Top 10 Tips For Saving Money

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1. Planning Is The KEY!
The more you organize the more you can save on your wedding. The more informed you are on exactly what you want for your wedding, the more you can save.

It's important that you set up a clear and concise wedding plan before you begin booking suppliers or shopping for any wedding supplies. It will save you a lot of money down the track, because you'll be more focused on what you need and not get overwhelmed by the huge amount of wedding products out there in the market.

2. Keeping The Guest List Short
Keep the guest list down to just those people you are closest to will save you a ton of money. The budget will help you set the size of your guest list. Keep in mind that the size of your budget does still give you a lot of choice. You can organize an average wedding for a large number of guests or a fabulously stunning wedding with a small number of guests.You need to set your priorities from the start about what's more important - having a lot of guests OR having a more intimate, lavish-style wedding.
   
3. Planning An Informal Wedding
The more formal your wedding the more expensive it could cost. Casual weddings tend to cost a lot less in comparison. Decide on how formal you want your wedding to be and then set out your budget accordingly.

4. Be Creative And Unique
Today, many couples are choosing not to follow the old wedding traditions. The more creative you are with planning your wedding, the more opportunity you have for saving money. Use a little imagination and create a wedding that's unique. Choose elements that have some special meaning for you and your partner. It will not only give you and your guests a truly unique occasion to remember,buy can save you a lot of money.

5. Choose A Reception Venue Wisely
The wedding reception usually is the single biggest cost of any wedding. Take you time in searching for the best options for the type of reception you would like. Keep an open mind when it comes to the type of locations that are suitable according to the size of your budget.

Make sure you carefully look at all reception packages and work out which ones offer the best value for your money. Make sure you find out up front, if there are any hidden costs that may affect your budget. Things like handling charges for the wedding cake; penalty costs if the reception goes overtime; damages charges if things are broken etc.

6. Don't Sweat The Small Details
It's very important that you keep a record of every dollar you spend on your wedding. When you're in the thick of planning, it's easy to lose track of your spending if you fail to keep track. This is where a lot of wedding budgets come unstuck, if you fail to keep in control.

7. Ask Questions
If you have a small budget, it's very important that you get the best value for your money. Don't be afraid to negotiate a discount on all areas of your wedding, whether it be the reception venue, the bridal shop, the cake, the flowers etc.

Don't be afraid to accept the help of family or friends. People love getting involved in planning a wedding and are only too glad to help out. You could save a lot of money if you know someone who is willing to give their services, for things such as take the photos or video, make the wedding cake, sew the wedding outfits, do the flowers etc.

8. Prioritise
Every wedding is unique regardless of the cost or the size of the guest list. You could be able to organise a wedding with everything you ever dreamed of and still stay in your budget. It all depends on how you set your priorities.

You need to decide on what aspects of your wedding are the most important and exclude those things that aren't. For example, you might decide that the ceremony is the most important aspect of your wedding. You could then put more time and money on creating a truly beautiful ceremony and then cut back on the reception budget by having something casual.

9. Make It Yourself
There are lots of ways to save money on your wedding elements. Check out places like discount stores and craft stores for some great ideas on things like wedding favors, decorations, invitations, bridal headpieces and veils, wedding jewellery etc. Why not plan a day and have a craft-style party where you invite your bridesmaids and other female friends and family over and spend the time creating elements for your wedding. Sometimes you can find companies who do demonstrations or hold parties in your home for things like weddings, scrapbooking, jewellery parties etc. This is a great way to get items cheaply, create something unique and have some fun at the same time.

10. Shop Online
There are literally hundreds of places online where you can save lots of money. Sites like EBay, Amazon etc have a ton of products for sale at a big discount and often include free shipping. At the end of the day, it's your wedding and you should choose the type of wedding that is most important to you and your partner.

Good luck with your wedding planning.




Regards,

The Wedding Fairy

Visit  weddingfairyplanner.com

Budget Saving Ideas - The Big Four

When planning your wedding, a major factor that can have a huge impact on your budget comes down to four different numbers:

1. The number of guests
2. The number in your bridal party
3. The number of wedding elements for your reception
4. The number of hours your wedding reception lasts
Here is a look at how these four things can affect your budget.

Traditionally, the parents of the bride paid for most of the wedding costs and the number of guests was decided by them also. The majority of the guests invited tended to be mostly family or extended family and just a few friends.

In today's weddings, with more couples paying for most of their own wedding arrangements, it's usually the bride and groom who have the most say when choosing the guest list. As a result, guest lists see more friends being invited and the number of family guests tend to depend on how close of a relationship they have with the couple getting married.

What it boils down to is that the more guests you invite to your wedding the more it will cost. Depending on the type of wedding you're planning, the number of guests will influence things such as the number of:

• Stationery - number of invitations, order of ceremony, placecards, thank you cards, postage
• Wedding Ceremony - number of seats
• Bridal Party - number of bridesmaids outfits, number of grooms outfits, jewellery, transportation, gifts for bridesmaids, bridesmaid's bouquets.
• Wedding Reception - number of tables & chairs, meals, drinks, wedding favors, wedding cake, table centerpieces, decorations, wait staff, linen, crockery, cutlery, glassware, cleaning services.
• Size of Venue - the more guests the bigger the reception venue
• Time - depending on what type of reception you're planning, but you may need to pay for hire costs of venue, or overtime costs if your reception goes overtime.

The size of your guest list is the one single factor that impacts the total cost of your wedding. Keeping your guest list down to a reasonable size for your budget can be a big challenge particularly if you have a big family or group of friends or if you want to have a big wedding.

You may need to dust off those negotiation skills to keep your guest list under control. This can become complicated if one or both sets of parents are contributing in some way to the wedding costs. Sometimes parents feel that they are entitled to have a say in who gets invited.

Here are a few suggestions on how to manage your guest list:

* Sit down with your partner first and work out how many family members and how manyfriends you want to allow from both sides. Then you can show your list to your parents and ask them who they want included. If they want to invite extra guests, then they will have to pay for them.

* Only invite family and friends who have some special connection to you or you have an ongoing relationship with.

* Only invite work colleagues you socialize with or have some special regard for.

* You could invite work colleagues and distant family and friends to the wedding ceremony but not to the reception. You could always have a casual wedding party or coming home party after you get back from your honeymoon where you invite those that weren't invited to the reception. Make sure the wedding invitation states this clearly so as to avoid confusion on the day.

* Prioritize your guest list - put those guests you most want at the top. Then once you've made a list work out how much per head each guest will cost and then deduct those guests that go over your budget.

It may sound mean but it will help you to decide who you really want and can afford according to your budget. Don't be tempted to go over budget if you think you might hurt someone's feelings. You will need to keep any extra funds in reserve, as there are bound to be some price increases as time goes by.

* Having a wedding in a special place or out of town - this may help to cut the guest list down if you have a particularly large group of people you could invite but can't afford.

If you are planning your own wedding then a good wedding planning book is a cheap and easy alternative to a professional wedding planner, check out the reviews on some of the best wedding planning books available on the market, by Clicking Here!

Good  luck with your wedding planning.

Regards,

The Wedding Fairy.