Where to Begin to Have The Wedding of Your Dreams on a Budget

With the average cost of a wedding running anywhere from twenty to thirty thousand dollars, it’s enough to make a couple just forget the wedding ceremony altogether. A wedding should not empty your bank account. But, for many couples this is exactly what happens. The wedding industry is a billion dollar business and much of the money spent is not spent out of necessity, but out of emotion.

Many couples just don’t realize that it is possible to work with a low budget and still have a wedding that is every bit as elegant and beautiful as a more expensive one. One of the secrets to keeping your wedding budget under control is planning. By doing your research and planning smart you can take your emotions out of your wedding buying decisions. Using the following budget wedding tips will allow you to have a beautiful wedding and still have money in the bank.

So where should you start?

First of all, purchase an inexpensive binder and some of those clear plastic pockets to keep your planning organized. By keeping everything in this notebook, your planning and research will be more efficient and you won’t have to wonder what did I do with the name and phone number of that caterer I was going to call. You can also create a free inspiration board here to keep track of all the pictures of things you want to incorporate into your wedding.

Research, research, research. Did I mention you should research?

One of the first things you should do after becoming engaged is start your wedding education. By this I mean research any and everything to do with weddings. A cost effective place to start is your local public library. (Yes, I know you probably haven’t been there since you were in grade school, but it can be an excellent resource.)

Browse the selection of wedding related books at the library and check out a few to take home and study. While you are at the library, check out the periodical section, they may have bridal magazines that you can look through and if you find ideas you like make a copy of the page using the copy machine. Take the copies and file them in your research notebook.

Ask everyone you know for recommendations on wedding related vendors. This is a great way to find reliable caterers, photographers, florists and such, as your friends and family will be sure to tell you if they were happy with the services they received from these vendors. Pay attention to the answers and you will often find that certain vendors are recommended by several people.

Vendors that are frequently recommended are sure to do quality work, otherwise they wouldn’t be recommended so often. That is not to say that you shouldn’t look outside the recommendations you receive. You may find an excellent vendor that your circle of friends just haven’t heard of.

Once you have narrowed down your list and are ready to book vendors be sure to get everything in writing and file the paperwork in your wedding binder. Don’t make the mistake of leaving a vendor that you have decided to use, without a signed detailed contract in hand. You don’t want to find yourself at the last minute trying to replace a vendor because your wedding date is already booked. You would be surprised how often a bride thinks she has booked a vendor, but never signed a contract. You also don’t want any surprise charges. Make sure everything that you discuss is in the contract and that you have a copy.

If you want to have a low budget wedding that will make people think you spent a fortune, start your notebook and get busy with that research. The wedding of your dreams is within your budget.