How to Have a Wedding for Free

You got engaged and you were ecstatic. Your dreams had come true. Suddenly visions of tuxes, gowns, bridesmaids, groomsmen, and receptions filled your head. Your elation could not be stopped and you gushed your happiness to all of your friends. This is going to be the best day of your life.

Then you went to your first bridal show. You ate the free food. Marveled at the ice sculptures and the awesome drinks.

There are so many options for your wedding, and yet they’re all so expensive. You and your honey can’t afford all the gorgeous things you want, and the parents are tapped out. So it’s either a quick jaunt to the courthouse or a very very small wedding on a budget.

However, there are ways to get your wedding for free.

Contests

There are thousands of contests out there. From your dream wedding gown to your dream honeymoon. If there is a way to give something for free, there is a contest out there. The best place to find these are at the bridal shows.

Enter, Enter, Enter.

Enter every contest that you can find. Be sure to read the fine print though. There are a lot of contests that are signing you up for a new telephone company, putting you on a mailing address, or some other unimaginable way of tricking you. But once you’ve pulled out your magnifying glass, start putting your name on every contest sheet you can find. The best and easiest way to do this is to get some address labels; you know the ones that come in the mail for free or a small donation? Or, you can just buy some sticker paper and make your own address labels.

Just peel and stick your way to a free wedding.

The next best place to find contests are the bride magazines. Somewhere in between the gorgeous gowns, the food suggestions, and the nightmare wedding stories, there are contests galore! Read the fine print and enter everyone. If you’re truly looking for a free wedding, don’t limit yourself. Many people who are trying to do this will only enter the “whole wedding free” contests. But not you! You’re too smart for that. Your free wedding can either come piece mail or the entire thing – so enter every one. Remember that there is a back to these magazines as well. Among the ads for stay at home mail stuffing and bride t-shirts, there are contests here as well.

So enter them all and good luck!

Charge

No, I’m not talking about credit cards. Never ever charge your wedding. You don’t want to create financial problems in the beginning of your marriage.

I’m talking about charging your guests and your “people” to go to the wedding. Do people really do this? YES!

There are two ways of doing this. You can decide on a budget for your wedding, divide by the people you’re inviting and charge each person that much. Remember: the more people the bigger the budget, but the bigger charge. You can even split up the charge and charge some people for the reception and some people for the ceremony. It’s all up to you. You do have the ability of offending some of your guests, but it really depends on how much they want to see you get married. You can also ask people to not give you gifts, but instead just donate to your paypal account.

The second way to charge for your wedding is to create a club-like atmosphere for your reception. The ceremony is only for THE family. I’m talking immediate family: mom, dad, brother, sis, grandma, grandpa, close close friends and family. I’m talking close, not just the person you work with. Then for the reception, all changes. The ceremony goers don’t have to pay.

Now, take your budget and decide whom you’re inviting. If only those people came, what would you have to charge them to break even? There have been some brides who have done this and actually made money on their wedding. Make sure you pay attention to the size and all of the event planning. You are charging people, so it better be good!

Sponsors

Just like a team or a sports person, you can get sponsors for your wedding.

Here’s a quick course in advertising. People who want to advertise will advertise anywhere they know that their customers will be. They want a lot of visibility and they want to make sure that their product and name is seen and recognized. There are a lot of businesses and people that will pay a lot of money for this kind of advertisement. This is also particularly great if there are a lot of potential customers. If you’re having a small 20-30 people wedding, you better have a bunch of people who are interested and do the same thing…otherwise this is not a peak advertisement size.

But if you’re one of those people who envision a couple hundred person wedding or even just a hundred person wedding. Start calling around.

Explain to the people that you want to know if they want to advertise at your wedding. A lot of wedding service people want to advertise at a wedding. Explain the type of people who would be at your wedding and why it would benefit the company to advertise with you.

As for the services you’re using in your wedding, only allow them to put up their name (advertise) if they give you a break or pay you for it.

Then start looking for prime locations: the back of the brides dress, behind the place you’re getting married, on the doors that the bride is going to come through, above the walkway she’ll be coming in (remember a lot of pics will be taken of these areas and a lot of advertisement opportunities This is what businesses want to hear), on the back of his tux, on the back of the bridesmaids gowns, on the back of the groomsman tux, on the dance floor, on the walls of the reception, behind the head table, on each plate being served, etc etc etc. There are tons of places and the more visible they are the more people will want to advertise. The more specific you are with explaining your guest list, the more enticed potential advertisers will be.

The advertisements might look weird, but that’s a nice wedding for no money. Save it all for a house or the honeymoon.

Terminal Illness

God forbid you or your spouse is terminally ill!

However, if this is a reality – there is no reason to pay for the wedding of your dreams.

There are many contests and groups of people looking to give people with terminal illness the wedding of a lifetime. Some of these are merely regular contests open to only those people who are terminally ill. There are others that are just looking for the right person to give the wedding to. If you or your spouse are dying from a specific diseases or injury, look up free weddings for people suffering from chronic illnesses. There are groups looking to make the last years of many people’s lives as memorable as possible.

Another way of getting your wedding for free if you are terminally ill is the “make a wish” foundation. This miracle group looks for ways to award people their dream. If you or your spouse dreams about getting married as their last dying wish, then call these people up or visit them on their website. They have been helping people achieve their last wish for decades. They can definitely help you!

Your wedding is the best day of you and your spouse’s life, but it doesn’t have to be the biggest expense this side of a mortgage.


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