A wedding is perhaps the most expensive endeavor many people ever will face. Some couples get lucky and the bride's parents agree to pick up all the expenses, but more often, the bride and groom are footing at least a portion of the bill themselves.
Once you start adding up the cost of invitations, the reception location, flowers, entertainment, food, the cake and mementos for your guests, the numbers can be astronomical. According to Bride's Magazine, the average cost of a wedding today easily can exceed $19,000.
Since most couples have a tight budget for their special day, they end up improvising and don't necessarily achieve the memorable celebration they have dreamed about.
"A wedding is the most important day in a couple's life and should be a joyous event, not something that breaks the bank," said Loann Campbell, a wedding buyer who works with Michaels Arts and Crafts stores. "There's so much you can do on your own to save money."
Among the possibilities: you can create your own invitations, place cards, thank-you cards, decorations that to adorn the reception hall and cake, wedding favors and even the bride's veil.
Invitations
The style of your wedding invitation will set the tone of your wedding, letting guests know if it's an elegant, formal affair or a more casual gathering. According to "Bride's Millennium Report: Wedding Love & Money," you can expect to spend about $327 on invitations, announcements and thank-you notes if you purchase them from a custom printer.
Making them yourself will cost just a fraction of that amount and allow you to express your personal style.
Depending upon the type of paper you choose, including card stock, sheer vellum, or hand-made styles, you can get 50 invitations and response cards for as little as $30. The invitations can be hand-written, printed on your computer or stamped, eliminating the need for an expensive printing service.
Flowers and decorations
With the improved quality and wide variety available, silk flowers are a great option for brides today. Instead of ordering live flowers, which cost an average of $750 for a wedding, consider purchasing silk ones.
They won't wilt, don't need to be kept in water, and look great in everything from bridal bouquets to table centerpieces and cake decorations.
In addition to flowers, many brides choose to include candles on the tables. The softness and warmth of candlelight has an incredible effect on floral centerpieces while providing a soothing atmosphere for guests.
"Votives placed in plain glass candle holders can easily be etched with the couple's names and the wedding date, which makes for an inexpensive yet wonderful, personal touch," Campbell said.
Bride's gown and veil
One of the most frequently overlooked areas to save money is on the bride's wedding gown and veil. Check consignment shops for vintage or secondhand wedding gowns. If you find one there, you can expect to spend between $200 and $600 versus $800 minimum for a new dress.
Bridal veils can be created inexpensively with a minimum of time and effort. Combine a length of tulle with a beautiful tiara or headpiece to create a picture perfect bridal veil for one-tenth the retail cost of a premade veil.
Beads, silk floral picks and ribbon can be easily added to any veil, made or store bought, giving the bride the opportunity to include her own style.
"Making a bridal veil not only saves money but also gives you the chance to design the perfect complement to your dress," Campbell added.
Mementos for party guests
It is customary for the bride and groom to leave small tokens of appreciation on each table for their guests. This is another place where the bride can add her own personal touch.
Among the more popular do-it-yourself favors: handmade soap nicely wrapped in tulle and tied with ribbon, etched champagne glasses, embossed candles and reusable picture frames, which can be personalized with a removable photo of the bride and groom, or used to hold place cards.
Keeping memories alive
The wedding day is the culmination of months spent researching, planning and scheduling. Brides not only pour their heart and soul, but also a little blood, sweat and tears into creating the event they hope to remember for a lifetime. Wedding planners agree that photography is one area of your wedding where quality should come before budget.
Photographers capture unique, memorable moments on film, giving the bride and groom and their family keepsakes of the momentous celebration. When it comes time to preserve all the memories of your special day, consider custom framing.
Custom framing offers many benefits over traditional store-bought frames, such as a wider variety of mattes, glass and frames, as well as conservation glass and acid-free mattes if you choose. These custom details will seal your wedding photographs from moisture and prevent yellowing over time.
To ensure that your photos are preserved appropriately, select a certified custom framer to handle your treasures. In addition to ensuring your photos are handled appropriately, certified framers also can help you select from an extensive selection of innovative frames and mattes, to help you create the perfect wedding masterpiece.
One more way to capture all of the important moments of the wedding day is to create a personalized scrapbook of the event. Scrapbooking is a unique way to capture not only the pictures from the wedding but also lets the bride preserve the feelings and emotions from her special day, utilizing handmade papers, decorative details and the use of handwritten journaling.
-- ARA Content
