How to Plan a Wedding on a Tight Budget

If you're planning a wedding soon and don't have all the funds you'd like to make every single detail of your special day expensive and lavish, there are plenty of things you can do to have a classy, beautiful wedding at a cost you can afford. From the cake to the dresses for the wedding party, there are solutions to planning a wedding on a tight budget that you and your mate should consider.

For starters, you should make sure that you are only paying for items or services that you have to pay for. If you have a family member or friend of the family who is a wedding coordinator, photographer, caterer or emcee, you'll want to ask for their services first before hiring a company or people you don't know to perform these services for you. Many times, your loved ones will not charge you for these services, and you can consider it a gift. However, be sure that you will be comfortable with the layout or menu that your family member suggests, and work with your loved one to come up with details you know you'll be satisfied with.

If you know you can do certain things yourself and won't get overwhelmed, this is a great way to stay within your wedding budget as well. If you and your friends or family members can make the wedding invitations, prepare some of the decorations or floral arrangements, or make the wedding cake, you will cut down on expenses tremendously. Try a few trial projects before you decide that you will do some of these things yourself, though; make a few invitations in the colors that you will use for your wedding to see if you like them, and have a cake tasting with your family to see if the wedding cakes a loved one prepares are good enough for your wedding. If not, be honest with yourself and get a little extra help, but hire someone who can guide you along in the process as opposed to someone who can perform the services for you, since this will usually be more affordable.

You can also stay within your wedding budget by planning ahead of time as much as you can. If you already know the location you want for your wedding, even if the ceremony is months away, reserve the space so that you won't have to pay extra for procrastinating. This goes for the wedding dress as well; if you know the style of dress you want, buy it as far in advance as you can, so that you can get the dress altered or hemmed if need be. If you wait until the last minute, you may have to pay for a dress you don't want, or you'll have to pay more for alterations.

Using minimum decorations for your wedding can help you stay within your budget as well. Two contrasting colors work well for decoration, and fresh flowers are always a plus, no matter what season the wedding is in. Simple touches such as ribbons or nice tablecloths can keep your expenses within the wedding budget, and you can even try making the centerpieces for the tables yourself, as well as the keepsakes.

Even if you enlist the help of a wedding planner, you will need to talk to him or her about your concerns with the wedding budget and how you want to make sure you don't exhaust your finances. Your wedding planner should be able to make sure that you are within your wedding budget while you're making plans, and that you have the wedding you and your partner have always dreamed of.