Your wedding is the most important day of your life and it deserves a grand celebration. You deserve to have some money left over though after the whole event. Try these wedding cost saving tips to keep yourself from going bankrupt while planning your big day.
If there is one thing you should splurge on for your wedding is the photos. You don’t need to hire a professional photographer for every moment of your wedding though, but we’ll talk more about that later. For now let’s focus on the posed wedding photos. These are the photos you take after the wedding ceremony and before the reception. Most likely these are also the photos you’ll get framed and display them around your house, so you’re going to want to make sure they’re great. The photographer for these photo’s will be expensive. This is not a job for your aunt Barb and her shoot and point camera. Hire a photographer that is expensive and can show your a portfolio that demonstrates their range. Once you find your photographer next you’ll have to find the perfect location for the photos. Couples will often rent a space to take these photos, but that’s dumb. There are so many great locations that are 100% free to use that will make your photos look amazing. Try parks, murals, old buildings, forests, and government buildings. I know that last one may seem weird, but government buildings usually have really nice exteriors. Keep the location simple, the point of the photo is you anyways.
Call aunt Barb and tell her to charge up that point and shoot camera, because we’re going to need her help. We’ve already established that if you’re gong to splurge on anything for your wedding it should be a photographer. However, hiring a photographer for the entire day can be very expensive. Skip having a professional photographer on hand for the entire day. Pinterest may have convinced you that you need a shot of your staring at your dress, but chances are they won’t be able to capture the magic you’re looking for in one shot. This will hold true for the ceremony and reception too. One photographer can’t be in multiple places at once, so chances are you’ll be paying a lot of money for minimal coverage of the event. Rely on your guests to capture the magic for you for free. Create a fun wedding hashtag for guests to use when uploading their photos. Cell phone cameras are getting so advance these days your fourteen year old cousins can capture your first kiss on a Iphone 6 better than a DSLR anyways.
Flowers are what make a wedding feel extra special. Now matter the type all flowers are romantic and can make you feel like you’re living in a fairy tale. However, they’re expensive and will all die in a week. These are one of the only items from your wedding that you won’t get to keep forever. Unless you use fake flowers, which I think is tacky and I don’t think you’re tacky. There is a way to have gorgeous flowers though without breaking the bank, the key is to not hire a florist. Now, I don’t want to put any florist out of a job here, but my biggest money-saving tip would have to be to DIY your own flower arrangements. These can be so easily done if you hit a farmer’s market the day before your wedding. Now, I’m not saying you need to go out and get the flowers yourself, that’s what your maid of honor is for, but using flowers from the farmers market is a lot cheaper than hiring a florist. Your flowers will be just as beautiful, even fresher and you will save a lot of money.
You are going to be the most beautiful bride anyone has ever seen. I’m not just saying this either, I know we’ve never met, but I just have a feeling about you. Now that we have an establishment that I think we can let go of the need to buy a dress that costs the same amount as a car. Your wedding dress is a important dress, so I’m not suggesting you find one at Walmart, I understand the importance of it. Let’s try to find a middle ground though, you’re the focus of the event so you don’t want to have a dress that will take away from that. Find a simple dress that makes you feel like the most beautiful bride in the entire world and go from there. Just because you have a simple dress doesn’t mean you can’t jazz it up. That’s what shoes stores are for after all. If you spend less money on your dress that means you’ll have more room in the budget to get your hair and make up done by a professional and buy some truly gorgeous accessories to turn your dress into a look all it’s own.
Look, I know that your roommate from college has five kids and they all have partners who they think should be included in your wedding celebrations. Quick reminder though, it’s your day, not theirs. Listen very close to this tip because you only have to invite people to your wedding that you actually want at your wedding. Write down all the people that are important to you on a list, that’s your guest list. Be honest with your parents and friends about who you want at your wedding. They might be hurt that you don’t want to invite your second aunt-twice removed, but they will deal with it.
Now that you have a list of all the people who you love and cherish it’s time to call all of them up, you need a favor. Everyone knows someone who knows someone who one time met Brad Pitt. Ask your guest list if they know people who can help make your wedding day extra special. Maybe you’re neighbor know’s someone who owns a bakery and they can get you a discount on a wedding cake. You never know what’s going to come in handy so make sure you ask everyone.
What is your number one wedding must-have? Comment below!
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