Just because your on a budget doesn't mean that you cant have the wedding of your dreams!  With smart planning and a little bit of elbow grease you can have a classy, high-end wedding for a fraction of the cost!

The following tips will help you plan a fantastic wedding without breaking the bank.  

Get Married in the Off-Season

Wedding vendors tend to charge less money in the off-season because they are not as likely to book weddings for those times of year.  The off season for weddings is late fall, and winter.  November, December, January, and Febuary are considered off-season, but dates in December that are near Christmas and New Years are still considered 'hot' by many vendors. 

Get Married on a Friday or a Sunday

The vast majority of weddings take place on Saturdays.  Weddings vendors are not as likely to get booked on a Friday or a Sunday, so they tend to give you discounts on those days.  The great thing about a Friday or a Sunday wedding is that you can often get high-end services from top vendors for a reduced price. For instance, your ideal venue is not only less likely to be booked, but it can also potentially be much less expensive.  The same is true for many of the other vendors who provide wedding-day products or services.

Get Married Earlier in the Day Earlier in the day guests are more accustomed to eating a lighter meal, and wont be dissapointed if you provide a smaller (and less expensive) spread. Also, if you have an open bar at your reception, your guests will drink less at an afternoon event than they will at a night event.

Trim Your Guest List

You dont have to get married in front of everyone who you have ever met. Keeping the guest list to family and close friends can save you a great deal of money on catering, gifts, invitations, and can reduce the size of the venue(s) that you need to rent.  Also, having fewer bridesmaids and groomsmen will save money on attire.

Examine Your Packages

If your getting a package deal from a vendor, look at whats in your package and determine whether or not you really need everything included.  Most vendors will work with you, eliminate products or services that you dont really need, and reduce the price of the package.  

Get Everything In-Season It can be very expensive to import out-of-season foods and products for your wedding. Flowers that are in-season are more plentiful, therefore less expensive. You can also save money on catering by making sure all of the fruits, vegetables, seafood, and all other seasonal food is in-season.

Tips on 'Doing it Yourself'

While you can save some money by doing things yourself, sometimes the extra time, effort and stress that you create outweighs whatever money you might save.  You will have enough to deal with on your wedding day without worrying about doing work that you could have paid someone else to do.  Small DIY projects may not be a bad idea to save a few bucks - but make sure you dont bite off more than you can chew.

Also, some people think they can save money by recruiting family members or friends to perform wedding day services.  What ends up happenening is that your friend has to spend your wedding working, and is unable to enjoy your day. And keep in mind, they are amateurs - and are more likely to make errors. Imagine winding up with a terrible, shaky wedding video, dark, underexposed photographs, or inedible food.  Not only can this ruin the memory of your day, but it can ruin a relationship with a friend or family member as well. Its always best to leave professional work to professionals.

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