Cutting Costs

I DIYd all of my bouquets and centerpieces, am doing a nacho/taco bar to save on food costs, my brother is officiating, I found other decor from Facebook marketplace, Amazon, and friends. I was also able to find a free venue.

Keep the guest count and bridal party to a minimum. Opt out of optional things like favors and decor. Go for cheaper catering like Italian or bbq. Keep an eye out for decor and bridal party gifts and buy when they’re on sale. Purchase secondhand items from places like Facebook marketplace.

I think it's important to make a list of what is an absolute priority to you, and then a list of things that you really don't care much about. This list will of course be different for different people. But here was what ours was:

Priorities (things we were happy to splurge on):

-A beautiful venue

-Good food

-Inviting all the people we cared about (we didn't want to have to make any cuts to the guest list that there was even a chance of regretting)

-Photography & videography

And girl, let me tell you... post-wedding, looking back on it, those things are ALL that ended up mattering!

Things we were able to cut costs on, and how:

-Flowers--I spent under$100 on flowers--my bouquet was $68, and my bridesmaids bouquets were DIY for a total of $30 for 4 bouquets

-Decor items in general--we literally had table numbers and a few candles as our centerpieces, and our venue was beautiful as is so we didn't feel the need to decorate it more

-Officiant-- my brother got ordained online and officiated for us! Not only was it free, but it was way more personal than having a stranger do it (make sure to check that this is legal in your state though, because it isn't in some states)

-Photo booth--this is super extra and unnecessary... people take enough photos on their phones on their own

-Favors--definitely not necessary, and won't be missed by your guests if you don't have them

-Other extra things like welcome bags--again, a nice touch if you can afford it, but if you're trying to cut costs it won't be missed

-A DJ--this is pretty controversial because I totally DO understand the need for a DJ... they don't just play music, they read the room and decide what songs will fit the mood best, they hype people up, etc. But we used a Spotify playlist and had the best man in charge of it. Husband acted as our hype man running around the room pulling people out of their chairs and getting them to dance because that's just in his personality haha. I ended up going rogue from the playlist and queuing up new songs that would fit the mood better. This would probably be stressful for a lot of brides so I'm not necessarily recommending it to you but, it worked perfectly for us... I actually enjoyed partly DJ-ing the reception myself

-My dress-- of course I wanted a beautiful dress, but I just could not imagine spending a fortune on something I would only wear once. I got a beautiful dress on clearance at DB for $550. Could I have found a MORE beautiful one for $2000? Maybe lol, but I wouldn't have felt good about spending that much!

-Makeup-- I did it myself! I'm totally amateur at makeup but my mom's friend is great at it and so she taught me how to do it myself and I honestly think I did a great job... I got tons of compliments and people were shocked I had done it on my own.

These things may not work for you... as everyone has different ways of prioritizing things! But just thought I'd share some of the things I did to maybe give you some ideas for how to make your own list of priorities

Awesome advice! I’ve been trying to find things on Facebook, etsy, etc but I’m a very visual person so it’s tough to try to put all of these random things together! I love your idea Glen about making a list I will definitely get started on that! Thank you ladies!

* Gen, autocorrect!!

I'm doing a complete DIY wedding and reception. My friend is officiating the ceremony and she's helping me plan the reception. A relative is making the cake. We are making the decorations.

We've already planned to cut STDs, programs, using our own cars to get around, buffet rather than served meal, no cocktail hour or photobooth.

Dont do save the dates... they are pointless. Invitations are enough. I just sent my a little earlier than normal, so people would have enough time to get off work, if need be.

It’s important to differentiate between what you want and what you need and that is different for every couple! DIY as much as possible and ask for favors from people know who do wedding services. A family friend is our photographer and she is doing it all for only $350 rather than $1,500 because she is a friend.
Also be realistic about your budget. It’s easy to go over budget if you budget isn’t realistic. If you want a big wedding, you’ll spend over $10,000 no matter what.
Also, look at couponing or getting cash back for purchases! Swagbucks.com is great for both of those! I spent $600 on my dress and got $60 back. They also have great coupons for Shutterfly so 80 invitations (with addressed custom envelopes and stamps) only cost me $80.
Best of luck and if you need any more help, feel free to DM me! I am doing an 80 person wedding for only $5,000!

View Quoted Comment Wow! Mary that is awesome! Thank you so much, I will definitely take you up on that offer 😁

Ask about/consider discounts related to the timing (season, day of week, time of day) for your wedding. Overall, daughter's wedding was fairly expensive, but she saved $5000 on the venue by getting married in January (a slow season for her venue in So Cal). Some couples choose a Friday, Sunday, or even a weekday, to save money, and a brunch or lunch wedding is usually less expensive than an evening reception. (Obviously, there are trade-offs to get those kinds of discounts, so you'll have to decide if they are worth it to you. Daughter and SIL had already decided on a January wedding, so it was just a bonus that it was also discounted.) Also, comparison shop and ask vendors if they have discounts. Daughter saved more than a $1000 on her florist by shopping around and got her wedding cake for less than $4 a slice compared with other bids she got that were in the $6-10 range. And, her photographer offered a discount for paying in full at the time of booking and for paying by check rather than credit card; those two discounts reduced her photography costs by $1300. With the venue, florist, cake, and photographer discounts, daughter saved about $8000 -- and still got exactly what she wanted for those vendors/services.

Finally, realize that sometimes DIY, a non-inclusive venue, or even a backyard wedding can end up costing MUCH more than you anticipated. So, before you make any decisions/sign any contracts, be sure you've considered all the costs and researched them thoroughly. There are frequently posts from couples who decided to do a backyard wedding thinking they'd save so much, only to realize later than they would have come out ahead financially if they'd gone with a more conventional, inclusive venue -- and their lives would have been a LOT easier. Sometimes the "obvious" answer isn't really all that obvious. Take your time and do your homework! Good luck!

Small wedding
DIYing or Etsy flowers I am not crafty. Found Etsy deals
cake and punch reception
short wedding. We are saving over a 1000 by keeping wedding 5 hours.

*No favors
*No open bar-beer/wine only
*An ordained friend is marrying us for free
*Some vendors have given us a small discount if we pay in cash
*No RSVP Cards-use a website-saves on postage, etc.
*DIY Centerpieces-cut back on really flowers
*Buy as much secondhand as possible

I’m diying everything from dj to food, and invitations. We cut out the hotel for the wedding night since we will only have the room for 5 hours, we are borrowing a friends car to drive off in. It’s saving me a bunch of money by doing everything ourselves

Prioritize what you guys feel is important! But personally, we chose not to do favors (but are doing a photo booth where they can print pics instead), used faux flowers from hobby lobby that we bought half off, and are skipping the table decor since our venue is beautiful on its own and can provide lanterns and candles for the tables.

DIY is great. But consider cost and time invested for each project prior to committing. Check out holiday sales (ie : July 4th, labor day, BLACK Friday...) for things that substantial savings could really impact (wedding rings, photographer services, decor, disposables if you're using them, linens, etc...) linentablecloth with a black Friday deal allowed me to spend less than 1/3 of what I would have renting linens... some easy DIY (table runners, table scapes using bottles and such, menus and table numbers) can be easily done if planned properly. And crafting can be fun with friends and family.

Check out George Street for photography. I'm super pleased and spend about half of what I would have going direct through the same photographer shooting our wedding.

Booze. Consider selecting a signature cocktail and wine and beer to save on cost of spirits and bar staff.

Venue. Months that are less popular and days that are less expensive.

PP have given great advice.
I want to say: shop around and find a venue that will let you BYOB.
I shopped around for everything, looked the best deals and waited for sales and coupons. I saved around $100 buying my chargers one by one with a coupon over the course of our engagement. I bought one when ever I was near hobby lobby. Plus I sold them after!
We also saved over $2,000 by supplying our own alcohol. We spent $500 on everything, beer, wine, 2 signature cocktails, and soda. Most of the venues we looked at required us to use their alcohol and were around $55/person, on top of food!
And one more. I know friendors are generally frowned upon on this site. But I had pretty good luck with mine. If you know people who provide a service professionally, reach out and see if they’ll want to work with you. I got a good deal on my DJ, cake, and DOC because of people We know. They aren’t people who would have been invited (we only invited family and close friends) and they were professionals. We probably saved a couple hundred on each of these services.

-Finding a venue that is cheaper and allows us to essentially make all of our own decisions. There wasn't a limitation on caterers, bakers, DJs, etc. that many venues impose.
-Cheap catering from an authentic Italian deli. We are doing lasagna, garlic bread, and salad. Maybe another entrée too.
-We are doing our own alcohol/beverages.
-Dress budget of 1K or lower.
-No DJ. We are doing a playlist.
-No fancy cake.
-TBD with other cuts. Still have a year to go.