Dream Wedding on a Budget

Every bride dreams of having a fairy tale wedding; of getting married in a chapel or some far-off exotic backdrop, followed by a lavish reception.  However, matrimony can come at a high price, and sometimes the reality gets in the way of the fairy tale.  One would then have to settle for rather cheap and gaudy nuptials, or else be content with a far less romantic civil wedding.  But this shouldn’t always be the case.  The beginning of the rest of a loving couple’s forever should be celebrated in style, and it is possible to work wonders even on a tight budget. When planning your wedding, it is always important to keep your budget in mind.  Be conscious of how much you have saved up and what you can afford.  But your plans don’t necessarily have to be constrained by your budget.  Maybe you have something grand in mind for your wedding that, at first glance, may appear too costly.  But it’s really on how you balance your budget, to know how much you should spend, to restrain yourself from overspending, and to be able to spot less costly options for bringing to life the ideal wedding that you envision. One way to keep the costs down is to do some of the work on your own.  Perhaps you have some talent for decoration or arranging flowers.  Instead of hiring a professional interior decorator and floral arranger, how about doing the job yourself?  If you or a member of the family loves to bake, maybe you can work on the wedding cake yourselves.  Instead of getting a professional wedding photographer, you may be able to find a friend or relative to take snapshots of your special day.  And if you need a host for the reception, you may happen to have a multi-talented best friend who can do the honors. When it comes to finding a wedding dress, that old adage of “something old, something new, something borrowed, and something blue” actually does make some sort of sense, as there are a number of options open to you.  You can always find your dream wedding gown at a low price as long as you know where to look.  You can peruse the classified ads in the paper, log on to an online auction, or slog through a thrift store to find the ideal dress at a bargain price.  Or, if you have some talent as a dressmaker, you may decide to work your own magic and outfit yourself in a homemade ensemble that is nonetheless fit for royalty without costing a fortune. If the wedding is to take place in a church, about the only expense entailed is a modest fee to the presiding priest, and a reputable clergyman would surely not charge more than what you can afford.  If the wedding is to take place outdoors, you may choose to hold it at a public park or garden that would not charge to have such ceremonies be held there.  Usually, choosing the venue for the wedding reception can end up being the most expensive item in the agenda.  You can try to find an affordable place, or you can even hold the reception in the same spot as the wedding.  Or you may just happen to have a home big enough to accommodate the reception.  The cheapest options aren’t necessarily the worst.  By minding your budget and applying some resourcefulness, you can still have a lovely and lavish wedding even at a low cost.  And you may even have some money left over for the honeymoon. Image Credit: capitalminds.co.za