20 Best Tips on Planning Weddings on a budget

Planning a wedding is probably one of the most stressful things for a lot of ladies. When we get married, we all hope that this will be the one and only time we'll have a wedding. It's literally a one-in-a-life-time event for most women. Everyone wants to make it as perfect as possible.

Still, not all of us have the money to throw a Kardashian wedding. We want to look the best but don't want to throw away all our savings on this one-time event. Seems like we've hit a dilemma. Not really, there're plenty of ways you can make your wedding special and glamorous without having to go bankrupt (that's the point!). Here are the 20 best tips for you to plan a budget (yet, awesome) wedding!

The wedding reception is the first round and the front line you have to defend if we were at war (A wedding is more or less like a war anyway). You want it to look as fancy as possible so people don't think you are marrying down. It's totally understandable as we all think that.

Here are some good tips on saving money at your wedding reception and still making it look grand!

Choosing an outdoor venue is smart because you don't have to build a stage just for your wedding reception -which can be really expensive. Instead, you find a lovely place in nature, maybe by the cliff, or in a forest. All you have to do is to build a little shed for gift registration and for the reception. Then everyone can simply enjoy their time in sitting in nature.

This will save you tons of money and time if you want everything to be special. Instead of renting a place, you literally can have your own place but at a much more reasonable price! And people wouldn't know that, as soon as they see how nice it is they will be jealous of how much you're spending on your wedding!

Again, building a venue from scratch is very popular because you will have the most unique experience of a lifetime knowing that no one out there will share the exact same experience since it's only your stage for your big day.

Many people would think that it has to be very expensive to build an outdoor venue from scratch, not so much really. Go for the glass walls and ceiling to make the maximum use of sunlight and you will realize that the place looks gorgeous even without any chandelier. Besides, the cost is so much cheaper. 

Many couples can't be bothered with the menu at the reception so they just go for a buffet. You will spend a lot more extra money on it when you can just come up with your own menu. What is something that you and your husband/wife-to-be both like to cook? Or what is something significant to you?

Come up with a list that means something to you and you can share it with all the guests and save money!

Two birds, one stone! Super easy to arrange everything and you will only need to decorate the place once. You can even make more decorations to it and spend more because you've saved the time and energy to decorate one more venue!

Naturally, having your wedding reception during on a weekend would cost you twice as much if not more. It's just business. Give your guests a few months' notice beforehand so they can expect it on a weekday and reserve the time for you.

It doesn't mean your reception sucks even if it's not in a hotel. It's just all about how you arrange everything. If you can arrange it well, guests will have fun even in an university canteen.

Pick a restaurant of your style and check out their menu to pick something good for your and the guests and I'm sure they will love it just as much.

The big day! We want everything to be good but still, we are on a budget. Worry no more, we can make it just as nice even if we are on a budget, and here's how.

If you and your partner met in university or at school, this is the go-to option for you! Getting married on campus is much cheaper than most other venues and the meaning behind is even more precious. Starting the new chapter in your life as a married couple by closing the old chapter as boyfriend/girlfriend in the place where it all started!

No fuss, simple as that. Not everyone enjoys putting up a huge wedding show. Some people just think that getting married is two people's business. They just want to do it simple and fast.

If that's you and your partner, just simply get registered at the courthouse. And you're right. It's no one else's business. Just keeping it simple.

Ever wondered how all those celebrities make those 2-storey high wedding cake? Well, gues what, it's fake most of the time! Having a massive wedding cake is time-consuming and let's face it. It's a waste becoz you will end up throwing the cake at someone's face anyways.

Having a fake wedding cake allows more flexibility and costs a lot less!

So many couples are loving this idea in recent years to save money. Usually, it's the bride and her besties that will do the job because, well, 90% of the times girls are just better at this and are more interested in it.

It will be fun to try out, whether to do it as a couple or leave it with one side, and you will save a lot of money!

No one knows you two better than your friends. It's actually very smart to ask a friend to do it. Friends will do anything for a fellow friend!

It's not embarrassing to ask for help. So many times couples could save a lot more if they had just asked friends for help. For example, you may find out that your friend's auntie is a flourist and can give you a discount or that you uncle's friend is in a band and can perform! Friends are just the best!

Coming from the US, you don't want to have your wedding in Norway. That will just triple your budget. Go to Bali or somewhere that's cheaper than where you're from so you can get more with the same price.

Destination weddings aren't cheap. Don't expect to only give it three months to plan. Plan maybe a year or two in advance to minimize the costs.

Most couples will try to pay for the accommodation so the best you could do is to rent a big lodge to host everyone so you don't have to rent hotel rooms. This saves you a considerable amount of money.

When you're doing a destination wedding, you can't bring back most of the stuff home. So before you buy something, make sure you can sell it before you leave. If not, just rent.

There're many beautiful options for second-hand wedding dresses that are half the price. You can save quite some money here.

Don't think that you can just go and check everything out when you're there. It's not your local area and you will surely be paying much more than you should be.

Settle on where you want to wed first and then look for cheap dates to make it happen. Figure out when is the off season for the destination and make a plan at the end of the off season, so it's still cheap but it's beautiful because it's close the the peak season.

A lot of people think that planning a destination wedding via agencies is only going to increase the costs. It's actually not true if you know what you're doing. It is true that agents make money with commission but they also have the resources and connections to give you the best deal possible. Do more research and compare prices and you will see arranging everything through a planner can be a much more economic solution!

A wedding is a once in a lifetime event, we all want it to be perfect with the money we have. Throwing an unforgettable wedding doesn't have to be expensive, if you know how to do it right. Follow our 20 best tips for your wedding and begin the new chapter of your life!