One of the biggest splurges that you will ever have in your life, apart from purchasing your home, may well be your wedding. The average wedding typically costs $25,000 upwards. Choosing what to spend more money on, while being more financially reserved in other areas is an important part of planning your special day.
How you make your decisions will be based on the priorities of yourself and your spouse to be. As well as taking your budget into account you will also need to consider your personal values, desires and to think about what will be important to you later on in your marriage when you look back on your wedding day.
Photography/Video
One of the most evocative and meaningful ways to store treasured memories of your wedding is either by taking photographs, a film of the event, or both. Being able to gaze again upon a grooms smile captured by the camera, a guests cheeks tear stained with joy or uncontrollable giggles by from an emotional bride can help you to relive the moment. It can also provide you with an accurate and thought provoking account of your wedding to pass on to future generations.
Making sure that you hire a professional to take photographs or to film your wedding can give you peace of mind, helping you to relax while you leave, at least some, of your future memories in their capable hands.
If you simply can't afford to splurge in this area of your wedding then you can remedy this to a certain extent by supplying all of your guests with disposable cameras to take photographs for you, which they will leave for you to go through at a later date. You may also benefit by finding out if you have a friend or relative who is a keen amateur photographer who doesn't mind stepping in on the day and testing out their skills on your behalf.
Wedding Rings
Your wedding ring will probably be the the one item of jewelery that you always wear and never replace. Therefore getting the right ring, which may be rather expensive compared to the jewelery that you usually buy, may be a good idea.
Some couples really splurge on their wedding rings by having theirs custom made for them and designed by a specialist who has an understanding of their personal style and requirements. Other couples who spend allot of money on their rings prefer to simply purchase the best that they are able, knowing that they may never spend that amount of money on personal items for themselves again.
If splurging on wedding rings is far from being a possibility for you then, instead of buying cheap rings from a five and dime store, consider more ingenious options. Antique rings that are gold and unusual can often be purchased from collectors who are amateur archaeologists.
Farmers sometimes dig up beautiful old rings in their fields and gardeners even stumble across interesting and lovely rings when making flower beds. it isnt unusual for such people to sell their wears via online auctions such as EBay.
Location/Venue
The location, or venue, that you choose for your celebrations may be very important to you, partly because you will probably have many wedding photographs taken there, and simply because you want to make your day and the atmosphere as magical as possible.
Romantic considerations to splurge on can be anywhere from an ancient abbey to a castle complete with moat or a lavish hotel. Actually booking the entire venue especially for your wedding day in the height of the summer season can cost you a great deal, but can help make your day all that you want it to be.
If you are unable to splurge on a special venue during the summer months then consider having your wedding off season, or at least midweek rather than on a weekend. By doing this you may still be able to hire somewhere special as your venue, or be given the option of making a donation if your choice is a place of historical importance.
Catering
Your personal opinion matters greatly as to determining exactly how important your wedding feast is to be. It may turn out that you decide that catering is one area where you can make savings by spending as thriftily as possible. There again, you may have dreamed of delighting your guests with a dining experience to remember complete with ice sculptures and a medieval banquet.
Entertainment
While some couples idea of entertainment is a DJ to play their favorite tunes, others may include everything from jugglers, children's entertainers, live music and a dance caller to a magician. Entertainment can play a major part in your wedding , or be considered as an unnecessary feature. To splurge or not to splurge, is once again, down to your feelings on the matter.
If you would love plenty of entertainment, but your budget doesn't stretch this far, then consider hiring a local, up and coming live band to play for you, or asking any musical or talented friends to contribute a song or a poem on your wedding day.
Wedding dress
Splurging on a wedding dress is half expected for a wedding. However, sometimes money doesn't cover the cost of a material masterpiece. If you do have money to splurge on a dress then you could have a designer gown, made to fit your proportions perfectly. If not, you may still be delighted by a beautiful dress worn by your mother or grandmother, or by a handmade dress purchased from a local seamstress who doesn't usually make wedding dresses and so doesn't charge a fortune.
Where you decide to splurge, or cut costs for your wedding can make a difference to your day, and to your future memories. However, remember that the most important point about your wedding day is that it is the first day of the rest of your married life with the one that you love. If you can't afford to splurge, recognise that you are rich in other ways.