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For those of you getting married this year, its time to save some money on that wedding. Lets face it. Nobody wants you to have a cheap wedding. Not even those discount wedding sites that help you plan your budget.

Heres some food for thought. According to the Association of Bridal Consultants, the median cost of a wedding is about $20,000. In fact, the wedding industry brings in about $120 billion a year. Amazingly, newlyweds spend roughly $12 billion on new cars.

Of course you can avoid ridiculous expenses. After all, that is the point of this article.

Lets us begin with the cost-cutting secrets. Heres how you can manage to trim $15,000 worth of potential wedding expenses out of the picture.

1) Be Realistic.
Your dream wedding would be to invite everyone youve ever known to a 4 star restaurant in Greece. Sorry but your going to have to bag those fairytale fantasies if you want to save money. An affordable wedding does not have to be lame. I never said your going to have your catering provided by Burger King.

2) Trim The Guests.
Yes, this is not an easy call. Your mom may cry. Your friends may end up inviting your other friends on your behalf. Heres the bottom line. The reception makes up approximately 50% of your budget. If you want to save money then you can have a picnic or shrink your guest list.

Dont worry about offending people. Unless your 21, your friends and family are probably tired of weddings. They may be relived when you lovingly inform them that they are not invited. Fortunately, most people will understand.

3) Avoid Making Your Own Invitations.
Unless you have a lot of time on your hands, find a discount stationer to make your invites. Believe me, finding clear labels that work with your printer can be a real pain in the butt.

4) Limit Your Vendor List
There really is no limit to how many wedding vendors you can hire. Live bands, photographers, florists, babysitters you get the picture. Being creative is a sure way to put money back into your pocket. There are endless ways to improvise. Get a friend to take the photos who is good at photography. Ask one of your relatives to arrange the flowers. Put an ad on Craigs list for an affordable DJ.

5) Hire A Wedding Planner
An affordable wedding is in by definition a well-organized event. However, you might consider bringing in a wedding coordinator to cover your bases. Is this an unnecessary expense? It really comes down to your money and time. For most couples, its worth a few hundred bucks to have someone arrange the last minute details.

Mark Pommett is an accomplished videographer and has been producing wedding videos in Las Vegas for over 10 yrs. Click here to read more free wedding articles.

posted by qzqcuz  # 2:45 PM