With wedding costs soaring and everyone so focused on how they can save money on their weddings, is there really anything you should NOT save money on?

There sure is. In fact, I know of five of them.

1. Your one must-have item. This item varies by couple, but there’s undoubtedly one thing that you really want and if you don’t have that one thing you’re going to regret it for the rest of your life. For some people, this means being able to invite all 200 of their closest friends. For others, it may be a particular wedding dress. Go ahead and spend the money. You can find ways to save from other places.
2. Food and drink. There are many ways that you can save money on catering costs for your wedding guests. But the one thing that remains constant is that if you’re going to have a wedding reception, you must at least serve something. Your guests have taken the time to come and they’ve very likely brought you a present. Feeding them is really the least that you can do.
3. Gifts for your wedding party. The people in your wedding party have worked very hard to make sure that your wedding goes smoothly and is as perfect as you hoped it could be. They deserve to be recognized for this. You don’t have to buy expensive gifts for them, but you do have to get them something.
4. Information for out of town guests. Your out of town guests are spending a lot of money to be with you on your special day. They may have to buy air tickets, hotel rooms, and rental cars…all on top of your wedding gift. You don’t have to be responsible for paying these costs, but make sure that you make things as easy for them as possible. Take the time to put together a local information packet. Let them know the best hotels, how to get around town, and where all the good restaurants are. Your guests will really be flattered that you took the time to do this.
5. Thank you notes. Thank you notes simply need to be written. You cannot just say thank you at the reception. You cannot send an email. You cannot call them on the phone. It’s tacky. Thank you notes need to be hand written and sent in a timely manner. You don’t need to use expensive stationery, but you still need to send them. Your guests were kind enough to give you a present. You should be kind enough to give a proper thank you.

These are all small but important details that you cannot dismiss. You may be able to save money on some of them, but you cannot forgo them completely. They will make your guests happy. Happy guests give better presents.
 

Tags: cheap weddings, great wedding ideas, money saving ideas for wedding

This entry was posted on Sunday, April 6th, 2008 at 1:03 am and is filed under Frugal Weddings. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.