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How to Plan a Cheap Wedding

Cheap Wedding Ideas

When I began planning my wedding I regularly perused the internet for good articles on planning cheap weddings. I didn’t have a huge budget, but at $10,000 I thought I’d be able to swing it without a problem. However, I quickly learned that “cheap” in the wedding world means $20,000. So I had to get creative.

The wedding industry doesn’t want you to think that it’s possible to plan a wedding for $10,000 or less, but it is . Here are some ground-rules to consider when planning your wedding on a budget.

Don’t listen to the wedding industry
The wedding industry wants you to pay double (or triple or quadruple) for everything just because it’s for a wedding. It will also try to convince you that if you don’t do things the “right” (most expensive) way, you’re wedding is going to be a terrible embarrassment for you and your family. But it won’t be. Do whatever you want. My reception was movie themed and I served popcorn and movie candy as appetizers. Tacky? Maybe. Delicious? Yes.

Don’t listen to other people
Unless, of course, they are your fiance or parents or whoever is helping pay for the wedding. But beyond that, just take everyone’s opinions with a grain of salt. And there will be opinions. Lots of them. From people you barely even know who think they know what your wedding should be like. You won’t be able to make everyone happy, but you can prioritize.

Watch for sales at craft stores
Hobby Lobby, Michael’s, and Joann Fabrics regularly put all their wedding merchandise on sale. Don’t miss out on those good deals. And just walking through the stores provides plenty of inspiration and ideas.

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Ask friends and family to help you
I admit this one’s a little bit hard because some of us don’t love asking people to do things for us or don’t have family and friends who are always ready to help. But if you can, don’t be afraid to ask. Most likely, they’ll be honored to be a part of your wedding. I had my uncle’s band play at the reception, my cousin and uncle sing at the ceremony, my bridesmaids put together my flowers and designed my invitations, my mom printed all of our invitations and programs, my friend made my cakes, the list goes on. It was a team effort. But I much preferred working with my friends and family instead of wedding coordinators and vendors-It gave everything an intimate feel and saved money.

Do your wedding research
This may be time consuming, but if you want to save money it’ll be worth it. I looked at plenty of over-priced reception venues before finding the one we settled on, which I discovered on a caterer’s website. I looked into wholesale flowers and found I could order them very reasonably from the grocery store. It’s some extra work, but I was really happy with everything I found. Don’t be afraid to ask around for referrals and look into some more unconventional ideas–they may be just what you’re looking for.

Be yourself
My favorite comments about our wedding were the ones about how it was so “us.” It wasn’t an impersonal event that a wedding planner put together. It was clear that we carefully picked each detail and took the time to make it our own. And most of the time the reason it was so “us” is because we didn’t do what was typical. Just do what you think is fun.

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Use resources already at your disposal
Do you have anything sitting around in your house that could be used as decorations or craft supplies? Do your friends have left over wedding items you could borrow? Check around, there’s no need to buy everything brand new. Can you use a space in your church for the reception? Or maybe you have a friend with a big backyard. iPods make it easy to control your own music without having to pay a fortune. It’s likely there are lots of options waiting to be discovered.

So don’t let them tell you it can’t be done. You can plan a reasonably priced wedding that’s still classy and fun. And I’m sure this list doesn’t begin to cover all the wedding money-saving ideas out there.

Now it’s your turn: What money-saving ideas did you come up with when planning your wedding?