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8 Budget Tips For A Broke Bride

If you are a budgeting bride, you have probably recently looked at your bank account and then figured how much money you still owe for your wedding. Chances are, you probably want to scream. Or pull your hair out. Because on top of the current bills, you still have more items that you need to buy for your big day. Instead of bringing yourself into a heap of debt, check out some of tgese budget tips and work towards making your wedding a less expensive affair.

1. Make the Invitations

If you take a drive to your local craft store, you will probably find kits for making invitations at home. This project can seem overwhelming, especially if you are not an artsy person. Prior to purchasing the card kit, take a look at the instructions on the back to ensure that you have the right equipment and tools at home. Even when you do not, buying some extra supplies might end up costing you less than purchasing expensive wedding invitations.
You can also call the crafty members of your family and bridal party to help out. When you are having a smaller wedding, you might even consider alternative invitations, such as email invites or an online card.

2. Bake the Favors

Image Source: whitneybond.com

Image Source: whitneybond.com

The thought of baking hundreds of favors might seem like a headache task. However, if you have family that is willing to help, it can make the baking process not only productive, but enjoyable! Think about what your favorite items are to bake to give you a few ideas, as well as asking your significant other.

You also want to select a baked good that you can reasonably make a large quantity of in a short period of time. Baking each guest a personal cheesecake is probably stressful, but baking a few homemade cookies is reasonable. Providing such favors also helps to prevent them from going to waste. Many people just throw out favors after the wedding, but they definitely will enjoy edible favors.

3. Cut the Limos or Expensive Cars

Providing limos for your bridal party is a smart way to keep them safe after a night of partying, and also to ensure that each member arrives to the various locations on time. However, they are not a required part of a wedding celebration. Consider calling cabs for everyone or using your own cars. Even though you are still paying money, whether for service or gas, the cost is most likely significantly less than a limo. If you really want something “out there”, but not a limo, try looking into a party bus to take everyone. Hiring one car instead of multiple vehicles can help your budget overall.

Image Source: fashiondesignlist.com

Image Source: fashiondesignlist.com

4. Find a Local Seamstress

You may have rushed out to purchase your dress as soon as you knew you were getting married. But now you probably have to deal with the alterations. Find out if the store requires you to have alterations done there or if you will be charged a fee if you take the dress out of the store for work. When no penalties exist, start looking into local seamstresses who specialize in wedding dresses. While you do not want to hire a seamstress with little experience to work on this important gown, you can probably find a less expensive place than the bridal shop if you search thoroughly.

5. Trim the Bridal Party

If you have already asked your relatives and friends to stand with you on your wedding day, taking back that request is harsh. And yes, you may end up hurting feelings. However, when you are still dwindling down the list of potential bridal party members, consider cutting it to be small. You may decide to have only a maid of honor and no bridesmaids, or you might decide that you want to have relatives only. At the end of the celebration, the bride generally gives gifts to the girls in the bridal party. The fewer girls you have, the fewer gifts you need to buy (as shallow as this sounds, gifts are a factor in your day and you have to pay for the bridal party gifts. So just keep that in mind.).

6. Eliminate the Flowers

Flowers cost a lot of money. If you do not know this yet, you will certainly find out when you go to look at them. You may wonder how you could possibly have a wedding without any flowers. Consider having a bouquet made out of lace, crystals, or other material. There are plenty of cool DIY flower options availble for brides today to choose from.

You could also opt to have the girls carry candles as they walk down the aisle. As far as the centerpieces, you could incorporate the same material from the bouquets, or you could opt for branches in a beautiful bowl or candles, or even cool stuff with fruit! The options are endless! When flowers are out of the picture, you will see a significant change in your bank account.

7. Re-Consider Your Beauty Treatments

Image Source:

Image Source: brides.com

Right now, you might have a wide range of beauty treatments on your to-do list. Many brides decide to get their nails done, have their hair dyed, go for tanning sessions, start working with a personal trainer, and engage in many other regiments to look perfect for their big day.

Although looking good is definitely an important aspect for your big day, consider this: Will you look back, years from now, wondering why you wasted so much money on a personal trainer and wax treatments? You do not need to look perfect, you just need to look beautiful and like yourself! So do you and your bank account a favor, and refrain from extravagant and expensive beauty treatments before your big day.

8. Ask the Parents

While you might not want to let your parents know that you are having financial difficulty, a little bit of honesty can help you with your budgetary problems, and obviously save you some big bucks! Although you may have tried to cut back, it is possible you still have an array of bills that you need to pay. Make a list of the total costs. Figure out what you can realistically afford without assistance, and then present the rest of the costs to your parents. Ask them what they can contribute. If they are unable to contribute any more money to the wedding, they may have some ideas about what they can put in as far as help and preparation. They may also know that other relatives are willing to help you out with these costs.

 

Feeling as though you have no money left for your wedding is overwhelming. On top of that, you do not want to go into debt over a wedding. Fortunately, you can avoid that problem by employing some simple strategies into the rest of your planning endeavors that will help save you lots of money in the end.

Happy saving!

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