How to keep your wedding under budget

It’s wedding season again and brides are being swept up in the romance of their fairy-tale celebrations.  But nothing brings a fairy tale to a grinding halt faster than bills in one hand and a shrinking budget in the other.

If you need to come in under budget, but still want a great wedding, try these great tips from experts Vicki Karigiannis of Divine.ca and Andrea Lown and Leah Andrews from SmartBrideBoutique.com.

Location, location, location

• Get married out of town. Locations can be cheaper out of the city.
• Try a beautiful backyard instead.

Photos

• Ask the photographer for just digital images instead of print.
• Create your own wedding album instead of paying extra to have the photographer do it.
• Consider using a friend with photography skills.

Flowers

• Go for in-season flowers. They’re often cheaper than out-of-season ones that have to be shipped.
• Go fake
• Make the bouquets yourself
• Get married in a natural location such as a garden or someone’s backyard. The backdrop will serve as décor.

Food and drinks

• Forgo the cake and serve small portions of the couple’s favourite dessert.
• Ask your family to make desserts and serve at a dessert buffet.
• Have a waiter serve a red and a white wine to each table. Don’t leave unopened bottles of wine as you will have to pay for them.
• Bring in your own alcohol.

Invitations
Instead of buying your invitations, try:

• Downloading templates and creating your own invites.
• Go traditional, but limit the amount of inserts (maps, accommodations) and put that information on a website.
• Have a postcard RSVP or RSVP online via a wedding website.
• Make them yourself.
• Start a wedding blog, email the URL and put all relevant information on the blog.

Dresses and accessories

• Go with simple silhouettes – the less fabric, the cheaper the dress.
• Shop online. Brides can save up to 50 per cent on dresses online vs. in the stores.
• Buy samples or pre-owned.
• Rent your dress.
• Consider accessories from sites such as etsy.com.

Music

• If you want live music, try universities for classical music students. They will often play weddings for a good price.

The rings

• www.greenkarat.com lets your friends and family donate their old gold to make your rings.

(Photo by Jason Gulledge)