Months and months of planning go into one day of symbolizing a union between husband and wife. Sometimes a budget may restrict certain areas of your wedding or push you to make some difficult decisions. Fortunately, whether your wedding budget is big or small there are a vast number of areas in the planning process that allow plenty of give and take depending on personal preference.
1. Reply cards
- Save: It is not necessary to include RSVP cards with the invitation. Ask guests to email or call with their response.
- Splurge: Engrave the RSVP cards with personal names or emboss with metallic designs. They can also include more information, such as the method they will be giving a gift, if at all, and entrée choices.
2. Flowers
- Save: Scoop up your bouquet from your garden or a nearby park. They can have that rustic, backyard wedding feel that you totally meant to have (wink, wink).
- Splurge: Flower arrangements can get expensive. To really splurge, have the florist cover the ceremony and reception in abundant amounts of flowers. Create a bouquet as eccentric as you can imagine. You could even have two bouquets: one for walking down the aisle and the other to throw to single female guests at the reception, if you participate in that wedding tradition.
3. Party favors
- Save: Scrap them. Party favors are not an essential aspect to the wedding experience. Guests can take home their place cards if they feel inclined to save something. The only party favor that matters is great memories.
- Splurge: Create personalized mementos of the big day such as an engraved photo frame with a picture of the newlyweds or goodie bags with small, edible and non-edible treats.
4. Venue
- Save: Negotiate with a friend or relative for the use of their picturesque backyard as a wedding present.
- Splurge: Rent a cruise ship for the night and sail off into the sunset with 150 of your closest friends and family, give or take.
5. Food
- Save: Self-serve hors d’oeuvres and cake at the reception can be perfectly fine to serve guests. Options include cheese and fruit platters.
- Splurge: Treat your guests to a three-course lavish meal with a multi-option fixed menu, or host a buffet.
6. Alcohol
- Save: If the idea of not having an open bar is unappealing, limit the time it is available. It can be open at the beginning of the reception and then have a pay-as-you-order option.
- Splurge: Provide guests with an unlimited open bar, champagne toasts and the works.
7. Décor
- Save: Get crafty with DIY centerpieces and decorations, etc. Pinterest can be your best friend. Recruit as many friends as you can to assist in the crafting process.
- Splurge: Hire a decorator/event planner/miracle worker to take care of everything based on your specifications for the wedding. Pinterest can still be your best friend for generating ideas, but you can decorate as many aspects of the wedding as possible from tablecloths to wall decorations.
8. Reception activity
- Save: Have a dance off with your closest friends and the bridal party, or get some karaoke going. It will be entertaining and you can use resources you already have.
- Splurge: Rent a photo booth complete with props, take-home framed photos and unlimited reels of pictures to create the ultimate wedding memento.
9. Wedding Dress
- Save: Use a hand-me-down dress from a family member or find a vintage dress at a thrift shop. Look out for occasional coupons from bridal dress shops at bridal expos.
- Splurge: Hire a personal stylist and go to town. Do some online researching, travel to the city that has the store with the dress of your dreams and try away.
10. Music/MC
- Save: A disc jockey can double as an MC at a wedding. Brownie points if a friend or a friend’s friend is a DJ complete with equipment.
- Splurge: If music is an important aspect to the reception, hire the musical group you are in love with or the band that you have heard is the best around for a sound you’ll never forget.