1. Wedding Date. The date you choose for your wedding has a big impact on how much it will cost. Spring and summer months are more popular and come with higher price tags. Many venues even have a minimum charge for weddings during these months. By planning your wedding during the off-season, you can receive the same quality of services at greatly reduced rates.

2. Time of Day. Day time weddings can be significantly less expensive than evening or night time weddings. People are more likely to drink more in the evening. Additionally, a dinner meal is more expensive than a lunch meal.

3. Catering. The foods that you choose to serve your guests will probably be your biggest expense. If a twelve course sit-down meal is going to break the bank, try something like a buffet or a dessert-only reception.

4. Alcohol. While most people do serve alcohol at their weddings, the choice to do so is up to you. You do not need to offer a full open bar. You are free to limit the amount of alcohol that your guests are served or only serve less expensive types. Additionally, you can offer a cash bar, where guests pay for their own drinks.

5. Wedding Venue. The actual venue of your wedding can vary greatly in cost as well. Holding your ceremony in a local park is going to cost you less than holding it in a luxury hotel. Keep in mind, though, when choosing an inexpensive location, you may need to pay additional costs to decorate it the way you would like.

6. Flowers. Flowers are also a large expense for a lot of weddings. Save money by using flowers that are in-season and limiting the amount of flowers that you use. There’s no reason to blanket the location with flowers.

7. Photographer. Choosing a well-known wedding photographer could cost you your first-born. To save money, hire a photographer who’s just starting out.

8. Cake. Wedding cakes can also be a ridiculously huge expense. Save money by ordering a large sheet cake that gets cut up in the kitchen before serving. That way you only have to spend money on a small display cake.
Alternatively, cupcakes or several small cakes make good options.

9. The “W” Word. Simply say the word ‘wedding’ to a vendor and prices suddenly double! Vendors know that brides are desperate buyers who are willing to spend anything to get the ‘right’ thing for their wedding. When shopping around, try to avoid using the word ‘wedding’ when asking for price quotes.

By knowing ahead of time where your money is likely to be spent, you can plan more easily. You don’t need the most expensive of everything. A few small sacrifices can help significantly reduce the cost of your wedding.

You may also enjoy:

• Wedding Flowers – 3 Ways to Cut the Cost
• How to Plan a Wedding Reception on a Budget
• 20 Creative Wedding Centerpiece Ideas
• How to Save Money on Wedding Rings
• Five Areas Where Expenses Should NOT be Cut.

Saving money on your food and drink can be very easy, but it really depends on how large your reception party will be and what you are planning to serve. I will explain how you can save some money on the catering for your wedding party.

1. You can serve basic entrees where the meals are all inclusive and forego the extras like salads, soups and breads and bring these items yourself.

2. You can choose to go with appetizers instead of full entrees. Many catering companies will offer a variety of appetizers at a special cost.

3. Skip out on the extra services that many catering companies offer such as place settings or servers.

4. Avoid going to a professional caterer and opt to use a small restaurants catering services instead.

5. Picking up the food for your reception instead of letting the catering company deliver it can save you a great deal of money.

6. You can always make the food yourself and experiment with many different tastes or prepare all of your best dishes.

7. Tips are generally included in catering packages so you do not have to provide extra tips during the reception unless someone goes out of their way and/or far over the duties

8. Plan your wedding yourself instead of using a wedding planner

9. Limit your transportation costs by booking the services on off seasons or shopping around for the cheapest costs

10. The very last thing that you can do is elope!

These tips can save you a lot of money on catering because when you skip the extras and forego the delivery charges and set up etc. catering companies will give you good prices.

Of course, you can also opt out of full entrees and serve something altogether different. It can be very easy to get good prices on catering services. Perhaps the best way to do this is to simply limit the guests at your reception that you have to serve.

By turning your wedding reception into a private and intimate celebration, you can limit the amount of guests without offending anyone. Unless you can afford to invite all of your co-workers that you get along with, don’t invite any. It is just good etiquette.

You may also enjoy:

• How to Cut Back the Costs of Your Wedding
• How to Plan a Wedding Reception on a Budget
• 20 Creative Wedding Centerpiece Ideas
• How to Save Money on Wedding Rings
• Five Areas Where Expenses Should NOT be Cut.