Wedding days are one of the most important days of a couple’s life. They require a lot of time and consideration to make this day work out, but in order to make their dream day come true it’s going to cost a lot of money. The average wedding is recorded to be over $27,000.00, and we all know without a doubt; that’s a lot of dough. Every part of a wedding is going to cost you money, the invitations, food, decorations, guests, reservations, entertainment, the list is never ending! In the long run, we all want to save money, but what you don’t want is too save too much money and have yourself a lousy cheap day with plastic forks. So we at Piper Studios – Wedding Experts , have gathered information to help and guide you to recreate your wedding dreams into reality while saving some mad cash and having the best day of your life at the same time.

Firstly, sit and have a good chat with your partner. Determine the aspects of your wedding what’s important and what is not. After your priorities are set, set a maximum budget to spend on your wedding. Be specific, divide that maximum budget into categories for your wedding. For example, set a maximum budget for your cake, dress, invitations, catering, reception and so on. It’s always good to have a basic idea of what you are going to spend, instead of having a huge shocker realizing that your wedding bill is flying out of your roof. Your wedding is your special day, it’s always good to save money, but don’t be too cheap and have yourself a lousy and embarrassing day, nobody wants to go to a wedding to find themselves eating hamburgers and fries off plastic plates on a picnic table.

Invitations, are important but not crucial. You don’t need to have an amazing invitation letter with layers on end and fancy ribbons. Invitations are probably going to end up just gathering up dust on other peoples counters or just in the garbage period. So try your best to not make your invitation too fancy, the price of the ribbons and multiple layers will add up and not to mention the assembly fees. It’s just simply not worth spending so much money on something that’s going to end up going to someone else’s garbage. If you’re a designer of some sort, try making your own invitation through your computer. And to save even more money, e-mail your invitations instead of mailing it, saves you money from having to print all the invitations and postage. And as for the replies, have your guests email you back and RSVP online.

Your guest list, the number of guests at your wedding is probably what pulls all the weight of your wedding budget. Considering the fact that most places charge you on a per-person basis, the more you invite the more you will spend and the less you invite the more you will save, simple wedding physics. Take a good look at the guest list, do you really want to invite that classmate that you haven’t talked to in 5 years? Is it really necessary for you to invite all your co-workers and colleagues? Try keeping your guest list to those who are important to you like your family and your friends, those who have been in your life and will stay in it for years to come. In the long run, inviting less guests will save you a ton of money, you spend less on catering, decorations, invitations, and you will not require a giant hall and a 6 foot cake.

The wedding dress, even though you’re only going to wear it for one day that one day is going to last forever with you for years to come. You don’t want to look back on your special day only to remember the cheap used dress you found on the web. My advice is to take a day off and have fun with the girls, take a look at what’s in style, have fun try some dresses on, but be sure to leave your wallets at home. You’re going to find the dress that you absolutely love, always do your homework you might stumble across a even better dress at a better price. If you want to save some big bucks on your dress, try looking online on sites like eBay, there are all kinds of wedding dress clearances and going out of business sales where you will find dresses at incredibly low prices. Check out bridal salons for sample sales or factory outlet locations. Try getting a dress made for you, some seamstresses don’t charge much. Getting a gown made for you professionally can still save you money, as there will not be a designer name to pay for. Call any local fashion design classes. There may be a student looking for practical experience. Buy the fabric, and offer photos for her portfolio, and you both benefit!

Reservations, it is always important to pick the banquet hall and the church that you believe is the right one, and to complement these places nice decorations. When choosing your banquet hall and church, make sure you take a very good look at the guest list and make sure that the hall and church is not too big yet big enough. Bigger banquet halls are generally more expensive and leave a lot of open space making it look a bit more empty, while smaller halls on the other hand are generally cheaper and make your ceremony look more filled and live. As for the decorations, always ask yourself if it is necessary and make sure you are not over doing it. You don’t want your church and hall looking like a rainforest and yet at the same time you don’t want it to look like a 8 year olds birthday party. A good time to do your weddings may be during holidays such as Christmas, that way you’re hall and church may already be decorated.

Food, catering and drinks, every one needs to eat and without a doubt, it’s going to cost a lot to feed all of your guests. The best way to save money is to first trim down your guest list, the more guests you have the more food you need and the more it’s going to cost you. So try avoiding inviting everyone and only the people who are important to you. Another thing to do is ask your caterer, is it going to be more expensive to have a buffet or to serve a seated dinner. As for the drinks, consider having the bar only open during the cocktail hour and simply serve wine with the entrees with during dinner. Remember the bartenders and waiters pay are all coming out of your wallet.

Music, Photography and Video, your marriage happens only once in a lifetime. Make it enjoyable and memorable, music is a very important part of your wedding, it fills the atmosphere with enjoyable tunes and also gets the party started! You have many choices when it comes to music, you can hire a band, live entertainment or a disc jockey. But before you do hire one of these, do some research. What kind of music do and your partner like? What do your guests like? Also get some background information of the artists, ask for references or a portfolio. At your wedding there are going to be special moment and speeches that are going to me made, these moments are not ever going to happen again. Hiring a professional photographer and a cinematographer would be recommended to capture this day for you to keep forever. However, hiring the right photographer and a cinematographer can be quite expensive, so make sure you get some background information on them, get to know them, ask them for their past work, portfolio, references, these are the people who are going to capture your life moments that you are not ever going to be able to redo again.

Ask questions from friend and family on their experiences planning weddings as they will give you a great guide on all the details that go in to wedding planning. Feel free to call our wedding planners for more information on how to save on a bundle package from Piper Studios – Wedding Experts. Our studio package can include wedding photography, wedding video, wedding invitations and hiring a top wedding DJ Entertainment all in one bundled saving deal. Mention this article for extra savings. Coupon Code: “Rich bride poor Bride” for an extra free album with package bookings.
Good luck and most important enjoy the process of wedding planning this will be the greatest day/party of your lives. We love planning wedding and would be delighted to help with any questions that you may have on saving for your wedding services.
For more information visit Piper Studios or call 416-650-1868

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About the Author
Richard Emmanuel is an accomplished multimedia professional whose artistic talents and business savvy have propelled him to the forefront of the Canadian and international photography scenes. His father, Milan, an expert photographer first exposed Richard to the world of cameras, images and light. Richard’s future was destined from the moment he picked up his first camera, astonishing everyone with his inherent talent to capture the beauty of life one frame at a time.