Need Help Cutting Costs

View Quoted Comment Thanks so much!

You got a ton of great ideas posted here but I'm going to chime in anyway.
1. I agree with cutting the list. Can you go to 100? That will save thousands in itself and be a nice compromise
2. Online invites sounds great
3. Yea favors are totally wack
4. I wish l had the guts to play music off my phone and save $600 in a dj!!!
5. Absolutely get a photographer that charges per hour and limit the amount of pics you get. My photos are $500 for 100 pics. In don't need 800 pics😳👍😉.
6. Ask other brides if they still have their centerpieces.. can you borrow? My friend gave me hers.
7. Look for sample sells or used dresses. Saves thousands. Or better yet see if a friend will let you borrow a dress
8. SAM'S club for cake [there tier $70] or cupcakes are like 36 for $13. You can buy kegs or beer and cases of wine there dirt cheap too.
9. Wedding on a Friday or Sunday brunch
10. Yup shorter venue time. 5 hours a lot cheaper than 8.
11. Catch the hobby lobby 50% off sale for decor
12. Check out 5 and below and Family dollar for cute cheap decor
13. Fine a veil on Amazon for dirt cheap. Jewelry from there to... can always return what you don't love
14. Skip rehearsal dinner
15. Yup no transportation
16. Bridal resale shop for bridal party stuff.
17.. check with the venue to see what all they already have before buying anything. My venue had THE CENTERPIECES..decor for sweetheart table.. cake knife..lanterns.. candles..fake flowers.. the card box.. you name it. Lol.

View Quoted Comment Some don’t bother with favors, but I’m doing them because it just doesn’t feel right not to. I’m not doing anything expensive/ personalized. I’m doing something fun. About $4.00 per person.

Skip the favors. They usually prove useless anyway. Look for coupons on Retail Me Not.

Go to your local grocery store florist for flowers

I recently discovered Dollar Tree is online and have become obsessed. You can always build up centerpieces/decor with the little trinkets and things they have online. DIY Bouquets and other floral arrangements will also save money in the long run. Keep your eye's peeled for sales on anything wedding related. I got my dress on sale at David's Bridal when they had a 30% off sale this past winter and I'm keeping an eye on the website for my bridal party now as well. There are also websites where other brides sell their gently used wedding decor. You can also skip a DJ by creating a streaming playlist for your ceremony and reception. Include in your invitations your guests request for a song they would like to hear and use those answers and your own taste in music to build up a decent playlist. Have a family member or Bridal party member introduce you and new hubby at the reception. Depending on where you live you might be able to keep it under 10k but you should most definitely be able to keep it under 12k-15k for sure. Good Luck!!

I initially set my budget at $10k and then raised it to $15k after seeing the cost of venues in my area. We could of went with a cheaper venue but FH was set on having a barn wedding and I did not want to lower our guest list. I’m not doing favors to cut cost, I don’t use any I’ve ever been given. If you are set on doing favors I’d choose an edible favor. Ideas to cut cost would be to order your flowers through Sams club, or Costco and you can have your bridal party help make bouquets and centerpieces. You can also get a wedding cake from a grocery store cheaper than and independent bakery. Depending on where you live Publix has great cake, Sams club also does wedding cakes. You can stick to your budget you just have to be flexible. Good Luck.

Start getting an idea of what you want to do with your decor and centerpieces, then since you have plenty of time wait for Micheal's and Hobby Lobby to have sales and then stack the sale with coupons. You have to really pay attention and be willing to wait, but it saves a lot if your smart about it. Hobby I have learned that most of their items rotate going on sale bi- weekly, and if you miss the sale bring the receipt and items back within 14 days and they will match the sale price. Hope that helps a bit !

View Quoted Comment You rock thanks so much!!!!

Thank you all so much! You have helped immensely!!!!!

So $10,000 was our budget too. There are some things we would have loved to do but, just couldn't. Like a photo booth... That just was not in the budget.

Venue- $6,250 from 6pm-1am (includes: Catering, Clean up, Set up, Cups, Water, Tea, DJ, Tables, Chairs, & of course the venue)

Church- $250

Photographer- $2,000 (5 hours of coverage, I know sooooo expensive)

Decorations- $500 (Includes: Bouquets, Centerpieces, flower girl baskets, ring pillow)

MUA- $400 (for 3 of us)

Tuxedos- $440 (For FH & our son)

Dress for daughter- $117

Invitations- $100

Cake/grooms cake- $560

Alcohol & Mixers- $700

Total- $11,317

This is for all the major things. Mind you we have bought little things here and there. Like our alternative guest book. That was $90. & a few other things. I am still thinking if I should purchase gifts for bridal party because I am paying for the hair/make up. & when i asked them to be a part of the big day I gave them a customized water cup and a sweet note. So I may get them a wine glass with a small bottle of wine and a gift card. Maybe totaling $60

My dress- My dad paid for.

We talked 5k, then 10, and when I realistically did a budget for 150 people it was around 20k. Although I'm not finished planning I did some of the things below:

-Changed the date from Saturday to Friday
-Found my dress cheap 140.00 (I'm only wearing it once)
-Will cut down on the amount of flowers overall and use fake flowers where possible
-Found a venue where we could do ceremony and reception which cuts the need for transportation for the bridal party.
-Found a friend to DJ
-Picked a venue that includes a coordinator, set up and take down, linens, lighting and decor (golf course)
- Cut my guest list back to 70-100 people (some of this was easy by taking away plus ones)
-Will do my own invitations and have guests RSVP online
-Cut out the favors (unless I decide on a photobooth which will double as a favor)

Whew!! Sound like so much when you write it down, but I hope it helps. Best of luck to you!

View Quoted Comment

Great venue! Nope, favors have fallen out of favor over the past decade. So you can save a little money there. Providing good food & drinks is already thanking your guests for coming to your wedding.

Oh! Lanterns might be another option for centerpieces (so many different styles too!). When on sale you can get the larger ones for around $10 each at Walmart, Target, Big Lots, maybe Michaels too.

FH sand I have a strict $9000 budget. We booked a venue for a weekday in August and within 3 months of the ceremony so it was practically half off, my dress is from davids bridal and was $494, photographer $1400 (8 hours and includes a second shooter), we are having pizza delivered $1400 for 250 guests, no favors, no STD, only flowers will be the bridal bouquet, 6 bridesmaids and a tossing bouquet, our centerpieces are fairy lights with tiny wooden hearts we found on amazon 500 for $10 and then photos of us through the years and greenery cut down from an evergreen in our yard.
Our officiant is a family friend, DOC is a coworker who does weddings for free, we got a small cake for us and BP then we will get Costco sheet cake for other people.

Overall, you need to set a strict budget and not go over it

Our "favors" are the pics guests will receive from the photo booth, so there's that!

We are not doing a reception dinner (we are planning from out of town, and I'm not looking for additional stress or costs, lol).

We are also doing a smaller 2 tier cake... guests will have sliced cake arrive to their table that is the flavor of the wedding cake - but a sheet cake. They shouldn't know the difference. It saved me quite a bit of $$.

Centerpieces are lanterns that are also being used down the isle. Ebay has large ones in bulk for less.

How cheap is the catering? I'd do something like BBQ or Mexican that you can get down to $10 pp. I'd skip favors too.

On decor if you can find a diy it’ll cut down cost on that part. It’s possible to have a low budget wedding and still have it looking nice

I'm planning on ordering flowers through a local grocery store and doing them myself the day before. I will only need to make a few bouquets and one or two corsages (maybe). I'm planning on using antique keys and a tiny dried flower or leaf for the boutonnieres. Right now I'm thinking of going with something very simple like hydrangeas.

DIY Bouquet

I also checked out Sam's Club for bulk floral prices. You can get 100-125 roses for around $90. They have 30 hydrangea stems for $58 but I can get that many from the grocery store for around $40.

What are you doing for transportation?

Skip the favors and do you really need the transportation? go over your flower budget and see if that's an area where you can make any cuts..I dont think many care about decorations, just have table linens,etc and I wouldnt do much more..it's more about celebrating your love than breaking the bank was how I looked at things.