If throwing a Guerrilla Wedding isn’t your thing, read on!
Ahh, a wedding- that most special of days when all that matters is the love that is shared between 2 people. Of course, getting to that point means going through months of extensive planning and spending. Wedding costs can quickly get out of control, and even the best budget can get blown out of proportion when all is said and done. Don’t let your big day drain your bank account. Here are a few ideas on how to cut costs and still have your dream wedding:
Design Your Own Paper Products
You don’t have to be a graphic designer to achieve a beautiful wedding invitation. There are a number of ways that you can go about designing your own paper products, from the save-the-dates to the invitations to wedding programs. Just a quick web search reveals plenty of free and low-cost resources that offer easy ways to create custom paper goods. Find a font that’s free to use on sites like Font Squirrel and Open Font Library. With so many freebies on the web today, you can make a personal and unique design that suits your personality as a couple.
Shop on Etsy
While DIY decorations are a popular idea for saving money, not everyone is inclined to scour Pinterest and pick up a glue gun. Crafting up your own décor can be time consuming, and depending on your ideas, you could easily wind up spending your entire decoration budget at the craft store. Instead, look on Etsy for handmade items that still offer that DIY charm. There are so many talented people out there today who sell their handcrafted items online. You can save yourself and your wedding party both time and money by leaving the crafternoons up to the experts.
Have a Signature Cocktail
An open bar can end up costing a lot, but you probably want to avoid having your guests pay at a cash bar. Cut costs on alcohol by choosing a signature cocktail for your special day. Find a fun cocktail recipe that fits the theme of your day, or make up your own. This way, you’ll only have to supply certain liquors for the bar, but you won’t end up looking like a cheapskate. You can also offer up beer and wine as alternatives to the cocktail and still save big.
Don’t be Afraid to Ask
When planning a wedding, you have so many things to juggle. There are a lot of different vendors to deal with, and it can be overwhelming. The important thing to remember is that you do have options, and you don’t have to settle. Don’t be afraid to ask for discounts and negotiate a better price on goods and services. Many vendors will be willing to negotiate. If they won’t budge on the price and you aren’t willing to accept it, start seeking out other options. A little flexibility can go a long way, and save you some serious cash.
Be Yourself
The best way to save money on your wedding is by staying true to yourself. The wedding is about you and your spouse-to-be, and it should reflect your personalities. Don’t allow yourself to get swept up in big wedding plans when it truly isn’t your style. Plan a day that you will both love, and forget about what other people may think. Incorporate fun and quirky elements, and buck the status quo.
Remember that you really don’t have anyone to please but each other on this special day. All that matters is that you have an amazing time, and share it with the people that mean the most in your lives. They’ll love you no matter how you choose to celebrate.
Need more budget saving ideas? Here are even more ways to cut costs on your dream wedding.
Lauren May is a freelance writer, travel lover, and budget enthusiast. She eloped in Las Vegas, but still managed to have wedding celebrations on 2 continents. You can find her blogging over on The Write Budget.
I am so glad we did a simple wedding down by a beautiful river in an amazing park downtown. The only things that we had to pay for were a hotel room, the wife’s dress, and a Justice of the Peace.
Free venue, small family ceremony, my cousin kindly catered, and bars downtown in the evening.
You absolutely can have an amazing wedding without having to spend much at all.
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The signature drink sounds cool! Great way to save money and inject some of you and your spouse’s personality into the party.
How To Save Money recently posted…How to Save Money on Books
The open bar is probably one of the most expensive add-in to a wedding. I’ve never really thought about having a signature drink to a wedding to save money. That’s quite interesting and can also be personalized to match the theme. Adding that one to the list.
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One of my friends just got engaged and told me one of the FIRST things several
people asked was whether there would be an open bar. She was shocked.
We did 2 signature drinks and beer/wine. We bought lots of booze on the cheap at Costco and Trader Joe’s and premixed everything. Our guests all seemed perfectly happy and no one complained (to our faces) that they couldn’t do shots all night long at the celebration of our lifelong commitment to one another.
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Haha, only a few of my close friends asked me about an open bar, partially in jest. That would be pretty shocking!
Two signature drinks sounds awesome. The last wedding that I went to had some delicious ones, plus it makes waiting at the bar a LOT faster. Here, if you do your own liquor license, you can’t serve shots anyway, so it’s a moot point 🙂
Sadly, I have known people who are very concerned with the bar situation at weddings. Totally rude! Your solution sounds like it was perfect. I love the idea of signature drinks- so fun!
Great ideas, although I think wedding is one of those events where you can splurge a little, since it’s likely to be once in a lifetime. That being said, you can still cut costs here and there can by being creative and get a bargain.
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Beyond just asking I would say shop around. I shopped around for our catering vendor and we ended up with an AWESOME vendor and got everything we wanted for a relatively low price (considering what we got). We also found a venue where we were allowed to look for any caterer we wanted.
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That’s a great tip, DC. Comparison shopping is definitely a must, especially when you’re talking such big numbers.
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I know many people can have a great wedding for under 10 grand, as the norm right now is over 20 grand. I am into making things small and intimate more than big and grandiose event. Maybe that’s why I am a PF blogger.
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Haha – that will make you fit in with a LOT of PF bloggers!
Weddings are brutal in that every single little thing adds up so ridiculously quickly.
I’m with you on the small and intimate part. When I got married, it was just us and the officiant and a witness. Ha.
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