Your Wedding: The Solution To Cost-Cutting & DIY Disasters

Given the average cost of a wedding, it’s fairly easy to see why many couples choose to chart their own course when it comes to their big day. After all, it is just one day out of your life so it can seem obscene to spend a fortune if you simply don' have it.

The reality is a wedding doesn’t need a huge amount of money spent on it to be beautiful and memorable. After all, It’s supposed to be about a couple investing in their future together, exchanging vows in front of their friends and family in an effort to cement their union. Over time, society has seen weddings as something that should be beautiful, a perfect image of the perfect couple on a perfect day. Choosing to buck this trend to keep costs down can be a wonderful way of celebrating your future and defining yourselves as a couple by who you are, rather than what society expects you to be.

The Inexpensive Wedding Can Work…

But... only if you’re really okay with it. If you’re happy to save your money for the rest of your life together, perhaps saving for a house deposit, then that’s absolutely fine. You do you, after all. The problems tend to begin if you decide you don’t want to spend the money, but you do want the big, grand, beautiful wedding that we’re all meant to lust after.

What’s The Difference?

One is an active choice; a couple eschewing the expectations of what their wedding day should be in favour of what they want it to be. This couple isn’t going to mind going without the perfect floral arrangements and trimming their guest list because they’re not actually that concerned with their wedding. It’s about the moment, the marriage.

The alternative couple is very much attracted to the trappings of a big day - and there’s nothing wrong with that either! If you have been imagining a grand, fairytale-style wedding your entire life, then, of course, you’re going to want to go for it. You’re only going to do this once, after all - might as well make the most of it! Nevertheless, this couple isn’t making an active choice to scale back their wedding - it’s a choice they are being forced into by circumstance. It’s safe to assume this couple would have the big, glitzy wedding with all the trappings if they could, but they are being hamstrung by financial necessity.

The first couple - who really don’t mind about going without on their big day - are not going to be concerned with what their wedding isn’t. The second couple is going to be extremely concerned because they would have a big do but are being prevented from doing so by circumstance.

At this point, the second couple has a choice. They could look to borrow money from friends or family; look for loans for bad credit so that they can afford the nuptials they want, or just save up for longer to ensure they can make their dream wedding come true eventually. These are all viable options but, instead, many couples find themselves making a decision they will live to regret.

The Decision For A DIY Wedding

On the surface, opting to DIY as much of your wedding as possible seems like a neat way of bridging the gap. There are the things you want, the desire for how your wedding is going to look - but there’s not the money available to pay for them. So, you conclude, why not DIY to leap the chasm? It’s the best of both worlds, isn’t it - the wedding you want (even if it is DIYed) but without the cost. It’s a no-brainer, win-win kind of situation, isn’t it?

The problem is that it's not a win-win situation.

There’s no harm in DIYing elements of your wedding if you’re the kind of couple who isn’t much concerned with the wedding day itself. It might even be fun, bonding you together as you work on place settings and fiddle with different top table arrangements.

If, however, you’re trying to DIY your way to the grand wedding of your dreams, you’re setting yourself up for a disappointment. The reason for this is simple: you’re never going to be able to DIY as well as a professional production. You can try as hard as you like, but there’s a reason certain professionals make their entire living from producing all the little elements that give a wedding day a special touch. They have experience, time, and the skills to do so. If you’re going to be trying to match their standard in your spare time, then you’re inevitably going to be disappointed.

Can It Ever Work?

The key to managing this kind of issue is to deal with your expectations.

As mentioned before, if you have your heart set on the big, grand wedding of your dreams, then there are options that will allow you to achieve it. Maybe you need to wait a little longer before the big day or take a few financial leaps, but there are ways and means of being able to get what you’re dreaming of.

If you decide those aren’t for you, then something has to give - and the thing that should bend is your expectations.

Ask yourself how you are going to feel if you don’t have the wedding you have always dreamed of. There’s nothing precious about your response being “I would be devastated”, by the way. You will often see a lot of encouragement to the idea that your wedding should just be about the vows, that it doesn’t matter, that it’s just one day - but that’s a rather patronising take on the whole affair. Weddings have a special place in our hearts, with many couples describing their day as the best in their lives. It’s therefore not a sad reflection on your relationship or the times we live in if you want your wedding to be wonderful - and don’t let anyone persuade you differently!

Think About Scale

If you can adjust your expectations in any way, then the more viable and rewarding is going to be to tinker with the scale. The more you have to do something, the bigger the room for problems and issues that could upset you.

It may be a small change, but it can make a big difference as to what you have to afford or DIY for yourself: why not trim your guest list? You can get more for your money if you reduce the number of people attending. If you’re still going to DIY, then it’s going to be easier to get five table settings just to your liking rather than 20!

If the option is between having a smaller, but still gorgeous, wedding and a large but not-particularly-nice wedding, most couples would choose the first option every time. Your budget will spread further with a small wedding, allowing you to indulge a touch of luxury that a large event wouldn’t give you the chance to do.

The Decision Is Ultimately Yours

Of course, no one can make this decision for you. If you decide the priority is to have all of your friends and family at your wedding, then that’s completely your decision - no one is going to judge you either way!

Just be careful that you don’t spread funds and your abilities too thin. At the very least, give yourself as long as possible to get ready for the big day. If you’re rushing large preparations on a shoestring budget, then life is going to be tough. Give yourself adequate preparation time and with a little determination, you’ll still be able to have the wedding you have always desired.