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You have booked the church or registry office, the reception venue is organised, now the real work begins.
Wedding magazines are a great source of inspiration, full of ideas, suppliers, checklists and suggestions, but don't get too carried away. I am going to be unpopular now and bring you down to earth with a thud - have a budget. You want the perfect day but you don't need to spend ten's of thousands of pounds to do it, especially if you don't have that sort of money. It's only one day so why run up a massive credit card bill and spend the next two years paying it off instead of enjoying married life.
Another tip is to try and keep things in perspective. When you start to panic about the centrepieces being beige instead of ivory take a step back - its unlikey your guests will even notice.
You don't have to compare or compete with your friends or family's weddings, although it is easy to get swept along with everything. Your best friend's wedding was amazing and cost £20,000 - but what was it that made it amazing in your eyes, write down a list. Was it the food? The venue? This way you will realise what is important to you for your wedding day.
For me what really stands out at a wedding are the little touches, the way that the bride and groom have personalised things. This doesn't mean confetti in their initials or monogrammed napkins, it means pulling together with family and friends and making name place cards or coming up with your own centrepieces, putting something other than money into your wedding, this will mean more to both of you and your guests will notice.
Here are some ways to reduce the cost of a wedding without reducing the overall effect:
- Have a later wedding - this means that you will only have to put on a wedding breakfast and can avoid the cost of an evening buffet. If you have evening guests you don't have to feed them, they have probably already eaten anyway and you will do them a favour my not making them over-eat.
- Marry off peak - the majority of weddings take place on a Saturday between May and October. If you get married outside this peak season or mid week you will be sure to save a few pennies.
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Borrow a friend's car for the wedding car. If you know anyone with a half decent car then ask if they don't mind driving you.
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Reduce the number of bridesmaids as their outfits can be expensive or alternatively don't buy 'bridesmaids' dresses buy dresses from the highstreet.
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Have a friend that is good with make-up to do your make-up on the day, they'll know what you normally like and you can be brutally honest with them if you dislike it. The other bonus is that you can have your friends over for some drinks prior to the wedding for a practice session.
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Don't clutter the tables with centrepieces, favors and name place cards because once their drinks and food have arrived they wont have room to pass the salt. I realise that a vase or bowl filled with petals and candles looks very pretty but what are you going to do with 12 vases or bowls at the end of the night?
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Don't feel compelled to have welcome drinks, or wine on the table, just make sure the bar is open at the same time as your party arrives.
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To save pennies on the wedding photopgrahy choose a company which provides you with a disc of photographs after the big day rather than an album several months later. This way you can get your hands on the photographs sooner, can print copies out for your friends and family and the overall cost will work out much cheaper.
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Supermarkets now make wedding cakes to order so carefully consider if a handmade six tier fruit cake is really worth the extra expense?
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If you have an ounce of creative talent, why not consider making your own invites either from scratch or using a wedding invite kit. Search for invite ideas or kits online.
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You'd be surprised at how much wedding rings can be on the high street so try shopping online, they offer inscription services and a free 30 day trial. I had my ring made to fit around a more unusual shaped engagement ring at a fraction of the cost, try http://www.weddingrings-direct.com/
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Additional guests cost money so carefull consider who you invite and ditch any 'plus ones' you have never met.
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If you time it right there are plenty of bargain to be had when it comes to wedding dress shopping (during sales season) and you'll be sure to snap up a great deal. If you don't mind adapting a second hand dress try visiting charity shops, auction websites and sales sites for a suitable dress.
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Cut back on your flower bill by using more greenery in your bouquet and decorations.
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