6 Ways to Save on Your Wedding Day
6 Ways to Save On Your Wedding Day
6 Ways to Save on Your Wedding Day
Weddings can break the bank but they don’t have to. Here are five ways that you and your partner can keep some of that cash – plus a few places that you don’t want to skimp!
1. Don't be too hasty to choose a date.
If there’s not a sentimental date that you have to have, pump the brakes on setting that date. Visit your favorite venues first and see if they offer discounts during certain seasons.
We’ve been to lots of places where prices are seriously reduced in the colder months. Some venues will take half the price off to book you in the winter and in Tennessee that doesn’t mean a cold wedding day!
I can remember more than one Christmas where the temp high was over 60 degrees. It may not be predictable, but it could be a beautiful December day!
2. Take a Drive
Bigger cities always have tons of beautiful venue selections but it’s worth try to drive around and look outside city limits. There are tons of venues tucked around Middle Tennessee that are significantly cheaper than the venues in Nashville or Franklin and many are less than half an hour drive away!
Check out our wedding venue guides for some absolutely stunning choices.
3. Consider consignment or renting a wedding dress.
We know – the dress is a BIG deal. (Unless it’s not). But really think about this one. There is literally one day of your life that you will get to wear this piece of clothing.
The chances that your future kids (if you plan on that) will want to wear it are pretty small considering how quickly fashion changes. And hopefully, you only plan on getting married once.
So, have the fun outing where you try on all the dresses but instead of forking over thousands of dollars, see if you can find something similar at a consignment shop or through a dress rental company. This is a great opportunity to save A LOT of money.
4. Keep it small.
The bigger the venue, the more money you’ll probably have to drop on it. So, you might enjoy having a smaller ceremony with close friends and family followed by a big reception to celebrate.
Event spaces for big parties are typically much cheaper than those designed specifically for weddings.
By separating the two and keeping the ceremony small, you can save that money for the honeymoon!
5. Time your recession around a meal.
This one sounds a little crazy but hear us out. Feeding all those guests a whole meal might seem like it will be more expensive than appetizers and snack foods but we think in the long run it will save you.
When receptions have finger foods that are easy to grab, people tend to graze on them all night, whereas guests who are served a plated meal sort of know how much to eat.
Serving a meal also makes it a lot easier to calculate how much food to order rather than trying to guess how many egg rolls cousin Eddie might eat.
6. Skip the DJ.
If you cannot afford a good one, skip the DJ. A poor DJ usually only serves as a distraction.
Of course this one highly depends on the type of friends you have- if you know someone outgoing who won’t mind manning the microphone, you’re in luck!
We recommend signing up for a free trial of a music streaming service like Amazon Music or Spotify and creating playlists of you and your partner’s favorite songs (date night idea?!).
Make a relaxing dinner time playlist, a fun dancing playlist, and don’t forget a special playlist for the first dances!
Sidenote: We love DJs and believe they can make or break the party. But if you can’t afford a good one, this is definitely something to consider when trying to save some cash.
Bonus: Don't cut corners on these 3 things
1. Food Service
You are not obligated to make sure each guest has left fat and happy but if you try to take on prepping the food yourself, you might regret it.
Hiring a catering service takes away all that stress and allows you to have a relaxing wedding day.
2. Hair and makeup
Of course you want to look flawless and of course you could probably do that yourself any other day, but this is a day you deserve to be taken care of so leave it to the professionals while you relax.
Then you know you will look fabulous for those important pictures.
3. Photography
This is literally the only thing that you will keep for the rest of your happily ever after so don’t skimp!
Make sure you have ample time with your photographer so that they can capture all of the special moments – big and small – throughout the day.
Plus, if they offer it, splurge for the actual physical prints or a photobook. The prints ordered from professionals are of much higher quality than self-printed pictures.
And remember, your grandkids probably won’t be looking at your wedding photos on your iPad in forty years.
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We planned the budget-iest of budget weddings (think rustic outdoors, home-cooked food, publix cake, and consignment clothes). It was a lot of work, not relaxing, and far from a dream. But we loved it.
We danced with friends, roasted marshmallows, and celebrated our love. We remember it fondly. And we certainly don’t regret not going into debt for it!
Whether your budget is $5,000 or $50,000 you will get to leave with the love of your life and that is pretty sweet!
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