Budget

Pick 3 things to focus on and skip the rest. Food/drink and entertainment are what guests remember. Photos are what you have at the end of the day. A day-of coordinator is a lifesaver and guests don't have to work.


Have a favorite restaurant cater.Get a cake from a local grocery store.Costco for flowers. Invites from Costco or Etsy.Avoid the word 'wedding' as the price will skyrocket.Skip favors and programs. Keep your attendants to a minimum.Rent as much as you can instead of buying unless you plan to keep the decor and/or regularly host large parties.

Venue, food and beverage seem to be the big 3 in the cost category so while every penny helps those little categories don't significantly move the cash. Assuming you've already signed contracts, the easiest way would be to consider a menu change and review your beverage offering. Like change from an open bar to open bar during cocktail hour. Or set up one hosted signature cocktail for the picking, not a full bar.


Think of your close friends and family and see if there's anyone that is baking as a hobby or that has a good camera that would be willing to do those types of services. Even if you pay for the ingredients or SD card, you could potentially save a ton and allow someone special to help in your day.

Most venues require licensed insured vendors for safety and legal reasons. That is especially true during a pandemic.

I agree with the previous comments. Another idea I can add is minimizing your guest list. Cost per person for food/beverage can be pretty expensive, so even just by cutting out kids, friends of parents, etc. from the guest list, you may be able to save a lot of money.

Our budget has increased as did the expense of everything but things got postponed too which allowed us more time to save.

The best way to cut costs it to cut the guest list. Do cupcakes instead of a huge cake.

View Quoted Comment Has anyone picked up a side gig to cover expenses? I'm a full time worker/student/mom. I was thinking of possibly picking up a side gig to help woth expenses.

View Quoted Comment Food and entertainment are actually what can put us over. I've cut costs on flowers, the dress, decorations. I'm even having a friend marry us to save money there. I originally had an old class mate as my dj, but he has not responded to anything. Which is causing us to hire a different dj.

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I think that would be a good idea, I would just caution you to not sign up for an MLM to make extra money. Maybe you could something like house cleaning or something since it would have a flexible schedule.

View Quoted Comment I'm sorry, but what's an MLM?

View Quoted Comment You can have quality food and entertainment without going over budget. Sometimes simpler food is less expensive and more appealing to the masses. Your guests won't miss the fancy and whistles.
Try Thumbtack.com for a dj in your area and read reviews on GoogleMaps and Yelp in addition.

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Multi Level Marketing, such as younique, beach body, color street etc.

View Quoted Comment Oh! I feel silly. I've never heard of that. Thank you.

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No worries! You're welcome!

Even without a pandemic, that's totally normal to go over budget. it's because things end up costing more than you think or you end up buying things you didn't think you'd want or need.

i like what pp had mentioned in terms of choose the most important aspects and focus on that.

As Melle states, going over budget is fairly common when wedding planning. I was not a Covid bride and we went $5,000 over budget. We just decided to pay for it and move on. However, the best way to cut back, if you’d rather, is by cutting your guest list, not providing favors, doing online RSVP’s (you save on stationary & postage here), and providing cheaper catering options like BBQ or Mexican from a local restaurant.

View Quoted Comment I second that advice, these companies are predatory and pretty much 99% of people who join fail and LOSE money- many actually go into debt. I'd suggest something like UberEats (possibly safer than regular Lyft/Uber driving these days to avoid face to face), selling a craft/skill, etc. Anything but MLM

Morning or afternoon weddings are usually half the cost of evening weddings and alcohol is not as much as a factor (mimosas are perfect as well as beer/wine/champagne vs full bar).