Brides on a budget

The easiest way to save money is to keep guest count down. Opt for sheet cakes or cupcakes instead of a tiered decorated wedding cake, do your own decorations and flowers, try to plan for a wedding that is during off-season or on a weekday. Consider a restaurant for catering instead of a catering company. Opt out of a lot of the paper goods like menus, table cards, programs, etc. Dont hire a planner.

There are lots of ways to have a beautiful wedding on a budget, you just have to make sure youre firm and stick to it. Dont fall in love with pinterest ideas that are going to be unattainable, and only look at vendors within your budget.

There are also budget breakdowns all over the internet for all kinds of budgets that lay out about how much money you should spend on each aspect that might help as a starting point.

There is a wonderful subreddit called r/weddingsundee10k. Our budget was larger but I loved visiting the group because so many of the brides on there had wonderfully creative ideas.

Our budget was $20k & we came under it. Bought my dress at Brilliant Bridal where the dresses were anywhere from 25%-75% off the sticker price. Etsy was a saving grace- bought our STDs, seating chart & thank you cards for super cheap! See if your venue has any signage, center pieces etc that you can use.

View Quoted Comment Thank you! This was very helpful ☺️

View Quoted Comment Thank you! I’ll have to check it out 💕

View Quoted Comment Thank you very much! This is very helpful ❤️

I highly recommend looking at Azazie for online bridal gowns. They range from $250-$600 and you can try them on at home 3 at a time and return. I tried on 6 dresses and chose one that is beautiful with custom measurements for $280 total (free shipping). I also tried on dresses at a bridal salon. That was a nice experience but I didn't want to pay $1500 for a dress. Plus alterations would have been another few hundred dollars.

View Quoted Comment Oh wow!!! I didn’t know that! ThNk you for sharing ❤️

View Quoted Comment I checked out Azazie and I’m obsessed 🤩 the prices are great and the dresses are beautiful 😍

View Quoted Comment You're welcome! Download the app, it's really helpful.

I highly recommend booking a venue that isn’t intended for weddings! For example, our ceremony will be at a state park and our reception will be at a park nearby-all for $600

View Quoted Comment I wouldn’t have thought of that thank you 😊

All inclusive venues can also be a good way to go on a smaller budget. Our place is also our ceremony site, so all that stuff (chairs, runners, arch) was included. Total cost for all of that plud cocktail hour, plated dinner, wine, beer, soda and signature cocktail, linens, and the likes is $6500 for 60 people. They have a room for the bride to get ready in as well as one for the groom. For our area (popular beach destination area) that is a steal. When I add in our DJ, Photographer, officiant and flowers, I am still under budget.
I also agree with eliminating signs, programs and favors, and checking g to see what your venue can contribute is another great suggestion!

View Quoted Comment Thank you for sharing ☺️

I spent about $7,000 on mine and I don’t feel like I cut any corners! Here are some cost-effective options I made:


1) dried flowers where applicable. You can find dried floral arrangements on Etsy and they tend to be significantly cheaper than fresh and a little nicer than fake. I ordered dried lavender/baby’s breathe boutonnières off Etsy for about $6 a piece.

2) My escort cards functioned as favors. They were mini potted (live) succulent plants with garden tags that had the guests’ names. I paid $150 for around 110 succulents and made the garden labels. Probably cost me $5 to print them! *don’t spend a lot of money on favors because they will be forgotten at the venue by many!



3) Re-using decor. My mother-in law bought the big beautiful arrangements pictured above for decor at the rehearsal dinner. We simply saved those and put one on my table, my parents table, and his parents table.
4) Simple elegance. Though those big arrangements were BEAUTIFUL. We opted for much simpler centerpieces for the other 13 tables. They consisted of a mirror plate, cylinder vases, baby’s breath, and floating candles! Candles are an easy and cheap way to make your table romantic. Each centerpiece only cost me around $6.

I also bought my dress during a huge sell at a small boutique. It was a 2018 dress and I bought it in 2020. It was the sample dress. $1800 and I got it and a veil for $450!

View Quoted Comment So beautiful! 🤩 thank you for sharing I appreciate it❤️ I love the dried flowers idea ☺️ You looked stunning 💕

How many guests do you want to invite? You could do a micro wedding at a nice resort or venue, with a meal. If you want 100+ you may want to consider a church/temple hall for the reception and get a restaurant to cater for around $20 PP (Mexican, Italian & BBQ are typically the cheapest).

Here are some of the things I am doing to cut corners:

1. I am doing cupcakes instead of a tiered cake.

2. I am doing candles of different sizes instead of flowers because flowers are a money pit.

3. I am doing a lot of printables from ETSY for my signage like my memorial table, seating chart, etc.

4. I am getting married on a Friday instead of a Saturday which saved me $3000 and usually people don't work on Saturday so they still have a day to recoup.

5. Keep guest count down. My thought process went something like this: Have I talked to them in the last 6 months, Have they met my fiance', Would I choose to spend time with them on any normal day? If not, they didn't make the list.

View Quoted Comment My fiancé has a big family. Guest count rn is 100. Thank you for information.