How to Plan a Wedding on a Small Budget

If you want your wedding to be special and reflect who you and your partner are without costing you a small fortune, this is an article for you. Even though banks are happy to dole out a loan for a wedding that is bigger and easier to get then a loan for your education, I believe you don't want to start your married life saddled with the kind of debt that could easily have been a down payment on your first home.

1.      Have an honest conversation with your partner about what you see for your wedding and what you can afford. Come to an agreement about the cost of the wedding and what it is about a wedding that is important to you. You might not care if the music at the reception is programmed by your friend's MP3 player, but you might feel that it's not even worth getting married if you can't treat your friends to a delicious meal. Make a list of those elements of the wedding that are most important to you as a couple and focus the bulk of your budget on those items.

2.      Pick the size of your wedding. Size, along with budget and areas of emphasis, will dictate the shape of your wedding. A more homespun or casual wedding can more easily accommodate a large number of people even when the budget is limited. If you value expensive food and drink consumed in lavish surroundings, you might want to opt for a more limited guest list. By agreeing on the number of guests early in the planning stages you'll be able to explain to family and friends that invitation decisions (or lack thereof) were constrained by your available budget.

3.      Talk to your friends and family about what you are planning to do. The people who are closest to you want to be involved in your very big, very happy day, and most will be thrilled to lend a hand in making your day special. If people offer to use their own skills (for instance as a cook or decorator) consider letting them be a part of your day as more than just a guest-their involvement will make your wedding feel more special, while allowing you to spend a little less in those areas.

4.      Once you've decided what items you are spending the bulk of your wedding budget on, think about those items that are necessary to the wedding but that you aren't as interested in putting a lot of money towards. A wedding can be held at someone's home for instance, or in a backyard instead of renting a church and a reception hall. A local bar may be willing to give you their space for free in exchange for holding your reception there during non-regular business hours. A wedding dress is what you make it and doesn't need to be purchased at a bridal shop: consider looking for an ensemble that fits your personal style from a shop that you frequent regularly. These suggestions are just the tip of the iceberg, this is an opportunity for you and your partner to get creative and have a wedding that is unique to the two of you.

Wedding Photography

As someone maybe new into the world of wedding photography, you will have no real experience and it might be hard to start out.

Here are some tips on how to get your foot into the door.

1. Mirror a Professional – Ask someone who already shoots weddings for a living if you can shadow them for a day without a camera, unpaid of course. From this day out you will learn many things such as how to be discreet and how to spot those special shots that the couple will treasure.

2. The next time, ask this photographer or another if you can shadow them with a camera and take some test shots. The happy couple will not use yours but the professional might be able to give you some hints and tips on how to improve your shots.

3. Ask a couple who are planning to marry if you mind taking shots beside the photographer that they have already booked. You would do this free of charge but this way, you will be taking serious shots and you can give the couple the option to buy any of your pictures at a reduced rate, as you are still learning.

4. Once your confidence levels have increased and you have done the above a few times, ask an engaged couple if you can be their only photographer.

5. Over the previous months where you have practiced and learned the trade, you will have built up a wedding photography portfolio. You can now begin to use this to entice new customers into hiring you for their future weddings. Good luck!