HOW TO: Have an Off-the-Shelf Wedding

Not everyone can afford to have a lavish, all-custom wedding, especially in the current economy. Gone are the days when practically bankrupting yourself and your family when planning your nuptials was a point of pride. Nowadays couples getting married tend to be conservative with their costs, opting for less excessive details and even exercising their own DIY (do-it-yourself) skills.
Even if you’re not all that crafty, it’s entirely possible to have your wedding look like a million bucks while staying within a modest budget. Here is how to find the perfect off-the-shelf items at the best prices for your wedding.

The Dress
Many brides are finding their perfect wedding dress at one day or weekend sale events held at local boutiques. These kinds of special bridal sample sales generally feature a limited selection of designers at cut rate prices. Some dresses may only be available in one size, though most brides enjoy the challenge and the fact that they are getting an exclusive item. Online flash sale sites like Gilt Groupe have picked up the trend, and offer yearly bridal sale events.
Another option is purchasing a gently used wedding dress. Let’s face it: most brides only wear their wedding dress one day out of their entire lifetime. You can purchase a beautiful custom made dress at a small fraction of its original price, and have it professionally tailored so that it fits you to a T. Look for custom wedding dresses on sites like eBay, and make sure to order a dress that is roughly within your size range so that alterations will not greatly change its general design or shape.

Invitations
There’s no doubt that there’s something special about beautifully letter-pressed wedding invitations with numerous inserts and other various bells and whistles. However, if you’re on a budget it’s best not to spend too much on something that will be a keepsake for you, but end up largely in the trashcans of your guests.
There are many online stationery stores that offer ready-made invitations that can easily be customized with your personalized text, and in some case, even your own colors and fonts. There are also a number of smaller scale letterpress vendors on sites like Etsy that may have a longer lead-in time, but be infinitely more affordable than mainstream wedding press stationers.

The Rings
While some brides and grooms can afford custom-designed wedding rings, most couples opt for off-the-shelf bands. It’s easy to find women’s engagement rings and bands, as well as designer men’s wedding bands in a variety of styles and materials. Once you have settled on a general or particular style, do some comparison shopping online to find the best price for your band, taking into consideration factors like potential state tax, additional discounts or upcoming holiday sales promotions.
For designer men’s wedding bands in particular, there are a number of less expensive yet high quality options. While women’s wedding bands are most commonly found in materials like gold and platinum, designer men’s wedding bands can be found in a much greater variety of materials and price points. Some of the most popular contemporary materials for designer men’s wedding bands are titanium, cobalt chrome, ceramic and tungsten carbide, all are a mere fraction of the price of their precious metal counterparts.

The Cake
The cake: for many guests, it’s the highlight of most weddings. While an elaborately designed cake makes for a great centerpiece, most guests would prefer a tasty cake over a gorgeous albeit bland one. Something that many couples are opting for these days is for less expensive but equally delicious options like cupcakes or cookies, or for a homemade cake made by a close family friend or member of the wedding party.
Check with local bakeries as well and see what options they have for large scale cakes. You don’t necessarily want to mention that you’re looking for a wedding cake – prices seem to magically jump up once something is wedding-related.

By selecting off-the-shelf items and using your comparative shopping skills (as well as your DIY abilities when needed), you can easily have a wedding that looks like you pulled out all the stops - without breaking the bank.

Tanya is a senior editor for justmensring, and she is very passionate to writes on Men’s jewelry mostly on Men’s Wedding Ring.