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9 Ways to Save Money on Your Wedding

1. What Time of the Year will you get married?

The time of year you get married plays a large role in the cost of your wedding.

Summer is especially expensive with many weddings now also happening in Spring.

To cut costs, why not consider a lovely themed winter wedding?

2. Who is on your Wedding Guest List?

Don't feel you have to invite everyone!

This is your special day and it is completely understandable that you cannot invite everyone you know just for the sake of manners.

Why not invite people to your wedding ceremony followed by the cutting of the cake with champagne and invite only a select number to the reception?

This is a polite way of letting people know that you have a limited budget, and wish only close friends and family to attend the reception.

3. Where is your Wedding Venue?

The venue for your wedding and reception can be one of the largest costs associated with your wedding.

Consider having your wedding on another day of the week rather than the traditional Saturday.

Having your wedding ceremony and reception at the same place can reduce the cost of wedding vehicles so is worth considering.

Why not consider a small wedding ceremony and reception at the family home?

That way you may only need a small marquee and your family and friends will have the comforts of using your family home.

4. Who is doing the Catering?

Discuss your catering requirements with a wide variety of caterers and ask them the different options they can supply.

The catering industry is very competitive and they are known for matching prices and discounting fees to win business.

Food at weddings tends to be overdone and overly flashy.

Discuss options such as lean meats and seasonal salads and vegetables that are nicely presented rather than the more expensive options.

Another unnecessary budget-breaker is overloading on sweets.

Consider using your wedding cake instead of serving deserts. This will greatly reduce the cost of the wedding food and maybe fit closer to your wedding budget.

5. What Alcohol are you providing?

Wedding alcohol can drain a large portion of your wedding budget very quickly.

This is why it is important that you limit the drinks available to your favorite select few, i.e.: wine and beer, wine and spirits or a combination in between.

An open bar tends to finish up very expensive when people can order any style of drinks they please.

Some venues let you supply the alcohol yourself. This can also help you save money on your wedding as wines and beers when bought in bulk can save you a great deal of money.

5. Who is designing your Wedding Invitations?

It can be quite easy to save money on the wedding invitations.

Many people are now designing and developing their invitations themselves by hand with the lovely coloured papers and rice papers available now.

This will save you a lot of money from commercial printing as they charge a premium for the papers and construction of the invites once printed.

6. Who is supplying the Wedding Flowers?

Flowers make your wedding beautiful; they also make a big dent in your wedding budget!

Discuss with your florist flowers that will be in season to reduce costs.

Use more greenery and fewer blooms.

Remember too, that times of the year such as Mothers Day and Valentines Day will see floral prices soar.

Don't feel the need to adorn the church with fresh flowers for the ceremony; people expect the church to be less ornate, and they'll be spending a lot more time at the reception.

7. How is your Wedding Music played?

Music is what keeps the party alive! Give a lot of thought to the type of music you choose for your special day.

Do not feel that a Juke Box or iPod will do the trick!

Why not find a cover band to rock the night away?

Remember the character of the night will be defined by the music you play.

8. Who is doing your Wedding Photography?

There are a number of ways to save money with the photography.

Discuss the different options with various photographers.

Choose a professional photographer who has a good rate.

Some photographers charge exorbitant amounts for each reprint.

Consider having your cake ceremony early in the evening shortening the length of time the photographer needs to attend.

You can provide disposable cameras on the tables at the reception to reduce the overall photographer costs as well. This lets the guests take a few happy snaps over the course of the night.

9. Are you Tracking Your Budget?

About 45 percent of a wedding budget is spent on the reception venue, food and drinks, 20 percent on flowers and music, and 15 percent on bridal attire, accessories and rings.

10 percent is usually utilised for photography and videography services, and the final 10 percent goes towards the rest.

Keep your budget on track by working out estimates for each expense and recording the actual price.

Some surprises may present themselves, but if you reassess your budget regularly, you'll be able to stay on top of it.

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