Planning a wedding is expensive as I have learned firsthand. Pinterest has created a world of inspiration for single girls, and I was one of them. It wasn’t until I got engaged that I realized how truly expensive a wedding was. But, with much research and planning I have been able to plan my wedding to be as elegant as I’d dreamed, without spending nearly as much as the average bride and groom. There are effective ways to cut costs of a wedding.
Season: Most wedding venues give a considerable discount for “off season” weddings. Considerable is actually an understatement; most venues give huge discounts during the off season. My venue is gorgeous, I fell in love immediately, but the price tag was sickening and completely out of budget. Until, they told me about off season rates. I won’t say how much I’m spending, but I will say by having my wedding in February, I’m saving over $5,000 on the venue alone. A winter wedding is actually not a bad thing either, winter is elegant and nostalgic to most people. Warm food, a warm atmosphere, and beautiful colors can all be easily accomplished with a winter wedding.
On top of the venue, popular D.Js, photographers, and caterers will also offer great discounts to book them for your off season wedding, especially if weddings are a majority of their cliental. You can literally saved thousands of dollars just by having a wedding between November-March.
Time: I’m not personally doing it, because it was important to me to have an evening wedding, but the time of day you have your wedding can also save a considerable amount. Venues that do multiple weddings a day have cheaper rates for weddings that end before 3. And, depending on the exact time, you can avoid having to pay for a full meal for guests which will cut down on costs tremendously. A friend of mine is having her wedding on a gorgeous hotel balcony overlooking the city, but she’s saving tons by having the wedding at 10:00 A.M., they are serving light brunch appetizers, and minimal alcohol, because it’s so early in the day. Guests will not expect a full dinner, and many will not drink as much as they would in an evening wedding. Another friend had a wedding that started early afternoon, and served tea and sandwiches for lunch. The wedding was beautiful, and the tea and sandwiches were inexpensive and fit well with her theme.
Mismatched Decoration: I was stunned by how expensive floral arrangements were. Flowers, on top of tall beautiful vases were my vision, but the cost was far too expensive. I compromised by finding an assortment of gorgeous, large and tall, but mismatched vases at thrift stores and garage sales. I still get the look that I’m going for, but now with more character because each table has its own unique vase. This can be accomplished with any decoration or any centerpiece. If your wedding has a shabby-chic theme, you can save a ton of money on catering costs by avoiding renting the china. Stocking up on china you find at thrift stores will save you loads of money, each table can have a different set or each table can have a variety of different pieces within it. If you’d prefer more cohesion, choosing china that has the same colors or patterns will look more put together.
Buy in Bulk: Buying in bulk is the best way to save money in any situation. Specifically decoration items, flowers, and candy (if you are having a famous candy bar), can be bought from a variety of online stores to save money.
