Flowers & Decorations

This is one area that it is not hard to budget on at all, because when it comes to decorations we have so many options. The most cost effective way for decorations and flowers, is DIY. Go to an art supply store, such as AC moore and you will see just how much options you have. Arts and Craft stores can be your go to place for silk flowers as well. Most of the time silk flowers will be less expensive than real flowers (and they are just as nice). Really, it's not hard to make bouquets and stuff, it's actually very easy, do a search on the internet and you will find that bouquets only require a few simple steps, I was going to go this route myself until I came across some beautiful silk flowers that I saw on etsy.com for $295.00 (Because it matched perfectly with my colors) and that's still cheaper than real flowers, because I was getting a good package with it, a bride's bouquet, I think 3 bridesmaids bouquets, a corsage, and a couple of boutonnieres. Once again, check craigslist.com there are always people who offers there services at reasonable prices.

The Food

Okay, the food has to be the most expensive thing when it comes to a wedding, and I agree but believe it or not, there are options for food on the less expensive side and here they are: 1. Consider an dessert only option, this is actually a good option if your wedding is during early on in the day, or really late at night (Like after 8pm) 2. Heavy h'orderves can be cheap but that depends on who does them, some places can charge up to $20 a pop but some are as cheap as say like $3 a pop, you just have to shop around if you are going with this option. 3. Cookouts are always cost effective and it is very appropriate for an outdoor wedding. 4. Setting up platters with sandwiches and chips, and veggies, and anything else you want to add is cost effective as well (I did a subway catering quote with 220 sandwiches, 3 cheese and meat platters and about 2 trays of cookie platter and it came up just under $900, and that's enough to serve 100 guests. Sit down dinners has always been the more expensive options unless you have connections you are looking around $30 per person or more, no matter what area you are in, and in my opinion they don't provide anything that is filling and has a limited amount of options on top of that. Buffets can be cheap, I would prefer with someone who is able to do a flat fee vs a pay per head when it comes to buffet, but again you would have to shop around.

The Music

I would always consider a DJ for music, because overall, it is cheaper than a live band and DJs can usually read a crowd and keep people on their feet. DJs are not really hard to find, and craigslist should become your best friend in this situation because usually you can find a really good DJ for a decent price. (Also you might want to consider a DJ for your ceremony music as well). I was able to find a good well known DJ in our area for $600 for 6 hours of his time, on craigslist, see what I mean about craigslist becoming your best friend? I wouldn't do a DIY when it comes to music because I think guests should be able to put in requests, and so many other things can mess up by just using an ipod, BUT you can go this route if you are planning on NOT having dancing at the reception because it can be used as background music.

Attire

Now is time to talk about what to wear at your wedding. Okay so here is a hint, no matter what others may say, do not be afraid to shop online. Let's put it this way, a lot of time I am able to look at clothing in pictures and online and I can tell what looks good on me and what doesn't. Not all online sites are untrustworthy. Davids Bridal usually have quite a few of online only specials going on, and then you have those online that can make you a dress at a fairly decent price, www.weddingdressfantasy.com is one of them (they have beautiful dresses under $1000, or you can get one made, they have received really good reviews and it's based out of the US). Don't forget also that you have dresses that have already been worn, but can still look stunning, there are a lot of people are reselling their dresses for a decent price (and you can always make a small change here and there to make it your own). As for bridesmaid dresses, usually the bridesmaid pay for their own attire, but if you care about their budget as well the best thing to do is choose a color and the length, and have them pick out their own dresses, they do not have to exactly match, as long as it coordinates with your color and theme, your wedding will look stunning. With the men's attire tux rentals has been very popular because it is the most affordable, men's wearhouse usually have tux rentals for every reasonable budget. But remember do not rule out online buying, just make sure you do your research, there have been plenty success stories with online buying, so do not rule it out.

Venue Shopping!

Ah yes! time to start the planning process, and that process starts with picking out a venue. So here are some tips to think about.

1. Don't look to wedding magazines or wedding website to help pick out a venue, Why? because most of them are expensive and our goal is to try and stay on budget, right? I mean even the all inclusive package is expensive, and a lot of time it doesn't include EVERYTHING, just the reception part and that's it, you would still have to come up with ceremony stuff, the music, photographers, etc.
2. If you really want to have a nice wedding on a budget, do NOT do it so traditionally and so formal, because no matter what, doing it that way WILL cost a lot of money.
3. Check out your state and county's website and check out their parks and recreation centers. These are really inexpensive to host a nice wedding for family and friends. Even if you have to rent things like tents and tables and chairs, it is still highly that you will still be saving a lot of money compared to a regular venue who specialize in doing parties and stuff. For example, renting out part of a park might cost you at most $100, renting things like tents, tables and chairs let's say $600, altogether you have only spent $700, WOW under $1000 for a venue, (and a nice one at that). Then you have the whole just do it at home if you have a yard big enough for a wedding, or maybe at a parents house?
4. Don't forget to check out to see if colleges are willing to lend you their space, sometimes some college are able to do this at a fair price.

Like I said before stay away from magazines and wedding websites when searching for venues, look deeper than that, you might be surprised at what you find.

Getting Started

1. Start a wedding journal, and come up with a budget
2. Write down everything that you would want in your wedding if money were not an issue.
3. Now discuss with your future husband what is absolutely important and what can you do without.
4. Start the search for your venue, for a lot of people this will determine the date of your wedding.
5. Allocate your budget to different areas for your wedding. ex: $1,000 for food $600 for music, etc.
6. Start on your guess list. (No matter what, food and guest WILL be the biggest part of your budget.)
7. Start searching for officiant, photographers, musicians/DJs, Caterers, attire, etc. (But make sure you search a venue first!)
8. It is important that from time to time you take a break from wedding planning, I mean you still have your family, friends, and your job to think about that's more important.

Introduction

Welcome all brides that is on a budget! Here I will give you all the advice that I can think of to keep your wedding affordable, and in my opinion I think that the wedding industry is getting a little greedy when it's supposed to be one of the happiest moment in your life and you want to spend that happiest moment with your friends and family, right? But how can you do that with the industry demanding you spend $15,000 or more and if you are like me, you rather spend money like that on something more valuable say like a house or a vacation. Well guess what? You can actually beat this wedding industry at their own game, their are literally hundreds of things and ideas that you can incorporate and stay within budget. All of this information is free. (No need to buy any books on how to save money!) Oh and just in case you were wondering, all this information is for brides who is trying to keep their budget at $6500 or under, and yes it can be done with a guess list of 100 or under. Comments and ideas are more than welcome. Let's get started with those ideas, shall we?