With an average UK wedding bill that is in excess of 20K, and rising living costs, more and more couples are choosing to save money by getting hitched on a budget.
There’s no need to worry that your wedding photo albums will end up filled with snaps of you and your beloved looking miserable on your big day, if you know how to use a little ingenuity and your imagination to cut the hefty costs.
Start Married Life Debt Free
The perfect wedding day doesn’t have to break the bank. As a wedding is a major expenditure, many couples struggle to afford it without the aid of a financial loan. If you do have to borrow money, it’s crucial that you’re able to pay it back within a year, to avoid racking up debt.
If it’s at all possible, it’s best not to borrow money to cover the costs of your wedding day. The financial impact of your wedding will leave you in debt as you begin married life together.
When planning your wedding it’s a good idea to consider what you can afford to spend. Once you know what your budget is, you can work out how to have the best wedding without going way over your limit. For example, you might want to have some wedding tipi events as well as a professional band to sing at your wedding, but due to budgetary constraints, you might have to choose one of the two. This isn’t a bad thing because making a few compromises won’t spoil your wedding if you’re prepared to think out of the box.
Marriage is the beginning of a life-long commitment. So, fretting about expenses shouldn’t be the top priority for your dream wedding. Even eloping with your partner to the highlands of Scotland and getting married privately would work just fine. And, if you are worried that you won’t be able to capture the moments, then there are photographers like scotland elopement photographer, and destination wedding planners always at your service. They could help capture all those timeless moments for you and make you feel the most special. Therefore, it all depends on how special you want to make your wedding! Keep in mind that these wedding planners are professionals and they have gone through things like wedding planning certification as well as taken various courses and built on their hands-on experience so they can professionally provide you with what you need for your wedding. Take a deep breath, you’ve got this.
If it’s your dream to have a romantic wedding, but you can’t afford a castle, shift your perspective and plan a magical outdoor celebration instead. No one looking at your wedding photo albums will be able to guess that you and your spouse are not happy with the celebration compromise that saved you .
Prioritise Like A Pro
Once you know your budget, you’ll be able to plan the best way to spend the money for your wedding. Priorities like a professional wedding planner by working out how much you can afford to spend on different areas/aspects of the big day.
Make a list of the wedding day essentials, like the ceremony, venue, bridal wear, catering, décor and entertainment, and allocate a portion of your budget to each one. It’s worth remembering that you don’t have to stick to conventional ways of spending your money. There’s always the potential to save cash by reducing your spend in one, some, or all of the key areas of your celebration.
It’s sensible to keep an eye on your wedding expenses, and to set aside an amount of cash to cover last minute spending. Budget for extras at least 10% more than you think you need.
Swapping one idea/item for another can also help you stretch your budget a little further. If you don’t have enough to cover the cost of everything you’ve listed, look for ingenious ways to change the content of your list, rather than blowing the budget.
Tie The Knot In The Week
The biggest dent in your wedding budget is likely to be the cost of the venue for your reception. To reduce the venue spend pick a day of the week to get wed that is NOT Friday-Sunday. Getting hitched Monday-Thursday can substantially cut the reception venue costs, so that you have more money available to spend on something else.
Tying the knot outside of the peak spring-summer wedding season is another great way to minimise impact on your budget. You’ll also be able to benefit from midweek discounts that are offered by a variety of wedding vendors.
When looking for the perfect venue with a budget in mind, don’t be too hasty in disregarding the obvious cost-saving choices. Hosting your reception in a church or village hall is a lot less costly than a hotel or country club. And don’t forget to check the small print, to ensure that everything’s included in the final cost, especially VAT.
Celebrating in a cut-price venue means that you’ll still have cash available to spend on a professional photographer that can capture stunning images to fill up your luxury wedding photo albums.
Be Prepared To Haggle
It’s perfectly acceptable to haggle over the price of the items listed in your wedding priority budget list. Unless you’re prepared to ask, you’re unlikely to discover that there are discounts available across all areas of the wedding industry.
Many wedding vendors and suppliers are open to negotiation. Be polite and enquire about the best price that is available, when you’re shopping for bridal accessories and venue décor items. To avoid disagreements in the future, it’s important to ensure that you have all discount agreement details in writing.
Additionally, it’s important to shop around to find the best price. Something that costs 500 in one shop might only cost 300 in another. If you live in the north east, for example, browse the best wedding dress shops north east has to offer to find the best deal. Some shops might have sales on, whilst others might be happy to give you a discount if you buy something else off them.
Ask For Freebies
Although many wedding venues, vendors and suppliers are agreeable to haggling practices, not all of them will readily give you a discount, no matter how politely you ask. To keep within your wedding budget, you can always consider asking for freebies instead.
When making your booking at the venue, or with a wedding vendor, ask them to throw something in on top, as a free extra. You’ll be pleasantly surprised to find how easy it is to get free food/drinks, décor, chair covers, or wedding favours. You could even bag something that you didn’t initially include on your must-have wedding list, because it made you go over your budget!
You can also save money by using the talents of your family members and close friends. In lieu of a wedding present, you can ask your keen photographer buddy to capture the magical moments of your special day. You’ll save money and end up with a fabulous array of candid and personal memories to display in your beautiful wedding photo albums.