You’re engaged, and everyone is asking you how wedding planning is going. You probably answer that it’s going great and start talking about the dream dress you’re ordering. But what if you’re worried about your budget? You have options that can help you stretch your budget further and make your dream wedding a reality.
Use What Resources You Have
We’ve all been there; you’re browsing the internet for tips on how to budget for your wedding and you find a blog post about a gorgeous wedding that was within your shoestring budget! You read the post and find that the catering was provided by a friend, the venue belonged to the couple’s aunt, and they only had a dozen guests to entertain. It’s easier to reduce the cost of your wedding if you have people helping you out. It can be frustrating to see that the real trick they used to keep their budget down was knowing the right people.
All that said: use what you have! You might have a friend who wants to get their photography business off the ground and will give you a great deal in exchange for letting them use pictures from your wedding for their portfolio. If you have a friend who works at a bakery, they might be able to get you a discount on your wedding cake. It might not be the picture perfect dream venue that they managed to get for free, but anything can help!
Try Untraditional Venues
One of your biggest expenses is likely to be your wedding venue — which generally makes sense as it often comes with other amenities like tables and chairs or decorations. Traditional venues like hotel ballrooms and event halls can be more expensive than alternative locations like public parks or nature preserves. Just do your research if you are considering an alternative venue and know what they include. These spaces will often lend themselves to DIY weddings, so get ready to enlist your friends and family to help!
Keep The Date Flexible
Many wedding venues and vendors will give you a discount if you are booking a wedding in the off season — or even on a weeknight. You can save money if you opt for February or March wedding instead of a more traditional June wedding. You might also get discounts if you opt for a Thursday wedding instead of a Saturday night. This can also be a boon depending on your guests. While people with typical office jobs find it easier to attend a wedding on the weekend, if most of your friends and family are in the service industry, it might be easier for them to be free from work on a weeknight.
Consider A Brunch Wedding
Generally speaking, it’s less expensive to serve a crowd of people breakfast instead of dinner. A brunch wedding might be perfect. You can serve mimosas and bloody mary’s instead of the open bar that usually accompanies evening weddings. This can help you stretch your budget further. A brunch wedding might be more subdued than an evening dance party. You might consider forgoing your DJ in place of a playlist and instead bringing board games and making sure your playlist is ready for conversation.
Not all of these choices will be right for your wedding. You might not be able to have your wedding outside of “wedding season” or find that the only venue that meets all of your needs is the fancy hotel in time. However considering your options can save your budget. These tips and some extra creativity can make your wedding dreams come true.