So you have finally met the person you want to spend the rest of your life with—why shouldn’t you spend your life savings to celebrate the happiest day of your life with all your friends and family? Well, one of the biggest conflicts that couples struggle with is dealing with finances; and you do not want to start out your marriage with the additional stress of being broke after spending too much for a wedding! Here are some ideas to help you plan the wedding of your dreams while being a responsible spender.
It may not surprise you that many vendors will hike up prices for any services associated with the word “wedding”. You do want to make sure you find someone who has experience with weddings (and dealing with nervous brides and mothers) but you should also look at vendors who don’t advertise in bridal magazines or promote themselves as wedding specialists. And always ask for references. Finding a cheaper vendor may not be worth extra work or disappointment on your wedding day. Your best references will always come from people you know—the best way to find vendors is to ask for suggestions from everyone you know who got married in your wedding area in the past few years.
2. Choose your guest list carefully—and follow up with the RSVPs
The guest count is one the greatest factors in determining your wedding cost since food, beverages, parking, tables and chairs could be charged per person. After the due date from your RSVP cards, you can follow up with not only the people who have not responded yet, but also the ones who have responded “yes” to let them know how excited you are to celebrate with them. This will give your guests an opportunity to let you know if their plans have changed so that you can remove them from your final guest count.
3. Consider renting
You can get a wedding dress for a fraction of the price of buying it new by renting. You would be able to afford a designer dress or higher quality rather than settling for cheap material or a style that is less extravagant than you hoped. Other benefits? You don’t have to worry about storage or cleaning of a dress that you (or your future daughter) will likely never wear again; and many times, alterations and the veil are included with the dress rental price.
4. Set a realistic budget
If you are expecting your Southern California wedding expenses to be below $5,000, you cannot also expect to have a professional photographer, florist, DJ, or a guest count higher than 50. Think about what you want your wedding to look like and research different venues and vendors in determining an approximate budget. Make sure your budget is at least 10% lower than the maximum you would feel comfortable spending. And while you will need to consider the break down of your spending in different areas, you also need to look at the cost of the event as a whole. For example, many people mistakenly think that an outdoor wedding would be cheaper because the venue costs less. But after renting the tents, waiters, tables, chairs, linens, dance floor, speakers, and countless other accessories, the costs will add up! If you cannot have everything you want with your budget, then it is time to prioritize.
5. Prioritize
Decide from the beginning what aspects of the wedding are more important to you. Besides wanting your guests to be reasonably comfortable (not too hot or cold, not frustrated because they are sitting with people they hate or because they don’t have a seat at all), what do you want people to remember from your wedding? Show your personality in your wedding! Maybe you want to focus on the ambience of the venue so that your guests feel that they are at a high class event—you can invest more in the centerpieces and lighting. Or maybe you want to focus on the entertainment that will give the guests an opportunity to get up and celebrate. Consider making a sacrifice in one area in order to make something else that much more spectacular: maybe you don’t need the professional photographer to take pictures of you getting ready (a close friend with a nice camera might do a great job), or you don’t need the slide show at the wedding but can provide it on your website instead.
6. Delegate
Your friends and family want to help, but many times they do not know what they can do. Do you have a friend with graphic design experience who can help you with Save the Dates, invitations or programs? Can you assemble part of the centerpieces with the bridal party the week before the wedding so you don’t have to pay the florist to do it? Maybe a guest with a truck would be willing to transport the flowers from the ceremony site to the reception site to get the most use out of the flowers and save the extra trip (and extra charge) that the florist would need to make. Remember that when you delegate, you are not just asking a favor, but you are also giving people the honor of being included in your wedding day (but make sure you also express your appreciation for everyone who helps out).
Conclusion: Keep It All Under Control Without Sacrificing!
Wedding expenses can quickly add up and add unwanted stress to your perfect day. But before you consider running off and eloping, remember that there are ways to control most of those costs—and you will not have to sacrifice sharing one of the biggest events of your life with your loved ones!
