How to Plan a Wedding on a Budget

Today we were invited to my sister Laurie's house for my niece Cassandra's engagement party. Cassandra is my first niece or nephew to get married.  I was so excited to hear about her wedding plans.  She knows how to find a deal!  It would be so easy to spend $10,000 and up on a wedding. However, if you shop around like my niece, you can get a lot more for less.  Here are ten suggestions:

1.  Get married in the off season and save hundreds or even thousands of dollars (November to April).

2.  Get married on a Friday or Sunday rather than Saturday.

3.  Get married at a location that hasn't renovated recently.  Rob and I had our wedding reception at the Dundas Valley Golf & Curling Club.  They hadn't renovated in about 25 years, so the prices were reasonable, but it was still neat and clean.  The food was excellent and the view magnificent (it sat on the escarpment overlooking the city of Hamilton).

4.  Cut the guest list.  You save on food, drinks, invitations and even centrepieces.

5.  Buy flowers in season.  Stick to one or two types.

6.  Offer beer and wine rather than a full bar.

7.  Serve a one or two tiered cake and then supplement it with a sheet cake (hidden in the kitchen).

8.  Order single page wedding invitations to save on paper.

9.  E-mail your invitations.

10.  Make your wedding cake the favours.

11.  Serve comfort foods like barbecue chicken or mac and cheese which are often cheaper.

12.  Have bigger tables which require less centrepieces and table cloths.

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