The wedding day is among one of the most important dates you will experience in life, but there is a huge expectation on everyone to produce the most intricate wedding possible and this leads to huge price-tags. You can have a great wedding AND keep your budget under control. As you begin preparing, follow through and apply as many of the below tips as needed to see what kind of funds you can save up behind the scenes.

Wedding Dress

Finding your perfect wedding dress might be an expensive activity. To help defray the cost of a wedding gown, you may wish to shop for dresses that may not be considered a wedding dress. Consider a bridesmaid dress, which costs less than a wedding dress but can still fit your needs. Even if you factor in the cost of style alterations, the overall cost could be less.

Online wedding gown purchases can be easy on your wallet, but give yourself enough time for alterations as needed. I bought my gorgeous gown online for only $150, but it cost me another $200 to have it altered to fit me perfectly. Make sure the additional costs are allowed for in the budget.

The pictures you will have taken on your wedding day are meant to be a memento of your happy day for a lifetime. Choose to hire a professional who can photograph your day in a way that is going to document all of your special moments, even if it means spending a little extra.

Choosing your spouse is obviously the biggest decision you will make. Do not rush this life altering lifelong decision. Take care to consider the person’s characteristics–both the things that you love about them and the aspects that are challenging.

Make sure that you carefully consider what to include in your vows, as they will be something that your future spouse remembers forever. Understand that marriage requires an endless commitment from both parties and that sacrifices often have to be made. Express your love for the other person in your vows.

Brides who love luxury and fashion might select to sprinkle some sparkle in their bouquet through the use of diamond, crystals or rhinestones. You can do this by applying some crystals, costume jewelry, or maybe even an heirloom piece. To create a cohesive look, be sure that the colors, cut, and the size of any stones you use match or compliment each other.

“Destination” wedding guests will appreciate a thoughtful gift of vacation items awaiting them in their rooms. The basket should contain useful items such as a map, sunglasses, disposable cameras and a hat. Also make sure you include a local restaurant guide that makes it simple for them to grab a bite to eat.

Try to arrange to hold your reception in mid-day. Doing this, people will likely drink far less alcohol and keep your bar tab lighter. Lunch receptions are generally less expensive than evening ones and give you the freedom of having more food choices or taking the money you saved in this area and putting it toward another aspect of your wedding.

One detail to consider is that the venue lighting can be dimmed, if necessary. You may not think this detail is important; however, consider the effect of low lights on parts of your reception. For example, you may want to dim the lights for your first dance or other important dances and brighten them when you want everyone to participate in dancing. Verify this with the venue, before signing your contract.

You don’t have to go to extremes to have the wedding of your dreams. Put the ideas from the preceding paragraphs into play and you’re sure to plan a divine wedding that fills your heart without emptying your wallet.