How To Prioritize Your Wedding Decoration Budget

Many brides dream of their wedding day but don’t realize the average wedding costs $22,000 dollars to throw. Unfortunately not every bride has this amount of money to spend and more than a third have under $10,000 in their wedding decoration budget. The budget conscious bride has to decide early on how much she has to spend on each portion of her wedding.

A wedding decoration budget should include the most expensive items first. The average bride spends one third of her wedding decoration budget on the photographer, videographer, caterer and cake. The first thing you can cut if you need to make a sacrifice is the videographer.

Many of your friends and family members would be more than happy to document your wedding ceremony with their own video cameras. Don’t forgo the professional photographer if you can avoid it. These photos are special and it is a wise investment that will last a lifetime plus help in planning a low budget wedding.

The decorations for your reception can be kept within your wedding decoration budget if you decide early on what your theme is and don’t change your mind mid-way through. Come up with a plan and stick with it. Many brides start buying the items for their reception early and then decide they don’t like their theme. A lot of your money can be wasted in this way.

If you are purchasing decorations for a buffet style reception the plates and cutlery can be rented from a party retailer. You will find the best prices this way and will find it easy to stay within your wedding decoration budget. Place settings can be either plastic or china, your decision based on the level of elegance at your wedding.

A western themed wedding can easily get away with using plastic plates and cutlery whereas a Victorian themed wedding may require the china place settings. In either event, modestly priced china rentals can be used for any wedding.

What type of decorations are you using for your wedding? If you are planning an elegant wedding you will want to use plenty of material to decorate. The least expensive is material is tulle whereas the most extravagant is silk.

If you purchase fresh flowers for all of your displays and back drops your cost will be much higher than someone using silk flowers or rented floral decorations. Most brides will find that making handmade floral arrangements may keep them within their wedding decoration budget as these items are easily found at most craft stores.

Table decorations can eat up a large portion of your wedding decoration budget unless you are thrifty. Save the large decorations for the head table and use smaller decorations for the guest’s tables. Simple decorating ideas can save you a lot of money, such as using the party favors as decorations for each table.

Votive candles and candleholders can be wrapped in tulle, tied with a ribbon and placed on a pedestal in the center of the table. The center of this decoration can have flowers peeking out of the top or be surrounded with a floral garland. Sand pails filled with goodies can decorate the tables at the beach wedding or small flower pots with flowers in them can have the name of each guests painted on them at a garden wedding.

The bride can still have elegant decorations and place settings at her wedding if she knows where to shop and has a flair for making handmade crafts. The bride can also involve her friends, bridesmaids and family in making decorations and favors for her. A modest budget doesn’t mean the bride has to have a boring wedding reception; she just has to spend her money wisely.