Saving Tips for a Wedding
Wedding days are a day of romance, love, friends and family and all thing optimistic and beautiful. But the fact is, weddings are expensive and as all brides can testify, although wedding prep is full of fun stuff, in the end there is no way of getting away from the nitty-gritty of the wedding budget. So, do you want to learn a few wedding saving tips?
While the number one thing is to have a day that most reflects you and your partner, it can often be harder than a rubix cube to jungle all the different costs, and still have a fantastic day.
Our biggest – and top – tip is to prioritise what you really want for you and your partner.
Here are a few tips that we have put together for you.
Off-Peak Bargains – Choose Your Wedding Date Wisely
Most venues offer great deals for mid-week wedding, as well as off-season dates so it would be a great idea to contact as many venues possible and ask about their different options.
Cut the Guest List
It is not the most politically fun thing to do, but if you’re serious about saving the number one thing you can do is to cut the number of guests you’re having. The reception (venue, food, drink) is going to be about 50% of your budget so if you want to cut costs, cut the head count.
Email Invitations
This might be a controversial one, especially if you have parents and grandparents who don’t use the internet. But if you are on a tight budget, you have to look for simple savings and cutting down on design, printing and posting will save you a few hundred Rands.
If you do send your invitations through postage, we would advice not adding any extra cost by adding RSVP cards and stamped envelopes. Instead add a phone number and email address for people to RSVP to your wedding.
Just remember that beautiful invitations eventually end up in the garbage too, so don’t spend a lot of time and money obsessing over them.
Finding the DRESS
Did you know that the average cost of a wedding dress is R5000? That’s a lot of money for something you’ll only be wearing once. Whether you plan on going the traditional route or not, there’s no reason to pay that much, because you can have your perfect dress for less. Try renting a dress or getting a pre-owned one.
Your perfect dress is out there, you just need to find an affordable option for you.
Avoid Bridal Magazines and Television Shows
If you are going to look at bridal magazines then we would suggest that you look at them after you have bought your dress, shoes and accessories, because once you go down that rabbit hole, coming back is going to hard. The magazines will do what is designed to do – make you ohh, ahh, salivate and make you desire regardless of the ridiculous prices. Magazines and shows about dream weddings will clue you into things that you would otherwise never, EVER, have thought about “needing” or wanting – promoting false ideas of what a wedding is supposed to be or should have.
More choice is not necessarily better in most cases… Pearl encrusted bridal bouquet holder. Beautiful? YES! Ridiculous and completely unnecessary? Absolutely!!
Cuisine Costs:
Food and wine can be the biggest expense at a wedding, so research your options. You may want to consider a buffet instead of a sit-down meal; or host a high tea; a dessert reception; brunch or luncheon instead of a multi course meal.
Do you have any wedding saving tips we can add?
