Next to buying a house or car your wedding will be the next most expensive thing in your life. Although a destination wedding and even a chateau wedding may seem a cheaper solution than holding an elaborate reception at home, these tips can trim you budget even more – without compromising on the specialness of your chateau wedding.
“If you want to have an incredible wedding, you can’t beat a destination wedding,” says Marilyn Oliveira, senior editor at WeddingChannel.com. “They are definitely a trend and growing every second.”
One out of every six couples getting married for the first time choose a destination wedding, according to wedding planning site destinationweddings.com.
And a little careful trimming of the wedding budget can leave you with a lot more cash in your pocket to spend at your castle wedding while you are away.
You get to celebrate one of the biggest days of your life surrounded by people who really love you. You can feel more relaxed on your wedding day.
These are our top 10 tips for saving a bunde on your destination wedding – in no particualr order:
1. Have a destination Wedding and cut your list – this is a big one.
A destination wedding will make your dollar go further even at this difficult credit crunch time.
You can save money because you do not have a guest list into the hundreds of guests. The two headed cousins who you have not seen for 20 years are likely not to have the money or the willingness to spend it on going to your wedding. Only ask those you really, really want to be there to share your day.
Small weddings cost less. Wedding couples can splurge on a lavish wedding if they keep their guest list very short.
Cinderella will go to the wedding..
2. Get married out of Season
Not only will your plane tickets costs be much less, but you are likely to get better deals in hotels at your destination.
3. Save by getting married on any day other than Saturday.
In almost every country in the world, it’s the first day that books out and the most expensive day to marry. Pick a weekday and there are reductions to be had and the venue for both wedding and reception will be less busy.
4. Cut the Cake
Yes, really! Tiers of wedding cakes are expensive – and you don’t want to be transporting the leftovers home after a week in the sun. Buy a nice cake in a cake shop or even a supermarket – if you are good at that sort of thing decorate it yourself, it doesn’t have to be elaborate, white frosting and fresh fruit is very pretty and effective.
Alternatively consider replacing the cake altogether with pretty individual cupcakes, they will cost a LOT less and your guests will love them!
5. Wedding dresses unless you are using a designer and having one specially made look in the wedding gown shops if you check the labels 90% of them are made in China so cut the cost go direct to there web site and order direct saving up to 70%. One english bride bought her designer wedding dress on ebay from a Hong Kong Vendor for 5 pounds plus postage.It was the same dress she was lusting after in a designer bridal salon.
Become an Ebay Queen You will find lots of new designer dresses on sale at ebay from Hong Kong and Chinese Vendors. These are normally reputable vendors. Just make sure you allow yourself enough time to have it made and posted to you and time for another option if you do not like it. There are lots of bargains out there.
6. Do not have a Professional Photographer
Maybe you have a friend who is an amateur photograher, or you could give out cheap disposable cameras to the guests, then collect them later – hopefully there will be some good shots in there.
Disposable cameras are a wonderful way to add to the fun of the celebration and provide guests with special memories to take home. If you would like to add disposable cameras to your special day, there are many online retailers that will sell cameras in bulk for just this purpose. You can save money and find the perfect camera to match the theme and color scheme of your wedding.
With digital photography it’s even cheaper – a few friends taking hundreds of shots are sure to hit gold often enough for you to make up an excellent album.
7. Make Your Own Stationary
There are lovely and relatively inexpensive kits available for this if you are not artistically inclined. Pick a theme or colour and stick with it throughout for a coordinated look. Think laterally – print a really good photo from you wedding multiple times and use as a postcard, writing on the back, for thank you cards.
8. Pick a destination wedding venue that has some wow factor
A beautiful beach, some stunning architectural features will need very little dressing for your special day. It will save on flowers and decoration. Let your destination venue speak volumes.
Keep your flowers simple – there is no need to have loads to make an impact. Single lilies laid on a table look as good as elaborate displays, a simple bouquet with lots of inexpensive greenery will keep the attention on the bride.
9. Get your creative juices flowing.
If you select a smaller destination wedding then the idea of customizing your wedding to your own tastes is not so daunting. A small wedding gives you the opportunity to get your creative juices flowing and be crafty and make your unique wedding a reflection of the two of you.
Take each element, the ceremony, the cocktail hour, the dinner, your wedding dance and the party and treated it as its own event, and each event was revealed to the guests as the night progressed. This will keep the element of surprise to a maximum and keep your guests on their toes.
10. Make your wedding memorable by having an extra funky element
By having a destination wedding alone will probably make a big impression on your circle of friends and they will probably be talking about your wedding as the wedding of the century for a long time.
Forget all the little fidly decorations, and instead make a statement with your wedding dance that surprises and delights your guests.
↑ Back to Top
