How to Keep Your Wedding As Simple As Possible
Keep the guest list small., Keep the menu simple., Have it catered., Get help, and delegate., Go with the easiest attire., Forget fancy invitations., Don’t try to impress., Keep the decorations simple., Have simple favors., Have simple...
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Keep the guest list small.
If you can pull this one step off, the cost for just about everything else will go down, and everything will be fairly simple in comparison.
Try to limit the guest list to just the main family members and add just a few close friends. -
Step 2: Keep the menu simple.
The biggest cost is often food.
Keep it lower in cost by keeping it to a reasonable level and not having an extravagant, fancy dinner.
Avoid having a large amount of dishes and desserts either.
Simply choose a few key dishes, all of them simple, and leave it at that.
While it is great that people enjoy the food, they are not coming there to have a fancy meal — they are there simply to celebrate your marriage and enjoy your company.
If that’s not enough for them, it’s not your problem. , When it comes to food, you can go two ways — simple in terms of how much trouble it’ll be (go with a caterer) or simple in terms of costs (have family prepare food).
It is best to cater.
This way, family can just get dressed and show up and enjoy the celebration and nobody has last minute worries. , Ask for help from a few friends and family.
Instead of trying to do all the preparations on your own, others should be enlisted.
And most people love to help.
There are a lot of little details that need to be taken care of, and if you try to do everything yourself, you’ll be running around like crazy.
Instead, allow others to help out, delegate certain tasks, and when they do them, check them off your list.
It makes life a lot easier. , Choose the simplest attire in terms of how much work it’ll take, and for men that’s a rented tuxedo.
Tuxedos are hassle free.
For the girls, have a cheap dressmaker create some simple dresses for the little girls, then buy some very simple dresses for the bridesmaids.
The bride, of course, should have a nice dress, but look for one that is fairly inexpensive, with a pretty and classic look. , Traditional wedding invitations have a couple of different envelopes, tissue paper, some other paper, and that’s all before you even get to the invitation itself.
It’s way too much trouble and too expensive.
Print your invitations yourselves, on your printer, on stock stationery from an office supply store.
You don't even need to put them in envelopes or address them.
Just print two invitations per
8.5×11″ sheet of paper, cut the paper in half, and passed out the invitations like that.
And instead of mailing them, have family pass them out. , This is key — if you try to impress people with your fancy wedding, you’ll go to a lot of trouble and expense.
It’s really not worth it.
Everyone has been to fancy weddings, and while they’re nice, they last for one day and they put you deeply in debt.
Rather, stay out of debt, minimize your stress levels, and spend some of the money on your honeymoon.
It really doesn’t matter to the guests anyway — they’re just there to celebrate your wedding, and don’t really care if you don’t go all out.
If they do, that’s their problem. , Have a few floral arrangements, some candles, and that’s it.
Very minimal, very little trouble, very little expense. , Try some traditional candy, put in little inexpensive favor boxes.
And that’s all. , Book traditional dancers, an acoustic musical group, and that’s all. , This doesn’t have to be a fancy wedding coordinator, but can simply be a family member who you trust to run things according to your plan.
If you have someone else taking care of all the details on the day of the wedding yourself, you don’t have to worry about it, and can relax and enjoy the festivities. , A morning wedding means a lunch buffet.
This minimizes costs, and allows you to finish early and go to your hotel room afterward before you’re completely exhausted.
Consider holding it on a weekday (for example, Friday), so many people will have to go back to work after lunch, meaning the party won’t last that long and there won’t be any drinking.
That keeps things even simpler. -
Step 3: Have it catered.
-
Step 4: Get help
-
Step 5: and delegate.
-
Step 6: Go with the easiest attire.
-
Step 7: Forget fancy invitations.
-
Step 8: Don’t try to impress.
-
Step 9: Keep the decorations simple.
-
Step 10: Have simple favors.
-
Step 11: Have simple entertainment.
-
Step 12: Have a coordinator.
-
Step 13: Hold it early in the day.
Detailed Guide
If you can pull this one step off, the cost for just about everything else will go down, and everything will be fairly simple in comparison.
Try to limit the guest list to just the main family members and add just a few close friends.
The biggest cost is often food.
Keep it lower in cost by keeping it to a reasonable level and not having an extravagant, fancy dinner.
Avoid having a large amount of dishes and desserts either.
Simply choose a few key dishes, all of them simple, and leave it at that.
While it is great that people enjoy the food, they are not coming there to have a fancy meal — they are there simply to celebrate your marriage and enjoy your company.
If that’s not enough for them, it’s not your problem. , When it comes to food, you can go two ways — simple in terms of how much trouble it’ll be (go with a caterer) or simple in terms of costs (have family prepare food).
It is best to cater.
This way, family can just get dressed and show up and enjoy the celebration and nobody has last minute worries. , Ask for help from a few friends and family.
Instead of trying to do all the preparations on your own, others should be enlisted.
And most people love to help.
There are a lot of little details that need to be taken care of, and if you try to do everything yourself, you’ll be running around like crazy.
Instead, allow others to help out, delegate certain tasks, and when they do them, check them off your list.
It makes life a lot easier. , Choose the simplest attire in terms of how much work it’ll take, and for men that’s a rented tuxedo.
Tuxedos are hassle free.
For the girls, have a cheap dressmaker create some simple dresses for the little girls, then buy some very simple dresses for the bridesmaids.
The bride, of course, should have a nice dress, but look for one that is fairly inexpensive, with a pretty and classic look. , Traditional wedding invitations have a couple of different envelopes, tissue paper, some other paper, and that’s all before you even get to the invitation itself.
It’s way too much trouble and too expensive.
Print your invitations yourselves, on your printer, on stock stationery from an office supply store.
You don't even need to put them in envelopes or address them.
Just print two invitations per
8.5×11″ sheet of paper, cut the paper in half, and passed out the invitations like that.
And instead of mailing them, have family pass them out. , This is key — if you try to impress people with your fancy wedding, you’ll go to a lot of trouble and expense.
It’s really not worth it.
Everyone has been to fancy weddings, and while they’re nice, they last for one day and they put you deeply in debt.
Rather, stay out of debt, minimize your stress levels, and spend some of the money on your honeymoon.
It really doesn’t matter to the guests anyway — they’re just there to celebrate your wedding, and don’t really care if you don’t go all out.
If they do, that’s their problem. , Have a few floral arrangements, some candles, and that’s it.
Very minimal, very little trouble, very little expense. , Try some traditional candy, put in little inexpensive favor boxes.
And that’s all. , Book traditional dancers, an acoustic musical group, and that’s all. , This doesn’t have to be a fancy wedding coordinator, but can simply be a family member who you trust to run things according to your plan.
If you have someone else taking care of all the details on the day of the wedding yourself, you don’t have to worry about it, and can relax and enjoy the festivities. , A morning wedding means a lunch buffet.
This minimizes costs, and allows you to finish early and go to your hotel room afterward before you’re completely exhausted.
Consider holding it on a weekday (for example, Friday), so many people will have to go back to work after lunch, meaning the party won’t last that long and there won’t be any drinking.
That keeps things even simpler.
About the Author
Ann Griffin
A passionate writer with expertise in practical skills topics. Loves sharing practical knowledge.
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