Saving Money on Wedding Costs: How to Avoid the Money Traps on Your Big Day
This is a guest post
A wedding day is touted as one of the happiest days of a person’s life, but many new couples find themselves very unhappy when they look at the financial burden of planning a dream wedding. With a little bit of insight, it is possible to avoid the financial traps of unnecessary wedding spending, which will allow the happy couple to “have their wedding cake, and eat it too.”
Undressing the Wedding Dress Industry
The fashion industry recognizes that every bride is desperate to look good on her wedding day, and as a result they charge exorbitant amounts for designer wedding dresses. A bride should consider the fact that they will only be wearing the dress once, and it’s not worth spending thousands of dollars to buy a name brand dress that is only going to be worn for a few hours. Plus, with big names like Vera Wang and Zac Posen partnering with reasonably-priced retailers like David’s Bridal, you don’t have to splurge to enjoy their designs.
Don’t Let the Alcohol Costs Drink Away a Wedding Budget
One of the most expensive items in a wedding budget is usually the alcohol, especially if it is a big wedding and the alcohol is provided by the venue. Instead of paying the premium costs for the venue to provide drinks for so many people, talk with the venue about the possibility of bringing alcohol to the party. If the alcohol is purchased separately, then it is usually cheaper and can be purchased in bulk.
For additional discounts, contact the wine and spirits companies to find out about bulk discounts that are offered for large events. Reconsider the idea of featuring an “open bar” in favor of a “select open bar”, as your guests should there to share your happiness rather than do tequila shots. For a lovely (and affordable) touch, customize a cocktail or two to offer guests in place of a wide selection of hard liquors. When it comes to champagne, offer it to guests but don’t automatically serve it; you’ll be surprised by how many glasses of this expensive drink remain barely touched and get tossed.
Wedding Favors Don’t Lend to Favorable Budgets
Small trinkets, such as wedding favors for each guest, can really add up. Even though it may seem like a trivial cost to spend a few dollars on a wedding favor, it can get very expensive to spend a few dollars on each person that walks through the door. Most wedding favors are quickly forgotten, and they end up in the back of a junk closet or on a thrift store shelf eventually. So, it is better to save the money and skip the wedding favors all together; trust me when I say that they won’t be sorely missed.
Be Savvy When Picking a Time & Location
While many couples still embrace tradition, others are looking for unique, off-the-beaten path locales for their ceremonies and receptions. The result is quirky and unique surroundings that are often cheaper. Plus, when your venue is full of personality or natural beauty (like the great outdoors), you won’t have to spend thousands on flowers to dress up the space.
Additionally, by having your weddings during any day of the wee besides a Saturday, you may be able to save substantially on the bill. To save on the price of food, perhaps have a brunch or teatime reception, as people won’t be expecting heavy courses to satisfy their growling tummies.
Write a Budget and Stick to It
Without a specific budget to follow, the overall costs of a wedding will quickly creep up. The little things can add up, and result in a larger expense at the end of the event. The best way to approach a budget is for the bride and groom to sit down together and determine how much money should be spent. Priorities should be considered when determining the line items for the budget, especially if there are different priorities for each person; many wedding websites have worksheets that will help you account for all the tiny details from the very get-go (don’t be afraid to cross things that neither of you care about off the list).
I’m glad you mentioned wedding favors. While it’s a nice thought to present your guests with a trinket they can take home, they will likely throw it away when they leave. Not because they don’t love you but because it’s not something they need. Save your moo-lah.
Daisy!!! Great tips. Those who cannot peel themselves away from silly traditions ought to pay the price for it. By the time we are ready to wed, we ought to be thinking for ourselves. Have a big, fat, fun one!!!
We took our own alcohol along to our wedding venue, we still had to pay for corkage but it was a little bit cheaper. Food and drinks really add up. For favours, we gave everyone a raffle ticket and did the raffle in between the speeches to break things up for the guests! Prizes were simple such as chocolate and a few bottles of wine. Great tips!
I didn’t give out wedding favors at my wedding. If I wasn’t going to get something nice and useful, it’s a waste of money for me and a trash to take home for the guests in my opinion.
Great post! We are really looking into saving as much money as we can, but still making it super fun.
All good ideas.
I’ll add another: Look for non-traditional sources for some items. For example, look into ordering your invitations from a commercial printer or a place like Staples or Office Depot, rather than a full service wedding printer. You’ll need to be more knowledgeable about what you want and you won’t be able to expect them to proof read … so the pressure is on you .. but you can save quite a bit of money that way.
Also think about not doing reply cards and instead setting up a website where people can RSVP instead. You’ll save not only on the cost of the reply cards, but on the postage for them as well.
As for me, I would rather spend money on a honey moon than on a big wedding that will only last a few hours. This is exactly what we did when we tied the knot in Hawaii in March of this year. Smart tips Daisy!
Hello Daisy! We didn’t give out wedding favors, and guess what? No one missed them. Food is a waste since people are on different diets and knickknacks simply get thrown out.
I bought my wedding dress for $250, and I loved it.
We also hired a photographer that was a student at a local college. The pictures were very artistically done and not “fake – looking” like many wedding photos. We never look at the photos anyways, so in hindsight even he was a waste. 🙂
Great advice. Since money issues are one of the top reasons for divorce, I would highly recommend spending as little as possible. Who wants to enter marriage with debt? We did, and it finally caught up with us a few years later. Only now, 16 years into this honeymoon are we starting to claw our way out like bald eagles on a bunny!
Excellent ideas. I’d also add: don’t invite too many people. I know you ‘should’ invite everybody, but at the end of the day it’s an event for YOU and the closes friends/family. By not having a 300 people weeding, just inviting the ones who are really important, you can cut costs and get to actually enjoy the event 😉
I’ve always thought wine, beer, champagne, and a signature cocktail would be a lovely way to cut costs and keep everyone well “fed”. As for the favors, the only one I ever got that I liked was a Ghirafdelli chocolate of the Golden Gate bridge (the wedding was in San Fran), but I imagine it must’ve cost a bunch to get them for every person.
the small details will definitely add up. It’s best to sit together and pin down all the must haves and set aside the nice to haves at least for a while. Only when you’ve saved a lot then you should consider if the nice to haves can still be included.
My fiance bought her wedding dress at consignment shop. They had dresses that brides no longer wanted or many “last year’s model” of dresses. She wants to look her best, but understands that she is only going to wear the dress once, so why spend thousands on it? She got her dress for $500.