Let’s face it — weddings are expensive and wedding budgets can be hard to follow. The more engaged couples I deal with, the more I realize that brides and grooms are very in-tune to the wedding budget.
Typically this is the way a wedding budget works: you determine how much you want to spend on the dress, how much on the photographer, how much on the food, how much on the flowers and the list goes on. Weddings can easily cost into the tens of thousands of dollars. If you want to be on the low end of that, here’s five tips for how to save money:
- Limit the guest list. Sure this may be difficult. It’s hard to decide who to cross off the list. But remember every person on that list translates into another $20, $30, $40 or $50 dollars for a dinner. You’ll still be married whether 100 guests or 400 guests attend. If you’re really looking to save money, here’s the biggest place to do it as the food usually is the biggest expense.
- Have a cash bar at your reception. Many couples provide an open bar, but if you’re on a tight budget just realize that you won’t be able to afford this. Guests who want to drink can buy their own beverages. At the very least, consider a ticket system where each guest gets a ticket for a free drink.
- Don’t get the most expensive dress you see. You can still look beautiful in a lower-priced dress. Look at a retailer that offers dresses at a lower cost. You may even want to consider wearing the gown your mother wore. In one of our most recent weddings, the bride tailored her mother’s dress into something that suited her and the result was beautiful. She even made sure she had me take a photo of her holding a photo of her mother in the dress.
- Consider ways to cut down on floral costs. Flowers can be very expensive. I know many couples do their own flowers. For example, for bridesmaid flowers there is nothing wrong with getting a lovely bouquet of flowers and tying a pretty ribbon around them. Reception centerpieces don’t have to be extravagant. Look for something simple yet lovely.
- Hire a wedding planner. This may sound counter-productive as a wedding planner costs money. However a wedding planner can provide advice that can ultimately save you money. Wedding planners have relationships with vendors and can give you information that will result in cost savings.