Having recently become engaged, you are feeling overwhelmed by the costs which will begin to accumulate soon, because of your wedding. You (and your fiancé) do not have much money to spend on your upcoming ceremony or reception, but you do not know what corners can be cut. Where do you start?

Reception

There is no denying it—receptions can be expensive! If you are looking to trim your costs at your reception, you can eliminate the “open bar” concept and have guests pay for their own drinks.

You can also minimize the dinner. If having a plated dinner, you might want to try having a “family style” (this can save dollars for each plate). Multiply the dollars saved by each guest and you can save quite a bit of money. A family style setting allows the guests to choose from a variety of meats and side dishes. Side dishes usually include vegetables and/or potato/pasta. Soup or salad may be included in this type of setting.

To further minimize the cost of family style fees, you can have your guests receive one type of meat. Though this is not too friendly to the guests (not everyone may like chicken or beef), you do have the option to deduct your costs even further with this option.

The First Steps in Planning Your Wedding

Congratulations on getting engaged. Are you happy or stressing out already about the wedding planning that has to take place? Take a deep breath. You may feel confused and out of control, but here are some tips of how to handle the first few weeks after you get engaged.

Stop and Look at the Diamond Sparkle

Take a moment and look at the sparkle of the ring on your finger. You’re engaged! While you may be married for the rest of your life, you only get that short engagement period. Read more