Hey friend, I am so glad that you stumbled upon this blog post. I know some people prefer to listen or watch content, so I also created a YouTube video that will be attached down below that you can check out!
If you are new around here, my husband and I got married on June 26, 2021. While everything wedding planning is still pretty fresh on my mind, I wanted to write up as many helpful blog posts for the bride to be as possible!
In this blog post, I am going to share with you things you can do to save money on your wedding – some things that I did, my past clients have done, and of course what some of my friends have done as well! Just a reminder that these are just some ideas for you and you can use or disregard anything 🙂
1. RINGS
For our rings, we bought my husbands ring off of Etsy for $90 and it is great quality, my husband LOVES it! Mens rings can be so expensive for what they are from a jeweler. You can also purchase his ring when jewelry stores have sales – they tend to have sales on a lot of holidays!
For engagement and wedding bands for ladies, you can try to find a really good sale from a jewler on a holiday, get a lab grown diamond, or there are actually quite a few less expensive options. Some of those options includes moissanite (looks a lot like a diamond, is strong and of course, less expensive) and other gems (aquamarine, emerald, etc.).
2. SKIP SOME STATIONARY
For my wedding, I skipped printing save the dates and programs to save money on stationary, envelopes and postage. Instead of printing and mailing save the dates, I created a wedding Facebook page instead where I posted all the details that would traditionally be on the save the date as well as other details. Instead of printing programs, I made one large board that I used as a program instead to save. However, I did end up printing one copy of each for our detail photos.
One of my friends also skipped an RSVP card with her formal invitations to save money, I decided against this when I was making decisions because I knew we had some older guests that would not be able to use our wedding website (I personally used Zola but The Knot is also a great site). I did however, skip postage for RSVP cards since I knew most would use our website.
If you are wanting to keep all the stationary but still want to save money, you can also only print enough programs for 1 per couple/family instead of per person.
3. GO INTO BRIDAL DRESS SHOP WITH A BUDGET IN MIND
Okay so this one may seem kind of obvious, but hear me out. I really had no idea how much dresses cost going into wedding dress shopping and honestly thought I would go to more than one store, so at the first shop I didn’t really give them a budget. Sure enough I found ‘the dress’ and it was the most expensive dress I had tried on. GO ME! So trust me, if I never would have tried that dress on and would have only tried on dresses in my budget, I would have found one I loved. Don’t get me wrong, I love my dress. I just wish it was cheaper!
My friend ended up finding her dream dress off the rack which saved her a lot of money!
Depending on your budget and wedding vibe, you can also find really beautiful dresses from Lulus and other online retailers for a lot cheaper (but they do tend to be less quality so keep that in mind).
4. REUSE FLORALS
Reusing florals from your ceremony to your reception or reusing your bridesmaid bouquets as decor for the reception is a great way to save some money from your florist, especially if you are going with real florals like I did on my wedding day.
For my wedding, I had gobblers with pampas grass up the aisle at my ceremony and then I reused them at different tables (guest rectangle tables, guest book, in memory, snack, dessert) for decor at my reception. We also used my arch with florals behind the head table (the lower floral in front of the head table) and then we also used my bridesmaids bouquets on the head table!
**Another great way to save money with table florals is by choosing candles and/or bud vases instead of large floral arrangements on each table**
I really wanted a full table set up on each table (silverware, napkin, placemat and plate) but to save money I just did that on the head table!
5. DON’T BE SCARED TO RENT
Going into our wedding, I had this belief that buying things over renting was the way to go because then you could sell it when you were done. Although this is still true on some things, I also think there are things that make way more sense to rent. Hear me out!
I rented table linens and napkins because they didn’t come with my venue and it was WORTH EVERY PENNY. Why? Because linens are pretty expensive up front, I didn’t have to worry about getting them cleaned before selling, and I didn’t have to store them and pray they sold.
I rented vases, votives, neon sign, candle stick stands and candles from my florist because they delivered and set them all up with all of my florals. Priceless! Although I can’t speak for every florist, my florist prices to rent were so reasonable and they were so easy to work with.
I did purchase and make a lot of decor for the wedding, but renting is never a bad idea if you find the right price!
6. DIY SOME THINGS
If you are someone who enjoys DIY projects and crafting, consider using this skill for some wedding decor/things! Over the course of my year and a half engagement, my dad and I made A LOT for Mitch and I’s wedding. It not only saved us money but I also made fun memories with my dad, which to me is priceless!
The wedding things I made with my dad: our wedding arches, the shiplap wall (shown above behind dessert area), the black stand holding the ‘welcome’ sign and a few other small things. Alone using my circuit I made the signage throughout the reception!
Definitely utilize pinterest and make moodboards to help you along on this one!
7. CONSIDER ALTERNATIVE WEDDING DAYS
Can you guess what the most popular wedding day to get married is? Saturday, which means this is the most expensive day to get married. Choosing a wedding day that is not a Saturday can save you lots of money! Although not all vendors offer discounts or savings for weekday, Friday or Sunday weddings, wedding venues typically do. I have quite a few Friday and Sunday weddings this year! My friend saved 50% off her wedding venue for getting married on a Thursday.
8. GET MARRIED ALL AT ONE PLACE
When you initially think about getting married at a different venue than the reception, you may not realize the additional cost that comes with that decision.
**Now I know that with some religions you have to get married at a church or you may just want to, that is totally okay.**
By getting married at one venue, you will save money on not having to provide a party bus to transport you and your wedding party from ceremony to reception and you also won’t have to worry about time constraints or out of town guests getting lost. Staying at one venue could allow you to save money with less coverage needed from your photographer and videographer, or with the same package get more coverage of the day!
9. TAKE ADVANTAGE OF A CREDIT CARD WITH POINT BENEFITS
If you are not someone who knows a lot about credit cards or prefers to avoid them, skip this tip! If you are comfortable with credit cards, this one is for you! I always recommend using and looking at your credit cards as a debit card to avoid spending money you don’t have.
A lot of credit cards out there have deals where if you spend x amount you get a lot of extra points. Figure out if you can meet that with upcoming wedding expenses within their designated timeframe and then pick the card that looks the best for you. My husband and I did this for our wedding and it paid for our honeymoon to Hawaii flight tickets.
I hope you enjoyed this blog post, follow me on socials and checkout my other wedding planning posts linked below:
How to Create a Wedding Budget
Things I Have Learned from Being Engaged
All About Being a Personal Attendant
Follow me on socials:
Instagram: www.instagram.com/baileerayephoto
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCs5xr5qw5mn-Uo2hpJZ-vJQ
xo,
Bailee
