i do tuesday: a few ways to save

Photo Credit: Style Me Pretty

Planning a wedding is a lot of work and can be quite overwhelming. It's always fun looking at Pinterest and wedding blogs for inspiration, but there are just SO many great ideas out there that it's easy to feel bogged down by them. It can be really difficult to narrow your focus on exactly what you want. And then you have to keep in mind the budget - that adds on another set of concerns. I don't mean to complain; I'm just trying to be honest about the process because it really can be stressful.

Right now, all of the big things have been taken care of and we are getting into all the little details. For me, it's the fun part because I get to make my vision a reality, but it's also a lot of work. Since we are trying to save as much money as possible, we are doing a lot of things ourselves. I thought I would share what we're doing so far doing to save money.

+ Making trips to thrift stores for anything that could be used as decoration, especially glassware for the centerpieces.

+ Using Wedit instead of a professional videographer. 

   The photographer is more important to me and since a professional videographer simply isn't in the budget, Wedit seems like a great

   alternative.

+ Buying flowers wholesale and doing all the flower arrangements with the help of friends and family.

+ Choosing a venue that is naturally beautiful. 

   It minimizes the need for a lot of flowers and decorations. 

+ Making the Save the Dates and invitations ourselves with custom stamps. 

   (Warning: this takes a lot of time.)

+ Making our own decorations with the help of friends and Pinterest.

+ Not having any fancy transportation for Seth and I.

+ Buying a dress that was less than $500. 

   I got lucky that the dress I fell in love with was such a great price.

The downside to doing so many things by yourself is that is takes more time than you think it will, and it requires a lot more work. The benefit, though, is that no one else will have the same things. Even though the Save the Dates were more work than I expected, I'm still glad I decided to do them myself because I was able to make them exactly how I wanted and no one else will have the same ones. So despite the time and labor a DIY wedding necessitates, both the savings and personalization you get makes it worth it (at least to me). 

Ultimately, I think you can have a beautiful wedding on any budget. I think what's important aren't the exact things that make up the wedding but that the things that are there create the feeling you are looking for. People will remember the feeling and atmosphere more than what your tableware or napkins look like.