There are a lot of things you could save on. Don’t feel bad because of this; you don’t have to spend tens of thousands of dollars to have a great wedding. As long as you have a good atmosphere, you will have a wonderful wedding – no matter what the price was. Here’s how you can do it!
1. Shorten the Guest List
People tend to invite too many people to their weddings. There is no need to do that. It is supposed to be a happy day, so invite people you care about and people who make you happy. Sometimes, less is more.
If you have hundreds of friends – that’s great (friends – people you care about and people that make you happy) – they all deserve to share that day with you. But if half of your guests are people who annoy you, you don’t even know their names, and you’ve invited them just out of courtesy – well, that’s not doing any good to anyone. It’s not a networking event, it’s your wedding!
Shorten the guest list to people who really matter to you and save a lot of money just from that.
2. Invitations
The absolute winner of the wedding invitations I have ever received was an electronic invitation. I’m not saying that you have to do the same, but it could save you really a great deal of money, so at least think about it.
If you decide for traditional invitations, choose those that are simpler in design and choose flat cards. You can save at least 10% with these invitations in comparison to those that fold and open up. Go for traditional colors as well, because fancy modern colors add up to the price.
3. A Little Help from Your Friends
There is no harm in asking your friends to help you with your wedding. Most of them will be glad to do that for you and you could save a bunch of money.
You have a friend who bakes great cakes? Ask her to make your wedding cake as a wedding gift to you and your husband.
Some of your friends are in a band – hire them to be the band on your wedding.
You know someone who owns a catering business – ask them to do the menu.
Have a friend interested in photography – let them be your wedding photographer.
4. Something Borrowed
Every bride needs something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue. So, how about borrowing your wedding dress and spend so much less money on your wedding.
A new wedding dress can cost a lot – and I mean A LOT! However, even though brides still want to look their best on their wedding day, they are not that sentimental towards owning their wedding gown. So – look if you can rent a wedding dress or borrow it from your mother or your sister. You’ll save a bunch!
5. Hair and Makeup
Ok, if you can do your own hair and makeup every day and for some special occasions, you can do your hair and makeup yourself for your wedding as well. There’s nothing wrong with that and it saves a lot of money.
There are a lot of DIY wedding hairstyles that you could try. Make sure you try the one you’ve chosen a couple of days before your wedding – you don’t want to see that you can’t actually make it only a couple of hours before the big moment.
6. Food
A buffet will cost you less than a full menu. If you fill it with interesting original dishes, no one will find anything wrong with that. If you really have to have a sit down dinner, cut down the number of meals. Try serving three bigger meals instead of five smaller ones.
You absolutely don’t have to have additional desserts. You have a big wedding cake – so simply cut out a piece of it for every guest and spend less money on the food.
7. Decorations
Decorations are very important to brides, but they can really pump up your wedding bill.
In order to cut these costs down, choose floral arrangements with one flower instead of mix of flowers.
Bear in mind that roses and orchids are usually the most expensive ones, so choose more budget friendly flowers – like gerbera daisy or hydrangea. If you want big central pieces ask the florist to put more greens and you’ll save some extra.
I would personally choose wild flowers for my wedding bouquet. They cost pretty much nothing – you can pick them in the nearby park, and to me they are the most beautiful flowers.
Silk flowers are also usually less expensive than fresh ones. If you want to spend even less – silk flower arrangements can be rented.
8. Location
Choose a unique location for your wedding and save some extra money. Locations like libraries, public parks, museums, art galleries or even aquariums or zoos (why not?) can cost up to 50% less than traditional wedding locations.
Plus, everyone will remember an unusual location. Saturdays and months between May and September are the most sought after and the most expensive. Choose a different date and save some extra.
9. Gifts for Your Guests
How about buying a lottery ticket? It’s fun and original.
Instead of expensive chocolates, buy cheaper ones but pack them in nice boxes.
If you’ll be getting married around a big holiday – buy favors a year before right after those holidays. For example, if you’ll have a winter wedding – buy favors right after Christmas. The prices could be as much as 50% lower.
10. Ask for Discounts
Don’t be shy to ask for discounts when planning your wedding. You’ll be surprised how many people are willing to give you a discount just because you’re getting married.
Whatever you’re paying for, mention that you’re getting married and ask if you can have a discount. Even if you don’t get it – there’s no harm in asking.
So, do you think you can plan your wedding on a budget? I bet you can. Just plan it well and on time! The sooner you start the sooner you’ll finish. Spending less money on your wedding doesn’t mean you have to be cheap, just smart. Then you’ll have way more money left for your perfect honeymoon ;)
If you have an extra tip to share – feel free to do so in the comment section below.
Really great article, thank you!
thanks a lot for these tips. im getting married next year.i really need to be wise on the budgeting.
Your Comment that’s great advice thank you