Many brides feel as if a more expensive wedding showcases a greater amount of love for their fiancé, more of a commitment or an increased amount of sincerity to their guests. Weddings, however, are not competitions and you can easily be just as happy paying the small filing fee at the courthouse for your license and that being the end of it.

Despite the growth of the wedding industry, studies show that as the amount spent on ceremonies decreases, the likelihood of marriages being successful and lasting increases. There are many reasons this could be the case and here are a few…

Spending a great deal on a particular day (although being the most important barring having children), will begin your new life with a huge amount of debt. The beauty is that intimacy, commitment and a lifelong promise are each actually free. The only cost is that is of being willing to give your heart and all that you have to someone else.

Favors are most often left behind as, without being unkind, in a short amount of time, no one really wants a match book with your wedding date inscribed on it nor do they care about personalized wine glasses. If you choose to give gifts, make them edible, seeds to plant in their yard or a meaningful reminder which will be lasting neither of which cost very much.

Choose a pair of shoes you already own and feel comfortable in. Most gowns are long enough that your footwear won’t even be seen and, as you will be spending many hours of the day on your feet, chances are you’ll end up taking them off/changing out of them anyway. Additionally, pain or discomfort can be noticeable and add an unwanted quirkiness to your gait as you walk down the aisle. Doing so not only makes you have one less thing to worry about but will often save several hundred dollars.

Paper seems a minimal expense as it is never something very costly. However, most likely, individualized place cards and menus are produced on card stock, will have to be duplicated (one for the menu and another for the seating location) and the cost increases infinitely as the number of guests does. To be more cost-effective, have a single menu at each table listing the names of every invitee at the table, as typically, it is unnecessary for each person to have their own list. Menus and place cards are other items that no one is going to take home, hold on to nor will most likely even recall.

The one element of your wedding day that matters doesn’t cost a single penny, won’t put you into debt, won’t be remembered by your guests and won’t cause you a single minute of stress or anxiety. Sometimes, that gets lost in the mix but it is very important to keep in mind as, in an industry that makes brides so easily get caught up in the smallest details, the sole reason the event is happening is temporarily forgotten.