Lets be honest, everyone has a budget when planning a wedding. Some budgets are larger than others but most couples are looking for ways to be able to save a little here and there. One of our most popular sections is our Rustic Budget Weddings area where you can see some amazing real budget weddings all planned with a budget in mind. Make sure you check out this post on a wedding planned for under $7,000 and our post on how to have a low cost wedding bar.
1. Location Location Location
The wedding venue cost can really eat up a budget so one great way to save money is to select a venue that is not a full service type of wedding location. Wedding locations like parks, camps, and gardens might be able to be rented for as little as $150.00 to secure the location. We featured this amazing couple who hosted their wedding at a public park and it looks as elegant as a more traditional wedding venue would be. Ever think about having your wedding in your backyard – its free and can be made to look beautiful. Read our post on 10 Reasons To Have A Backyard Wedding to get good tips and tricks. Want to see a full list of alternative wedding venues – check out our Rustic Wedding Guide.
2. Guests List
The number one way to save money when planning a wedding is to trim the guest list. The less people you have at your wedding means the less you have to spend on things like invitations, food and rentals. Its simple math, the more people you have the more cost there will be. Get your guest list down to a reasonable number and you will see some major savings.
3. DIY…But Only A Little
I know many brides think that if you DIY your entire wedding you will be saving money but in the end DIY’ing does not always mean a large savings is coming your way. My best advice is to pick only a select few items to DIY and turn the rest over to the professionals. We have a great post on What To DIY At Your Wedding And What To Leave To The Pros which I encourage everyone to read. You really are not going to save money by trying to cook your own food for you day since you will probably either over feed or under feed your guests and you will not be getting the discounts that many catering companies are entitled to. If you really want to DIY a few key items at your wedding think about taking on just the centerpieces, the ceremony decor or the flowers – beyond that you are better working with the pros.
4. Timing Is Everything
Afternoon weddings and evening weddings cost the most without question so if you are looking for a good way to save you might want to think about hosting a morning or brunch wedding. Not only will many locations offer you a better price for a wedding at these times but since it is not at night you might be able to get away with a dance-free wedding which can help you save on entertainment. Make sure you read our post on How To Plan A Dance-Free Wedding.
5. Can I Borrow That?
Borrowing or renting what you need for your day is a great way to save money because then you are not putting out large sums of money for items you can’t really do anything with after the big day. You really can rent anything you might need for a wedding including renting bridesmaid dresses from companies like Rent The Runway to renting linens and vintage goods. Read our post on 10 Vintage Items You Can Rent For Your Wedding to get started. Borrowing items is always a good solution – items like dresses, shoes, decor and more can be borrowed from friends and family. If you are having a backyard wedding think about borrowing chairs from friends instead of renting tons of them for your backyard ceremony.
6. Shop Around
Just because you met with one florist it does not mean you have to work with them even if you loved all their ideas. I guarantee if you took the ideas to another florist you will find that they too can produce the look you are going for. Not all wedding florist have nice storefront locations so make sure you research florist for your wedding in reference tools like on our Rustic Wedding Guide to learn about florist other than the ones you might see just driving down the street.
7. The Off Season
Most weddings are held in spring and summer but you can save a ton of money by holding your wedding in the winter months. Many venues will offer winter wedding packages or discounts in order to drive some wedding business at this time so you can get a good deal on a nice venue. If you are not crazy about a winter wedding think about having a wedding at the very early part of the spring – you might find a venue will give you a break on price break they are not booked for those early weekends yet. Check out some of the amazing winter weddings we have featured.
No Comments