Creative Ways to Save Money on a Wedding You’ll Love

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Nowadays weddings are not just a simple tradition but a major event. With all the dreamy inspirations you can find on the internet, one would think that you need to spend thousands of dollars for your wedding to be Pinterest-worthy. Obviously not all of us can afford a personalized table napkin or your initials etched on a spoon, but you don’t need to splurge to make your wedding day memorable.

So ready your hearts, because we are going to give you ways to save money on a wedding of a lifetime from when to have wedding, where to hold it, who will be your guests and what you’ll need.

Ways to Save Money on A Wedding from 4 Aspects

1

Time

Having the right date can help you save a lot.

  • Choose a week day. Saturdays and Sundays are big days for wedding, making venues a bit pricey when placing your wedding on a weekend. Doing your wedding on a weekday will help you save a few thousands on your venues and other vendors.

  • Plan way ahead. Aside from saving you the stress of planning everything on the last minute, beginning your wedding preparation early will give you plenty of time looking for the best and cheapest options. Calling ahead for a reservation for a venue or a caterer will help you save a lot too!

  • Off-season is the key. Select dates that are at least a week before the peak season hits, so you’ll have great weather but cheaper prices in terms of venues and some deals.

2

Place

As for the place for your wedding, here are some tips on places where your ceremony and reception can be held without shedding too much.

  • Venues without attachments. Look out for venues that will not oblige you to use their own vendors. Some venues will kill you on the additional or their package offers (from bartenders, DJ’s, to catering), having your own options might take some time but it will help you save a ton.

  •  Rent! Look for beautiful mansion or vacation lodges that you can rent, not just for your wedding day, but also for your honeymoon and for guests that lives out of state. Your honeymoon will still be memorable after your guests leave, and will also help you save a lot instead of going someplace else.

  • Opt for a courthouse. If you’re not one of those traditional couples, you can find ways to save money on a wedding to have it done at a courthouse. NO, it won’t make you look cheap; instead it will make your wedding more of a close family event. You can still wear your dream dress, but the money you save on design and flowers can afford you to go to a more memorable reception or honeymoon.

  •  Ceremony and reception in one go. Instead of renting and designing two venues for your ceremony and reception, why not have them in the same place. After your ceremony, you can just transfer the flowers and designs to the reception mode, which will help you cut some costs. It will also save you time without having you and your guest transfer to another place.

  • Have your reception in a restaurant. As a replacement for renting a venue for reception and paying for a caterer, just have yours in a restaurant. You don’t have to worry about the food and the tables and chairs. Or you can also go straight ahead to your local bar and have some drinks after your wedding to cut the cost of hiring a bar tender and buying liquor.

3

People

Can you really come up with ways to save money on a wedding with the people you love? Yes!

  •  Limit your guests. No need to invite the whole town, but do your best to narrow down your list to your closest family and friends. Caterers usually charge per head, so a hundred sure guests is better than 300 unsure ones that you still need to pay for.

  • Utilize them! Helping guests are great guests. If you have friends that can bake, ask them to bake your wedding cake! Or why not ask your sister to host the reception or your brother to be the DJ? This can help you cut the cost on man power.

4

What else?

Since we’ve got everything down from dates, to venues, to your guests, here are some final tips for other wedding necessities that you can consider to save your budget.

  •  Food and drinks. After the ceremony, go straight to party mode and just serve cocktails and some cakes or appetizers, instead of spending hundreds of dollars in buffet. Having your reception in the morning or during lunch is much cheaper than serving dinner too, which is one of the simple ways to save money on a wedding.

  • Photos, videos and music. One trick is hiring a photography student! It will help you save money on a wedding that looks exquisite on pictures but is still cheap on the bill. Of course check his portfolio first to be sure. You can also ask your guests to be your photographers and videographers after the pro leaves, so you’ll have a more candid view of your special day. For your music, why not plug in your phone with your favourite tunes and have a friend play it for you through the night?

  • Flowers and decorations. Instead of buying flowers from a florist, why not buy from your local grocery to save a lot and just DIY your bouquets? If you want, you can just skip them all together and replace them with lanterns!

  • Wedding attire. A wedding dress can be expensive; you can opt for a second hand dress or try non-traditional attires like vintage prom outfits or off-white dresses.