I know all of this won't be an option for everyone, but I have, through lots of research and time, found some ways to cut costs. Some of these have been mentioned many times before, but some were "experimental" that I thought of and turned out great! Just thought I would share and hopefully at least one thing on here will help a bride save.
If you have questions about any specific items please feel free to ask!
Also, this is not a comprehensive list, once I get more things added I will repost.
1. LINENS- Bought table linens off FB marketplace. It did take a few weeks of looking but finally found them.
Linens were about $14 each online to purchase (and actually the same price to rent). I searched a lot and finally got 13 ivory, cloth table linens for $45 off FB Marketplace. The other Plus: I can resell them after the wedding.
Savings $137 +
2. TABLE RUNNERS -Table Runners Were about $8 each for the green lace ones I wanted. I purchased precut green lace from Walmart of 4 yards for $4 each. Bought two and it made a total of 18 table runners that I just had to cut myself. These turned out AMAZING and none of my bridal party or MIL could tell they werent table runners i just bought.
Savings $136
3. WEDDING DRESS- After finding my wedding dress at a boutique for $2,000 I searched high and low online and found it from another bridal boutique a few states away for $995 including shipping.
Savings $1,005.00
4. ALTERATIONS - Found a local seamstress who owns her own shop for alterations. Alterations ended up costing $150 when I was previously quoted around $550 for the same alterations from the seamstress recommended by the bridal boutique.
Savings $400
5. BOUQUETS- Went with Sola flowers for bridal bouquets instead of real flowers. The cheapest live flowers I could find were $550 and would have to be assembled a couple days prior to the wedding. I was able to assemble the sola flowers now, months before. The cost for 5 boquets was $198.
Savings $352
6. BOUTONNIERES- DIY Boutonnieres. These were $15 each for the sola wood kits, so I bought flowers and filler on sale from Michaels & Joanns insteas, to match our colors for about $50 for 7 boutenierres.
Savings $55
7. HEADPIECE- I DIYed my halo headpiece. The only halos I liked that were premade were $150+. My DIY cost $28 total and about an hour of time.
Savings $122
8. CENTERPIECES- I made my own centerpieces. The mason jars were on sale for $1 each at Michael's. The milk jug vases and milk glass candle holders were $1 each from Dollar tree. I got 50 candles from Walmart for $2.50. The styrofoam balls were from Walmart and dollar tree. The spray paint was $4/can and took 4 cans total to paint mason jars and milk jar vases. The foam rose heads were $6/50 on Ebay and took 3 packs. For similar centerpieces premade, the price ranged between $40-$65 each. The price for all supplies I purchased to DIY was $76.50.
Savings $323-$573.
9. CEREMONY & RECEPTION SITE- We chose to do wedding and reception at his parents home. The most affordable venue we both liked was still $1850 + taxes and clean up fees, about $2000 total. Chair and table rentals totalled $373. We purchased 2 tents for shade off amazon for $89/each totaling $178. Also, in the event that the will be rain that day, we have the option to add on a large commercial tent from rental company for $400-$600 depending on which size we go with. We will only be renting these if the 7 weather forecast predicts rain prior to the wedding.
Savings $849 -$1,449
10. DANCE FLOOR- Dance Floor rental was $250-$500. My FH decided he will make ours which will total $150 max for wood, screws and either stain or linoleum tiles. My FH is very crafty himself, so that was the only reason this was an option. The pics posted are not our dance floor, but the 2 he said he could make no problem and then priced for.
Savings $100-$350
11. VEIL- The fingertip veil I initially wanted from the bridal shop was $125. I purchased mine off Amazon for $13 and I lovvvve it.
Savings $112.00
12. CARD BOX- The card box I wanted was $45 from Michaels, and I couldn't justify spending that on something to hold cards that we couldn't reuse later. So I bought a small wooden crate from walmart for $6 and used left over spray paint to paint it.
Savings $39.00
13. GARTERS I liked several sets on Etsy that ranged from $21-$35 in price, including shipping, for the set of toss and keepsake garter. I shopped around and found mine on Ebay for $4.46 including shipping. It did have to come from China but I received it in under 3 weeks and love it.
Savings $16.54-$30.54
14. CAKE We shopped around for our wedding cake and found the cheapest bakery wanted $7/slice. That would have been $455 minimum + tax + all the delivery and set up fee which was required by all the bakeries and the cheapest for this the delivery & set up was $125 totaling $580 + tax.
We went to walmart and Publix and spoke with them and can get our cake for $160 including tax or $215 including tax depending on which bakery we go with. The only down side is we will have to pick up and set up the cake ourselves, either that morning or the day before and store it.
Savings $365-$420.
15. SIGNS. Wedding signs printed and unframed range from $12-$35 each. I purchased 12" x 8" galvanized metal blank signs with attached back stands which allows sign to recline like its on an easel. It was an 8 pack for $8. I also purchased matching galvanized signs measuring 8"x8" that have jute rope that can be used to hang or be held. This was also 8 for $8 at Michael's. The vinyl lettering for each sign ranged from $2-$5.
Savings $144-$400
16. CAKE STAND. So, I was surprised to find that cake stands are so expensive. I decided to make my own. The cheapest one I found online was about $45. I was able to make my own for under $5 + ribbon and spray paint I already had at home.
Savings $40
17. INVITATION AND STATIONARY
Invitations ranged from about $350 - $650 on most sites. I ended up buying 100 beautiful invitations along with RSVP cards and Details Card with envelopes for all enclosed cards off of ebay for $104 total including shipping.
Savings $246-$546
18. CATERING- So, we definitely wanted to feed our guests, but found catering to range from $20-$45/ guest. Even with our small guest list of approximately 65 people, that comes out to $1,300-$2,275! That does not include taxes, tips, travel and "set up" or "clean up" fees. At the cheapest it would have been close to $2,000 with mediocre food. We researched some buffet caterers and found one to do BBQ pulled pork, roasted chicken, green beans, mac and cheese and okra for $1,000 total. It will be buffet style but to us that was fine. Were having a laid back somewhat casual wedding.
Savings $300+ -$1,275+
19. CHINA
Rental prices range from $0.45 to $1 for dinner plates and $0.40 to $0.85 for salad/snack/horderve plates. Thats a total of $55.25-$120.25 for china that we have to also make sure is cleaned plus tax and delivery. I decided to go on Amazon and pick out the high end disposable plates that WE ACTUALLY LIKED and that also went with our decor and found the dinner plates and salad plates as a combo for $29 to $49
They also sell nice fancy looking clear hard plastic plates in 4 or 6 count at dollar tree for $1 each, which would have totaled $16.25. The other plus side of this is no cleaning afterward.... just toss them.
Savings $6.25 to $71.25
20. FLATWARE
Rental prices for a similar gold tone silverware is $0.90/for each fork, each spoon and each knife. That totals $175.50. I found on amazon the whole set of the exact ones we wanted (in rose gold) for $19.99.
Savings $155.51
21. WINE GLASSES FOR BRIDESMAIDS
I looked at Etsy but they were about $15 each for the least expensive ones. I bought the stemless wine glasses for $1 at Dollar Tree then purchased 2 decals for $1.59 on ebay for both. Total per wine glass was $1.79.
Savings $26.42 (for 2 total).
22. GUEST BOOK
I really wanted a non traditional guest book, like one we could hang on the wall later. I found this one on Amazon for $45. I ended up buying my own mini pallet at Walmart for $5, spray painted it black with left over spray paint, and have purchased the decal with our names and wedding date to put in the middle for $4. I still need to buy a fine tip paint marker for guests to sign, which when priced ran about $6.
Savings $30.00
23. CEREMONY BOX
I fell in love with this ceremony wine box by Lillian Rose. It was $59 from Bed Bath & Beyond with shipping. I found it brand new on Ebay for only $28 with shipping.
Savings $31.00
24. WEDDING HANGERS
I wanted to get hangers for my girls dresses. But I just couldnt see spending $20+ on them. In one of my daily searches on FB marketplace i saw an add for hangers for $5/each. I ended up getting all 4 for $20 total.
Savings $60
