Weddings are joyous occasions which bring families and loved ones together to celebrate. This article provides many useful pieces of advice that can help you plan a fantastic wedding. Let your wedding day be a joyous memorable event that you can carry with you forever.

You can make great use of big box stores, like Costco, when planning your own food service for your wedding day. This will enable you to save a lot of money. Also, ask family or friends to help offset the cost of the food.

Have your wedding on the property of friends or family. Instead of booking a ballroom, try holding your wedding in a backyard or field instead. Offer to pay people to come into the place ahead of time to do some cleaning and then after the event, and that will be the only costs.

Really consider your vows, as this is one of the central parts of a wedding ceremony. The institution of marriage is lifelong and marked by willingness to enter into a major commitment. Of course, the most important thing for vows to convey is your love for your partner.

If you’re terrified at the thought of spending a fortune on a wedding cake loaded with calories, talk to local bakeries about something with a smaller portion size. Alternatively, consider something like low-fat cupcakes, gluten-free cake, fruit-filled low calorie cakes, or other such healthy alternatives.

You can include some embellishments in your bouquet of flowers including rhinestones or Swarovski crystals! You can accomplish this by including some heat-fixed or adhesive crystals, some costume jewelry or an heirloom that is treasured. The bouquet should not clash with your overall look, so pay close attention to the colors, cut and size of each stone.

Your guests shouldn’t wait while you are having pictures taken. These photos should be taken in advance. The pictures for the bride, groom and immediately family can also be done in advance.

A reception held around lunchtime is a great idea. Your guests will drink less alcohol during these hours, which cuts down on your bar needs greatly. Also, dinner receptions tend to be more expensive than lunch receptions, and you’ll be able to spend your savings on something else.

If you can afford it, you can try having a wedding on the cruise you like. You could just invite only those close to you. This will allow you to enjoy your honeymoon as soon as the festivities are over. Some cruise companies even have special rates for those getting married and honeymooning on their ships.

You can have a special relative or friend become ordained online so that they can perform your wedding vows. This adds a personal touch to your ceremony, and also saves you on the costs of an officiant. But do not mar this important day by breaking the law; verify that it is permitted in your region.

Try Craigslist for finding local talent to help you with your wedding. Don’t pay any of your responders a penny until you meet with them personally, and always have your betrothed accompany you, for safety’s sake.

If you are going to be giving one of the wedding speeches, make sure you plan it out and practice enough. Don’t wait until the last minute to write your speech, or forget about it once it’s written. If you don’t practice, you might ramble, make silly mistakes or completely forget what you wanted to say.

If your reception doesn’t include dinner, you can save money by reducing the number of tables and spending that money to rent furniture. Lounge chairs, sectional sofas and loveseats can be arranged into groupings that encourage your guests to intermingle. You can create special lounge areas with plush seating throughout the venue to make guest feel comfortable and special.

Prior to meeting with a wedding planner, do your research. Take all of your ideas and incorporate them into one place, such as a design book. The details will involve mounting images of bridal dresses, hair styles, music, foods and anything else you wish to include in order to show your wedding specialist exactly what you want.

What should be a glorious wedding can quickly go south if improperly planned. Use the above advice to successfully streamline every step of your wedding planning.