Bay wedding planner Francois Deyzel gives tips on sticking to a budget

UNLESS you are marrying royalty, your wedding should not require the services of a producer and a money manager ... instead, budget!

A wedding planner will help you to choose and negotiate with vendors, create the wedding-day schedule, mediate between bride and mom, serve as wedding day troubleshooter and more, so here are a few of my tips:

• Don't start your marriage in debt, but rather have a wedding that you can truly afford. You can save big time by using a hall which will permit you to provide your own decor, own caterer, own liquor.
• One bottle of champagne for 10 people per table will be enough, and limit champagne to just the initial bride and groom toast.
• Shorten the wedding planning timeline. Don't wait a year to get married and it will be easier to simplify the wedding day. It's a recent trend that couples are saving money by planning a more last-minute wedding, rather than the traditional 11 month run-up.
• Choose any day other than Saturday and ask about rates for Friday and Sunday night weddings. If you schedule the wedding in off-peak times or when there's less competition for dates, you can have more negotiating power.
• Serve the wedding cake as dessert.
• Bigger centre-pieces with crystals and candles will save the cost of flowers for the wedding day.
• Keep the guest list small.
• Keep the wedding as simple and casual as possible, people are likely to have more fun.
• Although the invitations are the first thing your guests see, they are probably the last thing they remember. Although the invitations should look and feel nice, they don't need to cost a fortune.
• DJs can be less expensive than bands and you'll be able to have different styles of music – something that some bands can't duplicate quite like a DJ.
• Rather than giving one favour per guest, consider one favour per couple.
• The more attendants you have, the more bridal party gifts you need to buy.
• Negotiate, negotiate, negotiate: when you find the service you want, negotiate the best possible price.