IDEAS TO CUT WEDDING COSTS

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If you are stressing about the costs of your wedding, just remember, no one should start married life in debt, so try to cut costs where possible. Times are tough and everyone understands that – especially your friends and family who make up your wedding guests. Here are some ideas on how to cut some costs:

• Have a morning wedding. They tend to be less expensive than evening weddings in terms of food, entertainment and drinks.
• Instead of a 3-course meal, you can serve hors d’oeuvres and finger foods along with your wedding cake.
• Offer a cash bar, or put a cap on the open bar before it becomes a cash bar. You could even opt for no alcohol.
• Check your area for culinary arts or cooking schools, they may only charge the cost of the food and do the catering free.
• Ask close friends and family to cook a special dish for your reception.
• Do away with fancy linen tablecloths, china, and silverware. No one notices the finery these days anyway.
• Instead of hiring a band or DJ, you can hire a jukebox at half the price.
• If you want a band or DJ – check out the local college bands. Modern technology allows many students to have excellent music skills.
• Download music from the internet and save to MP3 player or CD. Give a techno savvy person a play list to follow of certain songs to be played at certain times. You can even give them a list ahead of time so they can download requested songs for you.
• Design your own invitations, seating lists, place cards etc. There are so many brilliant design and word-processing programmes that are available now to help you. Better yet, get a creative friend to design them for you.
• Put vases of fresh flowers on tables instead of arrangements done by a florist. You can even pick flowers from friends gardens etc.
• Have a more casual wedding on a beach or in a park, with picnic blankets, picnic baskets, fresh flowers, shells for decoration etc.
• Use your own imagination as much as possible and think of alternatives to using professional services. You could make up your own gift parcel or think of alternatives to flowers for the table centre piece.

Most importantly, don't allow the stress of costs to ruin your special day. Remember it is all about the contract of marriage and spending the rest of your life with your soul mate, not the wedding day!!

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