Planning a perfect wedding day can be quite costly. From the wedding gown to the food, venue, flower arrangement and décor, there are many expenses associated with weddings. Subsequently, different wedding vendors offer their products and services at varied rates. As such, it is wise to have a budget that will guide your wedding planning and expenditure.

Ultimately, as a bride on a budget, you must learn to prioritize your needs so as to determine where to spend more and where you can save. One secret to saving and sticking to your budget that is often overlooked is the fact that you need to focus on spending wisely as opposed to having an elegant wedding.

Thus, have a plan on how you will pay for the various wedding expenses before making financial commitments to suppliers. Most importantly, be sure to only spend on those things that matter to you. Here are some wedding tips for budget friendly brides to get you started.

Tips for the vendors, menu and dress

1. Your wedding dress is an indispensable expense. Even then, there is an emerging trend of brides opting for a change of outfit as they transition from the ceremony to the reception. The truth is that this is often costly. Even then, this is not to say that you cannot have a change of dress. Rather, you will do well to consider cheaper options like changing your hairstyle or costume jewelry to give you a different look instead without changing your ceremony dress.

2. Source for your entertainment locally. While entertainment is an important component for this big day, you do not have to go for expensive bands. Instead, you can opt for a solo violinist or guitarist, the children’s choir or even your local church choir.

3. Go for a smaller cake. Although the temptation to have a five tier cake may be so real, always remember that most of the guests will be busy dancing to notice the cake. Thus, you can have and cut a smaller but beautiful cake that you will share with your guests.

4. Scale on catering expenses by serving a less costly, but tasty menu. For instance, you can serve pasta for your entrée, have gourmet as your presentation and fillings. You can also eliminate prime meats and seafood as these often eat into a big chunk of your catering budget. You can also have a dessert reception or simply have a daytime wedding in order to cut on the amount of food that you will need.

5. Printed materials often cost a lot even though they can really set the tone of the day. However, you do not have to pay so much on invites. Instead, explore home printing, flat printing, unique fonts, and a designer layout and add embellishments of your own for amazing invites at a very affordable cost.