Even the most standards of weddings can have a budget that runs into the thousands. In England it is estimated that in 2012 that figure is to be over £20,000! It’s not easy to keep track of everything as there is so much to put together, here are some ideas where you might be able to reduce your costs. Cost cutting can be cruel so be warned you might have to be firm with yourself.
The Right Place
Most people will set out with big ideas of luxury hotels and beautiful buildings. The reality is that most can ill afford such extravagance. It is not unusual for the top end venues to cost the entire budget of the average wedding. There is a hotel in St Albans where hire of the venue is £20,000. On discovering this, bitter disappointment may ensue, but fear not for there are many good places that just need a little love and sprucing up and they won’t break the bank. The unsuspecting village halls is underused for this purpose but perfect in every way. Okay so they don’t have the grand architecture that stately homes do but they are more often than not clean, tidy and full of space. With a little imagination and love these places can be completely transformed as they are, at the end of the day, just a blank canvas.
expensive wedding cakes
Don’t underestimate the price of a cake, they can cost £1000! I think the general consensus is that most people don’t particularly like wedding cake anyway! Admittedly they look fantastic and very impressive but there’s just no escaping they are not a favourite flavour. The thing that costs the most money about them is that they are incredibly labour intensive. Showboating is the main thing that pushes the cost of a wedding up and the cake is a prime example of that.
An alternative to expensive wedding cake is small individual cakes. The ultimate cheap way to do it is to bake and decorate them yourself. These types of cakes are by far more popular and will result in less wastage. You can lay them out on a tiered stand to make them look impressive in the same way that a wedding cake stands. They are easy to cook, transport, and decorate and just a fraction of the price of a £1000 wedding cake.
Invitations
With an average budget of £600′s, stationery is a pricey game! It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to work out that’s £6.00 per guest for 100 guests. That sort of money is unnecessary just for an invite.
The cheapest way would be to send an e-mail invite or e-vite. Unfortunately not everyone has access to e-mail, some of the older attendees may feel left out. The best solution is going to be a physical invite. The first idea that comes to mind is to send a card, but it doesn’t need to be that way.
Creating your own fancy letter with nice graphics, posh envelopes and printed on nice paper can have a really nice affect and save you money. Most cards are not kept for long after they are opened so it is not critical that the invite comes in that format. The trick is in the presentation, if you make a nice job then it will be impressive.
Florists
It is easy for the flower budget to get pushed. Having somebody do all the work and set up for you can cost a fair chunk of money. It is an art form and so once again you’re paying for somebody’s time. The disposable nature of flowers also adds to the cost.
There are a multitude of places from which you can purchase flowers. Florists are the favourite place for wedding flowers but if you’re a little more flexible there may be more solutions. supermarkets offer some great flowers and a fairly large bouquet will cost about £20.00. With colour choice and style abundant there will surely be something you like, just be sure to speak to someone in charge to guarantee there will be enough for your big day. All that needs doing now is setting up. With just a few £100′s you can get a great amount of flowers and have plenty of money spare. The great thing about this is that the Bunches are already arranged for you so the hard part is already done.
Attendees
Selecting who to come can be a dangerous business. You have to tread the line of not offending anyone but not going over your budget. Unfortunately there’s no magic advice here you just have to be harsh and not invite the world. The easy solution would be to invite everyone you have ever known and ignore the budget, but that is just unrealistic. Only invite your closest friends, and closest family members. Remember that this is a celebration of your love together, not a chance to show off to everyone you have ever known. A huge amount of guests doesn’t make the event any more special. It is more likely that By inviting too many people those closest to you will feel a little less special. A wedding should be a once in a lifetime moment, can you really justify opening that to people you hardly see any more?
This article was written by Adam Barnes of VenueShire
