Real brides reveal: How they saved on their wedding budget

Weddings are expensive affairs people. Between the gorgeous outfits, the glam decor and everything in between, you can end up feeling more than a little empty on cash  and yet not willing to compromise on your dreams. We asked real brides what their top tips were on saving cash on their wedding budget.

-  WMG Co-founder Mehak says  “Our Pheras were at midnight, so we turned our stage into a mandap for later on. We chose a design that works with both set ups, and that way we didn't have to spend extra on decor for constructing a separate mandap and stage”

Natasha: Bought her blouse and skirt seperately . Photo: Photo Diary

- Real bride Natasha says "Instead of opting for a full-blown lehenga, I bought separates. I found a blouse &  dupatta at Anita Dongre (she sells blouses seperately), but the entire lehenga was beyond my budget. So I got a skirt made separately to trim costs. Most of my photos were waist up so it didn't matter anyway"

Real bride Ishita: Quality vs Quantity . Photo: Sunanda Agarwal

- Real bride Ishita says "Lets get real, no guest is going to be able to taste all the gazillion items you put on your menu. Instead limit your bar to good quality alcohol (keep one brand of whiskey) and have popular menu items that most guests will love rather than confusing them with mindless variety. "

-Anya says " I don't like makeup , and while for the wedding day I needed my dupatta and hair pinned like a bride, on my engagement function I just opted for 'party makeup' that the rest of the family was opting for. It was simple, light and just what I wanted without breaking the bank"

Sonia: Have common vendors . Photo: Devang Singh

-  Sonia says "We used the same decor vendor across all functions for both sides. This way, he gave us a bulk rate and kept the budget in check. Not to mention the fact that they understand your style better"

Manasvi: DIY Photobooth . 

-  Manasvi says " Decorators end up charging a lot for additional add ons. So we did our own photo booth. I got callouts printed  on thick paper for the photobooth, and we let a natural wall be the backdrop. You could even hang colored dupattas to DIY your photobooth"

Photo via Monica Moghe

-  Sanjana says " We did our decor using bold floral printed linen and tenting. What this did was that it gave the illusion of busy decor, when actually the decor was very limited. I didn't need to use half the flowers that I would have used otherwise, because the print on the linen gave a busy look".