If you are planning a wedding, there is usually at least one sceptic in your life you will say, ‘Do you really need all of that?’ Sometimes it’s your fiancé, sometimes a parent or grandparent, often it comes from someone at least partially responsible for the wedding bill. We believe that you can embrace a simple wedding without compromising on anything with one easy rule.
If you NEED it, then it’s in the budget
With weddings, NEED is a very subjective concept. What one couple needs the next couple may not consider essential on their big day. If you feel that you need it, however, then you can make room for it in even the tightest of budgets.
I like to think that there is no such thing as a traditional wedding anymore, in that there is nothing you have to do simply because it’s how things have always been done before.
If it’s important to you and has meaning for your big day, then you need it, and it’s in the budget. If some ‘traditional’ aspects of a wedding make no sense to you as a couple, then you don’t NEED them (even if it is what other people might expect).
You can save money on the things that aren’t important to spend on the ones that you need
One bride I knew couldn’t understand why there was a wedding cake. Sure, there always seem to be photos of the couple cutting the giant white cake, and it did come from a tradition of wishing luck and good fortune for a couple in their marriage.
But not being a superstitious girl, this bride felt she couldn’t justify the hundreds of dollars on a wedding cake whose place in her big day she couldn’t really understand. So she elected to have no cake and instead put the money towards her honeymoon.
Having a simple wedding shouldn’t mean compromising on the bling. It just means taking a look at each aspect of the day and asking yourself what it means to you. Your day should tell your personal love story and celebrate you as a couple – only you know what you need to include and what you can do without.
For example, you have probably always imagined looking your absolute best in your bridal gown. While traditionally the bride wore white – you can, of course, wear whatever you like. But we completely understand if you still want the long, white, princess-style gown, because let’s face it – when else do you get the chance to stand out quite this much?
You might still want the designer wedding gown, but not be able to justify the price tag that goes with it, or even the un-PC waste that can go with spending so much on a dress for just one day.
It may not make sense – but if you want the perfect designer dream gown to make your day just right, then we would consider this to be a NEED.
And not just a NEED or even a DREAM, but a REALITY
Only Dream Dresses is an online marketplace for brides who need their dream dress without the waste of time, money or reams of expensive fabric that will just sit in your wardrobe afterward.
It connects brides-to-be to women who have already had their perfect day. Only Dream Dresses connects women who have the same sense of what is important on their wedding day, as well as what is important every other day as well.
This creates the connection where you can have the bling that you need and still be savvy about money, time and the environment. You can look a million dollars and still have money left over for more sensible spending like a home together.
A simple wedding is one with all the non-essentials cut out
To us, a simple (and savvy) wedding means having your eyes on your future as a married couple, rather than on all the bits and bobs of that one day. It doesn’t mean compromising on the things and bling that are important to you but does mean prioritising the ones that are.
A simple wedding for us isn’t ‘no frills’, it’s no non-essentials.
A simple wedding means not blindly following tradition, but instead making room for all of the things that are important to you.
Here are some great ways to simplify your wedding and still have everything that you want:
Reception priorities
Choose to have fewer guests but splurge on the quality of the food, venue, and beverages. You could base the number of guests on the amount of people you think you could get around to spending individual and memorable time with at the reception.
If you have a massive family and would rather more guests, choose a morning or brunch wedding. People drink less which won’t cost you as much, and you could stretch the day out into afternoon activities like lawn games, a luxurious barbeque or high tea to make the most of a lovely day.
Bridal jewellery
If you love gorgeous jewellery and want to ‘frost yourself’ with stunning stones to walk down the aisle you can source some beautiful secondhand gems or even some high-quality costume jewellery.
If you decide to go with the real thing, make sure that you save money on another part of your attire (you may not need a showy veil or massive bouquet if you want your jewels to be the focal point).
And if you do spend big on your wedding day jewels you can turn them into family heirlooms afterward, that way they are an investment not a splurge.
Silence the sceptic: it’s your big day after all
If that sceptic says, ‘Do you really need a stunning designer dress to get married?’, we have the answer.
You shouldn’t have to justify how much you really need that perfect dress you’ve always dreamed of. This way you don’t have to – just show that sceptic in your life the price tag of the exquisite dress you found on Only Dream Dresses and tell them politely to shut it.
Do you really need that bling to get married?
Yes, you do. And only you know which bling is important and which things you can go without.
Have your bling, and be financially savvy and environmentally aware all at the same time. If you want to, you can have your bling on your wedding day, and keep your eyes firmly on the future at the same time.
