{"id":865,"date":"2016-09-14T21:11:29","date_gmt":"2016-09-14T21:11:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/weddingbranch.co.uk\/news\/?p=865"},"modified":"2016-08-28T21:13:29","modified_gmt":"2016-08-28T21:13:29","slug":"how-to-save-and-what-to-splurge-on","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/weddingbranch.co.uk\/news\/how-to-save-and-what-to-splurge-on\/","title":{"rendered":"How to save, and what to splurge on"},"content":{"rendered":"

Your wedding day should reflect your style, your personality and of course be the best it can possibly be for your budget.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Your date<\/span><\/p>\n

Choose a week day or an off-season date and you might find that everything is that bit cheaper, and that suppliers are more open to offers. We\u2019re not suggesting that you barter, but it might be worth simply asking your preferred suppliers if they offer a reduced rate on your chosen date. You never know! It\u2019s fair to say that Fridays have joined Saturdays as premium spots, given that couples and guests like to make a long weekend of their celebrations, but you\u2019ll definitely find much better availability and probably better prices for an early-week, early-year celebration.<\/span><\/p>\n

Your venue<\/span><\/p>\n

The best wedding venues<\/a> will offer flexible packages, with price ranges to reflect what they can offer. To secure your venue on an exclusive use basis will always attract the highest prices, but what about if you were more flexible in your approach? For example, if you chose to have your wedding reception at your favourite restaurant (which will keep costs down in itself), would you be willing to share the space with normal paying customers? Or perhaps you might consider holding your reception somewhere that is open as usual during the day? If the venue can take bookings as normal, it\u2019s going to keep costs down. That said, if you do choose to get married and have your reception in the same place, guests won\u2019t need to be transported, you might be able to stay there too keeping accommodation prices down\u2026 it\u2019s all in the planning, which includes negotiation with your venue.<\/span><\/p>\n

Your guest list<\/span><\/p>\n

We all know that the big cost of any wedding is in feeding your guests. Your venue will talk about a \u2018per head\u2019 cost. There is absolutely no shame in making it clear to everyone from the start (including your parents and anyone else who thinks that they are going to be allocated invitations to give out!) that you are having a small do. Far better to feed fewer guests with an amazing meal that they will remember than lots of guests with food chosen purely because it was the cheapest option. The general rule\u00a0is that if both of you haven\u2019t met someone, they shouldn\u2019t be on the list, but actually by eliminating big groups like \u2018colleagues\u2019 and \u2018cousins\u2019 and standing firm on your decision, this will make a huge difference. Manage expectations from the start. Tell everyone at work that you\u2019re really sorry but, much as you would love to invite everyone, you\u2019re on a really tight budget (and you hope they understand?). Enlist the help of a friendly relative to spread the word that the wedding is small and intimate, but the family is big so not to expect \u2013 or demand \u2013 an invitation.<\/span><\/p>\n

Your dress<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s never recommended that you save on your dress! Buying your wedding dress online, or from an imitation dress site, or from anyone that tells you that they can copy a designer dress for a fraction of the price is tantamount to disaster! There have been oh-so many stories of devastated brides who took a risk and it didn\u2019t pay off. Your wedding dress is an investment, something that you will look back on for the rest of your life. You need to get it right, and the only way you can do that is by buying from a bona fide bridal boutique. Good boutiques will work with you and your budget to make sure that you are happy and comfortable with your choice, and show you that you don\u2019t have to re-mortgage to get the dress of your dreams.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Your bridesmaids<\/span><\/p>\n

Do you even need bridesmaids?! Well, yes, of course you do, and it makes sense that you want them to look right, happy and comfortable, too. Bridesmaid dresses are best bought from proper bridal shops too, and there are many options available, but once again, it\u2019s not worth breaking the bank over. Again, it\u2019s about managing your girls\u2019 expectations. If they don\u2019t understand that you are on budget, are they the right person to be your bridesmaid at all? Also, don\u2019t get carried away and have your 15 closest friends\u2026 Instead, you should stick to the few that have always been there for you, through the good times and the bad. They are also supposed to offer practical help and support, so think it through carefully!<\/span><\/p>\n

Your flowers<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s another thing that you need to fork out for, so get a professional who can interpret your style and work with your budget. That said, there are clever ways with flowers\u2026 They can be moved, for example \u2013 church flowers can appear again in the evening; bridesmaid bouquets can form table centres \u2013 the possibilities are endless. You could even enlist the help of the church flower team, or speak to the venue about sharing the costs, maybe with another event or wedding. There are some incredible silk flower options around \u2013 it might be that your out-of-season peonies are better value in silk, for example. Talking of peonies, did you know that they are on average five times more expensive than roses? You should always buy flowers that are in season.<\/span><\/p>\n

Your photographer<\/span><\/p>\n

Saving money by hiring someone cheap, or by relying on friends who take good photos will not work. We\u2019re sorry, but you simply can\u2019t take a risk, or rely on, anyone else other than a professional photographer who has a wealth of wedding experience. Taking quality photographs of you on your big day is not the same as taking Facebook-worthy selfies.<\/span><\/p>\n

Your reception<\/span><\/p>\n

Of course your best budget bet would be to choose a venue that doesn\u2019t need much decoration, or that already has a huge stock of items you can make use of to decorate. Or you might have some friends who are really good at making things, all of which would keep your costs low. Once you have decided on your theme, you can start to stock up \u2013 each shopping trip could include candles, or confetti, or fairy lights. Start a wedding cupboard, and you will be surprised how quickly it builds up! The sales are always good, too, even if your wedding seems like a long way away. And of course you might find that if you get married in December, for example, your venue will be decorated well anyway.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Your wedding day should reflect your style, your personality and of course be the best it can possibly be for your budget.\u00a0 Your date Choose a week day or an off-season date and you might find that everything is that … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[302,271,269,319,286,299],"tags":[317,275,352,268,266],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/weddingbranch.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/865"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/weddingbranch.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/weddingbranch.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/weddingbranch.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/weddingbranch.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=865"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/weddingbranch.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/865\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":867,"href":"https:\/\/weddingbranch.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/865\/revisions\/867"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/weddingbranch.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=865"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/weddingbranch.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=865"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/weddingbranch.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=865"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}