What’s your best money saving hack?

Keep your guest list small and only host those you can afford to host properly. Almost all weddings boil down to a PP cost for food and drink. Allocate at least 50% of your budget to that for venue/food and drink.

Skip expense like favors, programs, signs ETC.

No bridal party.

Small ceremony and a private reception at a restaurant tend to be the most cost effective.

You can save on pretty much anything that doesn't sacrifice guest experience. Stationery is a big one (programs, extra signs, etc. can all be skipped), flowers, favors (can be totally nixed all together), and probably other things I can't think of right now.

Inexpensive catering can still be really good (BBQ, Italian, etc.).

What I splurged for: really good food and a full open bar, a photographer and videographer I LOVE, and a great DJ. Everything else was just extras for me.

Ask vendors “do you do any special deals throughout the year”. Sometimes you’ll find out that say the dress you want might be 20% off the next weekend. Or the favors you want, we’ll they might do a Fourth of July sale 75% off sitewide to celebrate America or something lol

I think the most common tip to save money is to have a smaller guest list. Cost per person is what rises the budget.

Skip flowers, expensive invitations, do your own hair/makeup. There’s endless ways to save money, just depends on what’s most important to you.

We did lots of research on each vendor and what the money would be... Trying to find best compromise between what $$ we could spend and what was our dream. Def got a little overwhelmed myself, thankfully my FH has time at work to make some phone calls. Finding out what other vendors have as options, so you can maybe get things in place of other things you may not want or need (we are doing that with our photographer). Good luck!! Your day will be amazing!

Beer and wine rather than a full bar. (I'm so over, "It's not a wedding til someone's passed out in the bathroom!")

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Yes, yes all of this! I agree. these are def things that can save you tons of money

Skip the favors--most people leave them behind or throw them away. Choose flowers that are in season and use fuller blooms (like hydrangeas) and greenery to fill space. Also, if you haven't already picked out all of your vendors, you could see if they would give you a better price on their services if you paid in cash. My FH and I did that with a few of our vendors and saved almost $1000. Every little bit helps and that's also money saved that we can put towards something else, like tips for vendors/wait staff or put it towards a honeymoon!

DIY project has cut my decor budget in half. YouTube has a lot of ideas. I like to call it YouTube University

Smaller guest count. Smaller bridal party. Skip little accessories/details that are unnecessary.

Smaller guest count is the biggest one but the best tip I have found is finding a venue that’s mostly “all-inclusive.” The venue we ended up choosing does catering and open bar for $38 pp and that INCLUDES tax and gratuity. The venue I wanted previously was $93 pp Not including tax and gratuity. Also for DJs and Photographers I’ve found reasonably priced ones on Craigslist.

Going with an all inclusive package (all vendors included) saved us A LOT because vendors are insanely priced in our area. Invitations are a good place to cut costs by going with a simple Zazzle invite over something over the top that will just get thrown out. Stick to the basics, and don't let the wedding industry convince you you need all the extras!

Look at off season dates and off days as well. Sunday in December is $1750 versuse $5250 for a Saturday in June

Biggest hack was cutting our guest list, even by just 15 people!

I'd think back to weddings you've been to and what you do and don't remember. I was just looking at expensive programs that are super adorable, but then I thought to myself "The last wedding I went to didn't even have programs and I literally didn't realize it until after." Soooo I might not actually do them...even though they're super cute! Lol. The things that I do remember from that wedding was that the tables were majorly squished together and it took us 45 minutes to track down some water and lemonade. And, it was a cash bar. FH and I weren't mad about it because we love them and we know they didn't have a lot of money, but it definitely impacted what I'm prioritizing for my wedding!

Knowing people who are willing to help you with everything is how I saved alot of money.

Research research research. I exhausted myself out searching for vendors in our budget that I actually liked. I budgeted the most for my photographer as I knew I wanted that. I found the best deals I could on table linens, decor, etc. we are having “friendors” for food and cake , however we made sure they weren’t working AT the wedding. I also think that saving on our venue was the biggest money saver. It only cost $460 compared to others we looked at that cost thousands.

Don't forget to make your money work for you! We've saved with some vendors by paying cash and in full. We also throw any money we allocate for the wedding in a high-yield interest money market account. Not feasible for everyone, but even if you're paying with credit cards, use ones that give you rewards or cash back.

It’s a really small thing, but I use the Ibotta app and Shopkick app. It’s coupon and shopping apps basically. When you have enough banked, you can cash them in for Amazon gift cards, which I’ve used for a ton of wedding stuff. About $300 so far. I know it’s not a ton, but when you’re spending this much everything counts! I don’t want to spam the forums, but if anyone wants an invite I can send you one!

My FH and I are doing the same thing. It's all on us. A rustic themed summer wedding, cliché, but handy when saving. So, reading discussions and articles on how to save are super helpful. I bought all of my décor, minus the centerpieces (mason jars which are plentiful and cheap), used online via facebook marketplace. I may have got lucky but, made out as well as I am not an artsy crafty person.

Another thing as I have read in the comments already is skipping programs and favors. We're thinking of nixing favors or at least buying some insanely cheap that almost everyone can like. If you decide to do a wedding website just include the bridal party there, slap the URL on the invites, and voila!

I'd also skip out on fancy dinnerware. Silverware, cups, napkins (dinner plates maybe not depends on your dinner menu)...etc...amazon has a lot of options to buy recyclable or even chinet whatever you'd like and they are "fancyesque" haha... that's what we did and saved $500 vs. renting it all.

The one thing I would recommend not skimping out on is the food and drinks for sure. When talking to other's and myself included one thing I know I always remember are those two thing's.

Again, do your research. Plan to spend more than you're budget just to be prepared.Find articles and compare prices on everything. It's all what works for you and your FH.