Love is special, but it does not stand alone. Every couple that comes together stays together because of the support of their family, friends, and community. In this time of global crisis, it is even more necessary to pull together. A wedding is a beautiful way to celebrate the love that surrounds us. So many people spend large amounts of money on their weddings. But a wedding does not need to be expensive.
Choose to spend on items that truly matter, such as custom wedding rings or a down payment on a home. You do not need to go into debt to have a big party. In this new normal, it is unsafe to have large groups of people together as well. It is better to hold onto your savings and focus on an intimate wedding.
Benefits of an Intimate Wedding
Finding ways to incorporate your community into wedding activities will help save money while doing a service. By staying within your town limits, you can reduce the amount of exposure and practice social distancing. Focusing on local vendors and a venue ensure that you support local businesses.
It is also much more affordable to work with a local vendor that understands your needs and respects your values than a large hotel that would be more concerned about meeting quotas. You will find that there are more sweet memories to be had by allowing your family and friends a greater role in helping you create a unique wedding.
Non-Profit Wedding Venue
A hotel or banquet hall is a for-profit venue. They are interested in meeting quotas and making money from convincing you to have your wedding reception there. Non-profit venues are places such as a museum or national park that exists for the public benefit. A for-profit wedding venue can take up almost half the total wedding budget, but non-profit venues are much more affordable.
A museum or national park might not allow you to make significant modifications to the decor. You can bring in flowers and lights, but you will not be allowed to make lasting changes. This is not a big loss as these venues have so much beauty and photographic appeal.
National parks especially present a wonderful venue to hold both the ceremony and the reception. The flow and ebb of sunlight as the day passes will give your photographers ample opportunities to capture stunning photos of your special day.
Some historical sites and museums rely on being rented out for special occasions. They use the entirety of these contributions towards the maintenance of the venue. Using one of these options as your wedding venue guarantees that you will have a unique wedding experience while knowing that your money benefits a worthy cause.
Charitable Gift-giving
You can make the pre-wedding activities into opportunities to benefit your community. Request that all bachelor and bridal party gifts be donations of canned goods. There are many charities, shelters, and soup kitchens that would be delighted to accept a large donation of canned food.
You can even release a list of charitable organizations that you and your partner support and request that wedding guests donate to them. Wedding gifts are not always necessary, but people feel the need to purchase a gift.
Giving your guests different options for charitable organizations allows them to choose the one they are most willing to support. The guests also have the freedom to decide how much to donate, which is a gift you are giving to your loved ones because the pandemic has been very difficult financially on many of us.
Focus on Your Favorite Things
Many vendors tend to increase their prices when they hear the word ‘wedding.’ But these vendors might not always be the best option for food or flowers that you enjoy. If your favorite cupcake shop does not cater for weddings, this is not immediately a reason to discount them.
All you need is to make a large order that happens to coincide with your wedding day. You and your bridesmaids can rent a few cupcake stands and decorate them yourselves. Then, place the cupcakes on the stands, and you will have a delightfully presented cupcake selection.
You will be guaranteed a delicious product at a fraction of the price that a wedding caterer would charge. It is simultaneously a great way to spend some time with your bridesmaids, help a local business, and save some money.
Another way to save money and take a more hands-on approach to a wedding essential is to learn how to hand-tie a bouquet. You can take an online class with your maid of honor and learn a new skill that will allow you to have a truly one-of-a-kind bouquet. You can order the flowers you like from a local supermarket and then use your new skills to tie together a bouquet that looks as elegant as any expensive design.
You need ingenuity and a willingness to look around your community and see how you can use the existing resources to have a unique wedding. Weddings make people happy, so you are likely to see great support from your community to make your special day even more memorable.
