Wedding Planning Tips Sitemap

Panacea Steel Drum and Calypso Band - We offer a wide variety of band sizes and configurations to accommodate any venue or situation ranging from soloists or bands up to 22-pieces, with both male and female vocalists, horn section, etc. We are professional full-time world-class musicians predominantly originating from Caribbean (Trinidad, Belize, Curacao, Jamaica, Bahamas, Barbados, Virgin Islands, U.S., etc.) With well over 20 years of experience, we offer a wide selection and variety of authentic Caribbean music.

Introduction - A wedding is probably going to be the biggest event that you will ever plan in your lifetime. When you are making such a commitment to the person that you love and plan to spend the rest of your life with, you will want everything to go just perfectly.

Weddings are always a welcome addition to everyone’s circle and they can a great source of joy to all people involved.

01. Creating a Budget - Perhaps the most important thing that must be done when you are ready to begin planning your wedding is to first create your budget. Your budget is important because it is almost impossible to know what you can afford for each aspect of the wedding if you don’t give yourself a limit to the overall spending costs. For most people, creating the budget is the hardest job to do because you want to have the nicest and most memorable wedding that you can afford.

02. Planning Timeline - The first thing that needs to be considered when planning the ultimate wedding is how much time you will give yourself for the planning. In essence; this means what day that you will set the date of the wedding.

This may sound like a trivial matter, but it really is important because it will let you know what the time limit is for making your preparations.

03. Wedding Ceremony - When it comes to your wedding services alone, nobody wants to spend an arm and a leg on this and still have to foot the bill for the reception. Really it depends on where you want to your wedding to be and what type of service that you are hoping to have.

There is a way to satisfy all types of weddings as long as you know what your options are. Let’s take a look at the different types of ceremonies that you can choose from that can save you a great deal of money.

04. Reception Themes - Great deals can be found when you know how much money you are working with. It really doesn’t matter how small your budget is for the reception because all budgets can be accommodated.

Your reception budget should consist of approximately 30% of your wedding budget or more. Most wedding receptions are so expensive due to the fact of providing meals, decorations, hall rentals etc.

05. Planning the Menu - When you are planning a budgeted menu, you must first know what your exact budget is when it comes to the food and drink specifically. Some people keep the food and drinks separate, but on average, the food and drink are a part of the same bill.

If you can afford the more expensive catering services, then by all means enjoy. However, if you are like most of us, you will likely need a little bit of help in creating a menu that is fitting to your budget.

06. Decoration Budget - When it comes to your decorating budget it really depends on where the ceremony and reception will be on what decorations need to be present as well as what if any; themes that you are choosing.

For example, if you are planning an indoor dinner, you have to include centerpieces etc. The most common decorating choice for weddings and reception are flowers, and streamers.

07. Top 10 Budget - When it comes to choosing your wedding decorations as is mentioned above, you must decide on your theme. Once you have done this, you can then make your decisions about the budget that you will have.

Here are the top 10 tips that you should know in order to lower the cost of your wedding decorations.

1. Decide on the essential items that you must have first and then worry about the extras.

08. Invitations - It really doesn’t matter if you are planning to have a large or a small wedding; you still have to send out invitations. For larger wedding parties, you should buy your invitations at bulk party stores, or wedding warehouses in order to get the best buy for your money.
Of course, you can always choose to make your own invitations which is also nice and unique.

09. Clothing Deals - If you are planning to have a full wedding that includes bridesmaids, and groomsmen etc. it could run you a great deal of money to cover your gown as well as the other women and men’s clothing as well.

Bridesmaid’s dresses get more and more costly with every extra woman in the wedding party. When you are deciding how much money you can afford to spend on the wedding clothes, you have to consider the fittings and the flowers or accessories as well.

10. Catering Deals - When it comes to your catering services for your wedding, there are options to make it more affordable. Generally for larger receptions, catering companies will offer discounts on their own.

Saving money on your food and drink can be very easy, but it really depends on how large your reception party will be and what you are planning to serve. I will explain how you can save some money on the catering for your party.

11. Photography - Weddings are momentous occasions to all people involved; especially the families of the bride and groom. One very important aspect of a wedding is to commemorate the event with beautiful pictures so that the day never really disappears.

Hiring professional photographers is usually the preferred way for couples to capture the moments of their wedding forever.

12. Music - When it comes to wedding music, there are some choices that stand apart from others. During the ceremony, it is getting more popular to avoid the traditional bridal music and use a chosen song of love instead.

People still are using the traditional bridal song too, but it is just not necessary anymore for those who want to be original or walk down the aisle to a song that best expresses how they feel about their nuptials.

13. Party Gifts - Thanking your wedding party with special gifts is a favored tradition. Depending on the size of your wedding party it can be an expensive one as well. With so much money spent on the wedding ceremony and the reception, this can often be an aspect of the ceremony that you can have a hard time in deciding upon because it can be difficult to find inexpensive, original and thoughtful items that will be good enough to express your appreciation to your wedding party.

14. Last Minute Extras - For all of the tips and money saving advice that was mentioned here, there are still some extra tips and advice to help you have the nicest wedding ceremony, reception etc that you can afford. There are still some tips that should be mentioned for the purposes of this guide.

These tips cover some of the extras that you might want to include. Let’s take a look at them now.

15. Wedding Favors - Wedding favors, like the beautiful picture above are a must have for many brides. Ideas for wedding favors that are not too expensive can run a bit short at times.

Some people find that items like personalized magnets are a good bargain at $1-$2.50 each. That is a pretty good deal. When you shop for them online, sometimes you can find them for as cheap as 50 cents each. Personally decorated candles are a great idea. You can even carve your candles and then paint the carved area to match your theme.

16. Wedding Jewelry - Finding the right wedding jewelry is an extremely important aspect of the ceremony because the wedding bands in particular will be worn by the bride and groom forever.

Wedding bands have gotten to be a great deal more ornate than they used to be. Diamond wedding bands have reached a peak in recent thanks to the celebrities who proudly display theirs.

17. Wedding Cakes - A special part of any reception or wedding is the wedding cake. Wedding cakes come in many sizes and shapes and can be designed to accommodate any taste or budget.

Wedding cakes are a necessary part of the festivities and require much thought and consideration to your theme. Traditionally, people often think of the tiered cakes when they think of weddings, but there are many ways that you can accommodate your own creativity into making your cake stand out on its own.

18. A Final Word - With all of the things that were mentioned in this guide, you might be thinking that I left out some small, but relatively important things such as the wedding album and guestbook etc. I didn’t leave these things out, but as they are small things and miscellaneous items, I figured that I could leave them till last.

You can always find nice deals on guest books and the other little extras such as: wedding albums, guest books, tiaras, veils, jewelry accessories, and shoes just by shopping around. Many of the little items can be found cheap just by shopping at your local discount department store like Wal-Mart.

19. Summary - By now, you have learned many tips on how you can make your wedding unique, elegant, fun and affordable. You have learned the secrets to making to your special day as great as it can possibly be and still having money left over for the honeymoon trip of a lifetime.

Anything else that there might be out there to lessen the cost of your dream wedding is likely left to simply not having one. In this guide you have learned to:

THE END

50th Anniversary Gift  |  Bridal Party Gifts 02  |  Favours For Weddings  |  Las Vegas Outdoor Wedding  |  Newspaper Wedding Announcements  |  Online Wedding Planner  |  Place Card Holders  |  Savannah Weddings  |  Save The Date Wedding  |  Unusual Wedding Favors  |  Used Bridesmaid Dresses  |  Used Wedding Dresses  |  Wedding Album  |  Wedding Cake Decorating  |  Wedding Cards  |  Wedding Ceremony Songs  |  Wedding Present 02  |  Wedding Programs 02  |  Wedding Songs  |  Wedding Speeches