Cheap Weddings Can Still Be Elegant Weddings:

Is it not every girls dream to have an elegant fairytale wedding? Why is it that most brides turn their noses up at the thought of saving money on their wedding? When did cheap become so un-chique? What if you could have a wedding that was elegant and cheap? We know how…

First of all we need to stop getting hung up on words like cheap and elegant. You want your wedding to be everything you ever dreamed of but you don't want to spend your last dime for a one day event. Do not fool yourself into settling for second best while you think you are saving money.

When my wife and I got married, we were set on having an elegant Caribbean style BBQ at an old boathouse. As the planning progressed, the bills climbed. Only a little at first but everything was adding up. $7.50 for 12 sugar bowls, $8.50 if one was broken. We were being nickel and dimed to death! When all was said and done we still had no guarantee that our special day would be special at all. Our friends would have to decorate before the reception and clean up after. It was a disaster waiting to happen.

A friend told us to got to one of the fanciest hotels in town and get a quote. We were stunned. For a weekend in July they had all of their halls available! I guess people just assume that they will be busy. The best part was the price. All we had to do was spend at least $7000 on food and the hall and everything in it was included. The Fairmount gave us an in house wedding planner and the event went off without a hitch. If we needed anything there was a person assigned to us that we whispered into their ear and our wish was fulfilled. That $7000 that we spent on food would not have covered the rentals for our boathouse BBQ.

So our cheapest option was actually our best option in the end. We had an elegant wedding in one of the best hotels in town that our friends are still talking about. Priceless!

We also took advantage of the Internet for just about everything. Flowers, favors, jewelry (yes our rings were bought on the Internet), bridal party gifts, and especially our invitations all came from online merchants, many of whom offered deep discounts for buying online. Most of these online merchants have minimal brick and mortar stores so they can slash prices to the bone. Delivery was usually included and very reliable. And just when we thought that our wedding couldn't get any cheaper, we found several websites that offered discount coupons and promotional codes for our favorite online merchants.

The wedding industry has changed drastically with the advent of the Internet. Any one can now shop at hundreds of online stores from the comfort of their own homes. The best advice is to start early, set a budget, stick to it, keep track of your spending and look for the best deal possible. It you do not feel like you are getting what you want or need then walk away and go somewhere else.

Congratulation and have a great wedding day!