Cutting Wedding Costs – 5 useful ways to do

You might think planning a wedding will cost a arm and leg, how to cut down the cost of wedding. Here you will get 5 useful tips to help you do so.

As wedding costs start to add up, you may need to re-evaluate your plans and come up with different ideas to control spending. As you plan your ceremony and reception, consider your budget, the menu, music and decorations.

Budget

Look at your original budget and go through, line for line. See where you are over budget and come up with solutions to get back to the original price you wanted to spend. Think about what is important and what you can do without. A good way to do this is picture a year after the wedding. Ask yourself: What are your guests and you going to remember? Details such as the type of flower in the centerpieces or the sides of fingerling potatoes won't seem like a big deal in a year, but other features may be more important. Make sure you are spending the money on the most memorable parts. The photographer is one area you do not want to cut costs. Shots snapped by a friend may not turn out the way you want.

Decorations

Instead of hiring someone, there are several areas where you can do it yourself and save big time. The wedding party can help you make and hang decorations and cut costs. Get together a couple weeks before the wedding to plan an assemble the decorations. Buying and putting together the components of a centerpiece will be cheaper than purchasing through the florist or a wedding coordinator. Reception halls usually allow the event to be decorated the night before or early the morning of the event. Get a group together to help execute your vision.

Food

This is often the most expensive part of a wedding reception. Opt for one dish instead of two to dramatically decrease the per-guest cost. Instead of a sit-down dinner, buffet style can usually cut the cost by up to $10 a person. Also consider having a cocktail hour instead of formal dinner. Have close friends make a simple meal that can make the money stretch. Pasta is a filling and inexpensive way to feed a large crowd. Garnish with tomatoes and cheese for an elegant look that does not appear "homemade." Serve a salad with nuts and a vinaigrette. Instead of an open bar, have guests make donations that can go to help with costs. This usually is a great way to offset costs, and guests usually expect to pay for drinks.

Music

A DJ can sometimes seem impersonal and tacky at a wedding. Instead, ask someone you know to emcee the event. Select songs ahead of time and have a mixed CD ready to go in the sound system. This can save you thousands of dollars and will actually add a personal touch to the wedding.

Flowers

Compromise on the type of flowers you want. It is more important to have the right color flower than the right type. For example, going with carnations instead of roses can save you up to $800. The flowers are going to die anyway, so consider going with the cheaper option. If you are set on a certain flower, only buy a few to incorporate with cheaper flowers.

When you do as the above 5 tips, the cost might go down obviously.