Budget busting tips for planning your ultimate wedding
You’re engaged! Congratulations! But now the task of planning a wedding looms, and for some couples it can be quite stressful. Between choosing a venue, whom to make a part of your wedding party, the seating plan and everything in between, keeping the budget in check can go from exciting to daunting very quickly, but not if you follow these simple tips.
“Finalising your budget is a crucial first step,” says Granny Mouse Country House & Spa Banqueting Manger, Veronica Sookdin, “as there are so many options available to bridal couples these days, and some options can come at exorbitant costs, so you need to know where to draw the line between your budget, and nice-to-have items. And once the budget has been finalised, you need to stick to it!”
Soodkin offers a number of handy suggestions to make the planning easier and less stressful, including:
- Weekday weddings: Look at the option of having your wedding during the week, as venues offer lower rates during weekday periods, and this may even cut down on the number of guests.
- Ditch the favours: You don’t really need to provide table favours to guests, and leaving this out, helps keep the costs in check.
- Be frugal with the florals: Keep a close eye on how much floral detail you really need, as large floral arrangements can become costly very quickly, so try and re-use arrangements wherever you can, and look into using single vases with orchids or a Protea as a statement piece. This often adds an air of elegance to your wedding.
- Don’t do desserts: Do you really need a dessert option, or can your wedding cake double as the dessert? This is a simple way of keeping the costs down, or opt for something fun like cupcakes or donuts as your dessert option. Most people don’t even make it to the dessert table, as the party has usually started by then.
- Use rice not confetti: Many wedding venues in natural environments don’t allow confetti, but rose petals are costly, so make use of rice. Tossing riceat the end of the ceremony is meant to symbolize rain, which is said to be a sign of prosperity, fertility and good fortune. And it won’t break the budget.
By just using some of these simple cost-cutting measures, you’ll be able to focus the budget on the things that really matter on your big day.
