Start With a List!

Your wedding is likely to be the most expensive party you’ll ever throw. It all starts to add up quickly, and unless you’ve got an unlimited budget, some sacrifices are inevitable. But before you make any compromises for your own wedding, first create a list of your wedding expenses in order of importance. Put those things that are most important to you at the top, and those that are least important to you at the bottom. Once you’ve got your list (and you know your overall budget), allocate how much money you think you’ll be able to spend for each item. Then start getting quotes for the items most important to you first. If you find that some items near the top of your list are going to cost more than you budgeted for, then go to the bottom of your list and start making some cuts there. Or maybe you can eliminate some lower-priority items altogether. Then, gradually work your way up your list as you look for more areas to cut costs and stay within your budget. You may find that you don’t have to compromise on everything – just some areas. In the end, you’ll be much happier doing it this way, rather than compromising everything evenly across the board.

For example, my wife and I were on a pretty small budget. Wedding photography and our venue were at the top of our list, so we made sure we reserved enough in our budget for the photographer we really wanted and the locations that we really wanted as well (Stanford Memorial Church and the Elizabeth Gamble Gardens). Then we looked to cut costs in the other areas that were less important. We saved on décor because the Church is already gorgeous as is. Plus, our reception venue already had an historic mansion feel and really didn’t need additional décor either. Then my wife invited her bridesmaids over for a fun lunch party the day before our wedding to create the table centerpieces using flowers we purchased from Costco. They even did their own bridal bouquets! And since our reception venue didn’t have in-house catering, we were able to shop around and save there as well. Because we had a great photographer and beautiful venues, we have amazing photographs to remember our wedding day and most importantly, absolutely no regrets!

As you make those difficult sacrifices and compromises to stay within your wedding budget, here are a few more tips to help you save money and allow you to allocate more of your budget to wherever you feel it is most important. And guess what, none of these tips say to trim your guest list because I know that for most couples, this is no longer an option – the list is trimmed as much as it can be! So read on and see where you can save!

Ten Ways to Save on Your Wedding:

1. Hire a planner! Professional wedding planners have tons of connections and can help negotiate better rates for you as well in just about every aspect of your wedding! Yes, they do cost money, but they’ll save you some money too. Most importantly, they’ll save you tons of time and stress. Well worth it!!!
2. Flattery can save you money! Yes, it certainly doesn’t hurt to say how much you love that venue and tell them what you can afford to spend. You never know, they might just be willing to lower the price a little for you! Don’t just say, “that’s over our budget” and walk away! The same goes for a lot of things for your wedding. If you really want to work with someone, say so and mention why you’d like to work with them too!
3. Rent, don’t buy! Sometimes, second hand stuff out there is less expensive, so instead of throwing money away renting, buy! You’ve just got to be willing to go out and find it on Ebay, Etsy, etc. Then, after your wedding, you can recoup most of your costs by reselling!
4. Have a friend officiate. I see this all the time at weddings and it is a great way for a friend to get involved and make the ceremony even more special!
5. Get crafty and DIY wherever possible. I know this has been said countless times, but it can really work. Throw some cocktail parties for your bridesmaids and craft some amazing decorations or centerpieces together! My wife did this for our wedding reception centerpieces and bridal bouquets. They turned out amazing and saved us a lot of money!
6. If transportation costs have you pulling your hair out, instead of expensive limos or shuttles for all of your guests, find a charter company that leases yellow school buses! I’ve heard of couples doing this!!! Seriously, how fun is that?! I’m already thinking about how cool this would be in the photographs! 😉 Yes, speaking from a photographer’s perspective, yellow school-busses photograph really well! Modern shuttles and charter busses…? not so much.
7. If you’re wearing a long dress that covers your shoes, opt for inexpensive shoes instead of spending several hundred on Jimmy Choos or other expensive brand.
8. Go with a desert table instead of a full wedding cake and save hundreds!
9. If possible, choose a venue that allows you to bring in outside catering. This opens up possibilities to huge savings! Also, plated meals generally cost the most, so consider having a buffet instead.
10. Choose an inexpensive venue and use part of your savings to add on an adventure elopement or post-wedding shoot in your wedding attire! I know I’ve mentioned this before in previous blog posts, but I think it is really such a great idea! Save money and get awesome photographs!!! Win, win!!!

There are a lot of potential ways to save money on your wedding. With so many websites offering advice, just be careful! Not all of the advice out there is good or applicable to every couple, especially when it comes to determining where best to cut costs for your specific wedding. Just because one bride out there saved money by doing her own hair & makeup doesn’t mean everyone can (or should)! Unless you are a professional makeup artist yourself, just don’t! As a wedding photographer, I’ve seen what a mistake this can be. Professional makeup artists and stylists know how to make you look amazing for your wedding day and it is well worth the expense! And who doesn’t love relaxing in a chair while someone else makes you look even more stunning!

I did leave one money-saving tip out in this post and it just might be the best money saving tip for your wedding of them all! I just didn’t have room to include it here without the post becoming way too long. Check in next week and see what it is! 🙂

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