Do you have champagne taste and caviar dreams, on a white bread and soda pop budget? You do not have to worry about having a beautiful wedding when you are on a low budget. When you are planning your wedding, organizing and designing the reception party portion of the entire event can require a lot of homework. Planning your wedding reception requires a lot of collaboration, preparation, and organizing ranging from booking vendors and wedding spaces to scooping through various wedding menu and decor ideas. There are indispensable planning secrets that go on your wedding checklist while putting together the latter half of the wedding celebration.
Having a plan before walking through wedding decisions like who to talk to, what to buy, and when to do things can help you to coordinate your wedding timeline in an expert way. Having a budget wedding opens up the door for so many good things with all the saved wedding budget, which wouldn't have been possible in the case of a grand wedding. From picking up the trendiest wedding dress to you going all-in for your dream honeymoon, having a budget wedding reception takes a little bit of prioritizing, creative thinking, and planning without compromising on anything or settling for less. The critical starting point of planning your wedding gets started once you have created your wedding budget. Deciding your priorities comes next, which will require you to prioritize your wedding checklist- maybe create some budget for your dream wedding band, and skip some old wedding traditions that do not hold meaning to you anymore.
Trim the wedding guest list
With each name in your guest list, there is a significant increase in your wedding budget, as an extra guest means extra cost, starting from catering costs to extra centerpieces and wedding favors. Even though you're tempted to throw a grand reception party for everybody on your guest list, the additional cost with each increase is surely going to break the bank. According to the rule of thumb, a couple should never feel obligated to invite anyone they haven't talked to in five years. Getting a grip on the approximate number of guests will be a great start before settling on a wedding venue. Do not feel pressured to invite single people with dates or obligated to invite all your work colleagues. Skipping a few friends from your volunteer work or some of your distant relatives will ensure that your intimate wedding will truly be intimate in nature.
Ditching the traditional wedding venue
Non-traditional wedding venues are all around you only if you have a keen eye to figure out the perfect one for you. When you are on a low budget and you do not want to feel like a cookie-cutter couple, opting for a non-traditional wedding venue is the perfect way to celebrate the uniqueness of your bond. Your alternative wedding venue option can be anything ranging from a special restaurant where you met for the first time to a houseboat on rental or even a family vacation home in the countryside. Ranging from a rooftop of a large building or a casino to an art gallery or even a baseball stadium, there are so many wedding venue alternatives for a couple to choose from and plan their wedding reception on a budget. These unconventional wedding venues offer more flexibility and have more availability when it comes to scheduling your wedding along with the opportunity to save thousands of dollars.
DIY wedding invitations
All it takes is a quality home printer and some time to make classy wedding invitations on your own. Getting crafty and making your own wedding invitations or requesting your bridal and groom gang to do it in your living room can be a fun way to create a 'pitch-in party'. Turn on the stereo and bring in some delicious snacks to the party and ask your wedding gang to help you assemble wedding favors and make invitations while taking a party feel. Get yourself blank invitation kits at Staples or from some online websites that offer cheap wedding invitations and hire a freelance graphic designer to add customizations and personalized details. There are several wedding invitation ideas online which can be used to make your DIY wedding invites at home or availed at a low budget.
Minimal wedding flowers
Wedding flowers are very costly, and imported or out of season flowers can burn a hole in your wedding budget. Hence, instead of spending truckloads of money on floral decorations, go for affordable wedding flower ideas like handing out a small bouquet or a single stem of rose to each bridesmaid instead of plushy bouquets. Sometimes, budget wedding flowers are often as beautiful as imported gorgeous stems of blooms, and the affordable wedding flowers are available in different seasons, colors, and sizes for you to choose from. If you can actually make the time, make your own bridal bouquet by cutting the roses yourself and trimming away the thorns, or ask your bridal party to make their own bouquets. Wedding flowers like alstroemeria, baby's breath, carnations, chrysanthemums, daisies, and freesias are perfectly ornate and budget-friendly blossoms that can be used to create customized bouquets, boutonnieres, and centerpieces that match both your vision and your bottom line. Buying seasonal and local flowers will help you to go minimal with wedding floral decorations.
Get glowing with lights
Creative wedding lighting details can make or break your event! Unlike covering your wedding venue with towering floral arrangements, creative lighting can be surprisingly affordable. For creating the right ambiance for your wedding reception and setting the mood, wedding lights are an indispensable part of the entire decoration. The dramatic chandeliers, candles, and votive holders can do magic to your wedding reception. Ranging from uplighting and image projections to glowing lanterns and illuminated backdrops, creative wedding light ideas can transform your wedding reception into something truly enchanting and dreamy. The inspirational wedding lighting ideas are perfect for weddings from all walks of life whether a couple is fond of modern and classic details or glamorous and romantic details.
Alternative wedding catering
One of the most creative and cost-saving areas of your wedding planning is alternative wedding catering options like hiring a food truck or inexpensive dining options. You can handle your own food preparation and catering by including some of the least expensive food items like pasta and barbeque which is surely going to reduce your catering cost drastically. Serving chicken with penne or fettuccine with a choice of sauces like marinara, alfredo, or pesto along with barbecue options like pulled pork and chicken with delicious sides like mashed potatoes, macaroni, and cheese can be organized for a fraction of the cost of a meal from a traditional caterer. Many breakfasts and brunch food options like towering stacks of pancakes and muffins along with the breakfast casseroles with eggs and sausages are even totally 'do-able' by yourself if you're looking to go super low cost. If you want to throw a lot of options for your wedding guests in a budget, hire a few different food trucks with an assortment of various dishes from gourmet hot dogs and burgers to fried chicken, grilled cheese, tacos, and ice-creams. Hiring food trucks for your wedding reception is a simple and fun way to cut back on your wedding budget by giving a unique and fun experience to your loved ones.
Stocking your own bar
One of the biggest expenses for weddings is the cost of alcohol. Alcohol is again the biggest variable if you can play around to cut costs. Stocking the entire bar for your cocktail reception by yourself instead of using the wedding venues' alcohol menu can be a big money saver on your wedding. Couples who are hosting a small wedding, can provide a limited number of drink tickets to each family member without going for a completely open bar. Another way to control costs is by offering complimentary signature alcohol drinks with an attached story for each member instead of opening the entire bar. Serving beer and wine only is another low budget option for cocktail receptions while giving your guests a modest range of choices. Seasonal beverages can also help set the mood at your reception, like lemonades and fruit juices in summer weddings and mulled ciders in the fall season.
Budget wedding decor ideas
Setting the theme and mood of the entire wedding reception, irrespective of the kind of wedding theme that you have chosen for yourself whether it is rustic, winter, refined, or a unique alternative, there are several ways to spruce up the wedding decor without paying for an arm and a leg. The thrifty second-hand wedding decorations or rental decor items for weddings can save you a bundle of money and effort, especially when you come across unique wedding decor items from couples who had a similar wedding theme or design as yours. This can be your little treasure hunt where you might hit the jackpot while browsing through the wide range of vases, jars, candle holders, pretty materials, and faux flowers. It also helps you to reduce your carbon footprint and have an eco-friendly wedding by encouraging recycling methods.
Low-cost entertainment ideas
From hiring budget musicians from a local university's music department to gathering your guests around campfires and fire pits while roasting s’mores, the budget entertainment ideas for your wedding reception can be filled with creativity and fun-filled designs. Create your own wedding playlist that spans as many decades as your guests for a full dance floor all night long or hire a caricaturist for your wedding reception who can create artistic caricatures that can be also turned into wedding favors. Professionals like magicians and live painters are great ways to entertain your guests. Incorporating certain entertaining games like a giant chess board or a large Jenga can keep your guests tapping their shoes throughout the celebratory time.
Wedding rentals
Instead of buying each and every item for your wedding reception go for wedding rentals that can open up the doors for wedding decor items, outdoor party rentals, entertainment units, staging and dance floor rentals, linen, and other party requirements, irrespective of the size of your wedding. The variety of items that are needed to create the right ambiance during your wedding reception can be found in these online and offline wedding rentals so you can stick to your budget and perhaps even have a little leftover for splurging. You can avail of these rental services for everything ranging from chairs and tables to party supplies to food and beverage stations and decor pieces.
From lending personal touches to a wedding day that will make way for everlasting family memories to finally be able to splurge on things that you have always believed in, like having an eco-friendly wedding, planning your wedding reception on a budget can be a satisfying experience that no pile of catalogs can ever compete with. From hosting an epic backyard wedding that your close ones will remember to opting for a courthouse ceremony and intimate dinner instead of a formal reception, more and more couples are finding innovative and budget-friendly ways to start a new journey with the love of their lives, without breaking the bank.
Intimate weddings are the perfect way to make your wedding guests feel right at home along with going easy on the bank. Great budget-friendly wedding ideas start with a little planning and a dash of creativity, which may include incorporating new wedding traditions and skipping some of the wedding details that are no longer significant. More and more to-be-married couples are coming up with innovative ideas like hosting a potluck dinner instead of having a formal wedding menu from a caterer and choosing wedding venue alternatives instead of a traditional wedding venue. The low-cost wedding reception ideas can be the perfect way to channel out your creativity and sense of aesthetics, that will enable you to showcase your unique personalities and artistic characters.
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