Budget Busters

I need to decrease my budget for...

So, you bought the dress of your dreams, but now you have to cut your budget for flowers! These types of things happen. Budgets can change during your wedding planning process. You may decide to splurge on one aspect of your wedding, but that money has to come from some other part of your budget! Here are ways to cut your budget for certain parts of your wedding so you can keep costs down but still have a beautiful wedding!

Flowers

Ok, so the food and your dress went a little over budget...spend a little less on flowers!

Here are some cost effective ideas...

Try less expensive flowers

Baby's breath is a fairly inexpensive flower that can make a BIG statement. Look at those centerpieces! Baby's breath is great because it creates volume and creates the look of a large, full arrangement! It can also be used for bridesmaid's bouquets...simple but still so cute!

Reuse your bridesmaid's bouquets

Ok, so we have talked about this before. Bridesmaid's bouquets only really get used in the ceremony, why not get more bang for your buck? Put your bridesmaid's bouquets in vases for easy, gorgeous centerpieces!

Less is more

Why not simplify the use of flowers in your wedding? There are so many ways to do this! 

Have your bridesmaids each hold one simple flower tied in a ribbon

Choose centerpieces that have few flowers...or no flowers at all!

Food

A seated dinner is often pricey. Why not do a simple buffet? That way you can save on servers and food in general!

Instead of having a huge cocktail hour buffet, have a few passed appetizers! No need to do anything too fancy- all your guests need is a little snack. Skip the expensive stuff!

Drinks

Having an open bar can be expensive. However, a cash bar is often very inconvenient for your guests. Instead of having a full bar, just serve wine and beer! That way, guests have the option of free alcohol, but you don't have to pay for hard liquor! You could even use a small bottle of wine as a way for guests to find their seat. Put the guests' names on the bottles along with table number, and as they walk into the reception they can grab their bottle. That way, each couple or group has their own wine to drink throughout the night.

Your Gown...Heaven Forbid!

Ok, relax. It's not the worst thing in the world. If you must, there are many boutiques that carry more affordable wedding gowns. 

Still NEED that designer gown? Here's a little secret! 

http://www.preownedweddingdresses.com

Used wedding dresses! Ok it's not as bad as it sounds. Honestly, the dress will only have been worn once for a few hours and most brides will have the dress cleaned before selling it on sites like this. 

Many of the women on this site never even wore the gown! Some gowns were never worn due to a cancelled wedding (ouch), finding another dress, you name it! Also, if someone gets divorced, do they really want to keep that gown? Nope...why not sell it?

The site listed above is great. You can search for gowns by designer so you can find your dream dress! There are so many gowns for sale on here you will definitely be able to find your size too!

Gives a whole new meaning to "something borrowed"! And who is gonna know??