Wedding's can get expensive and costly but there are ways to cut down your expenses and still have the wedding of your dreams, you can do a wedding on any budget even the smallest budget can get your dream wedding.
here are some ways to cut down costs of planning a wedding
have a wedding that is at a non meal time early afternoon between 130-3 serve light bites and snacks such as fruit trays, cheese and crackers, punch, and cake. fruit trays cheese and cracker trays are very inexpensive and you can get them from your local sams bjs or costco, you can rent dispensers and fill them with punch and water or you can purchase them cheep at discount stores. and you can get sheet cakes for half the price of a teared cake and serve that to your guests. early afternoon weddings are typically shorter and often don't have dancing
if an early afternoon wedding does not work for you and you wanted to do something in the morning doing a brunch can also cut down on your costs start calling around at venues that you love and see if they offer brunch options, brunch is often less expensive and most venues that do brunch will serve one-two bunch type drinks brunch weddings also are typically shorter and don't have dancing
evening weddings can be expensive but they can also be very budget friendly,
renting out a hall where you can bring in your own food bringing in trays of sandwiches or looking for a restaurant that does catering can save on cost vs looking a company that just does catering. some types of budget meals included sandwich trays, hot and cold appetizers but if you do this you want to go very heavy on the appetizers you can get them in bulk at places such as bjs and costco. pasta salad and bread is another inexpensive staple.
if renting out a venue that has nothing included is not your style and your budget is tight but you have some wiggle room then looking at all inclusive venues would be the way to go, start looking at the various venues near you and within a 30 minute drive from your ceremony you don't want your guest to have to drive far from the venue to the reception.
look for venues that have everything included such as cake and centerpieces most venues will offer simple centerpieces and a 3-4 tiered basic cake included in the price. Daytime weddings are less expensive than evening and evening weddings often have minimums you have to meet in order to get that room/venue. some venues even include a dj as part of their package.
some things to think about when looking at all inclusive venues look at each package and see what it offers the more stuff they offer the more money its going to cost you sometimes the buffet can be less than a sit down or sometimes its the same price.
sometimes packages have extra add on's you might not need such as cake say you have a favorite bakery and you want them to make your cake ask your venue if you are allowed to bring in a cake from an outside licensed bakery but also find out how much they are going to take off the price of the cake. now if the venue says we will only give you 1.00 per slice of cake then its not worth it to bring in your own cake but if they are going to give you 2.00 or more per slice of cake back to you then it would be worth it to bring in your cake from the outside.
getting your flowers from a all occasions florist a grocery store or a wholesale club can cut down on your costs
making your own decorations and invite and save the date cards
skipping the favors or giving out inexpensive candy
hosting only beer wine and soda at your wedding instead of a full open bar. never host a cash bar or anyone to pay for a drink that is tacky you want to thank your guest for coming to your wedding
