3 useful pointers for a stress-free wedding

Planning a wedding can ironically be one of the biggest relationship stressors you'll ever go through. Here are 3 tips spanning everything from flowers to photography that will save you some frustration and some money.

• The cost of flowers is minimal; it's the labour it takes to arrange them that costs so much.
• To save money on flowers, put your money into your bridal party flowers and go with non-floral table centrepieces at your reception.
• Rather than having floral centrepieces, go for something that you can make yourself. You could put beautiful, tall candles on the tables and surround them with glass pebbles, or float votive candles in water. You'll save a ton of money.
• The flowers in the bride's bouquet and on your parents, bridesmaids, and other relatives are the flowers that will forever be in your photos, so that's where you want to invest.

• Plan to cut your cake and toss your bouquet early in the night. Your wedding guests will never know you've done this to let your photographer and videographer leave early, and it will cut down on the per-hour costs.
• After the professional photographers leave, your guests will be more likely to start snapping pictures with the inexpensive, throwaway cameras on their tables (if you provide them).

• No matter how fabulous your friend is at shooting news or nature photos, don't hire them to save a few bucks on your wedding photos. Shooting news photography and wedding photography are two totally different skills.
• A wedding is a scripted event, and if you go with someone who isn't a seasoned wedding photographer, they're likely to miss a few of the important points. Think about it this way: would you rather have 20 beautiful photos of the happiest day of your life or 200 blurry ones?
• Photography is the one thing you can't put a price on. Talented wedding photographers are hard to come by, so you may have to spend a little more than planned to secure a good one.

Your wedding is one of the most important days of your life, but it doesn't need to bankrupt you. Use these tips and spend your money where it counts the most. That way, you'll maximize your dream day and can remember it forever.