Planning a Big Wedding on a Small Budget

You have waited for this moment since you were a little girl. The engagement story was perfect, the ring is even better, but there is just one problem: the budget is a little short of what you had dreamed. No need to let this dash your much awaited “big day,” there are so many ways to cut corners.

Flowers

One of the biggest things that people spend money on for a wedding is flowers. While it is true that you should dedicate some of your budget to this key element, you do not have to spend the majority of it on it.

Pick out three colors to center your floral arrangements around and fill the rest with greenery; think ferns to fill the space at the altar and large grass-type greenery to add some oomph to your floral arrangements, you get the picture. Check out your yellow pages for greenhouses and give them a call to see if they rent out their ferns, many greenhouses do this during the spring and summer months.

Another way to cut costs on flowers is to check out your local Fresh Market, Whole Foods, or even farmer’s market for fresh flowers. There is no need to pay a florist for fresh flowers. If you do not have a good eye for flowers, take along a friend who does or check out various websites that offer advice on arranging flowers.

Food

The second biggest thing that you will spend money on is food. While you cannot do all of the cooking yourself, you can enlist some friends or family members that know their way around the kitchen to help prepare the food. If you go this route, be sure to make your reception buffet style with lots of pick-ups. There are several dishes that can be prepared ahead of time such as pastas. Fruits, cheeses and vegetables are easy space fillers on the buffet as well.

DIY Do it Yourself

Two wonderful web sources for everything weddings are Do it Yourself Weddings and Martha Stewart Weddings. These sites have practical ideas for planning a wedding on a smaller budget.

By cutting back on just these two things, you will have more money to devote to what is important: the dress and the cake! Your guests will have no clue you did not break the bank.

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