Where are you saving money?

Also, I saved a lot of money on the venue by opting for a weekday. We're getting married on a Wednesday, so that knocked the venue price down by a few thousand dollars! My venue only cost me $2000 and I get $500 back if nothing is damaged or no rules are broken. The venue is a blank canvas though and doesn't include in-house catering or bar service, but that's what we wanted: a blank canvas! It does, however, include tables and chairs and a huge bridal suite for getting ready in. I'm very happy with everything I've chosen for my wedding.

I did all my own stationary: invites and programs. I chose a venue that had the cake and centerpieces included. The photographer and DJ were friends so we received very discounted pricing.

Tip: Don't assume that your friends are going to work for free. In fact it's better to pay your friends rate because then they will treat it like a job instead of a favor.

Good luck

Destination Wedding, all-inclusive package, dress and shoes from Amazon. Those are how we are saving money. I also am sending after-ceremony postcards announcing our marriage. I already have them and they were inexpensive. I bought them from Zazzle!

Our big splurges are our venue for $2200 (a beach house on the water for the entire weekend) and our food $1200.

We are saving money with a small guest list, skipping flowers, and DIY as much as we can. We're skipping a lot of signs but I found inexpensive options on Amazon and Etsy for our memorial table and to remind people we are having an unplugged ceremony. I'm lucky to have a friend with a large white tent for the backyard, and saved about $50 by buying our linens on Amazon instead of renting them through the vendor. We also both found our outfits online and even with the minor alterations they need will both come in under $200 each not including any accessories. We will only have our sons in the wedding party as our best men. We are buying their shirts, suspenders, and ties, they have the rest. We skipped a DJ but I don't recommend that for everyone, we have the equipment and are not doing any of the traditional wedding events like bouquet toss or parent dances. We also decided to skip a photobooth but have created a "selfie station" with props we've picked up or already had. Our photographer is a friend in the community and got us a great deal!! We skipped the big cake and went for a one-tier cake with cupcakes for our guests, which also makes it easier since no one has to cut a giant cake. I have been buying the alcohol in bulk when it goes on sale, but we are sticking to wine, champagne, beer, and cider with one signature drink too. Since our venue is set to be outside we saved a ton on décor and only focused on centerpieces and lanterns with shepherd's hooks for the altar.

My biggest recommendation is to use these forums as a tool, not a bible of wedding planning. We are all making our weddings they way we want them, but there are plenty of good ideas to be shared. Happy planning.

Splurge: Food, drink, musician at reception, photography

Save: No STD's, small guest list, small wedding party, few flowers (did not need them, we were married in an arboretum) private dining room for reception needed no decoration, it was gorgeous on it's own. No favors, proposals to bridal party - that needs to end, lol, no photobooth, none of that "extra" stuff.

We’re not having wedding favors, no one remembers them or uses them. We’re going minimal on flowers because we simply don’t care about a ton of flowers. Our cake is included in our venue and we aren’t adding any additional desserts because we just aren’t dessert people.
We splurged on the party atmosphere. High end open bar all night (even open during dinner) awesome dj, late night snack to keep people partying. We also spent on a nice plated dinner and a cocktail hour with many apps, signature drinks and of course the full bar!
I think once you know what’s important to you as a couple you can figure out where to spend and where to save

View Quoted Comment You'll definitely save a lot of you look into non-traditional wedding venues. Look up places that are nice which just let you rent out the property and have a DIY wedding.

In general, doing everything yourself will save you a TON of dough, but it's also a lot harder/more involved. Our wedding capped out around $10,000 which tbqh is "small" and "really cheap" for where we live lol. Most people spend 2-3 times as much.

We are not having bridesmaids and groomsmen. We want it to just be the two of us and this saved us a lot of money. Also, we are having our wedding at 2:00pm and not serving a meal. Instead, we are having a grazing table.