Budgeting

Do you already have a venue?

The easiest way to cut your budget is to cut the guest list. Fewer guests means less food and alcohol

When i saved for my wedding, i had a side job where the money from that was specifically just for the wedding

Cut the guest list and cut alcohol are my two suggestions for super saving!

Guest count is going to be your biggest expense! The fewer the guests the less money you will be spending! It just really depends on your venue! I am doing a backyard wedding so I have a lot more control over what I actually need and will pay for where some venues I toured they had all this unnecessary stuff I didn't need but still wanted me to pay for

I think your question really depends on what kind of wedding you want. Are you decided on an evening wedding where you party into the night, or would you rather have all of your family there no matter the wedding style?

I have had several cousins that got married on a budget and they did a day time ceremony at like 12 PM with cake, punch, and appetizers for the reception. The reception usually lasts 2 hrs or maybe less. It was almost all family, and there was no alcohol. The ceremony was in the church and the reception was in the church's function hall. From what I can remember none of them had a professional photographer or if they did it was only for the ceremony. It was incredibly affordable and still let them celebrate with family and close friends.

Cut the guest list


Have a "cake and punch reception at a nonmeal time, max 2 hours
Use a public park or location
Good luck!

We are also on a tight budget and this is where we have found great savings so far:

•don't go with a big fancy venue. Not only do they cost and arm and a leg, but they also require you to use their own caterer and rentals, which are most ofter the most expensive option. If you have anyone with a beautiful yard ask if you can host there. or find a public park and get a permit!

• order a small, single tier cake for your cake cutting, then order a sheet cake for your guests. They are way less expensive and no one ever knows since the cake is cut behind the scenes.

• DIY flowers If you can find a florist supply store and make an account there (usually you need a tax ID number) flowers and greenery are WAYYYY less expensive. same with decor items like vases. dried flowers are also a great, less expensive options that last longer and are currently super on trend! I only had my bouquet done by the florist. everything else we are DIYing.

• second hand shops are your BFF> Salvation Army stores, Savers, even smaller antique stores. I have gotten mostly all my decor and table settings there

• beg, borrow and steal. (ok, maybe don't steal!) if you have something specific for your vision that is super expensive, make a social media post and ask your friends. I wanted vintage teacups and tons of lights! a couple FB posts later and I have two people give me boxes of mismatched teacups for free. and a bunch of my friends are loaning me there Christmas lights. I am just going to label them and give them back after.

•go with a casual meal vs a big fancy plated one. BBQ! we are having a BBQ restaurant cater ours. Or, if you really want a cottage core/casual meal, do potluck. no really! in lea of gifts, ask everyone to bring there favorite entree, app, or dessert. they don't have to bring enough for 100 people, but if everyone brings something, you'll have PLENTY of food!

I got a single layered round cake for cake cutting then cupcakes for guests and went with Walmart! they're consistently yummy and wont break the bank!

For flowers i'm diying! Amazon and Hobby lobby have great deals and they're not difficult! Also i had the vision of Lanterns everywhere so Ive rented 22 for $200 instead of buying for $40+ then struggling to resell.

CUT ALCOHOL! So much more can go wrong when your guests are under the influence! and its already expensive!

Skip wedding favors and cut how much you give your wedding party or buy things for them for the wedding that they'll like later i.e. ties/necklaces. They dont need the robes and expensive gifts!

Skip programs and menus! People know what goes on at a wedding and shouldn't care deeply about the food enough to need a paper menu, especially if you're doing a buffet (which also cuts costs!)

I love these discussions! I'll give you the few tips and tricks I have for budgeting -

We were originally going to do the traditional wedding cake, but decided to do smaller cakes as centerpieces on our "Feast" style tables at dinner. We were quoted over $500 for the wedding cake, we are not paying under $250 for the smaller cakes.

This is a broad one - we downsized and that was our BIGGEST saving. We were originally going to pay right at $5,000 for a very simple, buffet style dinner with our large wedding. After downsizing to the people we actually cared to have there, we're able to serve our guest plated filets for half of the price. That was obviously a huge saving. A lot of your vendors quote you 'per head', obviously when you limit the number of heads, you can save tons!

If you haven't booked a venue, getting married on a day other that Saturday saves you a lot of money with most venues.

https://www.weddingwire.com/wedding-forums/budget/df92e0debe64883b.html

If you're trying to cut money then you will have to create a budget or at least a range. If the budget you are working with is below the typical costs for services in your area then you will have to do most of it yourself. The most expensive cost with vendors is the labor. So I would make sure you have a great support system to help you with setting up everything. We went DIY for our wedding in our backyard and it turned out amazing. We had family and friends help us setup. Also if you do it at a place you have access to then it will give you more time. I hope that helps Congrats!

View Quoted Comment All of theses tips were so helpful!! Thank you for posting them!!