Are rising wedding costs bringing you down? Choosing an off-season wedding may be just the thing you need to have the wedding of your dreams and still stay within your budget.

The most popular wedding dates are in the late spring and summer. Unfortunately, these dates also come with a hefty price tag. Wedding vendors are well aware that this is the busiest season and they can charge much higher rates during these times and brides and grooms (or their parents) will happily pay for them. Often, wedding venues will have a minimum charge for weddings held during the peak season months.

Wedding vendors are also busy during the peak season and you may have a hard time securing your favorites. Many well-known photographers are booked months ahead of time for the popular wedding dates. If you are not organized about this, you may miss out and not be able to get the wedding vendor that you truly want.

But frugal brides know that having an off-season wedding could save you fifty percent or more off the cost of your wedding!

Because wedding venues are so desperate for your business during the fall and winter months, there are likely to be no minimum charges. They are also more likely to throw in a few extras such as a room for the couple (if at a hotel), or an extra bottle of champagne. You also have more bargaining power. A venue’s space is likely to go unused during the fall and winter months (with Christmas and New Years being an exception), so they may be more willing to negotiate a lower price for you.

Furthermore, other wedding vendors are less busy during the off-season and they too will fight for your business. Photographers, caterers and musicians in particular will try to underbid each other. You are likely to get the exact vendor that you want for a fraction of what you’d pay during the peak season.

You also will not have to fight for your guests’ attention. Spring and summer are busy times for almost everyone—it’s when most people plan their vacations and have a lot of weddings to go to. If you hold your wedding during a fall or winter month, your guests are more likely to be able to come.

Spring and summer are indeed great times to have a wedding, but when you compare the cost of having your wedding during the peak-season vs. off-season, the fall and winter start to not look so bad.

Tags: Cheap Wedding Ideas, Off-season Weddings, Saving Money on Wedding

This entry was posted on Saturday, December 8th, 2007 at 9:25 am and is filed under Frugal Weddings, Themed 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.