Brides and grooms want their wedding day to be perfect. The expectations can be really high. And although every couple wants to have a successful and magical wedding, it typically comes with huge expenses. While some people have seemingly bottomless bank accounts or rich parents to pay the bill, for the majority of us, we have to work with limited budgets so costs stay manageable. If you aren’t one of the lucky ones that won the fantasy wedding lottery but still wants to have a wonderful wedding that everyone will enjoy, here are some tips to minimize your expenses.
1) It’s True, Venues are that Important
Picking the right venue is the most important choice you’ll make. Not only will it set the stage for your wedding, it will be where the vast majority of couples spend the most money. If you’re an optimist, this is where you can save the most money too. According to wedding planners, you must avoid choosing a venue in or near the city center. Instead, rent a venue closer to the edge of town or the metro, which will typically have significantly lower rates. Also, Saturdays will always be priced at a premium. If you’re flexible, try to have your wedding on a Friday or Sunday to save big. When the venue is more important than the day of the week, you can join other couples that opt for Monday through Thursday weeknight weddings for some amazing rates.
2) Make Your Own Bouquet of Flowers
To create a simplistic yet elegant bridal bouquet, you can arrange 3 to 5 fresh, large blooms of Roses, Tulips, Calla Lilies, or Bride’s choice to be surrounded by a variety of inexpensive filler. The filler can be made up of flowers and greenery such as Baby’s Breath, Delphinium, Myrtle, Snapdragons, Lemon Leaf, Stock, Poms, Daisies, Dusty Miller, Fiddlehead Fern, Honey Bracelet, Heather, Bouvardia, Bells of Ireland, Dianthus, or Italian Ruscus. Wrap the flowers using a ribbon (or Raffia ribbons/fibers), tape, heavy duty wrapping paper, and tissue paper. You can save a lot creating your own bridal bouquet.
3) Rent Your Wedding Gown
Wedding gowns can cost thousands of dollars and that’s a lot of money especially when you consider the bride only wears the dress once in her life. If you are someone that can’t put a price on a special memory, you should probably stay traditional and purchase your own gown. Then again, if you can feed your future nostalgia appetite with high res pictures and other special wedding trinkets, you may prefer the idea of saving hundreds to thousands of dollars by opting to rent your dress instead. In that case, be sure to order your wedding dress months before your wedding as insurance against potential high demand from other brides getting married near your wedding date. Rental fees may be higher if you wait too. Besides, you will give yourself much more time for alterations if you order earlier. Even if you wish to buy your own dress, check for deals and promotions on social media, discount websites, and retailers.
4) DIY Reception Table Decorations
Accompanied by some of the floral arrangement fillers suggested in the bridal bouquet recommendation (#2 above), use 3 to 5 flattering varieties of monochromatic blooms to decorate the reception tables. Bundle the flowers in 3 to 5 arrangements depending on your floorplan. Each arrangement can use a different vase but it’s just as beautiful with a uniform version on all the tables. Try to keep each arrangement style separate from neighboring tables if possible. Be sure to order the flowers in bulk to benefit from volume discounts offered by some florists. To save even more money, you can alternate floral arrangements with elegant (yet usually less expensive) large candle settings that complement the flowers.
5) Go Digital for Invitations
While traditional invitations made from paper or cardstock have been the standard for generations, digital invitations have become much more popular because of the cost savings, convenience, and countless design options. Yes, you can still have some of them printed too. Now there are many vendors to choose from that offer digital invitation services for all kinds of events, including weddings. Unlike traditional wedding invitations, you can make digital invitations with a custom video message for you and your partner. The invitations can also be personalized and linked to your very own wedding website to make communicating with your guests a breeze. On top of all of the savings, digital invitations are much more environment-friendly as well!
6) Search for Freelance Photographers in Your Network First
You may be surprised what resources you may already have access to in your own network of coworkers, family, and friends. Social media is a great place to start. Ask around and see if anyone knows a part-time or freelance photographer that has worked at weddings in the past. Be sure to request portfolios to see if you like how they take pictures. Each photographer adds their own signature style to their photographs. There are also plenty of great freelance photographers out there that are relatively inexpensive to larger agencies and more popular solo artists. Some of the best photographers may be less expensive simply because they work weddings as a part-time hobby or they have less experience than some of the more seasoned local wedding photographers. To save money, try not to waste too much time during your photoshoots. You don’t want to go over on scheduled time because you may get charged extra. Communicate with the photographer and plan ahead to make your photo sessions as concise as possible. Be as prepared as possible and make sure you know all of the settings and poses you want in advance.
7) Trim Your Guest List
We know you are ever-so-popular and have so many friends, family, and colleagues but try to keep your guest list short if you want to save more of your hard earned money. Think about the people you are close to now and will likely still be in contact with ten years from now. Maybe this is a good time for you to cross off Rebecca in accounting from your list since you only hung out with her once to get drinks in the 3 years you’ve worked together. Vendors and venues often charge by the head. The more guests, the more food, the more invitations, the more people to host, and the more people to entertain. That’s why having more guests can quickly get expensive.
We hope that these tips can really help you save big on your wedding so you don’t need to stress about money as you begin your life together. Starting off your marriage the right way is what’s important. It would also be wise to set a budget before making any plans. Just because weddings can get quite pricey, it doesn’t mean that you can’t still have a beautiful wedding without breaking the bank.
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