Budget wedding

Comparison shop like crazy! Even in a very high cost of living/wedding area, daughter saved a lot by really shopping around. She loved all her vendors and what they provided, but also saved money. Her cake was $3.75 a slice (small independent cupcake store that also does cakes...) compared with $8-10 average of other bakeries she talked with. She saved $1000+ on her florist compared with her next lowest bid. She saved $1700 on her photographer by taking advantage of discounts he offered for paying in full at the time of booking and not using a credit card (her wedding was pre-covid, so that wasn't a big risk at the time). She found most of her vendors on WW or The Knot, where she specifically looked for info and/or reviews that mentioned a vendor was "budget friendly," "accommodating," etc. Also, be clear about your priorities and spend on what's important, and skip stuff that doesn't matter to you. For daughter, that meant skipping transportation and other things that were unimportant. She and her H had their "perfect wedding" and stayed within budget -- good luck!

Some things to consider no matter how many guests you have the price of a DJ or a photographer or officiant per se won’t change so if you can keep your guest list under 80 people you should be able to do 20,000 very modestly. We spent 26k on ours we’re having 40 people but we splurged on food (5 courses) beverage (wine served with each course plus open bar) and an eight piece band (which was 7k)

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Thanks so much for the tips!

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Thanks for that information!

Definitely think about what you can't imagine your wedding without - for me, the thought of spending thousands of dollars on floral centerpieces was extravagant so we're not doing flowers for our reception and are saving there. Figure out what's important and then budget from there!

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Thanks for the advice!

Find things you are willing to make cuts on. For example, we decided flowers were not that important for us, so we sent a strict floral budget. If there is something you can do yourself, do it. Beer and wine bar instead of serving liquor. Online RSVP’s.

View Quoted Comment I second the beer and wine bar! You’d be surprised how much you save by just cutting out liquor. And it’s not necessarily ideal for everyone, but cash bars are an option as well!

I think $20,000 is a pretty healthy budget but $14,000 just for the venue and catering seems excessive (although I don't know where your getting married). I would first consider your guest list, less people, less expense. I would also go without real flower centerpieces (candles and/or faux flowers are very affordable and beautiful!). I would also do beer and wine for the bar rather than hard liquor/mixed drinks. Tiered cakes can be very expensive so look into sheet cake for your guests and a small cake for you and your spouse to cut. Good luck!

Try looking into bundle deals like photography/videography/dj services. DYI flowers/decorations or join a local facebook group to see if someone is selling their leftover decorations for cheap. Cake - if you search wedding cakes the price like literally quadruples. You can get a cute small decorative cake and then serve sheet cake to guests.

DIY is your friend! I'm creating centerpieces for waaay less than it would cost to buy the items I want. Also, sale shop! I was able to get very pretty wedding invites for even cheaper than I could have made them myself thanks to a sale. Just keep your eyes open and leave yourself plenty of time so that you don't have to make hasty decisions and end up paying more than you need to.

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Thanks, We are in the DMV area. our venue is about $6,000 and it's been a struggle to find catering under 8,000 fo.r under 100 people Thanks for your advice!

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Thanks! we aren't big cake people we will probably get a very small cake!

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For DIY do you have a day of coordinator that will coordinate everything the day of the wedding?

View Quoted Comment No coordinator! I have a few family members that I trust to set up the space ahead of time for me. Defintely enlist friends and family if you are doing DIY

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Thanks for sharing!

We are doing a small cake and then we got cakepops and donuts for 100 people. We paid $120 for our cake and the desserts. Our venue has a decor room we are using 90% of their stuff. But its mostly fake candles and garland thats from hobby lobby. We might just skip favors for everyone but idk yet. Most of them get thrown out. We are buying our own alcohol from a liquor store down the road that does a discount for weddings. Idk if that is included in your catering. No photo booth but our dj did have a package to include it. We have a big chalkboard with a nice area to take pictures. Hair and makeup is a local girl i found. My jewelry is off etsy and macys. If anything the venue has a recommended vendor list they prefer. Photography is kinda up there but if your looking to cut costs dont do video unless they have a good package. Most iphones are decent lol.

Try to buy things you can use beyond the wedding

Honestly, I don’t think you can diy or shop deals enough to make that work unless you make some serious changes to other big budget items. (I say this knowing DMV is a high-cost area and we started out with a similar budget, much less of which went to venue/food, and never planned on flowers or a coordinator).
Typical wedding vendors will run at least $1k DJ, $2k photographer, $200-500 on-site hair and makeup w/ a trial, $100-500 dress alterations, $300 cake. This leaves under 2k for everything else, including your dress (plus tax and tips!). You will likely need to book vendors who are not specializing in weddings for some of these services (think going to a salon to get ready, hiring a photography student to do pictures) if that is a firm budget. Detail your budget on a spreadsheet before committing to anything else, good luck!

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Thanks, but going to a salon, a DRESS on sit hair or make up wont be needed.