Bargain Tips: How to Save

Breaking down the total cost of your wedding into different categories will help you in wedding planning and budget calculation. Similarly, calculating the amount of money required or planned for each category may further help you in analyzing the costs and slashing them down. Given below are some of the categories where you can evaluate your budget for bringing down the costs significantly.

Wedding Dress

The bridal dress is undoubtedly one of the most important aspects of the wedding. Nevertheless, you may think it over whether you really want to spend overwhelmingly on an exclusive designer hand-made bridal gown with beads and elaborate lace works or if you would rather alter your mother’s wedding dress. You may also consider renting a dress or use a second hand dress that might cost only half of the original price. A simple wedding dress does not affect the grandeur of the day in any way and can be ideal to fit your budget. While silk and satin dresses can be very expensive, a poly satin gown can save you hundreds of dollars and yet have the same look and appeal. The store from where you purchase your wedding dress also influences the price. For instance, shopping at designer stores could cost you a phenomenal amount of money.

Wedding Flower

The cost of wedding flowers can be reduced significantly by choosing a local grocery store’s flower department instead of a florist. These stores will happily create bouquets and centerpieces at less than half the price of what may be charged by florists. The selection of the flowers can also save you a lot of money. It is not always necessary to opt for roses, as they are usually quite expensive. Dahlias, daisies, lilies, daffodils, tulips and orchids can also do the trick of imparting a great look at a much lesser price. You can also stick to colored leaves and green plants for decoration in case you have budgetary constraints. Alternatively, you can opt for silk flowers, especially for the centerpieces to keep within the budgets and yet enhance the beauty of the floral decorations.

Transportation

Changing your transportation options from a Limousine to other big cars or a Lincoln can add to your saving kit. Additionally, you may also enjoy the flexibility of hiring other models for a minimum of 24 hours whereas a Limousine can be rented only for an hour or two at the most, because of the prohibitive costs.

Wedding Invitation

You can save a lot on wedding invitations by purchasing blank invitations available in numerous craft and stationery stores or sign up for free trial packages offered by online stationers. Oversized and embellished invitations with linings, fancy typography and custom inks can cost huge amounts of money and so opt for simple yet sophisticated designs. You may also create your own invitations and wedding programs to save significantly.

Wedding Photography/Video

You can easily eliminate all your extra expenditure on wedding photography and video by hiring one professional wedding photographer for the main ceremony and leave the rest to your friends and family. It is also advisable to avoid special finishes and effects of the photos for keeping them simple and economical. For wedding video special angles, inserted stills and transitions might make it more costly.

Wedding Reception

A buffet dinner can reduce the wedding reception costs as compared to a sit down dinner while arranging for the same quality of food. You may even have the advantage of getting extra food in buffet dinners. The venue is also important in influencing the cost factors. While a large hall or an expensive hotel suite can cost you a fortune, you may try to make your wedding reception economical and yet unique by choosing a seaside or your own home garden.