How to Save Money while Planning your Dream Wedding

by Penny Olson

Believe it or not, you can plan a wedding without throwing yourself and your families into debt for the next decade. I am going to give you a few suggestions and guidelines to make this possible without having to cut corners. All it takes is a little discipline and the willingness to stick to a budget.

The first thing that you can do is make a list of things that are “required” in planning a wedding. This includes your dress, his tux, guests, a cake, flowers, decorations for the reception, food, music, drinks, photographers, and whatever else you feel are the bare essentials. Then sit down with your fiancé and decide on the five most important things on this list. This is where you can splurge a bit. Five may sound like a very small number, but there are an awfully lot of decisions that need to be made while wedding planning, even if you’re keeping it simple. If you can identify the five most important things before you start, it will keep you from letting all the “minor details” get out of control. Trust me, things can easily snowball if you don’t have a solid plan before you set yourself free into the world of wedding planning.

Your fist assumption may be that a wedding planner is out of the question. In many cases this is true. But don’t rule them out until you have talked with a few of them. He or she may be able to give some great suggestions on how you can stick to your budget. Once you start your planning, you will quickly see that it’s a little overwhelming. There are literally hundreds of photographers, pastry chefs, and florists in every city. It may help you to work with someone that knows the ropes and can help you find the companies with the highest quality work at the most reasonable prices.

Another thing that can help you pinch pennies is to plan your wedding during the off-season. The most popular months for weddings are May through October. Most venues will lower their prices during the months that are slower so that they can fill their calendars. Ask for the price list for the entire year and also find out the dates that they have open so that you know what you have to work with. It’s never good news to set your heart on a date, only to find out that it’s booked.

Destination weddings are a great way to save on your big day. It may not sound like a possibility, but when researching my wedding, I was absolutely amazed with what I found. There are tons of places that offer package deals on weddings. You can get discounted rooms in spectacular resorts if you plan to hold your wedding on their property. They have really incredible settings. You can get married on the beach, in a pretty gazebo, next to a waterfall, or even on an inactive volcano in a beautiful national park! The sky is the limit if you’re open to traveling. And most of these places are all-inclusive, so you also get meals, drinks and entertainment. You may even decide to stay right where you are for your honeymoon.

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