Bridal columnist Carina Monteith gives a guide to saving money on the essential elements of your wedding day.

If you haven’t got at least 10 different Wedding Related Albums of your Pinterest account are you even planning a proper wedding?? It seems every bride I meet has her perfect Wedding stored neatly in her smart phone and will sacrifice almost anything to bring that Pinterest vision to life!

Image via theknot.com

Image via bridalguide.com

It’s easy to get caught up in the frills and extras of a Wedding but when the vows are said and everyone wakes up with a hangover and your carefully chosen favours a lying on the reception room floor you will look back and think – why was I even worried about that?!

With all that in mind I’ve put together a few little tips that may help you save those precious pennies but still have the Wedding you want –

  • The most obvious way to save is to get married out of peak season and have a week day wedding. Lots of venues and hotels offer great deals for Week Day Weddings and they are becoming more and more popular now so your guests won’t mind taking a day off work.

    Image via planmydaynow.com

  • Prioritise! Unless you have an unlimited budget to spend on the big day then you and your partner should set out what’s most important from the very start so that you can decide what service to spend your budget on. From my experience, the things that people remember from a wedding are the Food and the Band and I really think you will never regret investing in a good Photographer to capture your big day!

    Image via adorama.com

  • Bridal Sample Sales are perfect for getting your Dream Dress at a fraction of the price! Trust me on this as I worked in a Bridal Shop for 9 years and I would 100% recommend buying Off the Rail. The dresses are usually in good condition and may just require a few little tweaks and maybe a Dry Clean (or if you’re brave enough to pop it in the washing machine inside a pillowcase on a delicate wash!!)
  • Similarly, you get much better value for money buying Bridesmaid Dresses on the high street and you may even find something they like enough to wear again. If you want to follow the trend of having mixed matched bridesmaids then a Sample Sale is also great for picking up these.
  • If you are trying to keep costs down then one of the simplest ways to do this is to ask friends with nice cars to act as your Chauffer for the day! We had our Brother in Law drive us and it was great and he was delighted to be involved. If you have a large Bridal Party then a limo or a cute little camper van are great options than having to organise lots of cars.

    Image via efestivals.co.uk

This is a subject that I could go on about forever so tune back in next Wednesday for Part 2 to get more money saving tips on everything from Cakes and Flowers to Honeymoons and Booze!

For more tips, Inspo and advice check out TeamBride.ie

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If you have any wedding related questions or would like me to cover a certain topic then send me an email to hello@teambride.ie

All the Wedding Best Carina x