MONEY SAVING TIPS

The money saving tips outlined below will help you if you are struggling to make ends meet or are looking for ways to save money in one area and allocate it elsewhere. These and other non-financial hints and tips are scattered around the site to help you to save money and add special touches to your Big Day.

• Sometimes, certain wedding venues and other wedding services offer cheaper ‘off-peak’ rates for non-Saturday weddings – if you don’t mind getting hitched in the middle of the week this could save you loads.
   
• Think long and hard about guest numbers and work out the cost per head. You may find that by not inviting your neighbour to the Service and Reception, you can actually afford to invite the whole street to the 'evening do'!
   
• Make your own stationery with one of the professional software packages readily available these days, or alternatively visit your local craft shop and purchase all the materials you need to add that personal touch.
   
• If you are getting married in Church, at certain times of year the church will be full of floral arrangements for a special occasion (harvest festival, Easter etc.). A small contribution to the church may enable you to nudge them in the direction of a particular colour scheme and save hundreds of pounds.
   
• Certain outlets and shops will offer bulk discounts if you buy multiple items from them – this may be the case with the Brides and Bridesmaid dresses for example, so shop around and look for discounts.
   
• Ladies, rather than going for an expensive hair and beauty trial, why not take advantage of one of those stands that you normally walk straight past in the cosmetic section of a department store? They typically offer a free consultation and remember, you don’t have to buy anything!

• Alcohol and drinks packages can be expensive, and do you really want everyone to be hammered by the time of the desert? Sure it is nice to offer everyone free drinks, but don’t go overboard – perhaps even offer free soft drinks to encourage non-alcoholic drinks choices.
   
• Use the internet. Even if you are sceptical about buying on-line, a number of high-street shops will price match, so spend some time browsing the web.
   
• Certain venues will offer ‘corkage’ whereby you can provide your own wine and champagne. A few bottles of Mumm Champagne bought from duty free and ‘corked’ at the venue will be much, much cheaper than the same number of bottles bought directly from the Reception host.
   
• Don’t buy ‘Wedding’ things. Wedding stationery, Brides shoes, disposable Wedding cameras and much more have far cheaper non-Wedding alternatives that can save you a packet.
   
• Cut down on your catering bill by limiting the number of courses. On a hot, summer afternoon in the middle of July, do your guests really want to be muching their way through six courses, or would three be more suitable (and of course, cheaper!)
   
• Wedding stationery that weighs less, will also cost less to post out!
   
• Give your guests disposable cameras and collect them in after the day. When processed these can provide a beautiful, cost effective solution to a professional photographer or alternatively allow you to choose a cheaper professional package with less images and supplement them with ones taken by your guests.

• Get a friend or relative to video the day – if you’re lucky, they will have some good computer skills and access to use one of the many high-quality video editing software packages out there, and produce a brilliant, cost effective option to an expensive videographer.
   
• A greater number of (cheaper) balloons and decorations will reduce the number of (more expensive) flowers that you need.
   
• Hire artificial flowers rather than buying more-expensive real ones.
   
• Wedding cake can act as an ideal desert - do you really need both the cheesecake and the spice cake with white icing?

We plan to expand the list of money saving tips continually – if you have any that you believe would benefit others and would like to help, please let us know. Alternatively, check out the various sections of the Info & Ideas zone - many have money saving tips of their own and can help you to trim costs all around.

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Recommended Reading

For those of you wanting to find out more, we've a whole host of other wedding planning articles on our site packed full of expert information and helpful advice, not to mention our online wedding directory that's filled with wedding planners, toastmasters and more.