“Marriages are made in heaven”…..but the reality of planning a Wedding is a bit different from a heavenly experience. Witnessing a beautiful, well orchestrated wedding is amazing but the toil and labour and most important of all the finances involved in it are often not so pleasant and offer a stark difference from the portrayed reality. Planning a wedding is difficult and expenses, if not managed properly often soar up exorbitantly. The bride and the groom both want the wedding to be exclusive and different, irrespective of it being funded by them or sponsored by their parents. Wedding experts stress on the fact that a budget can be developed if we set our priorities straight and know where to save.

Here are some easy ways of managing the costs, yet have a big fat wedding.

Dessert Management

Wedding experts like Los Angeles based Allison Erlikhman, suggests that the dessert budget can be controlled by keeping a small cake on display and having sheet cake at the background.  Majority of the guests will not be able to differentiate between the sheet cake and the wedding cake.

Light Up the Table

This would save a lot of money being splurged on flowers like orchid and other seasonal flowers by decorating the table with beautiful, colorful candles of different shapes and sizes along with paper frills ribbons.

Hide Your Shoes

Brides often go overboard on their wedding trousseau and often end up buying designer gowns and designer shoes. Allison gives a very smart tip by saying that since the gown will cover the shoe, so a designer brand can be sacrificed and a more comfortable as well as affordable one can fill in the gap.

Open The Bar Early

Since most of the wedding venues charge high for late night alcohol consumption, so the cost effective option is that bars can be opened a tad bit early as people by the end of night get tired and the consumption of alcohol slows down.

Use Uncommon Wild Flowers

Many wedding planners’ quips in by saying that wild flowers being used at weddings are the latest trend as they are not very expensive and they add volume to the arrangements. Seasonal flowers are also great fillers and affordable as they are readily available and need not be brought from anywhere else.

 Be Different and Ditch the champagne

The caterer on being prodded often provides with a plethora of good alternatives other than the expensive French Champagne used for raising the toast.

Make Your Own Wedding Invitations

With a quality printer at your disposal, a little creativity along with some time management beautiful wedding cards can be created by the bride and groom or their relatives.

Be Innovative with the Centerpieces

Instead of flowers, a bowl 0f fresh fruits can be used as centerpiece as well as buying used centerpieces and decorations is also an excellent idea. Many new brides often sell their centerpieces and decorative pieces in different websites at reduced prices.

 Be Careful of the Hidden Costs

Vendors, service providers and helpers often do not quote the taxes, service fees and tips that come along with the total budget. So while planning the budget, some buffer amount should be kept to deal with these costs.

Make a Smart Guest List

This is perhaps the most important of all tips, because invitees should be very close and dear ones thus trimming down on people who come to witness the extravaganza associated with the wedding.

These are simple tips, which can be maintained all along the wedding. It is said every wedding is special, as they create life long memories and so a little bit innovation can often save some bucks and add a special feather in the queue of memories. Elderly relatives, siblings and cousins also often prove to be very worthwhile and their advices should also be taken to make a budget wedding look like a fairy tale wedding.