wanna Save Money on Wedding? Check out how I planned to save some extra penny on my money. Weddings especially Indian weddings are nothing short of a festivity. The major time and money at an Indian wedding are spent on finalizing the budget. Be it a destination wedding or a simple traditional wedding, Indian weddings are run in a huge budget.
Not only Indian weddings but also weddings are expensive world wide. Whether it is a 1-2 days event or 5 days even as India, it needs lots of money to be spent.
One of the main checklist to update before marriage is to fix the best budget plan affordable to the bride or bridegroom’s family. Some people rely on event managers to ease this task.
But with a little planning from your side, you can plan a wedding without any external aid. So, read on to understand some easy steps to conduct weddings cost-effectively and affordably.
Rely on handmade DIY decors for the venue Weddings can be considered as a festival of DIYs if you are planning the wedding by yourself with the help of your near and dear.
Buy wedding gown& male wedding dress
Read: wedding shoes & wedding dress
Tips to Save Money on Wedding
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Online Invitation
Design a wedding invitation by yourself and send online invitations. Apart from printed wedding invitations, creating special invitations for online social media platforms are in trend these days.
Nowadays, couples go for pre-marital photo and video shoots for Save The Date Video or photos. Suppose you deliver your guest with a vivid CD or DVD invitation (there are so many free applications available for both ios and android users for the same).
Create an invitation attached to the pictures of you in charming dresses, it indeed makes the invite special. Editing digital invitations are easy and can be even more special and affordable too.
2. DIY Wedding Photo Booths
Instead of investing lots of money in decoration and photoshoot spots, create your own. Ask your siblings, cousins or friends for help. I am very much sure they’ll never reject and have more fun doing the activities together.
Dedicating a special spot for clicking photos for the guests in the form of a photo booth. It can be designed with the bride and groom’s name and pics with friends. This will add color to the function and will excite the guests too.
3. Always search in different shops
Whether you are shopping for dresses, accessories or even it is a decoration material, I recommend to visit 2-3 stores at least. This will give you the pice ideas and also you can get the best quality for yourself.
If you want to shop for any stationaries or décor materials for the venue arrangements, search in different shops so that you can get the best ones at the best price. Check office supply stores or warehouses as you will get a wide range of items to shop.
4. Do the flower arrangements yourself
Check for the Online flower boutique store to get an idea of arrangements, bouquet making, and decorations. If you are planning for any traditional weddings check events and photographs online for an idea.
You can ask your friends if they have a flower garden or any dealing in flower supply. Your friend will give provide your flowers at the best price.
5. Make your own Bachelor/Bachelorette Gifts
An easy yet useful gift is DIY chalkboard wine glass which takes just 24 hours to complete and allows you to show a bit of your creative side! Check online on how to make one.
Or take some time and create some cute DIY gifts. These gifts will win everyone’s heart for sure.
Use Money-saving websites to save money
It’s a known fact that online shopping saves not just our time but money too. When buying supplies, clothing, decor, and everything else, I recommend using different online e-commerce sites of your choice.
You can even get cashback on Amazon and other e-com sites. As offers are running 365 days online. Save Money on wedding photography Wedding photos are replicas of lifetime memories and not many brides would like to skimp in this area.
Even we feel reluctant to give out the advice to try to cut costs on your wedding photos, but with professional Wedding photography rates soaring high, not all brides can afford these services.
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Ask for Favour
Look for a Photographer in your family or friends circle. There is bound to be someone who loves photography and has somewhat better equipment than we usually do.
Try to find out any such person who can take decent photos and ask him to help out. People are always willing to help out at weddings and you should use their services to cut back your Wedding costs.
2. Approach new photographers
Hire a Photography Student from a Local University. They will love to get a chance to photograph an event and add it to their portfolio. (It can be a paid internship for them and will aid them in their job hunt) They will be amateurs but will have fresh and creative ideas as they will be up to date with recent technological
updates.
3.Camera for everyone
Using disposable cameras for the guests is also an option. Place themed disposable cameras on each table so your guests can take photos. You can get photos from different angles and choose whatever you like best. Keep one person in charge of gathering all the cameras and getting the photos developed.
4. clear your budget first
If you have to have a professional photographer, look around and contact several photographers. Let them know about your budget and see what they can offer. You might be surprised by the response.
Curtailing the number of photos will also help with your photo budget. If you have a list of photographers, you can choose the one with the best affordable budget for the wedding.
In case you go for one of the DIY options, make sure the cameras and films are taken care of so that you don’t lose all the irreplaceable photos. Or if you can, go in for digital disposable cameras so you don’t have to handle the films.
Deciding the venue for the wedding
1. Pick an off-peak date
Find out which dates are most popular or auspicious according to religious belief by looking up traditional wedding date calendar or with the help of an astrologer. If there’s more demand for a given date, you need to pay a higher price for a venue.
If you choose a less popular month, such as January or February you can save expenses on the venue booking rates. Decembers are the wedding season in India so if possible skip that month.
2. Skip the Saturday wedding
Saturday is a popular day for weddings as it is a holiday and a suitable day for many to attend weddings. You can book your venue at a lower price if you hold your wedding on a Sunday, or even a weeknight.
Well, this idea is not good for those who wanna see all their friends and family members at the wedding. Even I am that kind of person and I will not give up on this.
3. Try a non-traditional venue
Check out for a restaurant, brewery, a vacation house are potential wedding venues but not chosen by all. Picking a spot that doesn’t usually cater to weddings can help you save money as it will be their first wedding and they will charge you less and you get a unique spot feel too.
Restaurants, for example, typically don’t charge a venue fee. However, there can be venue charges for those which have a separate hall for the function: check these beforehand.
Instead, you pay for the food (and maybe the booze). Pick one with stellar decor and you can shave that cost off your budget, as well. Make sure the venue is equipped to handle a large event. And don’t forget to factor in rental fees for things such as tents, lighting or bathrooms (your guests and even bride and groom will need it), if necessary.
4. Negotiate unexpected costs
Lots of unexpected expenses can pop up during planning, including cake-cutting or power for your DJ and a photo booth. Photo booth prize can be minimalized with the DIY tip mentioned above.
If you have someone who’s a DJ in your family, then you don’t have to worry about its charges too. You don’t have to accept the extra costs unquestioningly. If a cost seems unreasonable, respectfully request to have it removed.
5. Use the venue’s resources
Before finalizing a venue ask each venue from your shortlist on what’s included in the rental fee. Some will include items such as tables, chairs or linens, which can translate into hundreds, if not thousands in savings.
Beware of upcharges for higher- quality items. If you opt for a DIY venue or a backyard wedding, you’ll likely have to buy or rent everything from flatware to serving dishes to lightings.
6. Size of the Venue
Choose a good venue that perfectly fits all the guests. Never go for a too big or too small venue. The number of guests and activities you are planning should be fixed beforehand so that it will help in fixing the size of the venue. Ye can save good Money on Wedding by picking right venue.
Go paperless for wedding invitations
You can send electronic invitations for free with Joy, a wedding website that also lets you manage your guest list (including those tricky plus-ones) and track RSVPs. Not ready to go fully paperless? Emailing your save-the-date reminders will still help you save on stationery and postage.
Choosing the wedding dress and jewelry
One of the most expensive and time-consuming parts of weddings are the selection of dresses and ornaments. Traditional weddings need a unique dress and jewelry.
When it is a South Indian Hindu wedding, you need to dress up in traditional Kancheepuram sarees ( 2 color sarees and 1 set mund) and a lot I stress a lot of gold jewelry.
Instead of using many chains, fix one antique big chain and a necklace which saves budget and can come handy in the future.
In the northern part of India, more money is spent on the lehengas and designer dresses and heavy jewelry. Go for affordable options in choosing the dresses and online purchase of wedding ornaments.
In other parts of the world, you have to spend lots on a traditional perfect wedding dress. In my view you should spend money here at least, after all, it’ll be your best memory.
Choose minimalistic yet grand food options
Check the prices of the menu of your choice beforehand in various options like a buffet, platters, family-style stations or table serve.
Attend different wedding expos and weddings in your area to get an idea of top catering people in the area and book in advance at an affordable price.
Add up budget-friendly dishes to your menu and adding up traditional yet simple dishes will be loved by your guests equally well. Opt for disposable dinnerware like plates and glasses and if possible biodegradable materials to go environmentally friendly way. Or use reusable instead.
This is all guys, hope you got the perfect idea for your wedding. Let me know how you Save Money on Wedding? I’ll love to hear from you.
