How To Save Money When Planning Your Dream Wedding

One of the biggest concerns for couples planning their weddings today is how to budget one of the most expensive days of their lives without compromising on their vision of a dream wedding.  According to Wikipedia, the average cost of a wedding in the United States in 2011 was $25,630, the majority of which is spent on the wedding reception.  Once you start talking to vendors it’s easy to see the cost of your wedding going up and up, but taking a few simple steps can significantly lower the amount you will spend on your wedding without compromising on your wedding vision.

There are many great websites on the internet that let you review and compare the profiles of different vendors to get a better sense of your options and an average price point for different types of services.  The more vendors you contact, the more informed of a decision you can make when booking a vendor’s services.  By researching a large amount of vendors, you will also have a larger selection of vendors to choose from and will more likely find a vendor that meets both your budget and your wedding vision.

It is very important to be open about your budget with your vendor.  Often, a vendor will work with you to customize the package they are offering you to meet your price point.

Here are a few tips on how to save money on your big day:

• Talk to at least ten companies for each type of vendor you need.Searching through an online wedding directory lets you easily compare and contact vendors whose services you need.  By talking to many vendors, you will have an idea of the average cost you should be paying for each service.  This will give you confidence when negotiating the terms with your vendors that you are getting the best services for your budget.

                                 

• Negotiate the terms of the packages with vendors.  Often the packages offered by a vendor may not be exactly what you need for your wedding, so it’s important to ask vendors if they can substitute certain services to meet your needs.  For example, a catering company may include dessert as part of their package.  But if you are having the wedding cake for desert, ask the catering company to include extra hors d’oeuvre or upgrade your entrée instead.  This will prevent you from spending money on services that you do not need without incurring any additional costs.

• Ask vendors if they offer additional services or can recommend other vendors.Many Wedding Planners double as a Florist, or catering companies have relationships with bakeries and will even pick up the cake for you.  Vendors often give discounts when they are referred and this can result in a significant difference in your price.

• Understand how you are being charged for various services.  Different types of vendors charge their clients in different ways.  For example, a wedding cake bakery may charge based on the number of guests at your reception, while a DJ or videographer may bill you for number of hours they work.  By understanding exactly what you are paying for with each vendor, you can adjust certain factors to minimize the cost.

• Prioritize your wedding wants and needs.  There are always going to be certain aspects of the wedding that you want to splurge on, whether it be an amazing location or an awesome band to keep your guests dancing all night long.  Before you start planning, discuss to which vendors you want to allocate more of your budget and which vendors you are willing to compromise on. 

                            

                  

• Stick to your wedding vision, but be open to ideas.  It is easy to see something you want to copy in a wedding magazine, but is way out of your budget.  Always share any ideas you have with your vendors.  Since they are the weddings pros, they should have a lot of good ideas about how to emulate a similar style or concept that will fit your budget.

• Create a wedding budget tracker.  Online wedding websites often have a budget tracker tool that allows you to enter your total wedding budget and allocate estimated amounts to various categories you will be spending money on.  You can also enter what you actually spend and see the difference between how much you estimated to spend on each aspect of your wedding, and what you are actually spending.  This is a great way to stay on track and organized about your wedding budget.

It’s easy to get overwhelmed when you start planning your wedding, but doing some research and comparing all your options will keep you on track and on budget without compromising your dream wedding vision.