We know that weddings are expensive. If you’re lucky that you’re the only daughter in your family and your parents have means to pay for it. But many young women are going to pay for their own weddings, at least part of it. So how do we cut down out budget and still have a beautiful wedding? Most of us would like to have a full reception. The costs all depend on the venue. Fancy hotels will be a lot more than a backyard reception. But it doesn’t matter how you bargain down the price per guest, it’s the number of guests that really matter. At $50 per head and with 200 guests, you’re looking at $10,000 just for the reception alone. So if you can trim down the guest list t0 150, it’ll be $7,500.
But of course you’d like to have more guests at the ceremony. So decide which one is more important to you. There’s also another idea to cut down costs is to have the ceremony and reception in one place. Some churches will let you use their facilities to have the reception. A reception of that style will cut down the cost dramatically.
To trim down the guest list, you need to remember that it’s your wedding. So build the guest list around you and your fiancee. Both side’s parents will have some important people to invite, but you don’t need to invite your mother-in-law’s best friend.