Six Cheap Wedding Ideas

In America, it is estimated that the wedding costs play roughly at around $27,000. If you would consider your practical side, that amount is gigantic enough. In these times when worldwide financial crisis is being experienced by everyone, wouldn't you think spending $27,000 on a wedding alone is an over-the-top venture already? Why would you spend $27,000 to have a gorgeous wedding celebration when you can have the same experience with cheap wedding ideas?

It is a common scenario wherein the couple splurges to really give a grand wedding experience for everybody to witness and celebrate with. But if you are going to be expensive on your wedding and you have nothing left after the celebration, don't you think it would be a little difficult to start with the new phase of your married life?

If you are so keen on having a grand, dream wedding but having a little issue on the budget, consider the following cheap wedding ideas below.

1. Do it off-peak. Traditionally, weddings fall on months of May to December; hence, wedding services and goods are normally pricey. Schedule your wedding then on the dates that fall on the months of January to April to avoid high costs. Cakes, wedding hosts, venues, and other wedding essentials are a lot cheaper than when you would avail them on the other months.

2. Keep your guests at the right number. Normally, wedding guests number to as much as more than 150. That means 150 for the food, 150 chairs, 150 invitation cards, 150 wedding favors and giveaways, so on and so forth. You don't have to do this. Keep the number of guests thin by sending invitations to people whom you are only close with and you will discover how much you can save by just doing this simple cheap wedding idea.

3. Don't hire a number of photographers. In this high-technology era, everyone can pretty much handle different high-end digital video-cameras, so why not have a relative or friend do the task? Surely, they would be more than glad to be of help to your wedding. Wedding photographers are always expensive, so cut them out of the expenses if you want to save hundreds, or even thousands, of dollars.

4. Pick inexpensive yet stylish wedding favors. There are many dollar-worth simple items which you can purchase for wedding favors or giveaways. Little, fashionable bags with colorful ties or ribbons with candies or chocolates are great ideas but won't give you headaches with the cost.

5. Simple and not-so tall wedding cake. Tall, extravagant wedding cakes are costly, we all know about that. Opt these out and choose a simple, short wedding cake. Focus on the design and style of the cake, and guests will still be wowed by the presentation.

6. Invitation cards. This is one of the most effective cheap wedding ideas that you will never ignore. People who are invited in a wedding don't particularly pay attention to the kind of invitation card given to them. They are more concerned on what dress and gift they would give to you, so don't be extravagant with the cards. Just make sure they have the complete wedding details including the list of venue, date and time, entourage, sponsors, and etc.

Things To Consider When Planning Your Catering For Your Wedding

Even when you have the venue sorted, the location decided, the dresses and suits in progress and the guest list almost completed, you still have to think about food and drink for the day.

Whenever you get lots of different people together for any occasion, you know that trying to offer them all something to eat and drink that they will all like is an unthankful task, but you still have to try. With different needs, requirements, desires and requests, you sometimes just have to try to do the best for everyone and simply hope for the best.

Below, we take a look at some of the things you really must consider when choosing the food for your wedding day.

Dietary Needs – Medical conditions can often decide what the sufferer is allowed to eat and drink, so it is vital that you find out if any of your guests have medical problems that affect their diet, including diabetes and various other conditions.

Allergies – Food allergies seem to be getting more and more common over the past few years, with the number of people allergic to nuts and dairy based products increasing rapidly. Make sure that you offer alternatives to people that suffer with these types of food allergies and try to make sure that all of your guests are aware if the food contains nuts before they sit down to eat, just in case they forgot to inform you.

Cost – As with all weddings, you will have a budget and its crucial you stick to it, because there will be loads of things that you could have but would leave you feeling a bit depressed after your wedding day when you look at your bank statement. Try to work out how many people are definitely coming and then decide on a price per head to feed them all, because this way you will know what is feasible and what is going to be outside of what you can realistically afford.

Variation – From 5 course sit down meals through to a buffet where people help themselves, there are so many choices and options which are often dictated by the persons budget and also the style or choice they are looking for. Some people have themed weddings in terms of food, with Chinese Buffets or American type offerings just to make the day a bit different, but you really do need to decide what you fancy and then see which venue will be prepared to offer it.

Type Of Service – Some venues will make you use their own catering facilities, menu and staff, whereas some venues will pretty much let you choose your food and how you want the meal to be served. You need to decide whether you want the meal to be served or if you are looking for a self service buffet type of occasion, which have definitely become more and more popular as the rough economic climate has taken hold.

Once you have decided what you want you can then go to your various choices of venues and explain to them your requirements. If you have pretty flexible requirements then you will have more choice, as some of the venues you pick you will be restricted to what they want you to have rather than what you want to have.

Cut Your Budget, Start From F&B

Cut Your Budget, Start From F&B - Replace the wedding cake with a stack of cup cake or a party is not the end of the week, are a few tips that you can possibly use to cut wedding costs. Here are tips to minimize the cost of starting from the Food & Beverages.

 

• Use a champagne toast at the wedding ceremony just for the couple alone. Guests can use any available drinks in their glasses. 
• Choose a small wedding cake for the cake ceremony. 
• Serving food in a buffet form is more efficient than sitting dinner. 
• Consider choosing fish and chicken instead of lobster or steak. 
• Use of food ingredients such as lobster or shrimp as an hors d'ouevres, rather than a main meal. 
• Plan a cocktail-style party outside of meal times, for example, starting at 13:30 or 14:00 and finished around 17:00, so you only need to provide snacks, rather than a full buffet. 
• Limit your selection of alcoholic beverages, wine and beer is enough to satisfy guests. 
• Be sure to get a price guarantee of Caterers, if at any time of the rise in food prices does not change the price agreed upon in accordance with the agreement. 
• Piles of bias into the cake snacks unique ideas wedding cake substitute.

Ideas for Planning a Beach Wedding Theme

Ideas for Planning a Beach Wedding Theme - Are you planning a beach wedding theme for your upcoming wedding? Not sure how to plan your wedding around this theme?

You don't have to get married on the beach to create a beautiful beach wedding theme. My nephew was married in Buffalo, NY in June. Not exactly a city with white sandy beaches but this was our hometown. He and his fiance had been living in California but married where the family was. He and his bride loved the beach so they tied a beach theme into their wedding even in the midst of downtown Buffalo. You can do this too!

When we arrived at the reception, every chair had a Hawaiian lei draped over one corner. The wedding cake had palm trees and beach scenes as you can see in the photo. Snow was also incorporated because they also love the mountains and snow (being in California you can be at the beach one day and in the mountains the next!) My sister, mother of the groom, had made this creation to match the bride and grooms styles. My sister was a professional cake decorator. You should be able to share your likes with your decorator and see what ideas they can come up with for your cake.

The flowers that you use to decorate your reception site can be tropical and your wedding favors can be beach themed or tropical to go along with your cake and create the right image for your theme. Your favors can incorporate palm tree designs, flip-flops, tropical flowers, shells, beach chairs, mini beach buckets with candies or simply create favors in the beach themed colors you may be using like aqua, sand color, white, etc.
So, when planning a beach wedding theme these are the things you want to focus on to help create your theme.

First of all, do you want to create a beach wedding theme at the wedding ceremony or just at the reception? Decide how much you want to incorporate it and then consider these things:

1. What is your theme? You have decided on beach wedding theme but do you want to focus on shell designs, flip-flops theme, tropical or a mixture? It is best to limit the theme to one or two main ideas.

2. Consider your flower types - tropical, palm branch greens, daisies for your bouquets and reception decorations. Talk to your florist about your theme.

3. Reception Decorations - table decorations, centerpieces, any hanging decorations. Will you be decorating your own reception venue? Check out the internet or your local party supply stores to see what you can find. Maybe you want a lighthouse beach theme. Search for things that focus on this area. If shells are what you have in mind, look for real shells to display around your cake table, head table and other areas in the reception area. Tie in tropical flowers and ferns or potted palm trees.

4. Wedding Favors - stick to the same theme you are using for your decorations. Don't veer off from the shell theme or whatever you decide on. Keep your theme consistent.

5. Attendants Gifts - you may even want to theme the gifts for your attendants to help give them lasting memories of your wedding
If you follow these basic ideas when planning a beach wedding theme and remember to relax and have fun your day should be perfect!

This article is brought to you by Beth Brawn, creator of www.perfect-wedding-ideas.com You can visit her website for many more beach theme wedding ideas.

Second Hand or Factory Outlet For Cheap Wedding Dresses

Second Hand or Factory Outlet For Cheap Wedding Dresses - We all like to save money and pick up at a bargain. From saving a few pounds at the local supermarket on a buy one get one free off, to hitting the end of season sales at your favorite department store or several thousand pounds off a shiny new car you've been saving up for. When you are planning your wedding it is likely that you and your partner are working to a fairly strict budget. Saving money where you can, getting discounts and special package deals is a priority as weddings don't come cheap!

Bridal wear can be an expensive purchase, especially when you factor in all the accessories you will need such as your lingerie, shoes, jewellery and headwear (tiaras, veils, fascinators). If you are looking to purchase a wedding gown cheaply you might think your options are limited to buying a second hand pre-loved dress from an auction site online. Maybe you've considered hunting down a vintage gown in your local charity shops or attending a sample wedding dress sale from a bridal boutique.

These are all options but your choice will be limited. Purchasing your dress this way may mean you have to settle for one they have in stock rather than making sure it is the dress of your dreams. You will then have the costs to have it dry cleaned and fitting costs which can prove pricey. This can be particularly true of vintage wedding gowns as not only were women's figures a different shape back then, they often received a lot of help from corsetry!

If you have seen some wedding dresses available to purchase on the internet at extremely low prices from the far east then think very wisely. Having heard many sad stories from devastated brides who have bought their gowns this way it appears they often are simply not worth the risk. The wedding gowns they ordered arrived damaged, the incorrect colour, the wrong style, and faulty. It is rare they resemble anything like the picture shown and are often a counterfeit copy.

As these companies have no refund or return policy these brides to be are left heartbroken without a dress and a dent in the wedding budget. Buying a wedding dress online is also a risk as you have no idea what it is going to look like on you. Different bodies look very different in wedding dresses and you have no idea if you're actually going to like it. Either way before you know it that bargain of a wedding dress has doubled if not tripled in price.

Another alternative way of purchasing a discount dress is to visit a factory outlet stocked with a vast array of wedding dresses. These warehouse type stores offer a huge selection of cheap wedding dresses at very competitive prices. Many of the gowns are brand new and have come direct from the manufacturer or designer. They could be a discontinued line, excess stock or a cancelled order. That dream gown of yours could even be a unique one off wedding dress design that only you and you alone will get to wear!

Planning A Wedding With A Limited Budget

Planning A Wedding With A Limited Budget  - Do you find yourself organizing a wedding on a modest budget? You may find it is usually not as difficult than you expect. Weddings are notoriously expensive but if you continue an eye on the cost, you'll be able to save a bundle.

This means that the first rule of thumb of planning a wedding with a limited budget is to have a note of all the things you spend or decide to spend. You might need to develop a spreadsheet on your laptop with all the current headings on the left, associated with a ballpark budget figure for each one that you can set at the moment, and then a closer estimate of the actual cost when you've information from caterers etc.

When you are planning a wedding on a small budget, remember that the only essential expense for a wedding is the marriage license. Anything further than that is what you choose to spend. It is matter of setting your priorities and deciding it is important to you.

Of course, most people will have at least a few wedding guests and offer them with a meal. If you are on a very tight budget, this could be done at somebody's house. But you will most likely have it catered by professionals.

Make sure you comparison shop to find who can supply a good tasty meal for a low cost, but don't forget that with catering you frequently get what you pay for. Explain to the caterers that you will be on a strict budget and ask for less costly menu options. Consider limiting the choice of alcoholic drinks, for instance by offering only wine and beer instead of a full bar.

Be ruthless with the guest list because this is the biggest cost of most weddings. Never feel obligated to invite everybody. In fact in most cases, the fewer people you invite, the less you will hurt anybody's feelings. If you cannot invite all of your work colleagues it may be best to invite none.

The wedding dress can be an expensive item so this is another thing you'll want to consider when you are planning a wedding on a small wedding budget. Does the gown have to be new? Would you consider hiring?
How about asking mothers, aunts and grandmothers whether anybody has an heirloom dress from their own wedding that could be tailored to fit the younger generation bride? A classic 1950s, 60s or 70s dress could be beautiful, and you can theme your wedding day around it.

Many other costs can be cut or avoided. Many people probably have twice as many flowers as they need at weddings, for instance. You don't need to provide expensive wedding mementos, centerpieces or have heavy printed invitations. You can make many of these things yourself or ask them to be made by friends when you are planning a wedding with a small budget.