Learn 10 smart strategies to help you save big on your budget wedding. These planning tips will help you stick to your financial goals.
With this being the eve of my sister-in-law’s wedding, I’m in the mood to talk about wedding planning on a budget. My sis-in-law and her future husband happen to be getting married at the same venue me and my husband said our “I-dos” almost 4 years ago, so it’s stirring up all of the nostalgia.
Before you dive deep into this post let me forewarn that I’m not going to give you the down and dirty on how to plan a wedding for some crazy cheap amount like $500. Don’t get me wrong, I know it’s possible but it’s not what we did. If I’m being honest, if I wanted to stay in this price range I would just go to the court house, pay for our wedding license and be out the door for $50 bucks.
Our Personal Budget Wedding
For our wedding we had a budget of $5000. According to a recent survey done by The Knot, the average wedding in 2019 cost over $30,000 dollars! https://www.theknot.com/content/average-wedding-cost This price does’t even include the honeymoon. So with these numbers in mind, I would say our $5000 budget was definitely on the frugal end.
In this post I will break down our wedding budget, with exact prices of what we spent in each category and I will offer ten strategies as to how you can save when planning your special day.
Our Wedding Budget
The total amount of guests at our wedding was in the range of 175-200. Below is a breakdown of all of our expenses.
| ITEM | AMOUNT | DETAILS |
| Dress | $281 | Purchased from www.anthropologie.com |
| Pastors | $200 | We had two pastors officiate our service, each got a gift card |
| Venue | $150 | A beautiful barn that was consider part of a community park |
| Food | $600 | We had a huge assortment of desserts |
| Popcorn Station | $35 | We had fill your own popcorn bags/different flavors |
| Drinks | $137 | Coffee, Water & Apple Cider |
| Photos | $850 | Included an engagement session and wedding photos |
| Videography | $500 | Engagement video and wedding video |
| Groom’s Clothes | $52 | New pants and shirt |
| Decorations | $420 | Table cloths, seating covers, photo booth, kids games, feathers |
| Flowers | $25 | Girls bouquets and guys boutonnieres |
| Music | $100 | A friend played guitar and sang |
| Invitations | $70 | Free template online, printed at Kinkos |
| Back Up Plan | $100 | Church reserved in case of bad weather |
| Guest Registry | $35 | Bible, travel postcards for guests to sign |
| Gifts | $385 | Bridesmaids, Groomsmen and Mothers |
| License | $60 | To make it legal 🙂 |
We planned our entire wedding for a grand total of $4000. Below I will share 10 strategies to help you plan your own beautiful budget wedding!
10 Money Saving Strategies
1. Recruit Family & Friends
One of the biggest money saving tips when planning a wedding is asking for help. If you have family or friends with talents, ask them if they would be willing use their talents as your wedding gift.
My husband’s dad runs a DJ business so we asked him to do our music. My husband’s grandfather owns a landscaping business so we were able to get our chairs (hay bales) from him. My sister in law is a hairdresser so she did my hair. Now that I write this out it seems like all of the talent is on my husband’s side of the family. lol Family members often love being able to help make your day special by using their gifts and talents.
2. Don’t Break Your Budget on Your Dress
Yes, you want to look and feel beautiful on your special day but you can definitely do that on a budget. Consider a dress that might be a little alternative, possibly a different color or one that wouldn’t technically be classified as a wedding dress. You can save a ton of money in this category if you are smart and still look stunning.
3. Look for a Venue Off of the Beaten Path
We found several venue options in our area all for great prices, mainly because no one would really consider them a “normal” place to get married. Inquire about parks in your area or historic places. These locations are often much cheaper than typical wedding venues. When planning a budget wedding the goal is to cut costs wherever possible and by choosing an alternative venue you could save thousands.
4. Allow Nature or Historic Craftsmanship to Be Your Decorations
We saved a ton of money on decorations by getting married outside during the fall. The leaves were a beautiful color, it was as if God was our own personal wedding decorator. If you would prefer to get married indoors, choose a historic building or church that has character so that not a lot of decorations need to be added.
5. Skip the Dinner and the Cake
Feeding your guests a full course meal and a $1000 cake is really not necessary. We didn’t have a cake at all but had the most delicious spread of desserts that everyone could enjoy. We also offered warm drinks, fall popcorn flavors and a caramel apple station for the kids. Our wedding was held at 2:00 in the afternoon so it was the perfect time for an afternoon treat, not a full blown meal.
6. When the Camera Flashes, Know You Didn’t Break the Bank
We were extremely fortunate to hire photographers who had experience but in another state. They had recently moved to our area and were trying to build their portfolio. We came to them with our budget and we worked a deal. They honestly needed us as much as we needed them. It was a great partnership.
Their wedding prices have skyrocketed since our special day so I am glad we captured them when we did (pun intended). Do your homework when it comes to photos…don’t be afraid to use someone who might be a little newer to the field as long as you can tell they do quality work.
7. Use Your Imagination When it Comes to Decorating
When planning our day I scoured all of the local thrift shops, antique booths and as many used item venues as I could find. You can definitely search Pinterest and gather ideas but instead of purchasing the items new, consider making them yourself or buying them used. Rustic, vintage, and bohemian are all popular wedding styles right now…and trust me, all of these looks can be achieved on a budget.
8. Don’t Hate on Fake
Buying fresh flowers for your special day is a way to quickly rack up a big wedding expense. Don’t be afraid or ashamed to use fake, especially for boutonnieres and bridesmaid bouquets. Fake flowers have come a long way through the years and sometimes you can’t even tell the difference between fake and the real thing.
9. Be Willing to Sweat a Little
No one said that creating a beautiful wedding on a budget was easy. You will definitely have to put in a little more leg work than the bride who spends $30,000. Things might take a little more time…like finding a free wedding invitation template, designing it yourself, printing and cutting out the invites at Kinkos and addressing and mailing them yourself…but it’s worth it. You will be proud of all that you put into planning your special day and you will have saved a ton.
10. Don’t Care So Much
This last tip is really the kingpin that holds all of the other frugal wedding tips together. Don’t care about what everyone else thinks. Don’t plan your day to impress others. It’s honestly not about them. The only one you should concern yourself with is the one you are committing your life too. Trust me, when you are up there, looking in each other’s eyes, saying your vows, all of the other stuff really doesn’t matter anyway.
Planning a budget wedding can be fun, beautiful and affordable all at the same time. Use these tips to help organize and plan your special day. We would love for you to share with us your frugal wedding tips.
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