So, I’ve decided to share some tips on how to throw an amazing wedding – while still staying within the budget. I’ve listed 5 budget-friendly wedding ideas to help make your dream wedding a reality.
Pick a date on an off-peak season
Where you live generally determines what off-season is, but for instance, in Florida I found out that the summer months are off-peak and that is when you get the biggest discounts. For instance, limo services are generally less expensive when there is not much going on (ie. prom, on-peak weddings, etc.)
Hire a wedding planner
This may seem like it would cost more, but honestly in the long run you are saving money! By hiring a planner, you not only get their discounts from vendors, but they can offer great ways to cut corners and put your mind at ease on your big day.
Reuse ceremony flowers
When you purchase flowers for your ceremony – reuse them! We are using our flowers that are on the pews at the church and putting them on tables at the cocktail hour and the remaining flowers at the ceremony will be used at the reception. This saves you tons of money!
Make your own menu cards, place cards and programs
We didn’t want to skimp on the invitations or save-the-dates, but we bought templates at a craft store, like Michaels, for the place cards and are designing our own menu cards and programs. Again, you can get the paper for these projects at any craft store and it still comes out beautiful!
Put more guests at bigger tables
Think of it this way: the more tables you have, the less you will be spending on centerpieces, linens, etc. Having tables of 10 or 12 will save you more money in the long run then having tables of just 8.
So, if you are in the process of planning your wedding or just helping out a friend, get creative and look where you can skimp. You can still have a beautiful and elegant wedding without shelling out tons of cash!
Do you have any great budget-wedding tips?
[image source: ScreenCrave]
rose / 812 posts
Its good to have photographer friends
guest
Pick a small reception site so you have to limit the number of guests, selfish I know but… a reception of 120 can be a lot easier than 150 or 200.
daisy / 603 posts
Elope. Since it’ll just be the two of us we can have a lot more fun with our money!
guest
I like the tips above, except I wouldn’t consider having more guests per table, especially if you’re limited to a certain table size. The place where we had our wedding, all the tables were 1 standard size, putting more guests would have had them bumping elbows during dinner which was a sit down. Renting bigger tables and larger linens would have cost us more money than what we’d save on fewer centerpieces.
1. Reduce guest list. We only invited people who were important to our lives. I know, yours and his parents will want certain people. We allowed 20 guests per side for our parents, so they got to pick the most important people they feel they should be at our wedding.
2. Consider other types of receptions rather than just sit down dinners: buffet, late brunch/lunch, cocktail receptions with appetizers, drinks and cake.3. Serve only beer, wine and soft drinks instead of full bar or have a dry wedding (no booze at all)4. Consider your resources. Some reception locations offer tables, chairs, linens, dishes, etc in the price. Sometimes renting the location and the tables, etc, will cost more.5. Some reception sites offer discounts for weekday or Sunday receptions, rather than Friday evening or Saturday.6. Adults only reception, especially if there are a lot of children in your family. We didn’t have a lot, so they were included. Glad we did, they had so much fun dancing.7. Forgo unnecessary items, if you don’t consider them essential, such as favors, chair covers and sashes, dessert bar in addition to cake.8. Read your contracts with vendors carefully, and be sure there are no hidden fees/costs. For example, our reception package included tables, chairs, linens, etc; the food and drink AND a cake. We could buy a cake from another bakery but the reception site would charge a cake cutting fee per guest. Also, look for other included services and take advantage of them if they include them in the set price–rather than seeking outside services.
rose / 786 posts
@lttlegel - I’ve actually had friends who said that their parents said that if they were going to elope they could just have the money that they would have spent on the wedding and put it towards their honeymoon, their house, whatever they want to. And my dad has told my boyfriend that if he ever gets the notion that he wants to elope with with me then there is a ladder outside my window. There really isn’t, but I guess my dad is anxious for me to get married. Except I know he will be balling his eyes out when I do get married. haha. And as much as it would be a relief and less stressful to elope, I don’t think I could. Getting married is kind of a big day for me and I want to share it with our family and friends.
@babybug329@xanga - My boyfriend and I are actually considering doing a potluck lunch. And we’re also doing a dry reception.
guest
@xhalesx@revelife - I love the idea of a potluck, especially for smaller, intimate gatherings. Best wishes!
daffodil / 1525 posts
getting married in florida in the summer hahahahahhahahah FUCK THAT
guest
My boyfriend and I aren’t even “officially” engaged yet (because of financial reasons), but I’ve watched one too many episodes of Say Yes to the Dress and my brain has been in almost constant wedding mode. Unless the business we work in suddenly starts booming, we’re going to have to be very budget conscious. We want a ceremony on the beach (no decorating required outside of a few ribbons or flowers on the walkway) and we’re looking at reception venues that are already beautiful without having to be decked out in decorations, so all we’ll really need there are centerpieces/table decoration. We’re also thinking about having a dry wedding, but we’ll determine that once we compile a guest list (depending on how many older relatives will be there vs. younger guests or guests who we know would drink).
guest
@annamariuhh@xanga - I have to agree with this. It’s hot as hell in Florida. Even inside, air conditioners only work so well in a room filled with 100 people…