25 Ways To Save Money For Your Big Day!

“As a day-of-coordinator and wedding planner for the last 30 years I’ve seen it all! The do’s and don’ts of weddings, I can give it to you straight!”

Here are some money-saving wedding tips to help you during your wedding planning season.

1. Take your time. It’s your day, enjoy it. It’s okay to go slow and think things over.
2. Making periodic payments will help you stay on budget and help to lift the financial burden weddings can often create.
3. Book your venue and vendors early so the price you agreed on is locked in. This will avoid price increases in the meantime.
4. Consider a date that falls on a Thursday or a Sunday. Venue prices often decrease dramatically during the week!
5. Have both the ceremony and reception at the same venue. It may seem enticing to have your reception at a later date or at a different venue.  However, paying for two venues will cost you more money overall.
6. Pick a wedding date during the off-season (during the winter, late fall, or early spring) as venue prices are usually more expensive in the mid to late spring and summer months.
7. Do not feel like you have to invite everyone you know to your wedding. Limit your guest list to close friends and family and try to exclude acquaintances, friends of friends, etc.
8. If at all possible, try to limit the number of children or kindly tell your guests you want adults only. Venues often count kids as a full person charge (there are no discounts for minors or small children).
9. An effective wedding planner can save you time, money, and stress. Planners have plenty of experience working with reputable vendors and can point you in the right direction (and can usually get you a discount!)
10. Choose a day-of or partial coordination package. These types of packages allow you to do a lot of the work yourself and cost much less than full coordination packages. Keep in mind, a day-of planner is VITAL to ensure your wedding as stress-free as possible and also allows you more time to spend with your friends and family on your special day!
11. As with all other types of vendors, do your research on your photographer. Photography package prices vary widely, so make sure you stay within budget! Also, photographers are one
    of the most important aspects of your wedding team; the last thing you want is to spend hundreds of dollars for blurry pictures!
12. Consider serving a buffet-style meal, as opposed to individual plates.
13. Expensive seafood and filet minion steaks sound great, but your guests will not mind something just as yummy but less expensive.
14. Offering appetizers for your guests as you and your bridal party take pictures directly after the ceremony will fill-up guests’ tummies quicker (and will also keep them happy!). You may even
    consider serving hardy appetizers instead of a full-scale meal.
15. Choosing your own caterer, as opposed to picking from the list provided by the venue (or if you are one of those lucky brides whose aunt is an amazing chef and you choose to serve your own
    food) can definitely save money. Keep in mind though that making your own food is a TON of extra work and many venues require a licensed caterer!
16. Consider ordering a smaller wedding cake or even a fake cake to use for the “cut the cake” ceremony. You can provide less expensive sheet cakes for the guests!
17. Try to use real flowers for cake decorations as bakers charge extra for fondant flowers
18. Consider putting together a “dessert table”, filled with cookie, pies, and other sweet little treats that you can buy in bulk. This is such a unique, creative idea and your guests will appreciate the wide variety of options.
19. Ask the DJ if he/she can also play the ceremony music and supply microphones; this will save on PA system costs.
20. Creating your own invitations will save a TON of money! There are many inexpensive invitation templates available online.
21. Consider sending evites or start a Facebook Group for save the dates and RSVPs. This will save you time and money on printing and postage!
22. Go for less expensive types of flowers (Daisies, Hydrangeas, Baby’s Breath etc.). Silk and real-touch flowers (if done well) can look just as good as the real thing, for half the price! Adding more greenery in place of more flowers in bouquets and centerpieces is a great money saver.
23. Consider renting décor and props for the reception, such as whiskey barrels, chandeliers, lanterns, etc. This saves time, money and avoids the hassle of storing or selling the items after the wedding.
24. Skip the champagne toast! Most guests will already have a drink in their hands and “cheers” with those.
25. Consider serving wine, beer, and or signature cocktail at the reception instead of full bar. HUGE money saver and will also prevent your guests from getting too intoxicated.

There you have it! 25 Money-Saving Wedding tips to help you stress less on your big day!

By Jana, our in-house wedding planner and day-of-coordinator. Owner of The Bridal Pantry.