Weddings are some of the happiest occasions in the world. However, they are also expensive. Everyone deserves to be happy in life and love, but not all can afford hosting a lavish wedding.

It is possible to have a modest wedding, and it doesn’t even have to be lacking in grandeur. You just need to plan accordingly. You just need to set a realistic budget and find ways to make it happen.

That can be a challenge. To help you carry out your deepest desire and make your wedding as memorable as possible without going overboard on the moola, follow these tips.

Fixed Guest List

Vogue recommends allocating percentages of your budget for each type of expense. For example, you can put catering at the top with a 25 percent portion, the lion’s share, of the account.

While you don’t have to exactly match that number, food should always be your first priority when setting up a budget for your wedding. Guests will not be able enjoy it on an empty stomach, after all. Your food budget is typically proportional to the number of people you’re expecting at your wedding.

While it is great to have all your friends, relatives, and even coworkers witness and share your happiest moment, you need to be realistic and practical. Too many guests can bloat your expenses.

Thus, only invite guests who are dear to you, who’ve been there for you when it mattered, whom you’ll fondly recall memories with when you and your spouse have grown wrinkled and gray. No need to invite that distant uncle whom you’ve never met or that new guy in the office whom you haven’t even gotten to know yet.

DIY Decorations

Embellishments are the miscellaneous add-ons that can secretly inflate your wedding bill. If you have the time, you should create your own decors. Craft materials cost significantly less than their finished product. You can even create the invitations by yourself. You only have to buy blank wedding invites and make the design and layout if you’re savvy with tools like Canva or Adobe Photoshop.

Of course, some DIY projects, especially big ones, need a bit of creativity. If you have a bridesmaid or groomsman with an artistic touch, you may want to enlist them in your plan. It is their job to help you organize and plan for your wedding.

If you need ideas for DIY wedding projects, there many examples out there that you can follow. Several are even easy for new crafters.

Itemize Expenses

As with wedding decorations, some aspects of a wedding may seem cheap at first; however, when you add them up, you may end up with a depleted bank account. To avoid that, always keep track of what you’re planning to buy.

You may be surprised at what you’ll find: an expense that can be replaced with a more economical alternative or can be removed entirely. On that note, it may be beneficial for you if you follow a wedding budget checklist.

Perfect Venue

Lastly, the venue can eat up a significant portion of your budget. You can opt for a more unconventional location if money is tight. In fact, nontraditional locales are becoming popular right now.

One example is a wedding on a beach. In a beach wedding, you don’t have to spend too much for decorations and beautifications as the location is enough for embellishment. You can also get away with wearing a low-cost nontraditional outfit to fit the laidback and fun nature of beaches.

Having a modest yet scenic venue can make up for certain items you’ve omitted from your wedding. After all decorations are only complements to the setting.

If your venue is already beautiful in itself, then there’s no need to purchase additional extravagance. That would only make your wedding garish. On the other hand, you can always use affordable craft supplies to set up minimal yet classy decorations.

Finale

No matter how much you spend on a wedding, don’t let your expenses (or the lack thereof) distract you from the fact that weddings are a happy occasion. It’s a day when you open a new chapter of your life together with the person most dear to you.

Thus, celebrate and find peace in the embrace of your loved one. You’re now in it together, and together, you will face life’s challenges—including your wedding budget.

Photo by Wu Jianxiong on Unsplash