Yesterday, Fox61 news at 10 stopped by our studio to interview myself, Elisabeth of Blush Floral Studio, Eric Langlois of raw photo design, and Tom Morlock of Paradigm Digital Video, and get our opinions on how couples could save money while planning their wedding. I advised couples look into off season dates and nights other than Saturday — where the cost differential can be pretty considerable! Here are some other tips we talked about that didn’t make it on air:

Cut your guest list: About 40% of a couples budget is spent on the reception (food, drink, and the site itself). You can significantly impact your budget by cutting the guest list down!

Prioritize. Spend / splurge on what is important to YOU and seek out creative and cost effective ideas for aspects that are not as important. Every couple is different, and therefore, every couple will have different priorities. Once you identify areas that you want to invest in — do so!

Some other advice: If you have a hobby, skill, or something you are love to do — I definitely recommend infusing that into your wedding! But I caution couples: don’t bite off more than you can chew. It may seem like no big deal to do something yourself — and with enough time and preparation no task is insurmountable. Be sure to schedule enough time to get a project done and have a back up plan in case something doesn’t go as planned. Always consider, as well, if doing something yourself is actually saving you money.