When getting married a lot of couples are surprised at what a wedding cost or what their dream wedding may cost. Due to rising costs and the stress associated with planning and having a wedding for many it may seem like eloping is the answer, but there are ways that couples can make that special day less costly and very memorable.
Below are just a few of the recommendations we suggest for reducing costs:
1. Choosing The Right Location – Have your wedding ceremony and reception at the same venue save you a ton of money on delivery charges from your vendors. It’s cheaper to deliver to one venue than two. Also choose a venue that is already beautiful as this will cut down on your décor cost.
2. Get Creative – As a bride there are many things you can do yourself or call in favors from reliable friends for. There are many invitation and wedding kits out there where you can print your own invitation, programs, table numbers etc. You can ask your girlfriends to assist in making your wedding favours.
3. Reduce The Numbers – Reduce the number of guests and the numbers in the bridal party. If you have a bridal party with 5 girls you will have to contribute to their hair and make-up as well as purchase bouquets for them. Plus you will have to invariable deal with the stress of dealing with 5 different personalities on your big day when getting dressed. This can get costly, financially and emotionally. Yes you would like to invite everyone you know but the number of guests does have a huge impact on your overall costing. It impacts on your food, cake cost, rentals and printing cost. By just reducing you guests list by 10 or 20 persons can save you over J$30000.00. It means less chairs, linens and tables rented, less centerpieces, less on your cake, bar and catering bill, less wedding favors purchased and less invitations and programs to print.
4. Decorate Creatively – Choose blooms that are in season or available locally will save you lots on your floral arrangements. If you aren’t particular about the types of blooms being used this can save you a lot as there are cheaper blooms such as anthuriums, chrysanthemums, carnations, birds of paradise etc. that are readily available that you can use. Also think outside the box , flowers are expensive and there are ways to you less flowers such as floating candle centerpieces (there are a number of ways to do this), also candles can be grouped together to form an elegant centerpiece. When decorating the church you can concentrate on just decorating the front of the church as that is where everyone will be looking and where your photographer and videographer will focus.
5. Hire A Wedding Planner. You may think that you cannot afford a wedding planner, but you can. A wedding planner since it is not an extra expense if you consider the planning part of your wedding budget. Your wedding planner will even be able to save you money by suggesting the appropriate vendors that will provide professional services to accommodate your budget. A good wedding planner will almost always pay for itself. It is a fact that clients experience 10%-30% overall savings when a planner is involved in negotiating wedding vendors. Wedding planners get discounts from wedding vendors that you don’t have access to and sometimes these are significant. They can also call in favors from vendors if you are really on a budget or may have resources that you alone may not have access to. When you hire a wedding planner you know that you are buying quality, service, knowledge, professionalism, creativity, guidance, leg work, a stress reliever, an etiquette expert and a personal assistant and friend. What could be better than that for the most important day of your life? At the end of the day you will be happy just knowing that you were smart enough to hire a wedding planner!
In the end, you can have that dream wedding by being cost effective, thinking creatively and having the right people to help you.
About The Author
Helen Hutchinson Graham is a wedding planner and the owner of Helen G Events a premier event planning company based in Jamaica. At Helen G Events their mission is to create the ultimate experience for life’s greatest celebrations. They offer wedding and event planning services as well as wedding flowers and decor services. They provide all their clients with all the necessary essentials required to create a memorable event. Examples of these services are as follows: Flowers and Décor, Site Analysis and Selection, Event Rentals, Custom Lighting and Theme Decor . They can be contacted via their websites www.helengevents.com or www.helengdecor.com
