Weddings can be expensive, so any way you can cut costs will help you to afford the special “must have” parts of your day.  Be it your dream venue, dress, photography package or just those few extra people to share you day.  I am not suggesting that you do ALL the items listed, unless you are on a very tight budget, but pick maybe one or two that aren’t as important to you, that you can compromise on, to allow you to spend your budget on the special things that ARE important to you.Here are 10 tips and ideas that might be helpful.

Top Tip 1: FLOWERS

If you have a garden, grow and pick wild flowers that will blossom around the time of your wedding.  These can be arranged into a simple hand-tied bouquet.

Top Tip 2: DRESS

Why not help a charity at the same time as picking a stunning dress?  Some Oxfam shops have a bridal department with a large range of styles, shapes and sizes of wedding dresses.  This is the perfect place for lovers of vintage style dresses, and they are a fraction of the cost of a brand new dress.  I have a couple of friends and clients who purchased 2 dresses from their local Oxfam shop, to wear on their big day, one for the day and one for the evening.If you don’t like the idea of a second hand dress, look for end of season sales (especially if your wedding is a couple of years away).  The downside of an off the peg dress is any size changes, you may well find that your weight will fluctuate in the run up to your wedding.  Make sure that your dress can be altered if required.

Top Tip 3: TABLE DECORATIONS

E-bay is an excellent place to find a bargain when out comes to decorations, as is facebook market place, Gumtree or Etsy.  If you have a creative nature, then you could purchase items and turn them into interesting centrepieces. This is what I did for our wedding.  I bought vases, artificial flowers, stones and floating candles to create our evening centrepieces.  For the wedding breakfast, we used the bridesmaid’s bouquets to decorate each table. Saving on this allowed us to spend more money on a photographer, which was very important to us.

Top Tip 4: WEDDING CAKE

Do you have a friend who is a Great British Bake Off wannabe?  Ask if they would be willing to make a cake or cupcakes for your wedding.

Top Tip 5: CAR

Do any of your friends or family have a ‘posh’ car that could be borrowed to transport you to your wedding venue? Just purchase some ribbon in your wedding colours and attach it to the car and you're all set.

Top Tip 6: HAIR & MAKE UP

If you have a friend who is great at doing hair and make-up, ask if they would be willing to help you not he morning of the wedding, but be sure to practice before hand.  Alternatively if you are happy to do so, do you own hair and make up.

Top Tip 7: NUMBER OF GUESTS

Cut the number of people that you invite.  One of the biggest expenses is catering, therefore if you invite less guests to your wedding, your costs will be less.  Don’t fall into the trap of inviting acquaintances whom you rarely see - stick to close friends and family.

Top Tip 8: BOOK A MIDWEEK/OFF SEASON WEDDING

Alternatively booking a midweek wedding can cut the costs, as some venues and suppliers offer a discounted price for Monday to Thursday weddings.  This will also usually cut the number of people who are able to attend, as they may not be able to take time off work.

Top Tip 9: GIFT LIST VOUCHERS

Ask your suppliers if they can provide gift vouchers that can be added to your gift list registry.  This will allow you to upgrade your wedding package or afford the post wedding items that you would love, such as a honeymoon, or wedding album.

Top Tip 10: WEDDING STATIONERY

Save the dates or invitations could be emailed, saving postage as well as a physical paper item.  If you feel this isn’t personal enough, then you could try creating your own cards.  Invitations weren’t high on our list of ‘must haves’ for our wedding, so I designed and printed all our wedding stationery - save the dates, invitations, tables names, seating plan and place names. We were then able to invite more of our friends to the wedding as we saved money on this.And remember if you choose any DIY options, then your wedding has been SELF-CREATED!!

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