A wedding is a festive, momentous occasion to celebrate. You want to make it a day that you and your guests will remember for years to come. However, weddings can be incredibly expensive. Even if you’re trying to stay within your set budget, you might find yourself realizing that each breathtaking detail you’ve chosen for your wedding is quickly adding up. The exciting news is that there are easy things that you can do to save money while still getting to have the dream wedding that you deserve. Here are 7 simple ways to save money on your wedding that will make wedding planning a little less stressful on your budget.
1. Something Earth-Friendly
Complete your wedding look by being thoughtful with your accessories. After you’ve picked out your jaw-dropping wedding dress and enviable accessories, finish off the look with the most important piece—a mine-free ring. By using a wedding ring designed with lab-grown diamonds and gemstones, you are choosing a ring that is earth-friendly and saves you money—all with the same amount of sparkle!
Using family heirlooms or something borrowed from a friend, like shoes or earrings, is another simple way to save money. You’ll get lovely, meaningful details for your attire and alleviate the added cost of purchasing all new wedding accessories.
2. Simplify Drink Options
Open bars stocked with spirits, mixers, beer, and wine can be incredibly expensive. Instead of having a full open bar with various types of spirits, limit the bar’s options to beer and wine to scale back your costs.
You want every aspect of your wedding to have one-of-kind designs and details. Limited bars don’t mean boring or more of the same-old drinks! For something fun and one of a kind, you can serve guests a unique signature cocktail alongside beer and wine. Opt for something unique to you as a couple or your wedding for a special twist!
3. Choose Local or In-Season Flowers
Wedding favorites, like peonies, hydrangeas, and gardenias, are tricky when you’re trying to stay within a reasonable budget. A simple way to save money is to swap out the pricey flowers and buy local or in-season flowers. Small substitutions will add up, while still giving you the perfect romantic decoration. In-season flowers also guarantee that you will have the freshest flowers at your wedding, which is a major bonus. To widen your options, you can include year-round flowers in your options list, like carnations and baby’s breath.
Don’t forget to go local! A local florist will save you big on transportation costs and keep flowers looking fresh since they don’t have to travel far.
4. Downsize the Invite List
Your guest list is one of the biggest culprits of high wedding costs. Each guest can potentially add hundreds of dollars depending on the wedding since venue and food costs go up with each guest. Rather than inviting people you aren’t close with, go for a more intimate affair. You don’t have to go extreme with paring it down, either. Even downsizing by just 10 to 20 people can cut down quickly on costs like catering, venue size, and invitations.
5. Try a Smaller Cake
The bigger the cake, the bigger the cost. One of the most simple ways to save and stay within your wedding budget is to choose a cake with fewer tiers. Smaller cakes are just as beautiful, without the price tag. Go for a stunning smaller-tiered cake for the quintessential cake-cutting moment and pictures and have sheet cakes to serve to your guests. People aren’t going to your wedding for the cake; they’re going to celebrate your special day with you!
6. Choose the Less Popular Option
The higher the demand for a wedding date, the higher the price you’ll end up paying for your venue. Typically, summer and early fall/autumn are the most popular times to get married, while Saturday is the most popular (and expensive) day of the week to get married. Venues and vendors are at their busiest, which drives prices up. Though the less popular option, you can potentially save your budget quite a bit by going with an off-season wedding date or a wedding date on a different day of the week. Since fewer couples are getting married, there is more availability and lower pricing for your perfect venue.
7. Go Paperless
Paper isn’t your only option with a save-the-date. Rather than sending out save-the-dates and reminders via postal service, go digital and send out electronic reminders via email or text instead. Say goodbye to the hassle of the creation of save-the-dates, addressing envelopes, and heading to the post office to mail them all. Electronic save-the-dates makes things easy. Your guests will still get a beautifully customized save-the-date and you’ll save on stationery, postage, and the costs that come with professionally printed cards. In addition to being easy on your budget, they’re quick, convenient, and environmentally friendly.
The simple options you choose to save on your wedding are ultimately up to you and the areas you find to be the most important. You don’t need to break the bank to have your ultimate dream wedding. No matter what you choose to save or splurge on, you and your guests will have a phenomenal time.
