Everyone knows how expensive weddings have gotten these days. The cost of weddings have skyrocketed thousands of dollars than they were just several years ago and the wedding business is booming. Because of the wedding boom, vendors and venues are able to charge an arm and a leg for products and services. I don’t necessarily blame them as who doesn’t want to make more money if they can?? That’s why I put together this list how to save money on a wedding to help couples out who are on a budget.
1. E-Invites
It’s honestly ridiculous how expensive stamps are, let alone a designed wedding invite! We’re living in an age where it’s totally acceptable to send a text or email invite. Lots of wedding websites have this function built into it now.
If you’re not sure about this idea for the older generation who usually isn’t very tech savvy, you could buy a few paper invites to send to them in the mail.
2. Smaller Guest Count
Invite less people! More intimate gatherings are becoming increasingly more common and for good reason. Have your closest family and friends only. I wish I had stuck to this instead of inviting random people certain people said should be invited. You can’t please everyone!
Along with this tip, limit plus ones and children. It pains me to say don’t invite children because as a mom now it’s super helpful to bring the baby along, but I totally get it. When I was getting married I didn’t want children there either but it was never going to happen. My husband is 7th out of 8 siblings and all his siblings before him were married and most had at least one child. At the time there were at least 8 nieces and nephews that had to be there
At the very least tell people you’re sorry but they can’t bring a guest. If they don’t like the rules, they don’t have to come. They can make their own rules for their own wedding lol.
3. DIY with fake florals
I had a former “friend” do my wedding flowers because she offered to do them for free as a wedding gift to us and I was stoked to have the help… Apparently not enough flowers were ordered so it was a bit sparse. I’m thankful for her help because I didn’t have to worry about it, but I wish I had just done them well in advance with fake flowers. I could’ve had as many as I wanted!!
4. NO favors
I repeat: NO FAVORS. Do not do favors. Forgo having favors at your wedding. Don’t buy favors for your wedding. Did I say it enough? You have no idea how wasteful favors are. A majority of them are always left behind and it’s really sad to see. Just don’t do it and it’ll help you save money on a wedding.
If you insist on having them, go for something cheap and edible like candy. These are the least wasteful items as people will usually eat it right then and there. If not edible and you still insist, buy only 40% of your total guest count. Most people won’t remember to take them and I don’t want you to throw good money down the toilet.
5. Small Wedding Cake
As much as I love wedding cake, I’d still recommend having a small wedding cake because of how expensive they are these days. Go with 1-2 tiers or just a small personal cake so you guys have something to cut into for pictures.
Don’t try to feed everyone with it and get smaller desserts for everyone else. Donuts are usually a hit and super cheap comparatively. Cake pops, bundt cakes, cookies, etc are really popular nowadays.
If you really do want cake, a good option is to have a bakery decorate a styrofoam cake and then have large sheet cakes in the back, like from Costco or Sam’s Club to serve to everyone. Just make sure at least one of the tiers of the “Styrofoam” cake is real so you can actually cut into it. Pro tip: make sure you know which tier is the real one haha!
6. DIY Photobooth
Create a DIY backdrop with cheap materials and use a polaroid camera or disposable cameras for guests to use. Bonus – they can stick the polaroid photos in a guest book! Kills two birds with one stone.
7. Guest Book
See the above point. But also you can save money by forgoing a traditional guest book that you will never really look at anyways.
A popular option to a guest book these days are voicemail messages left for the couple via a telephone service like After the Tone or Fetefone.
8. Skip the programs and other stationery all together
You don’t need to print out a program, order of events, menu, escort cards or anything else for people. Most of these traditions are gone and pretty wasteful honestly. All get thrown into the trash at the end of the night which isn’t good for the environment. If you really want something, using a fancy mirror and writing on it with a marker that will wash off is a smart choice. Bonus, you can use the mirror in your new home with your spouse! Or resell it and make some quick cash.
9. Smaller bridal party
The biggest thing about having a smaller bridal party is that it’ll save you money on bouquets and boutonnieres which really add up. Not only that but you won’t have to buy as many gifts for your bridal party. Just invite your close friends to bridal party activities like bachelor/ette parties so they don’t feel excluded. They will probably be happy about not having to buy a dress and all the extras that come with being in the actual bridal party.
10. Greenery in place of flowers
Greenery is much cheaper than florals so if you don’t mind too much, add lots of greenery to centerpieces and bouquets. They make great fillers and still look beautiful and timeless.
Going with greenery can really help you save money on a wedding!
11. Rent larger tables
This reduces the amount of linens, centerpieces, candles, etc that you will need, especially for reception tables. You can also combine tables like the gifts and welcome table into one if it’s big enough and if you have minimal decor. Same goes for the cake and dessert table.
12. DON’T serve alcohol
Honestly in my opinion, alcohol is one of the biggest ways to save money at a wedding. We’re talking thousands of dollars here. Typically how it works is you have to hire the bartenders, rent a table or bar, AND buy all the alcohol and ice. Not only that, but you have to have someone in charge of bringing it all on the day of and make sure it’s all on ice and in coolers or ice chests already.
If your friends or family are bummed, tell them they can pay for it and you’ll gladly have it at your wedding.
13. Get married during the week
Weekdays at venues are usually a lot cheaper as they aren’t as common for weddings. Even Fridays and Sundays are typically cheaper options. Try avoiding Saturdays if you can as this will help you save money on a wedding.
14. Get married on a holiday
Sometimes venues will price holidays cheaper than other days because people don’t typically want to get married on a holiday BUT it depends so check around first and ask. I would say most vendors don’t change their pricing for holidays and might actually increase it for working on certain holidays so take this one with a grain of salt.
When I was looking for a venue for myself, back in 2018 at Grand Tradition Estate in Fallbrook, they had cheaper options for getting married on MLK Day so that’s why I share this tip.
15. Get married during wedding off season
The wedding off season are the months that are less popular for weddings and therefore usually cheaper. Typically off season weddings range from November to April but each venue varies. A lot of them have cheaper prices when getting married during the non-peak seasons. Summer and Fall weddings or from May to October are most common and most expensive.
16. Have your reception at a pretty restaurant instead
Some restaurants can accommodate a large party and don’t need too much decor, especially Italian restaurants and could save you a ton of money. You don’t have to worry about clean up or venue fees. It’s a win win!
17. Get married at a park or beach
Sometimes a permit is required but it’s usually not very expensive to obtain and these locations are pretty enough on their own that they don’t need much decorating.
18. Make note of big sales
Black Friday and Cyber Monday are huge days for sales but also holiday weekends can bring sales. Be on the look out during holidays for potential sales from your favorite vendors and brands.
19. Possibility of sharing your wedding vendors
Find out who’s getting married the same week as you at your venue and see if you can share some vendors. Maybe you can use the same rentals, floral installations, or other items!
I’m not sure how likely this is, but it sounds amazing if you can make it happen. Definitely worth a try.
20. Rent things
You can rent flowers, dresses, signage, candles, decor, sound system and pretty much anything these days. Instagram and Facebook are good options to find rentals too.
21. Forgo a DJ or band and use a speaker with a premade playlist
Just rent a sound system and some speakers and have a charismatic, outgoing friend do a few announcements throughout the night. Create a playlist beforehand and have it play during the night.
22. Purchase used items
Buy decor, your dress, tux, everything second hand to really save some money. Facebook Marketplace is a great place to search for items.
23. Print things yourself
If you must print something, do it yourself to save money. Buying ink and paper yourself is way more affordable than buying something made by someone else.
24. Go with buffet style food or food trucks/carts
Food trucks are usually more affordable per person, as well as food carts. Buffet style catering is much cheaper than plated because it doesn’t demand as many workers and servers. Definitely go this route to save money.
BUT keep in mind that if you don’t hire a true caterer, you will most likely have to do your own trash clean up and bus the tables. Other vendors and venues will charge extra if you try to get them to take care of this because it’s not typically part of their services. Even if you ask friends and family to do this, it can be hard to make sure everything is done properly. I often see couples lose their deposit because they don’t have hired help for this…so in the long run this route could cost more money.
25. Enlist family and friends to help
Need someone to pick up ice for drinks (water and soda of course;)? Ask people close to you who aren’t in the bridal party to get their help with other miscellaneous little tasks. Pro tip: assign one specific task to one specific person to make sure that that thing will get done. If you assign too many tasks to one person, I can guarantee that some things will fall through the cracks. They aren’t hired help and they’re not a professional. Don’t expect too much of family and friends.
Second pro tip: this is why hiring a wedding coordinator is a huge help! They can help you manage these little details.
26. Reuse decor and florals
Use ceremony decor for cocktail hour and reception! Creates less waste and saves some money.
Just make sure to put someone in charge of moving these items and make sure they wont be needed for pictures. For example, don’t try to reuse bridesmaid bouquets on the reception tables because you’ll need them for pictures.
27. Hire local wedding vendors
As much as I’d love for you to hire me for your wedding in the Bahamas (please someone hire me for this) I do have to admit it’s much cheaper to hire someone local to the area. Travel is an extra charge for all vendors that I’ve ever met.
Although, if you do hire me as your wedding coordinator for a far away wedding, I might just do the service for free as long as travel, food, and a hotel is covered for me and my team! =D Seriously, reach out to me and ask. I love to travel!
28. Hire me!
Can’t afford a wedding planner or wedding coordinator? I can help you create a timeline and provide other helpful tools and tips for a successful wedding day without one through wedding consultation calls.
I can also help with event decor set up and or decor tear down if you’re needing someone.
Lastly, as a wedding coordinator I always try to work within your budget so reach out to me and see what we can work out. You may be able to afford a timeless, stress free wedding after all!