Everyone knows that weddings can be ridiculously expensive. But they don’t have to be! Here’s Grace Davis with a special article about how to save money on your wedding.
How to Save Money on Your Wedding
The biggest day of your life can come with an equally large price tag. But with a bit of flexibility, creativity and imagination, there are savvy ways to make huge savings, without compromising on creating an amazing wedding.
And with the average wedding costing £20,186, it’s worth investigating all the unique ways of cutting down the costs.
Luckily, this great infographic has put together some of the easiest things you can do to save money. Most of them will actually make your wedding that bit more personal and special.
So How Can You Save Money?
First up, what day of the week are you planning to have your wedding?
If you’re willing to do it on a Friday, you could save around 20% on the venue. Think of it as a long weekend for your guests.
What’s more, if you’d consider a winter wedding, further savings could be achieved.
Mid-week in November is the most impressive, with up to 50% off great venues, but anytime off-season (except for December) will cut down the price.
Remember, you can always negotiate the first price a venue gives you or try to get some extras thrown in.
In addition to the reminder of including things like corkage and outside caterers, cake stands and cake-cutting fees, and lighting and equipment in your overall budget, the infographic has fantastic money-saving suggestions for the reception.
With their ideas, you’ll need to call in some favours. So get on the phone and invite your most creative friends round to help hand-craft decorations.
The name cards, order of service, menu, table centrepieces, accessories – you can make them all.
Plant your own English-garden style centrepieces, hang up bunting, and practice your best hand-writing.
Any personal touches you can add will not only save you money (approx. £250), but impress your guests too.
Decorations aren’t the only thing that can be personalised. What about making your own playlist and getting a friend’s band to play live?
You can ask for recommendations from friends and family, so you know everyone will love the music and get up to dance.
It’s estimated that not forking out on music entertainment could save you £1,000.
When planning a wedding reception, you’ve also got to think about cloakroom fees, tips and late fees, as well clean up and damage costs. The earlier you ask about these costs, the better you can budget.
Although you can’t plan for someone having a bit too much to drink and breaking something important, it’s best to put some extra cash aside. No-one wants an unexpected last minute hike in the costs.
Some of our other favourite money-saving tips include:
- Creative reception food. Hog roasts, BBQs, fish and chips, and similar low-cost dishes are becoming increasingly popular. Don’t forget to allocate some food for those who’ve worked hard for you all day too – photographers and videographers, for example.
- Choosing a used dress. If you search online, you can find designer dresses (worn once) at around 50% off their retail price. If you’d rather something new, you could try the sample sales to save money on your dress.
- Taking inspiration from abroad. In Poland, it’s traditional to allow guests to pay for a dance with the newlyweds. They get some one-on-one time with you on your special day, and you get some spending money for your honeymoon.
We hope these suggestions have inspired you to get creative with ways you can save money on your wedding. Check out the rest of the infographic for some more great ideas:
Thanks Matt for such a beautiful post as always! I am a regular reader of your blog and your blog serves me a lot. I love to be a regular reader of your blog posts.
Thanks, Hannah. That’s awesome to hear!