By Jason Hennessey

It is every bride’s dream to have a spectacular and elegant wedding. The reality however is that not everyone can afford such a wedding. The amounts of costs that go into planning a grand wedding are enormous. From the gown, to the cake, the reception hall, the food for the guests, wedding favors; the truth is majority cannot afford to fund this event from their pockets. Because of these staggering costs, a new phenomenon was born; sponsored weddings. A sponsored wedding means that the couple has a certain area of their wedding given to them for free. It could be the cake, catering or the wedding gown or any other feature of the wedding day. They in turn make a point to advertise their sponsor on their big day. The business benefits by getting a chance to advertise their products or services to a large group of people at a lowered cost. The sponsored couple gets to offset some of their wedding costs.

It is not an easy task to get someone to sponsor your wedding. The couple has to work hard to convince potential sponsors that they will benefit from the arrangement and that guests at the wedding will show an interest in their products. When going after sponsors, do not choose the most successful company that you know; whatever they are currently doing seems to be working so they may not be all that interested in your idea. Instead, go for companies or vendors that are not well know because they may need the publicity more and they get to advertise their products at subsidized costs. A good point to keep in mind is that sponsors should be sort from among vendors that are localized. This will make it easier for your guests to access the products or services on offer easily because people do not want to travel too far to do their shopping.

The advertising from the sponsor must be done in subtle ways so that the products/services being offered do not completely distract guests from the wedding ceremony and it does not appear as though you’re trying too hard. Subtle ways to include advertising would be
• Include a list of all your sponsors on the back of the wedding program
• Place contact information of your sponsor inside your invitations
• A visible sign may be placed near the cake or the DJ’s table. If for example the cake was the sponsored item, you can place the name of the bakery right in front of the cake for your guests to see.
• sponsor’s logo on the back of table napkins and/or place settings
• A table with sponsor’s information at the reception. Business cards, fliers, photos, discount vouchers may be placed.

There are those people with the opinion that sponsored weddings are cheap and tasteless. That being said, the first thought on any couples mind should be how they can celebrate their special day without breaking the bank. Besides, the money saved from having a sponsored wedding can be put toward a more important cause like buying your first home or even paying for your honeymoon.