead to some very uniquely creative solutions.
Small Budgets Can Mean
Big Experiences
The challenge of how to plan a wedding on a tight budget can lead to some very uniquely creative solutions.
How to plan a wedding on the cheap can either be daunting, or it can be fun. Your wedding is all about celebrating you and your partner, honoring your dedication to one another and the closeness the two of you enjoy. So, if you don’t have a lot of money to spend, don’t worry. Consider a themed wedding where you and your guests can have a good time and you won’t have to break the bank or go into debt for the rest of your married lives.
If you’re anything like me, you’ll want to spend the greatest part of your budget on the reception. Food, drink, and of course, music.
When I got married, our ceremony was held in a church. It was a beautifully traditional wedding. But the reception was held in a Moose Lodge several miles away. All it cost was the membership fee of $25 to become a Moose, plus $50 for two lodge members to act as security.
The lodge was decorated with Christmas lights and, you guessed it, a giant moose head on the wall. By the time the evening was over, the moose was wearing a giant pair of novelty sunglasses, and everyone was having a blast!
So, while we didn’t have a themed wedding, we kind of had a themed reception. It was the best of both worlds, and we saved a ton of money.
We saved even more by having a friend of the family DJ the music, the food was catered by another family friend that owned a restaurant and we bought most of the booze from Costco.
Being creative and open minded is the key to planning a budget conscious wedding. There are so many possibilities on how to plan a wedding, and cheap doesn’t mean tacky… unless your wedding theme is Ketch.
Top Tips for planning a wedding on a tight budget:
- The Venue: Wow, believe it or not you have a zillion options for low-cost venues. There’s your home or a friend’s place.
The park or beach, a lake or backyard, or maybe there’s a drive-in theater that will let you take over for a night. Seriously think about where you want your dollars to go, the ceremony or the reception. For you it may be all about the ceremony and for others, like me, the reception. There’s no right or wrong here, it’s your wedding, do it your way. - Wedding Attire for Bridesmaids: Let your bridesmaids choose their own outfits, give them broad guidelines to ensure they hit the target, matching their outfits to the theme of your wedding and then step back and let them get creative. Provide a variety of styles or colors and ask them to show you several ideas so that you can chose the most appropriate for your big day.
- Wedding Attire for Groomsmen: Same thing goes for the men. Encourage the guys to wear something from their own closets to save money. If your theme is backyard, beach, informal, or park related then many guys will already have something on-hand and if not, a quick trip to the local mall will do in a pinch.
- Tips for Guest Selection: This can be a hard one. Reduce your guest list to only those friends and family members that you really want to celebrate with you.
If your parents are helping financially, do this with them and your partner. There are people in every family that you MUST invite, even if you barely know them, or even sometimes it’s a dear old friend of mom and dad. Be flexible, but firm.
I know of at least three people that ran off and got married at the courthouse and only later informed us by inviting us to a party, which they later revealed was actually their reception!
Finally, ask for help. Who can you think of that knows how to plan a wedding? Or that’s an aspiring photographer? Well, this could be their big break. Does anyone know how to cook, really well? Then throw a pre-wedding cooking event. Invite friends and family to cook your food.
Who knows some may even chip in and pay for some of it. Trust me, people love to be part of the wedding process as long as you don’t turn in to a bridezilla.
Above all, remember that the wedding and the theme you choose should reflect your style, your values, your sense of humor and the expression of the love you two share. So why not make it fun?!
Takeaways:
- Be Open Minded
- Ask for help
- Be flexible
- Be realistic
- Remember, a wedding lasts a day, a marriage is a lifetime
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