How to Save Money on a Fall Wedding

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By Heather Inks - Professional Life Coach - Artist - Model -
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Bride - Heather Inks

Helpful tips to save money on your fall wedding so that you have more money for your first home, retirement, or honeymoon.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

Willingness to plan things rather than act on emotion
Ability to tell wedding coordinators, I will get back with you rather than yes
Basic math skills
Level headedness

Step 1

Take out a piece paper and draw the scene from the perfect wedding that you have been playing in your mind in childhood.

It might take a few minutes to do this. You might need to get alone to do this. It would be wise to set this aside and look at it a few days or weeks later to allow your mind to recall any other important details that you might not have had access to readily.
Step 2

Once you have your perfect wedding image or images complete and on paper, now make a simple list of all the items that you will need to make this come true for you.

Write down the venue - church, beach, lighthouse, etc.
Write down the flowers - the colors, the types, the arrangements, etc.
Write down who you want to be there - so and so must be there or must NOT be there
Write down as many details as you can think of in this list.
Step 3

Now take a look at your list and try to imagine ways that you can have what you want for a little less money.

For instance, maybe you want lots of flowers at your wedding. You could choose to be in a grand room where you must order loads of flowers or you could instead plan your wedding at a garden where the flowers are included in the venue price. Get flowers that are in season in fall for a cheaper price.

If you like green and gold with lots of bows, then maybe moving your wedding to Christmas in a church right after Christmas will give you the wedding that you want while you get to save almost the entire cost on decorations because many churches will have their churches decorated with green, gold, and bows on each pew anyway.

If your dress is not too unique, see if you can find what you are looking for in a thrift store, consignment store, or on a sale rack at wedding store.

Whether your dress is elegant or simple, take a picture of it to a local seamstress and get a quote on how much it would cost to be made just for you. Sometimes this option actually costs less. You can also explore the price difference if you purchase the material or if she purchase the material for you - you might be able to find the right material on sale in a material section.

Only invite the people to your wedding that you want there and that are essential. Many times the friends and even relatives at some weddings are not even close to the bride or groom, sometimes don't even know the bride or groom, and in 10 years will not even be a part of your life at all. Is it really necessary to spend all the extra money for extra people to sit at your wedding or to eat at your reception? Don't count on the wedding gifts from them either, especially when the economy is tight because people cut back.

If you purchase a package, make sure that you price the cost if you separated the options and hired out. Sometimes packages are better, sometimes not.

Many times, good photography is important. More important than a video that you might watch once a year or once every five years. Decide what is really important. The wedding pictures will probably be displayed in your home, so they need to be nice. Tell your photography what you really want pictures of, so that you make sure to get what you want.
Step 4

Now look over your list and see where you can edit and cut corners. Think about the season you are choosing and why.

Maybe you can incorporate the flowers in season during fall. Maybe your can use some fall plants that are blooming for centerpieces rather than cut flowers that will die. After the ceremony, take the plants home and plant them at your home giving you a lifelong wedding reminder.

Edit, edit, edit. See if any of your relatives is also a photographer. Check out a sample of their work. If not, see if one of your guests knows a photographer or is related to one. Maybe your can get a discount.

Make sure you don't overbuy on the wedding cake or the food selection.

Keeping things simple will be elegant, frugal, and wise.

Comments

heatherinks said

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on 8/29/2009 If you plan your fall wedding well, you can save a lot of money and invest it in a home or investment account. God bless.

jull14 said

on 7/6/2009 Thank you for sharing this information with me, it is very interesting, helpful for many here at ehow and the article is well written and easy to follow, thanks so much.

on 4/25/2009 Saving money on your wedding is so important because financial issues can be cause of divorce. Houses, retirement, etc is so much longer lasting and more important than the wedding day or reception anyway.