Cost-Effective Options
Weddings are expensive. Even if mothers and fathers chip in, there’s still a lot of cost to consider. Wedding gifts and dowries may be in the mix, but then again they may not be. Your best bet when it comes to saving money will be to expect the worst and hope for the best.
If you’ve got that kind of attitude going in, you can itemize expenses and seek their least costly expression. For example, instead of buying the most expensive invitations, you might make your own, or find some with a fine design but a lesser cost.
When it comes to vendors, you want to book them in advance for better rates. If you look around among your family’s contacts, you may very well be able to find a free officiant—one who has a connection to your family and is more than happy to do the ceremony for free.
You may even be able to find a free venue, but that’s pretty unlikely. Still, if you’ve got friends or family members involved with certain businesses, you might be able to work something out. In that vein, you may also be able to find photographers and videographers among your contacts who would be honored to document your special day, and would put care and passion in what they do.
Wardrobe Considerations
As far as wardrobes go, you can likely find some very cost-effective options online which will match your theme and save you money. With the groomsmen, consider allowing them to source their own fine clothes. It’s great to design the formal wear of the bridesmaids and groomsmen, but it isn’t strictly necessary. Also, you might look into champagne colored gowns rather than the traditional white.
When it comes to champagne wedding dresses & champagne bridal gowns | Azazie offers gowns that are: “…the epitome of sophistication and timeless elegance. Less stark than the traditional white, Champagne gives the bridal look a more effortless feel. More and more popular in recent years, Champagne bridal gowns [are] an understated option…”
Additional Funding Possibilities
Beyond the direct event itself, you might set a goal and design a profile for resources derived from the crowd. Crowdfunding sites like Plumfund are ideal, because they provide an online fundraising platform that’s “tasteful”, and won’t cause any etiquette concerns.
Another wise move is figuring out all the things your wedding is going to need. Establishing a pre and post wedding to-do list can help you conserve expenses by understanding what you’re going to need beforehand, and helping you identify areas where you don’t need to spend so extravagantly.
The Bigger Picture
A lot of people planning a wedding use a binder to organize everything and make it in a way more tangible. When you’ve got a list of things you need, you can work your way down and determine what ultimate costs will be, and what your options are.
This can allow you to do more with less money than you could without close planning. The only real advisory here is to be careful and be willing to compromise as the wedding is planned.
Remember, however the wedding ceremony goes, that which brings you together as a couple transcends cost and location. It’s a deeper connection. That’s the real point of the ceremony—the coming together of two souls, two families—two houses and the possibilities which develop from that union. So keep that thought foremost in your mind.
