What do you consider a waste of money?

For us, we didn’t want to bother spending money on favors, save the dates, engagement photos, programs, real flowers, expensive invitations (Vistaprint 50% off sale, baby!), matching “getting ready” outfits, a veil (but also because I didn’t like any on me). These are all things that are totally fine and great for others that prioritize them and have them in the budget! But we don’t care about them 😂

Any type of proposal gifts
getting ready attire
programs
flowers
signage
favors
bathroom baskets
oh shall I go on?? Lol

One nobody has mentioned: fancy transportation. We aren't having a wedding party and are just planning to use our normal cars.

Overall, I'd say it just depends what matters to you.

We are skipping favors but we will have the photobooth. We are doing online Save the Dates so that's costing us $0.

We also didn't do the hotel the night before. We are going to stay with our families the night before. We don't live near our families now and already live together so this is more of a spend-time-with-family thing. We are, however, staying in the hotel for two nights after the wedding. I didn't feel like it was a good use of money for just one of us to stay in the nice hotel, stressing out the night before (which is inevitable). I wanted to spend that money resting and relaxing afterward.

Favors, china (unless you're having a formal wedding, nobody cares that you use plastic plates/cups), programs, menus (we liked them so we had them, but we got a great deal on them), save the dates (skipped. we just told our VIP people verbally when the date was), guest book (we literally threw ours in the trash after the wedding), and guests you don't actually care about.

View Quoted Comment

SAME GIRL SAME.

View Quoted Comment

I 100% agree. We're having a small wedding so as soon as we got engaged I told FH I don't want to do engagement photos, engagement party, bridal shower, etc, etc, etc. I just want to get married to him and everything else is extra.

We're not doing favors or a program-seems like a waste to me especially with our guest count. Alcohol, food and photography are our main focuses.

View Quoted Comment

Oh, I understand that completely and you have a very good point that it can be beneficial, especially when one has nerves and/or anxiety. For me personally though, I can't justify spending thousands for a photoshoot that I may display one or two photos from in our home.

View Quoted Comment

I agree about the food and alcohol completely! We were pretty relaxed and not picky at all with a lot of the wedding elements except when it came to food and drinks. We're also not doing programs. Just couldn't justify the expense for something going in the trash. It's also not like it's a pub crawl or something where people need a program giving them step by step directions to safely navigate through the event. We are doing favors, though I am making them and I already had everything for them. I grow my own berries and make jam, so last year I froze my entire crop and I'm making 4oz jars of jam to hand out. But if it wasn't something that I already had everything for, then I probably would have skipped it as well.

View Quoted Comment

Eamsee, that is the best favor ever! Grown, picked and made by the bride! Awesome

My daughter is only having favors because their friend started a jam and jelly business and want to help them out. So they will also have 4 oz jellies with the friend's website written on them at everyones seat. Other then that total waste of money

Programs but I'm doing them anyway so that I have something in Spanish to give to my FH's side of the family so they don't have no idea what anyone is saying during the ceremony.

It depends on your preferences! Some of my must-haves will be someone else's waste of money (like having two officiants, one for each religion). Some things that other people care about, like decorations and engagement photos, aren't my priorities.

View Quoted Comment

Yes for some weddings they might be a waste, but not for yours. The guests will feel much more included having them

I thought expensive, fancy invites were a total waste of money. Some people prioritize the invites, but I completely couldn't justify spending more than the bare minimum!

Agree with what a few others have said. I feel like programs and most favors are a waste of money. I've worked for a caterer on occasion, and most of the programs just get left behind at the end of the night for the venue staff to throw away.

Wedding Favors! I cant even begin to express what a waste it is. Countless friends of mine have spent time and money on wedding favors and over half of them are always left behind. Its sad but true, and an easy cut to keep a budget.

Our lowest priority items favors, invites, and decor. We picked nice places where we're already okay with the decor as is. We completely gotten rid of favors. And we're doing Ann's bridal, minted.com or Zazzle for the invites and keeping it to a dollar. We've also gotten rid of RSVPs. We're just going to do ourselves a favor and not expect people to RSVP during the holidays. My final headcount is due new year's day..... It's not worth the aggravation.

Save the dates, programs, elaborate favors are all wastes of money to me

Favors! We totally skipped them. Along with programs, menus and dave the dates. We also skipped getting ready outfits. My girls were already in their dresses while their make up got done. Signage. We only had two, the welcome sign and seat chart.

Here's what I consider a waste of money for my taste and needs:

1. Flowers. I love the look of it, but they're going to die anyways so I decided to go with fake flowers and minimal flowers just because I wanted to spend my money elsewhere.

2. Wedding cake. I prefer to have an assortment of different desserts.

3. Wedding dress. It's going to be worn for less than a day so it would kill me to spend more than a hundred or two on it.

4. Decorations and centerpieces. I love a beautiful venue and wedding, but if it comes down to budgeting for the wedding and for our future, I'd prefer to save the money and focus on the experience rather than the "beauty" of the event.

5. Honeymoon. I think the point is to spend time with your new husband or wife. I can do that anywhere. I don't necessarily need a grand international luxurious resort to do so.

6. Programs, menus, favors, welcome bags, send offs, etc. All great extras, but I'd prefer not to spend extras for things that we don't need.

7. Mailed save the dates and all out invitations. Chances are those who you want to invite will know from word of mouth of your wedding date and location. And no need to spend hundreds on invitations when they'll be thrown away by almost everyone.

More I'm sure, but I'm a frugal like that. No shade towards anyone that is spending a ton on all of these things if that's what important to you! But just not as high on my list of priorities since I have a smaller budget

View Quoted Comment

Thank you! We had some huge life changes happen mid wedding planning and needed to cut back/rethink a lot of elements of the wedding. I am DIYing much more than I had planned, but it will all work out and have a much more personal touch in the end. Since I already do a ton of food preparation and grow a lot of my own produce, I thought the jam favors would be a nice personal gift for our guests as well as cost next to nothing since I already have everything needed.

I'm not sure if your daughter already has lid stickers or not, or if her friend making the jam has them, but just an FYI, I got mine through Vistaprint. I got 240 of these for $19 and change. They have frequent 50% off sales, so I wait until they have them to order any stationary/labels I need for my food stuff as well as the wedding.

jam favor lid stickers