Having a Dream Wedding on a Budget: Part 1, How to Avoid Debt.

Every girl wants to have the wedding of their dreams.  That is why the average cost for a wedding is around 20-30k.  That can be a down payment on a house.  Most people cannot afford that kind of debt and should avoid it at all costs.  It is becoming more and more common for the couple to pay for their wedding themselves.  Here are a few of the steps we took to avoid going into debt for my dream wedding. 

• Do the work yourself (at least some of it) – this is probably what saved us the most money for our wedding.  I did everything for our wedding.  We did not have a caterer, decorator, or coordinator.  By using lists and plans, everything was completed and the wedding went off without a hitch.  Now, it was a lot of work, but I don’t regret any of it.   
• Pick a day in the off season – this matters more than one would think.  Call some venues with multiple dates in mind, maybe one in September and then one in March.  See if there is a difference.  With some of the venues we called, there was over a thousand dollar difference between the dates.   
• Don’t get stuck on a specific color (shade/tone) – be open to having different shades of the same color(s).   If you only use one shade of one color, it will be more time consuming and might cost more to have that specific shade and color.  Think of it as a garden.  There are more options and it will be just as beautiful.   

• Find a venue with everything you need – look for a venue that has the tables, chairs, sound system, linens, kitchen, or anything else you might need.  It doesn’t need to have everything, but try to find one that meets your needs and helps to ease the cost.  Renting chairs, tables, tents, and everything else is more than expensive, it is also exhausting to coordinate.  We chose a venue that provided the chairs, tables, sound system and a beautiful setting.  Plus, they set up the chairs and tables for the wedding/food/reception and broke them down.  This was one thing that I was able to check off my list of things to worry about. 
• Search and shop – search EVERYWHERE for anything that you might need.  Make lists, spreadsheets of the budget for the items, and start looking.  The internet is a beautiful thing.  Linens for chairs can start at 1 dollar a piece.  If you don’t like it, send it back.  Start looking in advance for everything.  My wedding was planned 2 weeks after I was engaged.  I couldn’t help myself, I am a planner.  Finding great products at great prices is fantastic and you can always sell them after!  

These are just a few of the steps you can take to help cut the costs on having a great day!