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Help! I’m Over Budget

Never fear: Learn how to balance your dreams with your bank account now! (expert advice)

photo by Union Photography

$10 here; $20 there...it doesn't seem like much until you take a look at your wedding planner and realize - you're way over budget. Don't stress too much! Did you know that less than 20% of newly married couples actually stay within their budget? So first, take comfort in the fact that you're not alone.

More importantly, understand that it's really not that hard to shave a few dollars here and there to make your wedding more affordable, it's not too late - and you don't have to sacrifice the little details you've been dreaming about to do it!

What's Most Important?

We want you to take a minute to write down the 5 highest-priority elements of your wedding. Many couples put a lot of value on choosing the right rings; the perfect wedding dress (within reason) is a must for lots of brides-to-be; the wedding cake also deserves its share in the budget battle. Consider the parts of your special day that are most important to you and your fiancé - whether it's an exotic honeymoon or high-quality photos - and jot down the top five.

Balancing Dreams with Bank Accounts

There are simple ways to save money on every detail of your wedding. Look over your list of priorities, open up your budget planner, and use a few of these ideas to stay within budget:

The date. Unless you have your heart set on a specific wedding date, opt for a Friday night or Saturday afternoon event rather than Saturday evening. Venues may also offer reduced rates for morning or brunch gatherings. Avoid peak seasons to reduce expenses as well.
The flowers. Professional florists can be a real budget-drainer, especially if you want lots of flowers. Leave your bridal bouquet to the high-end florist, but check with local markets, grocers, and super stores for corsages and other arrangements you need.
The cake. Even if the wedding cake is on your list of priorities and your guest list is enormous, you can save money on it. It's quite common for modern couples to serve their guests a less expensive sheet cake from the kitchen to limit the size (and cost) of an elaborate wedding cake.
Food and drink. Morning or afternoon wedding receptions offer flexibility, as well as opportunities to cut costs. Brunch buffets or finger foods and sweets are much more affordable than a full-course gourmet dinner. A barbecue may complement an outdoor event. You can also enlist the help of friends and relatives to provide your own delicacies for the reception and save tremendously.

You don't have to spend the down payment for your new house on your wedding! If it's not on your Top 5, don't splurge for the best. Once you've said ‘I do', the memory of your special day will never be less than perfect - whether you're over budget or under.

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moochette

02/06/2012 at 10:19 am

Yea, we are paying for our own wedding and there is no room for going over cuz if that happens we may not be able to pay our regular bills! We are doing this with our tax refund and I'm getting married in May so its gonna be a mad rush to do everything at once cuz by the time this money shows up we are only gonna have 3 months!! But I have been planning, researching, setting up different things to be super discounted or free to us! I have a free venue(a friend has a large property and an out building with lots of space and electric) so it will serve for ceremony(officiant is also a friend) and reception. All the catering is being done by my 2nd mom as her gift to us, photographer gave me an awesome deal and no video cuz I don't see a point. Lots of throw away stuff like plates, silverware, cups and tablecloths for easy clean up, I make cakes for a living and I'm italian so for cake/desserts/favors I am doing a venetian style dessert table with some nice take home boxes for guests to take home food. Also I found my dress at a salon and then went researching online and I got a $900 for $200 with free shipping and it will only take 15 days to get here! Rings, we sat through a seminar for cookware and our gift for showing up were 2 tungsten bands!! We also have alot of kids so being outside we have a large area for the kids to run around and not be bored and the kids are getting thier own activity gift bags with bubbles, coloring books etc cuz I hate weddings that have kids invtited and there is nothing for them to do or half the guests that are invited have kids and the bride and groom say find a sitter we dont want kids at our wedding! I'm sorry I have a 3 yr old and this is as much my day as it is for her cuz her father and I are finally becoming a married couple and if it wasnt for her I couldn't imagine how our life would be now. I still have a few last minute things to research but while I'm waiting on or taxes money to come in I can get through all that. Lots of DIY touches cuz I'm so crafty and I love doing it like my brooch bouquet(look them up they are super awesome and for me it incorporates the multiple brooches I have inherited from my family) we are also printing our own invitations, decorations are all handmade from dollar store finds, a DIY photo booth for some extra fun with very little cost, and to make sure we have enough for everyone to drink my bridal shower is going to be a stock the bar party so instead of gifts(my fiancee and I have lived together for over 4 yrs so we already have all the usual things people get for weddings) I am just asking that we get a bottle of liqour or wine so everyone can have enough drinks without us spending an arm and a leg! I am basically having a backyard wedding which to us is a short ceremony and then good food, good times, and alot of drinking!!! Sorry, we have a $2500 and so far with everything I've researched to purchase I have only spent about $1600!! I can't wait to have all this done! When its all done after the wedding I will write up something to show everyone!!

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Tmanor1

05/04/2010 at 09:42 pm

We're under budget on everything because we did a ton of research and saved in every area. We're getting married on a Sunday afternoon which is half the price of Saturday night. The venue has great food and they're providing the wedding cake. We're also getting open bar in the package. A friend of mine got a dj at a great price and they matched the price for us. We opted to not do a video to save money. I'm doing floating candles with flower petals for centerpieces to save a little. I'm not really a girlie girl so I went shopping 3 times for my gown and I ended up with a gown that costs $500. I wanted something simple but elegant. So far we're under budget in every area so we figure we'll splurge on the honeymoon.

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gregsfuturew..

01/18/2010 at 12:30 pm

I like this article because we were in the same situation, we picked the three most important items that we were not going to compromise on:

The venue including good food and drink
Photography
My dress

And took care of those first. The problem was, once these items were bought or signed for, we had already used up our entire original budget!!

I have since come up with ways to come back from this including re-negotiating contracts, shopping etsy for decoy, DIY some things etc. (will add to this article)

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