How to save money on your wedding day
Planning a wedding can be a dream come true, but it can also come with a hefty price tag. If you're on a budget, it can be challenging to balance your vision for the perfect day with your budget constraints. However, with some smart planning, you can have a beautiful and memorable wedding without breaking the bank. Here are some tips for planning a wedding on a budget:
Have a smaller wedding
One of the biggest expenses of a wedding is feeding all of your guests. If you have a smaller wedding, you'll spend less on food and drinks, and you'll also be able to spend more on other elements of the wedding that are important to you. This might be a tricky one to do as it involved excluding people that you would love to be a part of the day, but to minimise the blow to your would be guests, you could have an open ceremony, closed meal and then open dance for later. There are practical obstacles to that like the potential distance that guests would need to travel for just a ceremony. But for weddings in an around a city or town, this should definitely be considered!
Strip it all back
Ask yourself when planning your wedding day - "Do we need this?". Realistically what are the things you need for a wedding day? Will the marriage be nullified because you don't have a cake? Many things are done and are apart of weddings purely for the sake of tradition not because they actually add any value. Heres something that might help, create two lists for the things on your day - a need and a want list. Needs are the obvious things, if you're having more than just yourselves and an officiant, then you need to feed those people, but what you don't need is a three course meal.
Differentiate between what you need and what you want. Then find a way to bring the cost down on the things that you want, e.g. just because you want a cake, that doesn't mean it has to be the most complex, professionally made cake to grace the mouths of your guests, no! It can be a simple cake made by a family member that is even just slightly good at baking!
Set a Budget
The first step in planning a budget-friendly wedding is to figure out how much money you have to work with. Make a list of all your expected expenses, including the venue, food, decorations, and entertainment. Once you have an idea of what everything will cost, you can start finding ways to reduce expenses.
Consider Off-Season Dates
Most weddings take place during the peak wedding season, which is typically May through October. If you're willing to get married during the off-season, you can often find discounts on venues, catering, and other wedding-related services.
Make Your Own Invitations
Instead of paying for expensive wedding invitations, make your own. You can buy blank invitation sets and print your own text, or use an online design tool to create custom invitations.
Find a Wedding Planner Who Specialises in Budget Weddings
Wedding planners can help you save money by negotiating discounts with vendors, and by finding creative ways to cut costs. Look for a wedding planner who specializes in budget weddings and who has experience helping couples save money.
Use Friends and Family for Help
Don't be afraid to ask friends and family to help with your wedding. For example, if you have a friend who is a talented baker, ask them to make your wedding cake. If you have a cousin who is good with flowers, ask them to help with the centrepieces. I have friends who asked a few of their guests to instead of bringing gifts, to bring desserts instead - so the couple only had to pay for two courses. You can take this a step further and ask for anything
