36 Ways To Slash Your Wedding Budget And Save Tons Of Money
Weddings are freaking high-end! Another thing: that’s a huge down payment on a house, a really nice brand new car, or a crazy all around the world vacation. The average wedding for this year was over $35,000!
There is consequently much you can do with the amount of money people spend on weddings. And a lot of people don’t even have that option to spend that much. What’s more, if you’re anything like us, we wanted to stay faaaaar away from that number and stick to something MUCH MUCH cheaper.
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First things first…know what your priorities are. On top of that, everyone will be different, therefore if the cake is one of your top priorities of the entire day, you don’t have to skimp out on that portion…maybe you don’t care about the flower then, therefore you can save more money there.
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Do Your Own Flowers
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Rather than hire an costly package from a florist, we ordered pre-made flower arrangements and bulk flowers from Sam’s Club. That way, we didn’t have to fuss with making all the bouquets, centerpieces and boutonnieres, yet we still ordered bulk flowers thus I could have my bouquet arranged how I wanted, as well as craft an arrangement to hang on the arch. They turned out thus gorgeous.
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Order Flowers That Are Cheaper And In Season
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There are additionally different versions of flowers that look remarkably similar as well. What’s more, no you don’t need to just stick to baby’s breath and carnations, yet check out more affordable options you can pick from. Go for the cheaper option of flowers to acquire about the same look you’re going for.
Have A Smaller Cake
Another thing: we were shocked when we found out how much wedding cakes can cost. Neither my husband nor I are huge cake fans to begin with, and I knew I wanted to have an ice cream station as well. Some girls were telling us they had spent over $1000 on theirs!
We almost decided to just forego the cake, nevertheless I really wanted to cut the cake and feed it to each other…still wanted a little bit of tradition, plus I wanted to have the top layer on our one year anniversary. consequently, we opted for a smaller cake and cup cakes instead.
Having a smaller cake will save you loads of money to begin with, however you can plus have a smaller cake and add sheet cakes to be cut in the back before serving to your guests. No one will know its not the actual wedding cake, and you obtain to save money.
Also Visit: How to Plan a Wedding on a Small Budget
Have Pre-Cut Sheet Cake To Serve
The larger the cake, the more it cost! We were quoted anywhere from $3-5 per piece of cake cut! That’s $500 extra just to have someone cut it. additionally, you’ll have to think of things like paying for cake cutting to be done as well.
Another thing: no thanks! We decided on cupcakes, and our planner cut our smaller cake for anyone else who wanted to try the cake.
Get Your Cake From A Grocery Store
We got our cake for $70 from Sam’s Club! We went away from the traditional white wedding cake and went for a fun mermaid and fisherman cake (Everyone calls me the mermaid cause of my long red hair, and B is a fisherman). It was 3-tiered and could serve 60 people.
On top of that, however Sam’s Club has serval gorgeous traditional white wedding cakes if that’s more your speed. Costco has great sheet cakes, and we’ve heard nothing nevertheless great things about Public cakes.
Have Your Wedding On A Different Day Than Saturday
Weddings that are on Friday or Sunday or any other days of the week tend to be much cheaper. That’s because Saturdays are the most popular days to have weddings, and they can still book a Saturday wedding and have yours that week as well. Lots of different venues will give you a huge discount if you have your wedding on any other day than Saturday.
Check see favorite they venues have to an your for with if discounts “Off-day”.
Having a week day wedding, or a Sunday wedding can additionally save you money with your vendors for the same reason. Lots of different vendors will give you a discount if you have your wedding on a different day, since you won’t be taking up their coveted Saturday wedding slots.
Be vendors sure ask your off they day if to discounts as have all well.
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Let Your Friends/Family Help
Planning a wedding can be quite stressful, especially when you are trying to stick to a budget and commence thinking of doing things yourself. Most likely, people who are close to you will ask if you want support already. And if not, there’s no need to feel weird about asking for support. yet allow you friends and family to support!
Have a friend who is great at makeup? Have a family member who does awesome calligraphy? Ask if they would like to address your invitations. Let them do your makeup for the day.
Another thing: try to stick to things your friends and family are wonderful at, and if they are willing to support, let them! There is a fine line between asking for assist and expecting people to work for free. Don’t expect everyone to say yes, and don’t acquire offended if they give you a price in which they can do something.
yet let lots to they if then people aid, of offer, want and genuinely them!
Check Facebook For Awesome Wedding Deals
Did you know you can receive some awesome deals on wedding stuff on places like Facebook, OfferUp and other marketplace apps? and trying to craft some money back from their own wedding. On top of that, there are several Buy/Sell Bridal groups on Facebook, where brides are selling lots of their decor, dresses, signs, etc.
You can usually find great deals in here instead of paying full price for something at a bridal store. What’s more, you may need to be patient and keep checking to see what’s available, however it can be remarkably rewarding once you find your perfect decor.
Purchase Your Veil On Amazon
One of my favorite ways to share with brides to save money on their weddings is to buy their veil from Amazon! nevertheless then you fall in love with the veil that just therefore happens to match perfectly, only to find out that veil costs hundreds of dollars. We’ve heard of brides being quotes up to $1200 just for the veil alone. While you’re trying on your dress, bridal shops like to add a veil to complete your look to have you saying yes to the dress.
I purchased my cathedral length veil for $15 on Amazon! And we have a post where lots of other brides have found their gorgeous veils from Amazon as well.
Barter With What You Can Offer Them
A unique way you can save money is to trade services with a vendor for services they need as well. Maybe your produce-up artist friend needs her own wedding invitations addressed and you know calligraphy! Plus, if you’re a web designer and your photographer is looking to hire someone to create their new website, you can trade services for each other for a win-win.
leverage your skills and family businesses to your advantage. Understand that each vendor you hire is putting some money into your wedding, and know that each one will be a valuable addition to your day. yet if there is something mutually beneficial, then don’t be afraid to bring it up and see if they are keen on working with you. Even if it’s something you can offer for a discount.
Also Visit: 10 Things a New Bride Needs From Her Mother (That Actually Help) | Woman Getting Married
Hire A Student
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This is where you can bring in students and people who are just starting out. Or head to your local Cosmetology school and obtain your hair and create-up done by a student. Each of these will be way more affordable, and you might be able to book something you thought you wouldn’t. Ask around at your local colleges to see who is working on creating and building their photography and video portfolio.
Opt For Buffet Style vs. Plated Dinner
Of course being served your food is a more elegant way, yet having a buffet line can save you money! Buffets tend to be cheaper as well since it’s just one set up rather than plating each meal separately and serving each course with all the additional plates and staff. And, we think it’s even better for your guests since they can pick and choose what they want and how much of it as well.If you do a buffet line where your guests fill their own plate, you’ll cut the cost of having to have servers to each table several times.
Have Food Stations
We actually found it was cheaper for us to set up different food stations from different vendors than it was to hire one caterer who did the whole wedding. I think this is mainly because we were hiring someone who does events and wasn’t just a wedding caterer.
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Ask About Cash Discounts
Another great tip to save some money is to pay in cash. We’ve heard of vendors who will give a bit of a discount if their services are paid in cash, rather than on a credit or debit card where they have to pay a fee attached to it.
Ask any vendors have all your pay discounts they especially if you available, if cash.
Skip Save the Dates
Save the Dates can be fun, yet if you’re trying to save money, they aren’t really necessary. On top of that, you can let your friends and family know what date you’re getting married with a text, through Facebook, or just send your invites out just a bit earlier than you normally would.
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Then send your invites around 4 months in advance instead of 6-8 weeks. That’s still plenty of time for people to receive ready for a wedding.
Skip Favors
To tell you the truth, most guests will forget their favor or not even bother to take them home. What’s more, this is a great way to save money if you’re looking for areas where guests won’t even notice.
Don’t spend tons of extra money and time on favors unless it’s something you are really wanting to do. It really wouldn’t have been missed if we skipped out on the favors. We actually did do inexpensive favors with chocolates and had probably half left over after all was said and done.
Skip Wedding Programs/Menus/Name Cards
Skip all the paper extras! And if you want to keep everyone informed, just create a large sign and post it at the entrance therefore everyone knows whats coming up. No one needs to know the schedule of the day or the menu of what they will be eating.
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Same goes for name cards. If you prefer to do a seating chart, go with table numbers and let them choose a seat at the table.
Do Your Own Hair/Makeup
Plus, or at least have a friend aid. I ended up doing my own hair and craft up at my wedding since that wasn’t super essential to me, and I can do my hair better than random people who don’t know how my hair holds. Whenever you say it’s Bridal Hair or Bridal Makeup, the price jumps like crazy!
I couldn’t someone and wanted my makeup do have to couple when of natural the I look hundred justify the brushed my want didn’t dollars more air personally look.
If you absolutely cannot do your own and have no friends who are comfortable doing it, try heading to places like Dry Bar and M.A.C. And numerous makeup places will do your makeup for free if you buy products, consequently that’s always a great option as well. where you can have your hair done by a professional, nevertheless not pay bridal prices.
Have People RSVP On Your Wedding Website
Save your money on the extra postage and paper for RSVP’s. You’ll save on stamps, extra paper that can add extra weight to your invitations (meaning more Stamps) and you’ll have everything organized for you. You can obtain a free wedding website and have everyone RSVP there.
If to you RSVP, out to you how someone cant call they’ll and seem let figure know.
Weigh Your Invitations So You Only Need One Stamp
Invitations these days can come with thus several extras. On top of that, if you’re inviting lots of people and you have to add an extra stamp because of the weight of your invitations, it can commence adding up quick. Another thing: and while they’re really lovely and fun, they can really up your cost when it comes time to ship them.
Buy Decor You Can Re-Use
If you’re spending money on your wedding, might as well create it last. We used globes, pictures and canvases that we were going to utilize in our home anyway. furthermore, lamps, pictures, and signs are great ideas as well. While shopping for Wedding Decor, find things that you will be able to re-leverage in your new home.
Find and can the employ things you decor employ after that and even family a you those has or re-purpose wedding, member you already will items.
Don’t Rent A Car To Drive Off In
It employ to be a fun tradition to acquire a “going away” car that would whisk you off from the reception to your honeymoon. You can save all that money on a rental car and just utilize your family car to go to your hotel. Now days, not everyone stays until the incredibly wrap up, and brides and grooms are wrapping up the party themselves.
Stock Your Own Bar
If you have the option, bring in your own alcohol. Another thing: there are some really great ways to save money on the alcohol you obtain for your bar, including getting it from a large retailer like Costco or Sam’s Club, or stock your whole bar with Total Wine & More. On top of that, you will save thus much money this way.
Instead of taking the full bar package that you have to pay for, buy your own alcohol and you can decide what types you receive. Plus, that way you have full control over the amount of money you spend on your bar.
Do a Wine/Beer Bar – Signature Drink
On that note, do a beer and wine only bar, or just have a few signature drinks available. We decided to do beer, wine, and whiskey (B’s fav), and came up with a menu of 6 different drinks our guests could order on top of whatever beer or wine they wanted.
It turned out great and everyone complimented our drink choices all night. Plus we saved over a thousand dollars stocking it on our own with Total Wine and More.
Cut Your Guest List
This one in particular was not an option for us. We were both willing to skimp on everything else except for our guest list. We decided we would rather do everything super affordable yet still have all of our loved ones present. Remember when we said to write down your priorities?
Does that mean we invited everyone we knew? When it came down to it, we decided to invite those who were closest to us and who were involved in our relationship over the years. Before planning the wedding, I envisioned inviting everyone we knew, nevertheless when it came down to it, we felt wonderful about inviting a smaller number of people who were closest to us. Not at all!
Skip The Fancy Chairs
As long as your chairs are comfortable, no one notices the chairs. That could easily have been $2500 PLUS set up and delivery charges. NO WAY!We opted for the boring chairs included in our venue for the ceremony, since people would not be sitting in them long, and again, no one notices the chairs…then we rented a little more fancy padded chairs for our reception, and opted to pick them up and drop them off ourselves saving another few hundred dollars. We were quotes $10 per chair and we would need chairs at the ceremony site and at the reception site.
Wedding Day of Coordinator
If there is one “extra” we DO recommend spending money on, it’s a Day Of Wedding Coordinator. We didn’t have it in our budget to have a Wedding Planner (and I really didn’t want one, since I was a hands on bride and wanted to plan every last detail), however having someone who will be your dedicated person to produce things run smoothly and be “in charge” of the day will allow you and your family to relax and enjoy the day like you should.
Spend your to of a don’t the money you for someone wedding Day pay on dollars Coordinator, for of thousands plan have however to you.
Skip The “All Inclusive”
If you are not worried about a wedding budget, then “All-Inclusive” may sound great. yet, we noticed that a lot of places that had “all inclusive” packages didn’t really mean ALL INCLUSIVE. Check to see what their version of this means. Another thing: sometimes you still have to book a DJ, Photographer, Dessert, etc. They take care of lots of things (not all things) that you won’t have to, and most of your planning can be done.
additionally, all inclusive can tend to run you a lot more than if you pieced everything out on your own. I had my own vision of what I wanted our day to look like, and knew I would have to go the DIY route and not acquire stuck having to pick someone else’s caterer and vendors.
If find your to cheaper looking your money, save the skip vendors you’re on all and inclusive places own.
Buy Your Dress Off The Rack/Used/etc
On top of that, no, we are not saying you can’t buy your dream dress and you have to stick to what you find in a thrift store. Buying the dress that is hanging on the rack at the bridal store that fits you like a glove and needs minimal alterations will save you lots of money. What we’re saying is, you can find incredibly affordable options if you look for them.
Alterations can cost a pretty penny, sometimes even as much as the dress costs! It’s a lot easier to find a dress that fits you where you don’t have to pay for all the work that has to be done.
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Check out some of the Facebook bridal sales groups and see what you might be able to find. Plus, chain Bridal Salons will have sales every few months, and sometimes local boutiques will have special sales too. And there’s always Amazon. plus, keep up with the sales.
Have A Smaller Bridal Party
Another thing: yes, we receive it…you have your 3 sisters, 4 cousins and 6 best friends.. You’ll have to think of things like gifts, robes, rehearsal dinner meals, hair and produce-up if you’re doing that, jewelry, lunch for the day, and more. Plus, however, the bigger the bridal party, the higher the cost.
There are lots of hidden costs you might not think about and the more people you have in your wedding, the higher the cost of everything will be. Obviously if this is your priority, keep those parties huge…yet if not, narrow it down to those who are the absolute closest to you.
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Repurpose Decor/Flowers/etc.
Another way we saved money on our wedding was, we repurposed our decorations and flowers. You can utilize your bridesmaid bouquets as centerpieces after the ceremony, or utilize your arch decor on your sweetheart table.
If you have a lovely welcome sign, employ it for your ceremony AND your reception. You can leverage decor in 2 different places, especially if you have your ceremony and reception in different rooms or areas.
Do Drink In Hand Toast
Sure a champagne toast sounds nice, however save all that extra money on champagne, glasses, servers to acquire it ready…and do your toast as a “Drink in Hand”. This means that your guests can toast with whatever drink they have in their hands that they ordered from the bar.
No rushing around making sure everyone is filled up with champagne, and no corkage fees trying to put a bottle or two on every table where lots of it will go to waste. (More glasses, more servers, more clean up) You’ll save money on the drinks themselves and on the execution of a champagne toast.
Opt For A Dessert Table
Rather than just a huge cake, try out a dessert table. Then, serve your favorite desserts that are effortless for your guests to grab and go…like cupcakes, a slice of pie, candies, and other goodies. Dessert tables tend to be much more affordable and you can still have your traditional cake for cake cutting.
This saves you money on a cake cutting service, and turns your dessert into another buffet line. And your guests will obtain to eat what they want and not just have to have the cake that’s served.
Don’t Give Everyone A Plus One
You’ve already to dinner worked down would new your boyfriend you cousins their pay list, guest add for of actually week than a your someone you rather why cut second and know?
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You don’t have to give every single person on your guest list a plus one. Another thing: and they wish they never brought their date. We had one guest who we allowed to bring a plus one, since they didn’t know extremely numerous people, and they broke up AT OUR WEDDING!
thus instead of spending all the money on people you don’t know and people who probably won’t even be in the picture in a year, skip inviting every single plus one. employ your best judgement on this.
DJ vs. Live Band vs. DIY
We always heard that a DJ would be way cheaper than a live band, yet for us personally, a live band was one of our priorities. And we actually found one who was way cheaper than a DJ for the night!
Look around at all your options and price out what makes the most sense. Recently, we have been seeing lots of people having a friend do the music through a music app and loading up the songs to their playlists and letting that run through the night.
This could work if your priority is not on dancing and having an emcee. however we probably recommend getting someone who will be dedicated to keeping the display running.
Remember Extras You’ll Be Paying For
A quick note we want you to remember is, when you’re setting your budget, craft sure you have wiggle room in a lot of the different areas. Things will come out more high-end than you think.
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There Is Such A Thing As An Affordable Wedding
Weddings don’t have to be insanely pricey. With a little bit of creativity, aid and doing things a little differently than “most”, you can save thousands and thousands of dollars on your dream day and still be able to afford the best honeymoon you can imagine! There are consequently several different things you can skip on and still have your dream day.
Sara, a seasoned expert in wedding planning and date ideas, brings a wealth of experience to our couples blog. On top of that, growing up with four sisters has given her unique insights into the dating world, making her a go-to source for practical and heartfelt dating advice. Her knowledge and enthusiasm craft her the perfect guide for couples seeking to infuse their relationships with creativity and love. On top of that, with a background in the television industry and hands-on involvement in a dozen weddings, including working as a wedding assistant on “My Fair Wedding with David Tutera,” Sara has an innate understanding of the magic that makes weddings truly special.
