Mistakes That Will Increase Your Wedding Costs, Part 5

Mistakes That Will Increase Your Wedding Costs, Part 5

"Weddings and Media Influence, Unrealistic Dreams-  Maybe Not!"

We can all dream as much as we want.  You and I both know how extravagant the shows on TV portray weddings.  Perhaps you can afford to do the same at your wedding, but chances are that your budget is far less that what you see is available for a TV production.

1.  Don't feel bad if you can't afford everything you want.  Just like they say in interior design, "If you give a limited budget to a designer, you will see them sweat genius!"   Creativity does wonderful things and who doesn't like a challenge when you hear, "Sorry, it's outside of your budget!" 

2.  DIY can be the costliest way to go!  You really owe it to yourself to explore further options.  If you really hate the feel of paper, why should you torture yourself with making your invitations?  Also, without knowing what other options are, you should at least compare prices from various suppliers or vendors to see what will give you the biggest bargain.  Often, time and money are both difficult things to come by in the amounts you need for planning a wedding so measure the value of both.

3.  Here's a important story for you!  In 2008, during the economy's rush to the bottom, many couples decided to "just have a backyard wedding" because it would be cheaper.  Research showed that during that time, the travel and hospitality industry was being hit especially hard.  I was approached numerous times by hotels which ordinarily would not even want to touch weddings, and they literally begged for the wedding business!  Their corporate meetings were taking a skydive and people could get some amazing packages at hotels during that time for weddings.  

The reverse side of that was finding out that families with the backyard weddings, who "saved money on food" were working their fingers to the bone and emptying their pockets with every move they made in preparations for the wedding.  There seems to be an unavoidable urge to do more than host a wedding.  For example I heard people who would  get new carpet, paint the interior and/or exterior of the house, re-do the guest bedroom, re-landscape the yard and even put on a new roof!  The thought of all that stress on top of planning a wedding makes me cringe.  I've been through both!  Saving money was the goal.  People would say, "At least the house is nice now!"   I just hope they aren't too exhausted to enjoy it!

4.  Something great things you should take from the shows!  Have you noticed that they often end up with weddings in some really unusual venues?  In the wedding industry, we can take entire classes on holding events at unique venues!  Doing this meets two common goals for a wedding.  Most people want something that hasn't been done before and often they are less expensive than standard venues.

5.  Don't be afraid to ask for even a little bit of help from a Wedding Planner!  Many Wedding Planners have specific planning packages that involve a consultation and then researching for particular vendor categories that you are tearing your hair out trying to find.  It is one of the least expensive ways to get help from a Wedding Planner.

6.  Set your priorities and stick with them.  If you absolutely fall in love with one particular idea you obtain from a TV show, by all means see if it fits within your priorities and try adopt that idea for your wedding.  You can put less emphasis on the things that don't matter to you.  

7.  I have to repeat this advice from my other blog posts!  Don't be afraid to check out ice sculptures.  If you have one that makes an amazing statement, you won't need much else as far as decor.  You might even be able to get less expensive centerpieces by having a small ice sculpture than flowers!  What if you did you table numbers in ice with some LED lights in your wedding colors lighting up the middle of the banquet tables for your guests to enjoy?  They're just water, so that is why they aren't as expensive as you would think.  Sure it takes some amazing skills, but you owe it to yourself to learn about ice sculptures.

Wishing you the greatest of days!

Greatest of Days has been planning weddings and officiating weddings since 2007.  From 2011-2014 Greatest of Days was nominated for "Best Wedding Planner" in the King 5 Best of Western Washington Contest.

Feel free to go to our Greatest of Days website and find a hidden planning tip on each page of our website!