Can the words wedding and budget be used in the same sentence without raucous laughter prevailing? Absolutely, with careful planning any bride can have a fairytale beginning to married life. In fact, some of the cost saving tips that will be suggested can make a wedding day one hundred times more special because it will bear personal touches by the bride, groom, and anyone else whose help is enlisted. Where to begin:

1. First things first, establish your budget. It's very easy for a few extra dollars to add up here or there. Do your homework and create a realistic budget from the beginning. It's okay to tweak it as you go along; just remember that if your actual costs go up on flowers that your costs also need to come down in another category. Not keeping track of your budget can have wedding costs shoot up remarkably in a relatively short time.

2. Design and make your own flowers and centerpieces. If you decide not to go with whatever fresh flowers are in season on your wedding day (the best way to keep costs down), another way is to use artificial flowers and make your own arrangements. In fact, why not get your attendants together and work on them as a team. This will dramatically decrease the time factor, and you get to have some pre-wedding fun in at the same time. For additional cost savings, have bouquets serve as centerpieces. One idea that I used when I got married was to have artificial flowers arranged around hurricane lamps for my candlelit ceremony, the lamps served as centerpieces for my head table, and they were keepsakes for my attendants.

3. Make your own keepsakes. If your wedding has a theme, incorporate the theme into your keepsakes and then go visit your local craft store. It's much cheaper to create your own keepsakes than to buy them, and you get the added bonus of being able to personalize them any way you wish.

4. Have groomsmen wear suits instead of tuxedos. If you can get all of the men in your party to wear the same color suit, they could forgo the tuxedos altogether. The suits will "suit" the individual personalities of the groomsman, and give your party's look a little personalization.

5. Keep your wedding party small. A small wedding party will reduce the overall cost of the wedding, as there will be a reduced number of dresses, gifts, flowers/boutonnieres, food, space etc. needed. If you are able to limit the number of attendants, by all means still invite the people to the wedding, just as a guest instead of an attendant. If you think there may be hurt feelings amongst friends, you can always opt to use just a best man and a maid/matron of honor.

6. Keep the guest list small. With a limited budget, a small guest list is ideal. The most expensive part of a wedding is the reception. When food and beverages, cake and toasts are accounted for, the difference between the cost for 50 and 100 guests can be a substantial.

7. Let them eat cake and punch at the reception instead of a dinner. A cake and beverage reception (soft drinks, punch, coffee and tea) is an excellent way to keep costs down while celebrating with family and friends. If timed correctly between breakfast and lunch or after dinner, it is the perfect way to celebrate your special day, and the least expensive.

8. Pick another day of the week - have a Friday wedding. While it may take some fancy footwork to get everyone where they need to be on a workday, the difference in cost and availability between a Friday and a Saturday afternoon is huge. If there are a number of local people that will be unable to get time off from work, a Friday evening reception is a nice compromise. Instead of a whole day they may only have to take off from work an hour or two early. Perhaps a small ceremony earlier, followed by a larger reception after work hours will fit the bill. Many churches, vendors, and reception sites offer substantial discounts for Friday weddings. This tip alone could provide you with way more bang for your wedding buck. Besides you'll have Saturday and Sunday to spend with out of town guests, or you can start your honeymoon a day early.

9. Let the holidays work for you. If you've always wanted a holiday wedding, you are so in luck. Getting married between Thanksgiving and New Year's has saved many a bride a great deal of money. Why? Because churches and reception sites are typically already decorated for the season. Therefore, unless you want something specific included, you may be all set.

10. Choose a "different" location for the ceremony and reception. Who says that a wedding has to be in a church or a town hall, and the reception has to be in a restaurant, banquet facility or reception hall. Why not look for a more unique location like a Bed and Breakfast, a botanical garden, or even an armory. Settings like these will create a memorable wedding, and the cost is typically much lower than if you used a church and had the affair at a restaurant or banquet facility. You also have a little more room to bargain, especially when you are talking about an off-season date.
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11. Have photos taken early, for a set number of hours, or number of pictures. Save money by having the photographer present for the wedding and immediately after, have all of your pictures taken. That way, the photographer will not be required to be present for all of the festivities, and you'll be able to enjoy the rest of your day without posing for pictures. You can make sure that unexpected happenings are recorded for posterity by providing all of your guests (or a select few) with disposable cameras that are collected at the end of the reception for developing.

12. Limit the number of professionals you hire. While everyone seems to recommend that you can't have a wonderful wedding without a professional wedding planner, I beg to differ. If you have a trusted friend or relative that offers to provide a service for your wedding day, by all means go for it. On the other hand, if you do not, perhaps it's something that you can do without. Take stock and determine the things that you consider to be most important about your day. If it is the least amount of stress, then hire a wedding planner, but if music is most important perhaps you can forgo the band and hire a really good DJ. I chose not to use limousines. Instead we rented Lincoln Town Cars and asked our Groomsmen to do the honors. They had a ball, got the cars for 24 hours, and we saved tons of money. You don't have to use a professional, just make sure that those providing the service will be professional.

Exploring Womanhood > Relationships > Weddings