How to Get Married Without Going Broke

Use your head instead of your credit card, with these money-saving wedding ideas

By MiShaun Taylor

Photo by Michael Graham Photography

You may have always envisioned a big, breathtaking wedding. When it comes time to plan, reality sets in as you realize you don't have enough money for everything you desire. However, you can still have a dream wedding with some smart cost-cutting. By choosing your focus, you can incorporate parts of your ideal day, whether that's live music or a horse-drawn carriage.

• What You Need to Know
• The average cost of a wedding these days is a little more than $20,000. Since that's just the average, it doesn't begin to cover the price of an upscale, no-holds-barred ceremony.

Step 1:

Consider eloping. Although it may not please your friends and family if you run away to get hitched, you will save money. Eloping combines the wedding and honeymoon costs and means you will only have to pay for air fare, hotel costs, the ceremony itself and attire.

Step 2:

Reduce the amount of guests and the wedding party. Do you really need seven bridesmaids? Does it really matter if your fifth cousin's cousins attend the ceremony? The more guests you invite, the higher the cost of rentals, invitations and food. By simply narrowing down the guest list, you can save cash. Bridesmaid dresses and tux rentals are expensive, so if you don't plan on requiring the wedding party to pay for these items themselves, cut back on the amount of people in the party.

Step 3:

Choose a date that's less expensive. Weddings during the peak season of May through October cost more when it comes to venue selection. June is the busiest month for weddings, so avoid that month if possible. A wedding during the winter months can be just as beautiful. You can also save money on the location by having the wedding on an off-night, such as Sunday or a weeknight.

Step 4:

Pick a creative location. Save by choosing a family member's backyard for your ceremony. Celebrating in someone's backyard doesn't have to mean red-checkered picnic tables and grilled burgers. Perhaps Aunt Lisa has a beautiful garden, or a friend has a house on a lake with a dock leading out on the water.

Step 5:

Print invitations yourself instead of visiting a traditional printer. You can get pre-cut paper for invitations from a stationary or print shop. Then use a program such as Adobe Photoshop to design the invitations yourself. If you don't already have a program, you can download free wedding invitations from Hoover Web Design. See Resources for link. You can also order pre-designed invitations online and use your computer to enter the details. You can also print thank you notes yourself to save money.

Step 6:

Save on the reception by asking family members to prepare dishes to bring for the reception. You can still create a professional by renting a chocolate fountain. Steer away from an open bar, or limit the time that it's open or the number of drinks per person. Hire a DJ instead of live music.

• Tips & Warnings
• Find a photography student from a local college instead of a professional; call the art department of the college and ask to speak to a photography professor for recommendations.
• Make floral arrangements yourself, and buy decorations when they are on clearance throughout the year. For example, purchase white holiday lights after Christmas instead of ordering from a wedding catalog.
• Never go into debt to finance a wedding. Your marriage doesn't need to start off with extra stress.