Wedding Breeze

Next to buying a house or car your wedding will be the next most expensive thing in your life. Although a destination wedding and even a chateau wedding may seem a more reaonably priced option than holding an elaborate reception at home, these tips can trim you budget even more – without compromising on the specialness of your chateau wedding.

“If you want to have an incredible wedding, you can’t beat a destination wedding,” says Marilyn Oliveira, senior editor at WeddingChannel.com. “They are definitely a trend and growing every second.”

One out of every six couples getting married for the first time choose a destination wedding, according to wedding planning site destinationweddings.com.

And a little careful trimming of the wedding budget can leave you with a lot more cash in your pocket to spend at your castle wedding while you are away.

Lots of couples say that  almost everyone said being surrounded by the people they really love was one of the best things about having a small wedding. You can feel more relaxed on your wedding day.

These are our top 10 tips for saving a bunde on your destination wedding – in no particualr order:

1.  Have a destination Wedding and cut your list – this is a big one.

You get more bang for your buck with a destination wedding even now with the credit crunch upon us.

Keep your numbers down and have a simple party for those who could not attend once you get back to from your honeymoon.  The two headed cousins who you have not seen for 20 years are likely not to have the money or the willingness to spend it on going to your wedding.  Only ask those you absolutely want to be there to share your day.

You can save thousands of dollars by having an intimate wedding, which means you won’t have to go over your wedding budget.  You can splurge.

Cinderella will go to the wedding..

2. Get married out of Season
Not only will your flight costs be much less, but you are likely to get better deals in hotels at your destination.

3. Don’t get married on Saturday

If you have a small destination wedding you can chose to get married in the middle of the week allowing you to negotiate an even better deal with wedding providers for a destination wedding.

4. Cut the Cake
Another way that some brides think about saving on their wedding cake is to order one from a grocery store instead of a bakery. This has the potential to be a very effective cost-cutting measure, but there are also some pitfalls to watch out for. First of all, you need to have a cake tasting just like you would at a bakery. It is also important to find out if your cake will be frozen after being baked.

Alternatively consider replacing the cake altogether with pretty individual cupcakes, they will cost a LOT less and your guests will love them!

5. Wedding dresses unless you are using a designer and having one specially made look in the wedding gown shops if you check the labels 90% of them are made in China so cut the cost go direct to there web site and order direct saving up to 70%. One english bride bought her designer wedding dress on ebay from a Hong Kong Vendor for 5 pounds plus postage.   It was the same dress she looked at in an expensive dress shop. 

Embrace Ebay  You will find lots of new designer dresses on sale at ebay from Hong Kong and Chinese Vendors.  These are normally reputable vendors.  Just make sure you allow yourself enough time to have it made and posted to you and time for another option if you do not like it.  There are lots of bargains out there.

6. Do not have a Professional Photographer
Maybe you have a friend who is an amateur photograher, or you could give out cheap disposable cameras to the guests, then collect them later – hopefully there will be some good shots in there.

Disposable cameras are a wonderful way to add to the fun of the celebration and provide guests with special memories to take home. If you would like to add disposable cameras to your special day, there are many online retailers that will sell cameras in bulk for just this purpose. You can save money and find the perfect camera to match the theme and color scheme of your wedding.

With digital photography it’s even cheaper – a few friends taking hundreds of shots are sure to hit gold often enough for you to make up an excellent album.

 7. Make Your Own Stationary
If you are good on a computer make your invites and wedding stationary yourself there are plenty of free programs you can use just buy some nice expensive paper and envelopes. Use the same program to do your order of service for the church and seating plans and place settings for your venue. 

8. Pick a destination wedding venue that has some wow factor

A beautiful beach, some stunning architectural features will need very little dressing for your special day.It’ll save on decoration and flowers,. Let your destination venue speak volumes.

Keep your flowers simple – there is no need to have loads to make an impact. Single lilies laid on a table look as good as elaborate displays, a simple bouquet with lots of inexpensive greenery will keep the attention on the bride. 

9. Get your creative juices flowing.

If you select a smaller destination wedding then the idea of customizing your wedding to your own tastes is not so daunting. A small wedding gives you the opportunity to get your creative juices flowing and be crafty and make your unique wedding a reflection of the two of you.

Take each element, the ceremony, the cocktail hour, the dinner, your wedding dance and the party and treated it as its own event, and each event was revealed to the guests as the night progressed. This will keep the element of surprise to a maximum and keep your guests on their toes. 

10. Make your wedding memorable by having an extra funky element

By having a destination wedding alone will probably make a big impression on your circle of friends and they will probably be talking about your wedding as the wedding of the century for a long time. 

Forget all the little fidly decorations, and instead make a statement with your wedding dance that surprises and delights your guests.