Marriage isn’t cheap. Not if you want to pull all the stops out and really go for it. If you have recently firmed up your arrangements, moved your relationship onto a more permanent footing – then wedding bells could be a jingling.
What’s that? You always dreamed of a fairytale wedding, but you have no money in the bank? Relax honey, getting hitched is more about doing it with style not cash – you can have the most magical and memorable wedding you like on a budget. Just follow these simple words of advice.
Get Practical
Are you the sort of girl who likes getting to grips with practical projects? Even if you aren’t, by the time the wedding ticks around, you will be. One of the major ways of knocking money off your marriage budget is getting off your butt and making stuff for yourself. By the end of ‘Project Marriage’ DIY will be in your DNA.
There’s no harm in checking out all the high-priced, fancy-pants stuff out there. Draw inspiration and ideas from it, then get back home and work out how to interpret it in your own style. Make frequent visits to Pinterest where you will find many pin-boards overflowing with artistic and creative ideas for wedding crafts. Whether it’s invitations, table decorations, wedding favours or place setting ideas you are looking for, this online resource has boundless scope and vision.
Where it’s at
The cost of hiring the wedding venue uses the biggest portion of your budget. Popular hotels, restaurants, halls and bespoke venues get booked up early and the best ones charge stellar prices. Often you are paying for a magical location – perhaps it’s a riverside setting with pretty views, or a city centre venue overlooking the skyline – extras like these attract a premium. Check out as many venues as you can to get a realistic handle on costs – make sure you get quotes for identical specifications so you can make like for like comparisons. If the venues you favour are in the wrong places, you should consider marquee hire. For wedding marquee hire south London is the place to start looking for good deals. As you travel around the area, keep an eye out for locations where a marquee could work – in the grounds of a stately home, in a park, large garden, by a river, even on a well appointed car park. For wedding marquee hire south London has many pitches and places suited to big tents and if you contact the suppliers of these flexible venues, they will have a list of locations ready to suggest. If you have your own land or know somewhere a marquee can be erected free of charge, you can make big savings on venue hire.
Petal Power
Let your bouquet, bridesmaids’ posies and buttonholes be dictated by the seasons. Depending on the month you get married, there will be a varied selection of blooms in flower. It is easy to research which flowers will be in season and plan your floral selections accordingly. Invest in some florist’s wire, pretty ribbons, beads and trimmings, and with a little practice and a lot of studying of online tutorials, you can have wedding flowers that impress.
Off Season Savings
Many brides like to have summer weddings and you will find this is the most expensive time to be getting hitched. Smart couples pick a date on the calendar that is not so popular – competition is lower and availability increases, combining to produce better deals. A spring marriage, winter wonderland theme or autumnal harvest-festival wedding are all approaches couples have successfully tried – and saved money, too.
Don’t be squeamish about sourcing second hand items for your wedding. By their very nature, lots of wedding stuff is only used once, so lots finds its way onto E bay and other auction sites. Second hand wedding and bridesmaid dresses snapped up at a fraction of their new cost, could mean upping the spend elsewhere on the perfect shoes or tiara. Keep an open mind and an open eye, you never know what wonders you may uncover.
You can get a wedding that looks a million dollars on a shoe string when you blend dogged research and tough money management with tons of creative spark and inspiration. There is absolutely no reason why you need to begin married life saddled with debt – low cost style exists, and with these ninja tips you know how to find it.