10 quick tips to save money on your wedding
(Written for Tie The Knot’s blog during my internship with The Spot Marketing)
The average cost for a wedding is $26,000. If you and your future spouse are like the majority of Americans, you don’t have that lying around waiting to be spent. A wedding that you’ve initially budgeted at a few thousand dollars can quickly turn into a huge affair with costs ranging in the tens of thousands. So much of that money could be used for your future with your new spouse and your growing family, so why spend so much on a single day? With that in mind, here are some quick tips on saving a little bit of extra cash on your pending nuptials.
1. STICK TO YOUR BUDGET.
It’s easy to justify going over budget on your wedding by saying that “it’s just a few dollars more,” but those dollars add up. Your $5000 wedding could end up costing you twice as much if you aren’t careful. That’s why you should be sure to stick tight to your budget. Use a budget worksheet (like ours here at TieTheKnotApp.com) to keep track of your expenses and stay at a set amount. It will show a sense of responsibility and commitment that will be easy to carry over into your new marriage, as well as leave a bit more money for the honeymoon!
2. SORT OUT YOUR PRIORITIES.
You’ve always dreamed of the perfect wedding dress. Maybe you’re holding out hope for that wedding in Maui. Or do you want a wedding you can invite your entire extended family to? That’s great! It’s helpful to know what your priorities are. If you want that one luxury expense then it’s good to know what you’ll sacrifice in order to get it. Will you be in thrift shop chic in Maui, or will you get married in your dream dress in your parents’ backyard? Sitting down with your partner and financially contributing family members and sorting out a priority list will be a great asset in your quest to save money.
3. CHOOSE A SINGLE VENUE FOR CEREMONY AND RECEPTION.
Location, location, location. It’s the first rule of real estate, and it’s one of the easiest places to cut costs in your wedding. It’s traditional to have your ceremony in a church and then go somewhere else for the reception, however if you go along with that you’re then paying for two separate locations. So why not combine them? Many churches and venues now offer wedding packages that are designed to help you save money by using the same location for your “I do”s and your party afterward. It’s a move that could save you hundreds if not thousands of dollars, as well as saving a tank of gas or bus fare for your guests.
4. GO NON-TRADITIONAL WITH THE DATE.
You may have heard that it is good luck to get married in June. Well, so has every other bride. June is the most popular month, with 10.8% of weddings occurring in that month. June is followed by August, September, and October in popularity. Naturally, wedding venues charge up to twice as much for events in those months as they would any other month. So break free of the mold! Have your wedding in January, the least popular month to get married, and save a bundle of money. As far as the specific day, Saturday is a very popular day to get married. It’s also much more expensive than even Friday or Sunday, and can be nearly twice as much money as a weekday. So try an evening wedding on a Wednesday. It could save you hundreds. And it’s great to connect with your guests on TieTheKnotApp.com to see what days would work for them!
5. SHORTEN THE RECEPTION.
Wedding guests have a tendency to leave the reception early. So take advantage of that and shorten your reception by an hour or so. Not only will this make your reception short and sweet, but also it will shave money off of your wedding’s grand total.
6. HAVE A SMALL CEREMONY.
If you don’t want to combine venues for your ceremony and your reception, you still have money-saving options. You could have a small ceremony instead, just you, your immediate family, and close friends, and then have a large reception for everybody else later. Not only will this save you money, it will also keep your ceremony intimate and about you, not the spectacle.
7. HAVE A FRIEND OFFICIATE THE WEDDING.
Unless you’ve got a personal deal with your priest or pastor, it can be quite costly to have them officiate the wedding. It’s not unheard of for them to charge upwards of $500! Even a justice of the peace tends to charge between $50-350. Alternatively, you could have a good friend get ordained for free online and officiate your wedding, because no deal is better than free. Not only will it save you potentially hundreds, but also it will add a personal touch to your wedding, because your friend knows you and loves you enough to make it special.
8. DIY.
DIY is very popular in recent years, and for good reason. It is so easy to save money by doing it yourself rather than hiring people to do it for you. You could write out your own invitations, make your own centerpieces, bake your own cake, pick your own flowers; the possibilities really are endless. All that will cost you are the materials, which will feel like nothing at all after you’ve gotten your estimates from professionals.
9. BE YOUR OWN DJ.
How many times can you hear YMCA at a wedding? Or Celebrate, or the Cha Cha Slide? Wedding receptions all seem to sound the same and it gives a very generic feel to them. And now that the digital age has come around, any DJ you hire will likely only be pressing play on a laptop anyway. So why not cut out the middle man and take care of the wedding playlist yourself? Not only will it save you money, but also you’ll be able to put good music that represents you as a couple, and you won’t have to watch your great great aunt attempt the Electric Slide. It’s a win all around. There are even apps available that help you set up your playlist, such as TieTheKnotApp.com, which helps you organize your music into a single easy-access place for your reference.
10. STAY IN SEASON
It’s certainly possible to get a fall flower like sunflowers in the spring, but it will cost you. The best thing you could do to save money is to make sure that your flowers and your food are in season. If they aren’t, then not only are you paying for the flowers and food, but you’re paying for the supplier to buy it and ship it to your location. Before you choose your flowers, do research to see what is in season for your chosen date. If you have your heart set on sunflowers, have a fall wedding. The same goes for your food. If you want pumpkin pie in the spring, it will cost to have it fresh at your wedding. Pumpkin, of course, is a fall vegetable, and will cost just as much as your sunflowers to have flown in.