Summer is less than a month away and that means wedding season is in full swing. But what if you aren’t Vince Vaughn or Owen Wilson and can’t go carousing for free drinks and one-night stands? What if you are that special someone to your special someone and need some tips to make your wedding bill not hurt so much? Fortunately, there are a number of ways to save money on a wedding and begin your financial life together on the right foot.

Many couples who plan to get married are growing increasingly conscious of the cost of a wedding, and are looking for any way they can find to reduce the bills associated with their happy day, according to a report from Greenville County, South Carolina, television station WYFF. Perhaps the most effective way of doing so is to plan to have a wedding on a day other than Saturday. Many couples are now getting married on Friday nights or even Sunday afternoons, because the demand for Saturday events drives up prices considerably on everything from hiring limo service, renting out venues, booking DJs and catering.

In addition, many people are also scaling back their plans for the cakes they order, the report said. In the past, many couples would plan on getting a cake that was specifically personalized in every way to be unique to them. But because of all the specificity involved, the bakeries end up having to charge couples thousands of dollars for what amounts to just a regular piece of desert for most of their guests. Instead, many couples are now opting for more generic cakes that cost considerably less.

And of course, one of the biggest costs associated with any wedding is the guests, the report said. Couples will likely have to spend thousands of dollars feeding all their guests, so one great way to reduce the cost associated with this is to simply pare back the invitations. Many people get invited to weddings these days out of a sense of obligation, rather than the bride and groom really wanting them to be there.

Consequently, thinking about who they’d really like to see on their special day can help save a lot of money. The same is true, to an extent, of reducing the wedding parties, because it means buying fewer dresses, renting fewer tuxes, and so forth.

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written by: Victor McGlothin

Victor McGlothin is a best-selling author and financial writer for DailyMoneyTip.com, providing easy ways to save money everyday.

In the same way that people think college gets expensive, or having children gets expensive—the true gravity of how much a wedding costs does not hit you until you are planning one. The battle of “to spend or not to spend” is constantly raging and both sides make sense. In one respect, spending a lot on one day seems fairly trivial; the entire thing will be done in twenty-four hours. However, when you’re only going to have one wedding and you know you’ll remember the day for the rest of your life the phrase “it’s just this once” has wallet-opening power.

Choose your battles. Even couples that have a nearly unlimited budget shouldn’t waste money on their wedding. Weddings are constantly changing with different seasonal trends, traditions and ceremony styles. You should only splurge on the things you actually care about. Additionally, focusing on making a few items truly grand will make a much bigger statement than having the entire event overdone.

SPLURGE- The Rings
Your wedding ring will be the symbol of your marriage for the rest of your life. Over time, presents will be forgotten, pictures will be put away and the cake will be long gone but your ring is the constant and daily reminder of your commitment. Splurging on your ring doesn’t mean buying the biggest or the flashiest jewelry available. However, getting diamond rings and wedding bands that your partner will truly adore and happily wear every day is worth the money. They are more than jewelry; they are the symbol of the deepest bond people can make in our culture.

SAVE- The Invitations
Invitations get sent out far in advance. Many couples make the mistake of splurging on the invitations and then wishing they had that money three months later when they are buying things they really want. Yes, your invitations will hang on many refrigerators and one will make it to the front of your wedding album but they do not need to be expensive to look good. And any guest that doesn’t attend your wedding because the invitations weren’t fancy enough doesn’t deserve to be there anyway.

SPLURGE- The Photography
Anyone that thinks about pictures of their grandparents, great-grandparents, etc. will notice a trend. You may not have anything that person owned, but if you have one photograph of them it is surely their wedding picture. Now, these days photography is much more prominent so that problem won’t be as common; but pictures of you on your wedding day will always be kept by your loved ones. With that in mind, don’t you want the photos to be good? You don’t have to have a lot of them and they don’t have to employ over dramatic or over priced techniques. But if a couple is making wedding budget cuts the photographer should be one of the VERY last things to go.

SAVE- The Wedding Party
I don’t know who first thought that making her 2nd cousin a bridesmaid was polite. But there is no reason to have a wedding party of twenty people. Those twenty people are not your best friends and having all of them at the bachelor/bachelorette party will be awkward. If you cannot keep your attendees to five or under then cut it down to one or two each. At first people may be a little surprised, but if you are only picking two attendees and someone is your third best friend then they really can’t be that offended. Having a smaller wedding party will create less hassle, which is worth its weight in gold when a wedding draws nigh. It also saves your friends money and means that every aspect of the ceremony will take less time (and therefore be cheaper).

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written by:  Nan Gibbons

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photo courtesy of http://www.flickr.com/photos/weddingparaphernalia/3286088378/

Weddings are notoriously one of the largest pay outs a couple will make, second to purchasing a new house. This said, there are savvy ways to navigate around the huge expense, so don’t put off your big day. With these top tips, enjoy it knowing that you’ve paid less than the rest.

Everyone wants to have that wedding with a twist which gives your guests a day to remember. Some do this by dressing up as Elvis and Dolly Parton, others jet off to tropical destinations, or some just go down the old fashioned route of spending crudely and wowing guests with the sheer extravagance of their day.

Wedding Favors
You can have a fantastic day to remember with your own added twists. Wedding favors don’t have to be boring sugared almonds wrapped in voile and tied with a rustic shave of twig at the cost of $1 per favor. Why not add a twist of fun? Retro is truly back. Grab a couple of bags of Drumstick Lollies, mini Love Hearts, Retro Candy Lipstick, Fiz Wiz, Dib Dab… and the list goes on. The best place to buy these is online, and they’re by far and away the cheapest. MyCandyShop stocks all the brands and many more. So, wedding favors solved, but what to place them in? Custom made party bags of course! They’re quick and easy; no silly bows and they’re effortlessly transportable. Shop around on the price. There are often huge differences in the price of bag printing, and the minimum order is around 40.

Wedding Venue
Choose the venue carefully. If you’re going for a top notch hotel with a 5-star restaurant, then be prepared to pay exorbitant prices. Why not consider a rustic country pub with restaurant and a large beer garden? Many places will not charge you a rental fee, and with enough guests will let you use it privately. They’ll usually decorate for you if you provide the bits. Without the rental expense and premium rate meals you have just saved yourself thousands. Out of that savings, you could invest a little money on decorations.

Wedding Dress
The wedding dress is a huge expense, and let’s face it…you’ll wear it for just one day! A fantastic website is freecycle, and you can find everything on there from 4 poster beds to wedding and bridesmaid’s dresses. These items are posted by region and are totally free! There’s no catch. It’s simply people that refuse to throw away unwanted quality goods, so they offer them up for free. Be aware; if you’re after your marital bed, you’ll have to provide a means to ship it!

Overall, the key to creating a deceptively expensive wedding on a shoe string is to go with modern trends and popular culture, but look creatively at cheaper options by using the net, word of mouth and research.

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Written by: Muzammil Bashir, a senior editor at www.freestuff.co.uk

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Image courtesy of: Nutdanai Apikhomboonwaroot / FreeDigitalPhotos.net