Weddings are crazy expensive, that’s definitely not a secret but boy did I not realize the extent of that statement lol. Once I started planning, I quickly saw that if I didn’t keep track of EVERY little expense, things our budget could very quickly get out of hand. I don’t normally like throwing out a number into the universe but this was under what we originally started with so I wanted to talk you through how we saved huge chunks of money while planning my dream wedding. Just remember that Every couple has different needs and wants and just because we cut costs certain places doesn’t mean it’s bad that you don’t cut costs in that particular category.
These are just things that I have learned while planning my own wedding; especially when trying to be budget conscience. Here are 6 ways to save while wedding planning and how we managed to stay within our budget!
Shop Around!
What I mean by this is, reach out to different vendors of the same category. If you are looking at caterers, the only way you are going to know if you’re getting a good deal is by reaching out to multiple companies and asking for a personal quote. Every company is different and this will give you a chance to get a vibe off of who you are talking to while you’re planning. This was huge when trying to save money while you’re wedding planning. There were a few companies that didn’t bother to listen to our budget and or just never got back to us. If they can’t get back to you or aren’t listening; you’re probably better off. It’s time consuming but well worth it. trust me.
To DIY, Rent or Buy?
This one is up to interpretation. Once again its totally dependent on the person lol. I love DIY projects so a lot of the things at our wedding were made by me or my sister (with the help of her Cricut). Sometimes things just aren’t worth it to DIY and are cheaper to buy. My sister and I made all the signage for the wedding. I mean EVERYTHING. I managed to snag all of our frames thrifting or from family and my own collection. Having her Cricut was an absolute lifesaver and if you have one to use; definitely take advantage! Also, if it is going to cause you more stress while wedding planning then I would forgo it.
When it came to deciding whether or not to rent over buying, I noticed that a lot of things have a crazy markup cause it’s “wedding” related. Marc and I found that linens were way less expensive to buy than rent; where as plates and silverware were cheaper to rent. It definitely varies by company. In Nashville, most companies wanted to charge $10-$12 per tablecloth. Definitely shop around, and cross reference all options before putting a deposit down.
Rent Your Flowers
Y’all this was a last minute find while we were planning our wedding and honestly because I didn’t do the above tip; we lost out on a deposit – mainly because we couldn’t justify the HUGE price tag real flowers hold. Especially with COVID, we had to make a huge cut to our budget and that was flowers. My original budget was around $3,500. It was crazy but I literally wanted our wedding to have flowers everywhere. We quickly realize that a lot of things weren’t necessary and we ultimately found SomethingBorrowed Blooms.
This company is absolutely amazing, and caused us to switch from real to silk flowers AND renting them. They have incredible customer service, an entire Facebook group page that allows you to chat with them and other real brides that have used their florals. Its amazing! We are saving about $2,500 on flowers y’all and the quality is still there.
They allow you to order a preview pack with two items- a bridesmaid bouquet or a centerpiece. It’s up to you to decide what collection and if you want two centerpieces or two bouquets. The pack is $40 and you get a $20 credit towards your order if you decide to order with them. Honestly, this was so helpful because my main thought was I am super petite and the bridal bouquets looked large. Thank god I did, because they were the perfect size for me! It really solidified wanting to go with them for our wedding. Below are the difference between the two, both are beautiful right?! If you click the image below, it’ll take you right to Something Borrowed Blooms so you can see all their collections. 🙂
Hear me out…Skip Cocktail Hour=More time to party
SO, this is definitely a personal preference but one that we quickly decided on. Marc and I want our wedding to be one big party with the people we love the most. When we received our very first quotes; we noticed a common factor in them..That was the price of having appetizers. Boy, did that drive up the price by like $400-500 which is crazy and totally not an important factor for us. With that being said, we opted out of having a traditional cocktail hour. The bar will be open and dinner will be served pretty quickly after our ceremony to avoid people having to wait for food or drinks.
Since we opted out we saved money on both bar hours, and on our food bill. For those that are wondering how our timeline will work with this, we’re opting to do our first look and all other photos before the ceremony so we do have more time with our guests overall.
Thrift Wedding Decor!
This was probably one of my favorite things to do so far in the process, I love antique things and searching through antique shops was an awesome past time. Definitely have a list handy lol I didn’t do that the first time and got overwhelmed (now I’m a pro!). Now it’s one of my favorite things to do.
I found mirrors, picture frames, and other wedding decor for less than it would have been if we bought it brand new. Where we live there’s quite a few antique shops and I love strolling through them looking for inspiration.
If you’re planning a wedding or wanted to see how we saved while we were planning; I hope that these little tips helped!. They definitely are things that helped us stay on a budget. If you’d like to see our wedding inspiration you can find that at the blog post here.
PIN IT!
