To have your dream wedding on a reasonable budget, you just need to figure out what’s truly important to you and where you can afford to do some trimming. Your wedding, after all, should be a joyous occasion that leaves you with happy memories for life, not a huge pile of debt. Take a look at some painless ways to save on wedding costs courtesy of Daily Finance:
Date-Driven Deal Search
Use a great service called Bride Rush, a deal site aimed brides and grooms looking for discounted, date-specific wedding deals.
BrideRush bundles the search, inquiry, and booking processes for a simplified and streamlined solution with a possible 30 percent to 70 percent discount. Owner Anita Malik refers to BrideRush as the “Priceline of weddings.”
Spend Less on the Dress
Since the average cost of a wedding dress, that you’ll wear once, is roughly $1,100, that expense is a smart one to try and trim. Consider checking out site like PreOwned Wedding Dresses where you can find hundreds of designer dresses for less than $300. Another perk about using a site like this is that you can even sell your dress back to them after your wedding.
You can also check out eBay and Craigslist for less expensive options. There’s even Brides Against Breast Cancer, which sells gowns donated to charity by designers. The gowns sell for anywhere from $100-$800 and all proceeds go to charity.
Be Your Own Wedding Planner
You could eliminate the cost of a wedding planner (averaging nearly $4,000) by simply planning the wedding on your own. You’ll have much more work to do, but this is one of the best ways to save an extraordinary amount on wedding costs.
Be Your Own Florist
Wedding flowers can cost you nearly $2,000, but you could save significantly with some creativity. Choose a seasonal, local flower and consider a bulk order. You can even save money by cutting out the middlemen and using an e-retailer like Fresh Roses. There you can buy wholesale flowers and make your own centerpieces, bouquets and boutonnieres.
Let Them Eat (Sheet) Cake
A huge, ornate cake will cost you a good chunk of change. So instead, opt for a lower, smaller cake for the ceremonial cake-cutting and photos. Then stock the kitchen with a less-pricey sheet cake and serve that to your guests.
Find more helpful tips over at Daily Finance’s How to Have a Dream Wedding on a Practical Budget.