This post is about the 30 genius ways to save money on your wedding.
We’ve all heard how expensive weddings are but it only really dawns on you when you start wedding planning.
From florals to food, and outfits to added tax – the costs start to rack up quickly. It can become overwhelming fast!
You might even start to feel upset that you can’t quite afford the wedding you had always envisioned. And that you may need to sacrifice and compromise a little too much. You might even get to the point where you want to throw in the towel and just elope. But that’s not you!
If you want to achieve your dream wedding within budget, continue reading for our 30 genius ideas to save money on your wedding.
1. Book your wedding on a weekday, not a weekend
Let’s start with one of the biggest expenses – your wedding venue. A sure-fire way to save money here is to book your wedding on a weekday instead of a weekend.
Most venues offer significantly discounted rates during weekdays. Another option is to book during their off-peak season. For example, if booking a wedding in Spain, the wedding venue rates during November will be significantly cheaper than in June.
It’s very likely that many other wedding vendors, like caterers and florists, will offer discounted rates during off-peak times too.
2. Opt for a destination wedding
This is a bit of a controversial one but if you’re looking to save money on your wedding, think about booking a destination wedding. Depending on where you live, you could save a huge amount of money getting married elsewhere.
For example, the average wedding cost in Barcelona is €30,000. In New York or London, it can easily be double that.
You do need to factor in that since your guests will be traveling, they might give less or nothing as a gift.
The good thing about doing destination weddings is it usually streamlines your guest list too as some people won’t want to travel. A smaller guest list automatically means a more affordable wedding.
Get inspired by our Top 5 Wedding Venues in Mallorca list.
3. Host one event, not many
It’s easy to get wrapped up in thinking that you need to have a full weekend of events to have a good wedding. From welcome drinks to rehearsal dinners, and the wedding day to a post-wedding brunch – the budget can quickly get out of hand.
Remember that you don’t need to have more than one event. If budget is a concern, then focus on creating one amazing event than a handful of events that don’t meet your standard.
Another option if you really do want to host several events is to let guests know that it won’t be paid for.
For example, you could organise a welcome drinks at a nearby bar. Tell guests that it’s an optional event and the food and drinks won’t be provided by the wedding couple.
4. Book local vendors only
Booking vendors locally can save you thousands of dollars.
Find local vendors by searching on social media using your location. Or ask your wedding venue for their list of approved local vendors.
If a vendor needs to travel far for your event, they may even need to charge you for overnight hotel fees.
5. Be efficient with vendor meetings
If you’re travelling to view your wedding venue, especially if internationally, ensure that you group all of your vendor meetings together into that one trip.
If you’re travelling from L.A. to Italy to lock in your wedding venue, that trip will probably cost a few thousand dollars.
Make sure that you don’t need to repeat that trip unnecessarily by organising all vendor tests in that one trip. Book in your hair and makeup trial, caterer tastings, floral meetings and more into one trip.
6. Streamline your guestlist
When it comes to weddings, each additional guest usually costs an extra €150+ (depending on your catering costs). If you’re looking to save money, think about streamlining your guest list. It’s not fun to do but it could easily save you thousands.
Set a guest count limit that works with your budget and trim down the list accordingly.
Think about not offering +1s to everyone. Think about not having children at the wedding. Don’t fall into the trap of thinking that you need to invite every extended family member and everyone who’s ever invited you to their wedding. It’s your wedding.
7. Invite less people to your wedding dinner
If you’re unwilling to cut people from your guestlist but still want to save money, invite less people to your ceremony and dinner, but more people to the afterparty.
The main cost of having additional guests is the cocktail hour food and dinner. So keeping that guest count low will help you save.
8. DIY where you can
If you’re lucky enough to have a garden to use, think about hosting your wedding there! Your wedding venue normally is one of the largest expenses.
You could also DIY your wedding food and drinks too. This is rarely an option when hosting at a wedding venue as professional caterers are usually a requirement.
Remember that if you host the wedding at your own/a friend’s property, depending on your guest list size, you may still need to pay extra costs like bathrooms and a marquis.
Most professional wedding venues will already have built-in Plan B options and plenty of facilities so estimate these additional costs before opting for your own venue.
9. Skip the wedding planner
Particularly for those Type A’s out there, passing on wedding planner could be an excellent option to save money. It’s definitely possible to plan your own wedding an do an amazing job at it.
However, it will take time. A wedding planner not only brings their knowledge to the table, but they help you save a lot of time. Potentially hundreds of hours! Since money is time, weigh up whether it’s worth it for you to skip a wedding planner.
You may be happy to plan your own wedding, but still need some help on the day. That’s where ‘day-of coordinators’ come in handy. They ensure the day goes smoothly for a fraction the cost of a planner.
10. Forget about stationery and signage
Pretty stationery and signage can elevate the look of a wedding, however it is absolutely not necessary. If you ask guests at recent weddings what the wedding signage looked like, it’s likely that they have no recollection.
In other words, most people forget about it anyway. So if you want to cut costs, this is an easy route to take.
11. Or Do Homemade Stationery
If paying for a graphic designer and professional printing company to organise your wedding stationery is out of budget – another option is to DIY it.
Websites like Canva make it incredibly easy to design your own invites, menus, and seating charts.
12. Save money on flowers
We’ve all been conditioned to think that you must have flowers at a wedding. This is not the case though.
Dialling back on florals can save you thousands. It’s another element of the wedding that many guests forget about.
Much of the floral cost comes from your table-scapes (especially if your guest count is high). A cost-friendly alternative is to use candles instead. They also create a romantic and beautiful ambience without the hefty price tag.
13. Repurpose your flowers
If you can’t quite forgo wedding flowers, think about how you can get creative in reducing the cost. You can repurpose bridesmaids bouquets in the table-scape. This could save you hundreds, if not thousands!
You could also repurpose any flower podiums or arches used in the ceremony later on. For example, the flower arch from your ceremony could be moved to the disco area later on as a backdrop for photos!
14. Create modern bridesmaids bouquets
When getting floral quotes, seeing the €100+ quotes per bouquet can be shocking! An easy way to save money on wedding flowers is to switch from bridesmaids bouquets to stems.
A modern trend we’ve been seeing lately is each bridesmaids holding a single steam in photos instead of entire bouquets.
An alternative is no bridesmaid bouquets, and use props like white parasols in photos.
15. Preserve the bridal bouquet
Admittedly, this might not exactly save you money on your wedding, but it might justify spending several hundred on a bridal bouquet. Preserving the bride’s bouquet by drying it between two book pages could make it last a lifetime instead of just a few hours.
It’s also a beautiful keepsake that you can later frame and hang up.
Speaking of dried flowers, another way to save money on wedding flowers is to choose dried flower bouquets instead of fresh ones.
This flower preserving kit will help you preserve them perfectly.
We love how the flowers are presented with this flower preservation kit.
16. Replace boutonnieres with handkerchiefs
Another sneaky way to save a few hundred is to replace flower boutonnieres with handkerchiefs. The groomsmen may already have a handkerchief that they can use. If not, at least they’ll be buying something that is reusable.
Another option is to skip boutonnieres (and corsages) altogether.
17. Use confetti instead of real petals
You’d be surprised at how much petals for the petal toss cost. Minimise this cost by opting for confetti instead. A DIY alternative is to hole-punch leaves and use that as your confetti. If you choose non-natural confetti, ensure that you ask your venue if it’s allowed. Many venues prohibit the use of confetti and may charge you if you use it.
These confetti trays are the perfect way to pass around confetti before the ceremony starts.
These real Eucalyptus are bio-degradable and add a rustic touch to the ceremony.
This heart-shaped confetti is also bio-degradable and comes in many colours.
This confetti poppers are super fun for guests. to use as you walk down the aisle.
18. Do a buffet!
When selecting your catering dinner menu, opt for a buffet to save money. The difference in cost between a sit-down 3-course menu and a buffet can differ by at least 30%.
That can amount to thousands in savings! Plus, who doesn’t love a buffet?
19. Limit your open bar hours
Another way to save money on your wedding is to limit the open hour bars. Many caterers include 3 hours of open bar in their quote.
Beyond that, they usually charge a cost per person per hour. To avoid this additional cost, you could tell guests that when the open bar closes, they can pay for their own drinks.
Another way to limit your open bar cost is to keep the menu small.
20. Rent your outfits
It can be difficult to justify spending thousands on an outfit that you’ll only wear for a few hours.
Wedding dresses can easily surpass $10,000 once you include alteration costs, veils and other accessories.
A smart alternative is to rent your wedding outfits or buy second-hand. This way you can save on price without compromising on style/designer.
21. Buy the wedding dress sample
Another way to save money on your wedding dress is to buy the sample. Bridal boutiques often sell the sample dress at a highly discounted rate.
The sample is the dress on the rack that customers try on. This dress will likely have makeup stains and minor wear-and-tear, most of which will be mendable through alterations and a dry clean.
22. Hire a wedding content creator instead of a videographer
If you’re set on capturing video content of your wedding day but can’t afford a videographer, think about hiring a wedding content creator.
It’s not the same thing but it can be a compromise. Wedding content creators typically take content using an iPhone and send you the content within 24 hours. The content is not edited, unless requested. You’ll receive 100s if not 1,000s of BTS, candid videos of your special day.
If you’re interested in finding out more, contact us at Love Stories Content. We specialise in capturing weddings across Europe.
23. Book the photographer for fewer hours
When you book a wedding photographer, they often offer packages of differing lengths. For example, you could hire a photographer for your full 12-hour event.
This will obviously cost more than hiring them for 8 hours.
You don’t need to have someone photographing the entire event, though. Many photographers even recommend against it.
Oftentimes, the final few hours of a wedding event on the dance floor can get sloppy with people getting drunk. Also, hours of photos on the dance floor can get repetitive and redundant.
24. Negotiate with vendors
When booking wedding vendors, remember that you can negotiate prices. The quotes they send are not set in stone.
You could even let them know your budget for that element of the wedding and ask them to help you work with that budget. They might suggest alternatives that you hadn’t thought of.
The wedding industry is highly competitive so vendors will often do what they can to secure a booking.
25. Hire a DJ
While it’s enticing to book a live band or a string quarter for your wedding, they’re often more costly than a DJ. DJ’s also often include lighting, dance-floors, wireless microphones, smoke machines and other props in their packages.
26. DIY the music
If you’re really looking to cut back on costs, think about using Spotify for music. Create playlists for each segment of the day and press play. While it might not be perfect, it could save you thousands.
27. Use sparklers instead of fireworks
If you’ve envisioned a big light show like fireworks at your wedding but can’t afford them – sparklers are an excellent second-best.
They might not create as much of a spectacle as fireworks, but they go down a treat with guests.
From our experience, guests love the interactive element of holding the sparklers themselves. Doing a sparkler entrance, for example, is still a super fun photo opportunity. It helps that they’re a fraction of the cost!
28. Skip the wedding favours
Let’s face it, half of all wedding favours get left at the wedding venue anyway. Guests often leave them at the dinner table and forget to pick them up later, or just don’t care.
If you are set on gifting your guests something, opt for a more affordable alternative like handwritten, peronsalised cards to each guest at their dinner seat. It’s meaningful, creates a special moment when guests read theirs, and will save you money!
29. Don’t exchange wedding bands
Controversial but another way to save several thousand is to forget about wedding bands. Or at least for the bride. The bride likely already has a big rock on her finger.
Many brides these days are forgoing another wedding ring. Some grooms are even forgoing it too as they just don’t like wearing rings anyway.
30. Buy a lab-grown diamond
This doesn’t exactly pertain to the wedding day itself but is related! Save money on your engagement ring by opting for a lab-grown diamond instead of earth-grown.
Lab-grown diamonds are better for the environment and for your wallet! Another idea is to choose a jewel other than a diamond.
Now that you’ve got 30 new ideas to save money at your wedding, we’re certain you’ll be able to stick to your budget! Some of the ideas might not be for you – weddings are personal! But think about what you value most at your wedding, and what doesn’t matter as much. Funnel more of your budget to things that matter, and less to those that don’t.
If you’re still curious about hiring a wedding content creator at your wedding, don’t hesitate to reach out to us.
This post was about 30 smart ways to save money when wedding planning.
