Tips For A Wedding on A Budget
Quality doesn’t need to cost the world. Below you’ll find our tips for the thrifty bride and groom aiming for the perfect wedding whilst trying to avoid the nightmare bill afterward! Read our tips on booking a venue, selecting food and drink, a perfect dress and your decorations.
Booking A Reception Venue.
It’s likely that the cost of your wedding venue will be the most expensive part of your day. If you’re on a strict budget there are several things you can do to help yourself get a better deal than you might expect.
Just like when pricing up a holiday, you are likely to find the best deals when booking outside of the peak period. For wedding venues, this means that you may find special deals when booking over the winter months. Similarly, if you can book a weekday wedding instead of a weekend then you could save a small fortune!
You don’t necessarily have to book a “Wedding Venue” to host your reception. It’s worth considering hosting your reception and a smaller local venue. These venues might include hotels, restaurants and pubs, church and village halls or sports clubs. If you’re lucky enough to have a particularly generous friend or relative with a large house or garden, they may let you have your reception in their home!
When viewing these venues, try to skirt around the fact it’s a wedding reception until your booking is secured… “parties” tend to cost less to book than “weddings” do.
Try to look at these venues through your mind’s eye. Some of them may look a little basic at a glance but try to imagine what you could do with it with a little time and elbow grease.
Choosing Food & Drink.
Once you’ve chosen your venue, one of the next things to consider is how you are going to manage the food and drink. Some venues will offer packaged which may include food, drink and other options. If booking a package, it may be possible to haggle on the total cost, otherwise, you will have to manage your other supplier negotiations separately.
Ask your chosen venue if they allow your guests to bring their own alcoholic drinks and discuss any corkage charges. If the corkage fees are too high then this may end up costing you money rather than saving it!
If you decide that you would like to pay for some of your guests’ drinks. That doesn’t have to mean a free bar all night. Perhaps provide a drink after the ceremony, for the toasts and as an accompaniment to the wedding breakfast but let the rest of the day be a cash bar.
Time your ceremony and reception so that you are expected to serve only one meal to your guests. If your ceremony is after lunchtime, your guests will have already eaten by the time they arrive. You can then dedicate that part of your budget to one evening meal before the reception begins.
Using budget-friendly foods can make a little money go a long way. Bulk up a buffet with rice and pasta dishes and add your own individual flourish. And why buy in the dessert when you’re the proud new owner of an enormous wedding cake?