Friday Feature .... On A Tight Budget?

On a tight budget? Looking for ways to save on some of your costs?

Here are my top tips and ideas

Be Creative and put together your own Centrepieces

Cover Tin cans with decorative paper - perfect for a vintage theme

If you are the creative type why not try putting together your own centrpeices, it can be a great way to incorporate your own personal touch. Why not ask your friends, family or wedding planner to help you out with putting them together on the day.

 Skip the favours

Favours are nice but are they something that guests really want? you could be saving hundreds of pounds by going with a more original option such as a Candy Table instead, you can do your own and save money.

 Forget the floral centrepieces and use cupcake stands instead

Centerpieces using cupcakes decorated to coordinate with the colours and theme of the wedding can be less expensive than flowers and are a fun way to serve dessert. Make sure that your venue are happy for you to do this as some do not allow you to take extra food other than the main wedding cake.
You may still want to provide a cake and have a traditional cake cutting ceremony, maybe you could downsize your wedding cake which guest may like to take home later.

 Give the bridesmaids something to carry besides bouquets

Parasols or a clutch bag is a great idea. These can both be decorated with silk or fresh flowers to match you theme.

 Use full-bodied flowers with fewer stems

A few large blooms or multiple stems of one kind of flower can create a bold look.
Where possible try to select flowers in season to save money.

 Downsize the bar

Alcohol is one of the trickiest things to estimate when it comes to your big day, it is not hard to end up spending too much money on drink that is not really needed.

Firstly think about the guests you have coming to your wedding, is it really necessary to provide a free bar? no, one suggestion could be that you have a set amount behind the bar and offer guests a bar token so that they may have their first drink free.

When looking at the wine for your wedding, think about what is necessary? do you really need champagne for toasts on top of a bottle of red and white on each table? what about just having a nice sparkling rose or white wine and ask the staff to top up the glasses for the speeches and toasts. Doing this not only keeps costs down but keeps wastage down too!

Some brides like to supply their own alcohol but before you do, check the corkage fees. Some venues and caterers charge high fees when clients provide their own drinks so it ends up working out cheaper to purchase them from the venue.

In reality your guests are at your wedding to celebrate your marriage and enjoy the day, not necessarily to get drunk. Dont forget to consider that some of your guests may be driving so will not be drinking at all.

 Select a venue that is “all-inclusive”

Rather than choosing a site that requires you to do all the work, look at all inclusive venues. They can often do some really good deals, especially if you are getting married out of season or on a weekday. Everything you need is supplied. One thing to bear in mind though some venues may restrict some of your choices and by booking with them they will only let you use their chosen suppliers - for example their DJ or their photographer. This is fine but be aware as where you may originally make savings it could end up costing you more.

 Have a Wedding breakfast, or lunchtime ceremony instead of a dinner

Why not consider an alternative time of day. These meals are usually less expensive and not all guests will want to drink a lot of alcohol during the day. Also if you are looking for something more low key or informal then by doing this you do not have extra expense of an evening reception.

 Expensive flowers should only be used in the bridal bouquet

If you are considering using expensive flowers in your bouquet,  then why not choose something equally stunning but less costly for the bridesmaids. By only having the most expensive flowers in your own posy this will keep your costs down whilst allowing you to still have the flowers you really want.

Venue Decor

Sometimes less is more - it is very easy for brides to get carried away, with so many lovely things from centrepieces, floral decorations, candy carts, balloons, birdcages, lanterns, to the organza swags draped around tables, the list goes on and on. Try and think logically, cost everything up and work out what really works. If you have an old venue thats perhaps a little tired in places then maybe it will need extra drapes to cover up the walls, but if you have a modern venue then keep it simple.

If you have any money saving tips that you would like to share, please let me know

In the meantime to all our lovely brides out there happy saving!