Save Money and still have a Dream Wedding – Part 1
You can have the wedding of your dreams and it doesn’t have to cost anything like the exorbitant ‘average wedding’ figures you see in the magazines. Slash your bill to as little as two or three thousand pounds, or less depending on your contacts and where you live. I followed these basic steps and saved myself a fortune and still had the wedding of my dreams.
Write it down
Get yourself a ‘wedding notebook’. Write down your idea of a perfect (for you) wedding. Write which parts of the wedding are most important to you. For some it might be the food, some the dress. Then list those that are least important, like cars, decoration, DJ at the party. When you are following these steps keep this list in mind and spend money where it really matters to you and cut back (just a little bit) on the things that matter less. You should also write down your budget, and guestimate prices as you go along. Add 10% to all of your guestimates – just to be on the safe side 
This article has gotten so large I have had to break it down into steps. I’ll publish one or two steps a day until we are finished. You should have a pretty comprehensive wedding plan in place by the end.
Here we go with Step 1…
Utilise Friends and Family
Get out that wedding notepad and write a list of family who can make or provide anything towards the wedding. For example, at my wedding my Dad provided the disco as he is a DJ. My Nan made my dress as she is a professional dress-maker.
Here’s a list in case you’re thinking no-one in your family could help. Also,don’t forget friends of friends, or your family’s contacts, it may not be free but you could get a good deal!
- Chaffeurs or people working in car hire
- Florists
- DJs and/or Sound Equipment Hire
- Hoteliers
- Jewellers
- Photographers
- Dress-makers
- Cake decoraters
- Kilt/Morning suit hire ie someone working in the business?
- Make-up artists, hairdressers, manicurists and beauty technicians
- Caterers
- Anyone who can provide champagne, gifts for attendants
- Other entertainment ie anyone who can pipe, plays in a band, a singer…or even kids entertainment, a clown, a magician.
This is a rough idea of what you are looking for. If you can’t think of any, write a list of your contacts and their professions. If nothing matches to what you need, ask them if they have any contacts who could help. I guarantee that eventually someone will know someone who could provide at least a couple of these services either for free if they are close family or at a discounted price.
I've been blogging for four years and write about anything and everything that takes my fancy.
Above is me with my beloved Ernie in Port Aventura and left with our love child in Florida.
Themocracy
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