Wedding Planning Ideas

There are two ways to plan a Low Budget Wedding. First, let’s look at the less desirable way. You could have a do it yourself style wedding. There are plenty of nickel and dime ways that you can save on the cost of your wedding.

• Invite fewer guests
• email the invitations
• You could buy a used wedding dress and your bridesmaids, (if you have more than one), could do the same
• You could make your own table decorations and wedding favors
• Bake your own cake
• Hold your wedding reception at home or at a friends house
• Have a ‘pot luck’ reception and let your guests bring the food
• Cut out the limousines and use taxis

Let’s face facts. This is not sounding like the wedding of your dreams, is it? Let’ look at plan B. Namely, to have the wedding that you always wanted but to get it at a price that you can afford. Can this be possible you ask. Yes it is, but you have to know what you are up against.

The wedding business is an business like any other and it is motivated by the bottom line. Everything associated with weddings has a premium added to the price. Turn ordinary flowers into wedding flowers and watch the price soar. When you see the price tag on a wedding dress, you wouldn’t believe what it actually cost to make it.

And then there are all the add ons that give the extra something your wedding day. At least, that’s their story. In reality, it is giving a healthy boost to their profits. All the wedding professionals have their techniques to extract the last dime out of you. No wonder the average cost of a wedding is now over $26,000, largely due to budget creep.

So do need to miss out on some the things that you would really have liked on your big day? No you don’t. You just need to know what you are up against so that you can turn the situation to your advantage. The inflated prices associated with weddings mean plenty of room for discounts. Especially now that times are hard. The wedding industry is struggling too.

With the right guidance, you can save 50% or more on almost every aspect of your wedding planning. Your Low Budget Wedding can still be the stylish affair that you always dreamed of, without breaking the bank. And you can decide whether you tell your friends how much it really cost. Discover how you can plan your special day without stress, using this easy, Low Budget Wedding planning guide.

When it comes to your wedding invitations, you probably know about how much of your wedding budget will be spent on them.  If you could spend even less without sacrificing style and quality, that extra money could be spent elsewhere on your wedding or saved for future use.

Steps to saving a little money on your wedding invitations do not have to be huge to be cost effective.  In fact, sometimes just planning ahead can save you both dollars and stress.

Of course, the most obvious step would be to trim down your guest list resulting in fewer invitations to order but that is not always practical when you have plenty of family and friends with whom to celebrate your special day. 

There are also many other ways to ease your wedding invitation budget: 

1.  Shop around to find that perfect style that fits your budget.  The Internet provides the convenience of shopping from your computer when it fits your schedule.

2.  Place your order early to prevent paying more for expedited shipping methods.  Last-minute pressure will also be eliminated by having plenty of time to assemble and address your invitations. 

3.  Be sure to order some extra invitations to allow for last-minute guests and to save a few for keepsakes.  It’s definitely cheaper to order more initially than to place an order for only a few invitations later.  Typically, the cost per invitation goes down as the quantity of your order increases.  If the option of ordering a few extra envelopes is offered, you may want to also do this to cover any addressing mistakes that could happen.

4.  Select cheap wedding invitations such as a classic single-panel card style that is simple yet elegant and tends to cost less per invitation, especially when ordered in quantity.

5.  Choose a seal and send wedding invitation.  This economical all-in-one design folds up and seals into its own self-mailing piece.  Without the double mailing envelopes, this style tends to cost less per invitation and eliminates the extra cost of response cards with return envelopes.  Instead, a response postcard is attached to the invitation and is included in the invitation price.  It is easily removed and mailed back by your guests .  Another benefit to this style is the postage savings since your guests are mailing back a postcard. 

6.  Be cautious of styles that are larger in size, consist of multiple layers, or include embellishments.  Their size and possible extra weight could increase the amount of postage required for mailing.

7.  When offered ink color choices, select black ink which is normally included in the invitation price.  There is an additional per-item-ordered cost for colored inks.  This means a separate ink charge for the invitations, response cards, reception cards, return address printing, etc., which can add up.

8.  If your invitation includes inner envelopes, skip the option of having them include a color lining since this will cost extra. 

9.  Include your reception information right on your invitation to eliminate the cost of a separate reception card (having less weight in the envelope might even save you from affixing extra postage).   If space allows, your dinner and reception details can be added on as extra lines aligned with the rest of your verse printing.  Some invitation styles allow the option of a corner copy – 3-4 lines that appear in the bottom left or right corner usually in a smaller sized font.  There may be a small extra charge for these lines.  Corner copy is not recommended for narrow or tea length styles. 

10.  Order your thank you or informal notes at the same time you place your wedding invitation order to avoid separate shipping costs and to eliminate the need to order them at a later time.  With most invitation styles these can be printed on matching paper.  

I hope you find some of these suggestions helpful if you are looking for ways to save a little money on your unique wedding invitations as every little bit helps.  Everyone has their own vision of how their invitations will look and only you know what you are willing to compromise on in fulfilling your dream.  Just remember that your invitations provide your guests with their first glance of your wedding.

A wedding day, especially for the bride is a day which they have been dreaming of for a long time, sometimes since childhood.  Although many people think of beautiful spring days and blossoms for a wedding, it is worth remembering the beauty of a winter wedding.Is there really anything more striking than vibrant colours against a unblemished snowy day?

A white, snowy winters day is like being given a white canvas on which to mark your perfect picture.  There is not more striking a contrast than a color against white.  There are a couple of difficulties associated with the winter wedding, primarily the cold.  This affects both the bridal party and the guests.  But this does also offer the extra opportunities of doing something differently, of having your wedding dress as the reception outfit and being about to enhance what you where for the actual marriage with wraps and capes.  A perfect winter scene is just waiting to be painted by you.

With the current availability of almost any flower you want at any time of the year, your wedding bouquet does not need to be limited by the time of year.  However, this does not mean that you will want to drift away from winter flowers for your perfect winter wedding bouquets.  If you choose flowers for your winter wedding bouquets which are not easily available, you could be building up a large florist bill, so consider all options before you make a decision. If you are choosing flowers not in season or not native your wedding location then you should cost you winter wedding bouquets carefully.  Remember to include any flower you wish to include in the winter wedding bouquets  for the flower girls or bridesmaids. 

Red roses are traditionally the flower of romance and winter wedding bouquets centered around red roses are striking against a white winters day.  If you wish to continue the winter theme in you winter wedding bouquets then you could choose a silver foliage to accompany the roses.  Possible foliage to enhance the roses of your winter wedding bouquets could be dusty miller, baby blue or silver dollar eucalyptus.

Equally if you chose to add a strong green you will find this striking and memorable, there is always the possibility of holly.

If you are planning your winter wedding bouquets on a bit of a budget, then it is certainly with considering a green bases bouquet.A green bouquet is not simply a bunch of leaves, it's a combination of leaves which are enhanced by sprigs of small flowers or blossoms, possibly highlighted with a carefully choosen ribbon.
Holiday Theme

Having a winter wedding doesn't mean that you need to compromise on your winter wedding bouquets.  If you can imagine it you can probably have it, it just comes down to budget.  Remember to allow plenty of time if you think that you may either need flowers shipped in especially or died to match a theme for the wedding.