When I first started planning my wedding I was daunted. The cost of most weddings is over £20,000. It seemed insane to spend this on one day of our life. The majority of our wedding was paid for by my (now) husband and I so I had to keep things cheap. I decided to stop panicking and start researching instead. This research became my book, The Wedding Survival Guide: How To Plan Your Big Day Without Losing Your Sanity. I have an excerpt on wedding planning from my wedding book below. I hope this eases the stress and helps a little. You need it when planning a wedding.
Tips For Saving Money On Your Wedding
Cutting the guest list.
This is the best and easiest way to cut the budget. Every single person who comes to your wedding costs you money. So be ruthless and don’t feel you have to give everyone a plus one. Cutting children from your wedding will also save money but if you do this make it a rule across the board. If some guests have gone to the expense of hiring a babysitter and then see other children running around they are probably not going to be happy about it.
Cut the hours
The longer the wedding the more it will cost to feed people and give them drinks. You don’t have to have a long wedding, just do whatever you want. This will be easier if you have to be out of the venue at a set time but don’t feel like you have to use all of your allocated time, or pay to entertain your guests for the full amount of time. As long as you feed people and give them a certain amount of alcohol then they should be grateful and not too bothered if they have to put their hand in their pocket at the end of the night.
Marry off-peak
Getting married during the week will save money not only on the venue, but also with suppliers too. Your guests will have to take a day off work so factor this in. An autumn or winter wedding will also be cheaper.
Go Online
Buy things cheaply online and also check for cheaper deals than you have been offered. Car boot sales and charity shops will also have cheap stuff that could come in handy.
Getting Organised
Being organised and booking things in advance will save lots of money.
Minimoon
This is a mini honeymoon that couples have when they have to delay their honeymoon. You can also extend your first night hotel stay into a mini honeymoon. Staycations are best for minimoons. There are plenty of amazing places in the United Kingdom where you can have a romantic getaway. Cornwall, Brighton, Scotland, Wales, Ireland, Devon, London…the possibilities are endless.
Have Your Honeymoon in Europe
If you live in the United Kingdom then not only will having a honeymoon in Europe be easy to get to, it will also be a lot cheaper. There are plenty of beautiful, romantic places to go.
Have Prosecco Instead of Champagne.
It is cheaper but tastes just as good. As long as you buy the right one.
The Wedding Survival Guide: How To Plan Your Big Day Without Losing Your Sanity is available in print, ebook and Kindle. The Kindle version is only £2.99.