Need Help Cutting Costs

Ideas to cut costs:

Decor: Use the resources you have now. For instance, if you know of someone with a ton of literature books, tea pots, vases, etc., see if you can borrow them. Flea markets can be a great place to find this stuff too. That can be the staple of a centerpiece. Also, less can be more. We went with simple terrariums for the centerpieces and went with succulent bouquets instead of flowers. My costs were only $550 for centerpieces and bouquets:

I also suggest going with non-plants all together! I saw one bride went with paper flowers (book themed) and thought that was a brilliant idea. It is still cheaper, but doesn't have the same feeling or reputation for other paper flowers.

Favors: Either cut them or be more creative. My favors were only $20 ($0.40/pp) and were also the escort cards.

Stationary: If you are comfortable going electronic, go electronic! I did e-vites, e-responses, e-everything. The virtual world made everything quicker, easier to organize, and far less expensive. I only bought a few invites for non-tech savvy guests, thank you cards and menus. You can see the menu above. All of my stationary matched my wedding website and ran me a total of $56.

Venue: Obviously inexpensive is good. Firehalls and parks may be your friend... or if you have a friend who knows someone with a great backyard to bum off of...If you don't, look for venues that don't traditionally do weddings/receptions as a main bread and butter.

This has three benefits: 1) These might not have 'wedding season' prices. 2) Less likely to have preferred/required caterers 3) if you can get a botanical garden, art gallery, planetarium, smaller museum, etc., you have built in decor. That will help you feel better about minimizing decor.

Alcohol: Beer and wine only. We honestly went with Vella boxed wine and cases of beer.

Finally.... the ugly thing everyone is saying... guest list. That is the single biggest factor for your budget. For a lowball estimate:

$20/pp - catering

$20/pp - rentals

$15/pp - alcohol

$15/pp - stationary

That's $70. Not including centerpieces, favors, or anything that the guest list changes. And that is a very low estimate. All of those numbers could increase drastically.

Ah, so many people are saying to limit your photographer to 2-3 hours.. I completely disagree!! Out of everything, your photos last a lifetime!! Don't skimp on hour many hours they shoot for! You'll seriously regret it down the road! It's not just capturing moments of you and your FH, but of your family and friends who won't be around forever!

Along with some of the great ideas that others have suggested, I would say try to see if you have any friends or family that could provide a service. That would cut down on costs. Also if you

I cut my comment off! If you don’t mind a used dress. Check out sites like preownedweddingdresses.com. Good luck!!

View Quoted Comment I agree, I’ve planned my wedding around my photographer lol! She’s based in Denver and we live in New York & New Jersey. The photos and an amazing cake is what I look forward to the most.

Look into off times for venues- this will certainly help cut costs.

Ask for referrals from your venue or friends/family. We needed to rent chairs and the referral from the venue knocked off $300 just for calling them.

Don't be afraid to thrift shop or secondhand. You never know what you'll find on FB Marketplace..

Cut unnecessary items such as favors, programs, escort cards, etc. Doing that saved us at least $500.

Consider flowerless centerpieces. They're easier to keep, store, and transport.

Favors are not necessary these days! We aren't doing them, but we are donating to one of our favorite charities in our guests honors. But you can skip it all together, no one will really miss them.

As for transportation, if you mean the limo and such I recommend seeing if any funeral homes rent their limos, they are typically cheaper than other limo companies.

You can cut down on flowers by doing paper flowers (this book has great tutorials: https://www.amazon.com/Exquisite-Book-Paper-Flowers-Unbelievably/dp/1617691003/ref=asc_df_1617691003/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=312172766117&hvpos=1o3&hvnetw=g&hvrand=5842211738600622595&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9022185&hvtargid=pla-450354163165&psc=1 ), having your bridesmaids hold a single flower, using fake flower petals for flower girls, etc.

Instead of spending a ton of money on centerpieces you can do other stuff like diy dollar store items (as Pirate & 60s Bride said, she has great ideas!) and balloon centerpieces are also a great idea!

The book Bridal Bargains has some great ideas too.

Hope this helps!

View Quoted Comment Right now its $35 pp.... nice ideas though!

View Quoted Comment Beautiful!!! Thanks so much for your input!

View Quoted Comment I need two limos for myself and the bridal party and the groom and his guys. 20 of us altogether😩🤦🏾‍♀️

View Quoted Comment I think we do need the limos bc of the large bridal party. Thanks so much for your ideas!

View Quoted Comment Thanks so much for your input!! It truly helps.

View Quoted Comment Agreed! I wont be skimping on photography! Thanks!

View Quoted Comment Thanks for your input! I got my dress from my job on a huge discount as I work at a bridal boutique😍

View Quoted Comment Really appreciate your limo idea as that is my main transportation dilemma! Thanks so much!

All you guys rock thanks again and again😩💕

Design your own invites. Buy a template from Etsy and find a local printer to do it for you. We only did RSVP cards and invites. All other info is on our website. Under $100. I found my shoes for $15 at old Navy. All of our vendors we're quite cheap as they came as high recommendations from family and friends. Ask around what vendors your friends used and if they thought the price was worth it.

10,000 is my budget for 150 people, but we lucked out with an amazing venue that will cost us around $3500 including food and alcohol.

Some ways I'm cutting costs-
DIY bouquets or bouquets from Amazon-
You can have a bouquet that costs less than 20 bucks if you use fake silk flowers and make your own (they end up looking just as good as the professionals) or by buying a bouquet off Amazon.

Etsy has a bunch of deals and stuff for gifts. I have 11 bridesmaids and I spend $70 on individual, initialed bracelets about "tying the knot" in fancy boxes. Super cheap but dont look it!

Also check out Facebook marketplace for used decorations and whatnot in your area

View Quoted Comment

Your welcome! Glad I could help.

I really saved by using sola wood flowers and also doing my own everything haha. I designed my own invitations/programs/menu and centerpieces. I also cut my guest list down.