The average American bride spends around $28,000 on their wedding day. Some brides spend more than this, and some brides spend less than this. If you just got engaged and planning to get married within a year, you might think, how in the world can I raise $28,000?

I’ve got some tips for you on how to raise money for your wedding.   I don’t necessarily recommend all of them, but I thought I would throw all of them out there so you can get some ideas.

• The old fashioned way – Save up for your wedding.
  Most wedding couples nowadays pay for their own wedding from their own savings as well as from their paychecks.  You can set aside a portion of your paycheck every month to pay for parts of your wedding.
• Ask help from the parents.
  Most parents are happy to help out with some of the expenses of the wedding.  Some parents pay for the whole wedding, some pay for half, others pay for just a part, like just the photography or something.  Make sure to talk to them and find out how much they can contribute that everybody will be happy with.
• Cut down your living expenses.
  If you eat out a lot, maybe it’s time to cook at home more.  Pack a lunch to work instead of buying.  If you have a coffee habit, pass on the expensive frappucino.If you spend on something daily, like coffee or an energy drink or a cigarette, here’s how much you can potentially save in a year.  Same goes for unnecessary things that you spend on weekly or monthly (for example, Bank of America now charges $8.95 as a monthly maintenance fee for their checking accounts.  Switching to a different bank can save you $107.40 in one year).
  • $1 a day habit – $365 savings in a year
  • $2 a day habit - $730 savings in a year
  • $3 a day habit – $1095 savings in a year

  I’m not saying that you have to cut these things completely. All I’m saying is little things add up so if you can save a little here and a little there, over the course of a year, you can get some big savings.

• Cut down on your wedding expenses.
  Prioritize on the things that are important to you and splurge on those, but for other things that you don’t care about so much, don’t spend too much on them.
• Buy your wedding items second-hand.
  Let’s face it, most of the things that you are going to use for your wedding, you’re probably going to use only once.  You can buy your items second-hand and you can also sell them after the wedding.
• DIY it.
  If you can do-it-yourself some of the aspects of your wedding, why not?  If you have bridesmaids who can arrange your flowers or moms who can cook, you can save a lot of money.
• Use coupons.
  Coupons are not just for groceries.  Most wedding vendors offer coupons as incentives to brides to buy their products or services.  Some companies offer 5% or 10% off their products, others offer $5 or $20 off.  BridePack.com has a lot of coupons from the top wedding merchants, just use the search button at the right hand side to search for your coupons.
• Get a 2nd job.
• Borrow money from your family and friends.
• Use your gift registry.  Instead of asking for gifts of toasters and coffeemakers, your guests can register for parts of the wedding like your bouquet or decorations or a cake.
• Consider asking for cash gifts.
• Put it on credit cards.  (I don’t  recommend this, but might help in a pinch.)
• Write a blog about your wedding and monetize it.
  
• Do a yard sale.
• Do a money dance.
• Negotiate with your vendors.
• Negotiate your payment terms.

Those are the ways you can raise money for your wedding.

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