.jpg "Destination Wedding in Negril Jamaica")
While Destination Weddings scream “expensive” they can often end up being very budget friendly due to a smaller guest list. This image is from a day after session I photographed on the beach in Negril, Jamaica that I really ought to blog someday… LOL. You can see images from the Destination Wedding here.
I recently was asked by someone if I had any suggestions on how/where one could save money while throwing a wedding without screaming to their guests that they were on a budget. I think this is an awesome question and thought that instead of just answering them, I would share some tips on the blog so that maybe others could also benefit from it. While there’s more obvious tips to cut a budget or have a budget wedding, these aren’t meant to be tips to have a budget wedding but rather tips on where to save money that still allows you to have a gorgeous wedding without ever tipping off guests that you did it on a budget. Sorry ladies but fake flowers are the first thing that screams budget so you find that suggestion here (and I confess, I adore fresh flowers!).
• Rent your wedding dress. I know, I know. Your daughter may wear it someday. Your granddaughter may. Your great-grandchildren may carry your lace. However, how many of us really do wear our mothers gowns? How many have even SEEN their mothers gowns? Heck, my Mom eloped in a sweater and jeans and I never seemed to miss not having a dress of hers to wear. Knowing the era (the 70’s, ew) I know I wouldn’t have worn the gown had she of had a traditional wedding anyway. So why not rent a fabulous gown and then send it back? Lots of brides are starting to hop on this trend and I have to say, I like it! Heck you can even rent your accessories too!
• Make your own veil. Veils are GORGEOUS but holy cow are they EXPENSIVE!!! I know bridal shops may kill me for this but that $600 veil you could easily mimic yourself for a fraction of that cost. Find a style you like and then hit up a local craft store and see what you can find. Even beg your crafty friend to help out. Veils are so easy to jazz up and a super easy place to save some money especially considering most brides only wear it for a very short period of the day.
• Buy shoes you’ll wear again. Although you may not be saving money per se you will get more bang for your buck if you wear wedding shoes that don’t say “I was a bride in these” if you wear them again. If you have to stick with white shoes, buy a satin pair and dye them black (or any other color) after the wedding. Any good cobbler should be able to do this for you.
• Use suits that are already owned. Here’s one that I’ve been seeing a lot lately that I think is awesome, guys have been wearing their own black suits and buying a new tie to match the wedding, rather than renting an entire suit/tux for the wedding. Same for the groomsman- they all wear a new tie with a black suit they already own. Personally, I love it when everything isn’t matchy-matchy so even if the suits aren’t the same they all look the same since they are black. Ever look at images from an awards ceremony like the Oscars? Unless they are wearing something crazy, the men mostly blend together.
• Fewer attendants. I know that you want your 10 best friends to stand with you but I promise you that your 10 best friends won’t be that upset if they don’t have to pony up all the money that comes with the honor of being your bridesmaid. They are HAPPY to do it, but if they can just have fun with you and use that money on your gift? Even better. Less attendants means less stress, less gifts to buy and less flowers to be purchased. Some of my favorite weddings have had one attendant on each side and then during the day they made a point to gather their honored friends for pictures LIKE a bridal party but without all the fuss. LOVE THIS.
• No favors. Yep, this is a growing trend and I LIKE IT. Yeah, etiquette says you SHOULD have a favor since people are coming to your wedding and giving you a gift. However, when the favors are things that most people just don’t use it becomes kind of silly. My mother-in-law has a cabinet full of wedding favors that will never be used including candles, teaspoons, cookies and other random favors that she can’t bear to use since they were the favor. If you forgo the favor, I promise that very few people will notice. This year I would say a vast majority of my weddings didn’t have favors or opted to do donations in lieu of favors and I heard nary a complaint.
• Flowers – stay in season! It’s amazing what the difference is for a peony in May versus August. When booking your florist chat with them about what would be the best flower that fits your vision for the season in which you are getting married. Peonies may be gorgeous but from a distance garden roses are very similar at a much more reasonable cost at certain times of year.
• Non-floral centerpieces. Where I saved a TON of money for my reception was going with seashell and candle themed centerpieces instead of a traditional floral centerpiece. I never wanted flowers anyway but when I found out the cost of the shells (which were rented for the evening) vs. florals I was sold. I ended up loving the centerpieces even more because they didn’t wilt throughout the evening and the candles were gorgeous. I’m a sucker for candlelight. Even if you don’t want to completely let go of the flowers, you can still alternate tables with flowers and candle centerpieces (as an example) to lessen the cost.
• Book a venue that doesn’t need spruced up. While a place that isn’t as pretty may be cheaper, in the long run it sometimes can end up costing more than the prettier-but-more-expensive venue once you’ve done all you want to it to make it your style. If you start out with a gorgeous place, often little, if anything, is needed to make it stunning. So when going with the diamond in the rough, make sure to add in the cost of bringing the sparkle out when comparing prices to the already-a-stunner venue.
• Destination Wedding. While many assume that a destination = expensive, often since it cuts the guest list down dramatically, it ends up being a cheaper way of saying I Do. Not only is it easy to trim the guest list (ask yourself one question, if they aren’t immediate family, can you be on vacation with them for a week and not want to kill them?) but generally destination gowns are more reasonable, the decor is cheaper (because the venue is usually beautiful), fewer attendants and often the honeymoon is built in.
• Considering limiting the bar. Instead of the traditional open bar, maybe opt for a beer-wine-special drink menu which will limit the amount of alcohol that will need to be brought in. Also, many venues offer a discount for the bar being closed during dinner so make sure to check in with your venue to see if this is an option.
• Fewer guests. I’m sure you’ve heard this already but it’s so true. The fewer guests you have, the more you can spoil them and still have a few extra pennies in your pocket. Sure, people will get offended but are you willing to put out an extra $2K + so that Great Aunt-once-removed Sally isn’t offended? Because if you have to invite Sally you have to invite her sister and her friends AND their dates…
• Fewer meal choices. I’ve been to a lot of weddings and honestly, more meal choices is just stressful. LOL. Choose one vegetarian and one meat eater and call it a day. The people that will complain are the people you shouldn’t be inviting anyway 😉 I’ve never overheard a guest ever complaining about lack of options for food at a wedding. Less options means less money for food.
• Cupcakes! Unless you are booking an elite cupcakery, generally cupcakes are much more economical than traditional wedding cakes and allow you to have a ton more options for flavors.
Those are just some of the millions of things you can do to save a penny here or there while planning your wedding. Do you have any additional tips I should add? Let me know in the comments!
- The Christy House Wedding with Ashley and Stephon - March 11, 2024
- Peninsula Wedding with Colleen and Eric - March 10, 2024
- Winter Inn Walden Wedding with Julia and Walter - February 29, 2024