Weddings can be outlandishly expensive, and it is not unusual to spend $20,000 or more for the big day. But, there are some easy ways to save. You can try one idea or all, depending on what your expenses are and where you want to save. The nice thing about these ideas is that they are pretty flexible, so you can incorporate what works for you. Keep reading for the first tip on my list.
“Hire” your friends and relatives. This is a time-honored tradition when budgeting for weddings. It is sort of the “it takes a village” mindset. Ask everyone to pitch in and help to make your wedding special. Decide what you really want to have new or professional and what makes more sense to have friends and relatives do. I’ll give you an example from my wedding. Photography was very important to us, so we hired a a professional whose style we really fell in love with. Having a video wasn’t all that important to us, so we passed with hiring someone for the task. Two different guests at our wedding took video for us, instead, and we are very happy with our decision. The videos turned out beautifully, and we have two versions to enjoy, one that is more formal, and one that captured the in-between moments, such as time with our immediate family on the beach.
Some other areas that friends and relatives could easily, and happily, help with include making the invitations, providing food for the reception, making the cake, making, giving or altering the wedding dress, doing the photography or the video (see above), providing the music, providing flowers from a garden or providing a limo or nice car for transportation.
Friends and relatives are usually ecstatic when they are asked to help with a wedding. It really helps them feel as though they are an important part of your special day.
Read more about weddings in the Marriage Blog.
Mary Ann Romans also writes for the Computing Blog here at Families.com where she shares everything from the latest news on technology to cool downloads and fun websites.
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