Wedding planning can be completely stressful – the guest list! The dress! THE BUDGET!? For me, the process of planning my wedding has been stress free, manageable and enjoyable. Here are some ways I cut back to save money on our wedding:
- Limit your Guest List: It may seem a bit obvious, but the less people means less money, less food and less space. Having a smaller guest list means you physically occupy less space, and can score some amazing locations that a larger party may not be able to fit into! By limiting our guest list to 40, we were able to rent out the upstairs bar area of a really cool local restaurant, and we saved a TON of money.
- Date and Time: Rentals are traditionally more expensive during ‘wedding season’ or the months of May-October. If you are able to swing getting married November through April, do so! I wish this was an option we could have chosen, but with both of us being teachers, it just made sense for us to get married in the summer. Getting married ‘off season’ also means that you will have less competition for your desired venues, vendors and dress fittings. Believe it or not, I’ve had to schedule my dress fittings several months in advance for my June wedding – are you serious? Bye Felicia. We are having our ceremony at noon, with a lunch reception afterwards, so there is no need to hire a DJ or band, saving us more money in the long run.
- Ditch the Flowers: Flowers are a wedding convention that I truly do not understand. One of my girlfriends was telling about shopping around for florists for her upcoming October wedding, and that the lowest quote she received was $3000. Thousand. Dollars. For something that dies the next day – I was stunned. We decided to nix the flowers all together and I opted instead for a gorgeous crystal brooch bouquet and handmade silk flower bouquet that I found on Etsy, and my wonderful mother purchased for me as a gift (love you mom!!!). While this option was expensive (anywhere upwards of $180) – I am so happy I will have such a special keepsake to display in our home for the rest of our lives together.
- Invitations –Another component of wedding planning that I just can’t rationalize spending a ton of money on. They sit on someone’s refrigerator for a few months, and then are thrown away in the trash. I can’t justify spending a ridiculous amount of money for trash. However, you don’t have to sacrifice cost for quality at all if you shop online. There are plenty of online options to print your own wedding invitations. I bought mine off of Etsy, and am so completely happy with my purchase; they are beautiful and exactly what I wanted. Many invitations suites will also include an inner envelope as part of the price, which again, I don’t understand because they are just going to be thrown away immediately. Ditch the inner envelope and save some dollars.
- Reception Choice – Traditional wedding venues usually have a room rental fee just to occupy the space with a catering package on top of that and can range anywhere starting upwards of $3000! The price to secure the upstairs lounge area for our reception? $1000. There was no room rental fee; the restaurant just requested that we just rack up a tab of $1000 worth of appetizers, food and drinks. Easy-peasy, and super affordable.
- Dress Shop – think outside the box when dress shopping! You don’t necessarily need to go to a pricey bridal shop to purchase your wedding dress. Many brides I know have found amazing deals on eBay or CraigsList. David’s Bridal also has $99 dress sales regularly. My mom always says ‘I have never seen an ugly bride – there is no such thing!’ You are beautiful inside and out. Remember – the dress isn’t what makes you beautiful on your wedding day – it’s the glow from within because you are so happy to spend your life with your soul mate!
- Accessories – Choose something you already have or borrow something sentimental from an special woman in your life. Personally, I am not purchasing new accessories for this day. On my 21st birthday, my parents bought me a beautiful set of pearls – pearl earrings and a graduated pearl necklace that I am thrilled to wear on my wedding day. Using pieces that are sentimental or borrowed from someone special only add more meaning to your wedding day.
- Save the Dates – Yet another piece of paper that you spend a ton of money on that your guests are going to throw away. You could create a free electronic invite, or send an email. We sent a text message – which might be rachet but I really could care less. It saved us time and money.
- Honeymoon – there are so many quiet and intimate options for a honeymoon that don’t break the bank. We looked into Bed and Breakfasts and going away somewhere locally, and finding someplace within a days drive. However, we were fortunate enough to fund most of our honeymoon on reward points from our credit cards. We purchased all 6 of our flights using SouthWest Points, choosing times that reflected the lowest fares. We were also blessed enough and so thankful that his parents had extra hotel points which they gifted to us, and are able to stay in Vegas for four nights using their points. Get creative, and use the resources around you!
- Bridesmaid dresses – This one is technically about saving your bridesmaids money. It’s expensive to be a bridesmaid! Buying the dress, paying for hair and make-up for your wedding, funding your bachelorette party, bridal shower gifts and décor and wedding gifts – it’s a lot and these events add up quickly! One thing you can do to thank your bridesmaids for all this effort is save them a little money with dress selection. When choosing a bridesmaid dress, please take into consideration the expense it is for your bridesmaids, and the possibility for re-wearing them in the future. Maybe I have a completely different mentality on our wedding day, but I have never once thought that our wedding is about me. I firmly believe it is about celebrating our union with God, and honoring the special people who have helped bring us together, encouraged us, and mentored us. Let your bridesmaid dresses be about the bridesmaids – let them choose something that will make them happy – let them choose something they feel beautiful in – let them choose something that is within their price point. If everyone is happy, there is a much better energy on the day of, and who doesn’t love positive energy?!
These are just the ways that I chose to save money, time, and energy for our upcoming wedding. What are some of your bridal money-saving tips??
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