Save money

Florists: DIY flowed from bulk stores, get fake flowers, or buy online from retailers such as Enjoy Flowers and something Blooms.


Decor: don’t go too big/ extravagant on the centerpieces, people don’t remember them most of the time.
Favors: see above. (We’re doing a sparkler send off so we’re doing customized matchboxes)
Alterations: go to local (but well reviewed and knowledgeable) tailors. David’s bridal wanted to charge me $500 but a local person was able to do just as great of work for $270!
Transportation: It’s not a necessity to get transportation for guests, but if you want to- go with Uber gift cards or vouchers- it allows guests to leave when they want, go where they want, and you don’t get charged if someone gets sick on their way out of your reception (hopefully no one will though)
Cake: do gorgeous/ fancy cupcakes for the cake cutting/ smashing and in the back have 1 or 2 sheet cakes from a local grocery store (I know Shoprite makes AMAZING tasting cakes and I’ve heard good things about Costco and Adam’s as well). The cake gets cut up anyway, no one will be the wiser and it will save you a fortune.
Ceremony music: If you live near a college or have a church with a choir near you, see about hiring a student/ church member who plays an instrument like the violin, flute, or harp and see if they are willing / able to do your ceremony music: most college students have been playing for years and will do it for a lot cheaper than hiring a DJ for that extra hour.
Stationary: wait until vistaprint or Shutterfly have sales and purchase your stationary then. Also use your wedding website as the place to RSVP: or saves you the hassle of trying to figure out whose RSVP card came in the mail and who that extra person is here and there. Also, no rsvp card= less weight= less money spent on mailing them out.
There’s usually ones as well such as getting married off peak (November through April), doing flowers that are in season, keeping wedding party small, doing a Sunday and/ or brunch wedding, buying dress second hand/ wearing the same dress to bridal shower and engagement party and rehearsal dinner, not worrying about getting fancy shoes if you’re wearing a floor length gown, and booking vendors a year in advance to lock in the price (I saved $60 per person for HMU because I got locked in on 2019 prices for my 2020 wedding) Hope these help!

Oh! If you’re a fan of winter, do your wedding near Christmas- most venues will still be decorated for the holidays, saving you a ton on flowers and decor!

Everything Maggie said is spot on! Another suggestion is to find an all-inclusive venue. They tend to give “Bundle” prices that are much cheaper than getting everything from separate vendors. One of the number one ways to save money on a wedding is to keep the guest list small. Considering about half your budget will be spent on food/alcohol, fewer guests = less money. You can skip favors- they are completely optional and most people will never notice. Also, check out local photographers on instagram! There are some amazingly talented “less known” photographers on insta that will never pop up when you google wedding photogs. That’s actually how I found the photographer that shot our engagement photos! She was absolutely amazing to work with! Our photos turned out exactly how I’d wanted. And she was a fraction of the cost of most the other “known” photographers I found in the area!

Guest count is the biggest cost. More guests = more cost, not just on food but decor per table, rentals like chairs & linens, drinks, etc.


If a big guest list (100+) is important than find a BBQ, Mexican or Italian restaurant to cater for $10-$20 per person. Or do a 2 pm wedding and host a simple cake & punch reception (no entertainment/DJ needed). The smaller the guest list, the easier to pay for other things you may prioritize (venue, nicer food, etc).
You can also do a shorter local mini-moon and take your official honeymoon on a wedding anniversary. That’s what we did! We went way over budget on our wedding & took two weeks off (heavenly) so we just postponed an official honeymoon and now will be doing a 2-week trip to Europe!

I would also try to borrow things from people so that you can avoid buying them yourself. And keeping things simple is the way to go. As hosts we keep thinking adding more is better for the experience of our guests but they don't even remember all the small details we plan anyway. They're there for celebrating you.

I agree with some of the previous posters. DIY as much as you can! This will give you the extra money to put towards your honeymoon. I didn't DIY to save money for our honeymoon, but I did DIY to save some money that we could then to put into other areas of our wedding. I handmade the bouquets, centerpieces and RSVP cards. I'm currently working on hand making our escort cards for the reception, and my FSIL's and I are going to be baking everything for our dessert buffet.

I looked for discounts for everything we've purchased for the wedding as well, and even borrowed a few things from the FSIL from her wedding this past November. We also decided to cut costs by decorating the reception hall ourselves - which cut down our venue total by $1,500. I got deals on our tablecloths from the tableclothfactory.com, the plates and other items for the dinner we bought in bulk off of amazon, cups for the bar we got at Costco and I'm hand-making the table numbers and our cocktail menu for the bar.

For food, we decided to do a buffet style dinner. It's more us because everyone will be able to move freely and as much as they want. It was also a cheaper option when compared to a plated meal.

Skip things like save the dates, engagement photos, videographer, professional transportation, professional HAMU, favors, menus, programs, welcome bags, etc. Get your flowers from a local grocery store or Costco. Look to your local grocery store for dessert. Do beer & wine vs. a full open bar.