Have a creative wedding on a budget

Having restricted funds is never a barrier to throwing an enjoyable event such as a wedding. Even though you may not be able to spend a fortune, it is possible to have items on your priority list covered and also ensure your guests rave about your wedding for years to come. Here are some ways to pinch those pennies and still not deprive yourself of style:

Wedding favours
Most guests tend not to use favours while many others prefer edible favours. Instead of buying favours, donate the money you would have spent to a favourite charity or cause. 
If donations won’t work for you, consider hand crafting or baking your own favours. The edible favour list is endless and most are quite easy to do, such as decorated or monogrammed cookies, truffles, cupcakes, macaroons, hand-made local sweets, small bottles of a favourite family recipe, pepper sauce, sachets of coffee beans, nuts or tea.

Invitations, stationery
If you have open seating for the reception, this can reduce your need to use paper for place cards. You can also do one tented programme or menu card (printed on both sides) per table to avoid the cost of having to provide every guest with one.

For the do-it-yourself couples, try creating custom invitations or “thank you” cards by hand, or utilising hand painting or stamping on your invitations to save on printing costs. The most economical way is going entirely paperless and inviting guests via e-cards. There are Web sites that can help you do this, such as: www.evite.com, www.pingg.com, www.shindig.com or www.mypunchbowl.com

Décor 
To cut costs, use organic décor materials like bamboo, coconut shells, hemp, sea shells, pressed flowers/leaves, burlap, jute or raffia. You can also choose centrepiece containers or vessels that you can reuse in your new home.

Flowers
The cost of flowers depends on the volume, seasonality and types you intend to use. Regional flowers like anthuriums, orchids and ginger lilies to name a few, tend to be cheaper and last longer than popular foreign ones like roses and lilies. Another way to save is by going directly to the source—a floral wholesaler. These wholesalers will sell you the exact flowers they sell to florists. However, you may have to do your own floral arrangements or find a florist who is willing to work with what you’ve purchased.

The venue
Popular halls or locations always tend to have an expensive rental cost. How about going off the beaten path and investigating unusual locations? Perhaps try a private residence or garden, your favourite beach or park, an art museum, ranch, eco-park, library or the zoo? However, if you would prefer something more traditional and indoor, try to ensure that the hall or reception venue already comes with amenities (such as foliage, chairs, tables etc).