How much have you budgeted for your upcoming nuptials? Hopefully, you’ve set aside about $30,119 because that’s the average cost of a wedding in the US. Yep! The total cost to get hitched has grown steadily over the years — and that’s without even factoring in the honeymoon! With that in mind, prudent couples look for ways to save on their wedding before the big day arrives.
Before you begin making plans to elope in Las Vegas, check out these money-saving tips that will help you throw the wedding of the century without bottoming out your bank account:
Wedding Venue Saving Strategy
Venues are by far the biggest expense of a wedding. Fortunately for budget-conscious brides and grooms, it’s now trendy to have weddings outdoors and in untraditional locales like an old barn. It’s also much more affordable than renting a banquet hall, which is still the most popular wedding venue. But remember, Mother Nature will giveth and taketh away. When you plan to have the wedding outdoors you also have to create a backup plan in case the weather gets nasty.
Another, less risky, option is to have the wedding at the home of a friend or family member. This is ideal if you plan to have a small, intimate wedding and know someone that has spectacular views from their humble abode.
Wedding Ring Saving Strategy
According to The Knot, engagement rings are the second biggest wedding expense at an average of $5,855. But you can find beautiful bling elsewhere for a much lower cost.
Black diamond rings are quickly becoming the new classic in engagement jewelry. Just like the little black dress, a black diamond engagement ring is a subtle way to make a big style statement. Even better is that a black diamond costs a fraction of what you’ll spend on a white diamond. For a super chic engagement ring, pair a black solitaire diamond with a black gold band.
Wedding Photography Saving Strategy
Nothing will replace a talented, artistic photographer. That said, you can supplement professional photography and avoid the need for a second shooter on the wedding day by getting your guests involved. Ask guests who are passionate amateur photographers if they mind snapping a few shots with their nice cameras. You can also bet that most guests will take at least a few photos with their smart phones. When you send out save the date reminders ask your guests to download a photo sharing app like Wedding Snap so they can upload their pics to an online wedding album. You’ll get more wedding day photos than you ever imagined without spending a dime.
Reception Refreshments Saving Strategy
Couples are now spending more on the reception than the wedding ceremony, and cocktail hours are becoming common. You want everyone to kick back and have a great time, but booze can take a huge chunk out of the budget. The solution: throw a “Stock the Bar” party.
These parties give you an additional reason to throw a get together during the engagement, and it helps you round up refreshments for the reception. Request that each guest bring beer, wine or liquor to the party that will then be used for the open bar after the wedding. Of course, you can expect that some of it will be consumed during the Stock the Bar party, but you’ll get a huge part of the booze bill covered.
Wedding Ceremony Saving Strategy
True; the officiant is a minor wedding expense, but it’s an easy place to save a few hundred dollars. If having a religious figure conduct the ceremony isn’t a big priority you can ask a friend or family member to step in instead. Today it’s fairly quick and easy to become ordained online. Better yet, avoiding an officiant will save you upwards of $266.
Wedding Schedule Saving Strategy
The most popular day of the week for nuptials is Saturday. And for obvious reasons. But that popularity also makes Saturday the most expensive day of the week for venues, photographers, caterers, and the other accouterments. Dena Davey, the Association of Bridal Consultants’ director of marketing, suggests that couples shift their wedding just one day to Friday or Sunday. You’ll save even further if you plan a midday wedding in lieu of an evening event.
Floral Saving Strategy
It’s hard to believe that something that will die within days costs over $2100. But you can expect to pay a florist that much for your wedding. The easiest way to save without picking the flowers yourself is to choose flora and fauna that are in season.
These are just a few of the top ways to save on a wedding. After all, as with any budgeting, when you get creative, things usually end up costing a whole lot less.
Photo Credit: BarbieFantasies
There are lots of ways if you want to save money on your wedding. You can make your own invitations, if you have a professional singer friend you can ask them if they can sing in your wedding day.
To decorate for a good sized outdoor, under tent wedding in rural Germany at the end of July, the bride’s mother and I collected galvanized pails from the barn and scrubbed them thoroughly. We went out to the fields and cow pastures at the end of the village and picked wild flowers until the back of the car was loaded: lots of yellow goldenrod, white yarrow, purple blue bachelor’s buttons, some tiny daisy like flower in all white, and Queen Anne’s Lace. The bride’s mother made beautiful arrangements in the buckets and some old stoneware crocks from the root cellar. There were lovely flower bouquets everywhere you looked, didn’t cost a penny. For the wedding shower (instead of a costly shower for the women and an expensive bachelor’s party for the men) they held the “polterbend” ceremony at the bride’s home where every guest cleans out his own kitchen closet of dishes he / she hates and when the guests entered the courtyard of the bride to be, they smashed the dishes against the wall, to much happy laughter and friendly comments. At the end of the evening the bride and groom to be cleaned up the pile of shards as a team to symbolize how they would work together in the coming marriage. Refreshments at the polterbend were open faced sandwiches and hard cooked eggs all displayed on huge wooden carving boards, garnished with slices of vegetables from the garden, a platter of cake and pastries, all the food prepared and served by the bride’s mother, sister and the mother’s lady friends. For beverages there were kegs of beer and a keg of a red soft drink for the people who didn’t like beer, plus bottled water. Everyone had a fine time and costs were kept to a minimum. Frankly this will remain the most fondly remembered of all the weddings I’ve ever attended.
What a wonderful ceremony to be a part of, Karen. Thanks for sharing that!
Obviously not an option for everyone, but my current husband and I eloped with a slight twist. We told everyone where we were going to be and where we were dining at afterward. We dressed business causal. A friend was our photographer and another was our officiant (we gave both gift cards, though they didn’t ask for compensation). Since we were technically eloping, there was no pressure for us to pay for anyone’s meals. And the idea of eloping and being nontraditional about it meant only the friends who cared about us came instead of us trying to plan out a wedding for people we are only superficially social with.
My first wedding was also on the cheaper side. I did my own hair and makeup. Flowers were bought in a bouquet day of from the grocery store and decorated with nice ribbons. My dress was a discount prom dress, his outfit was his military uniform. We had a brunch reception instead of a dinner. The photographer was an aspiring professional with deeply discounted rates. My venue was a local winery that was also just getting started and within the first two years of opening, they were striving to make a name for themselves and were very helpful.
Ahh … very clever, Nikki. Eloping and then sending out a “press release” of the coming nuptials is something I never considered.
Thanks for the tips!
Pool party and backyard barbecue, here. 50 + guests. We bought 60 prime rib steaks and tons of chicken….neighbours brought some extra barbecues over. We catered the salads, buns, condiments, and dishes. Coolers full of beer, many many bottles of red and white wine, Our own music. The kids stayed out of our hair swimming. There are always people who like to tend the barbie. It was awesome. The ceremony was JP, and done before it got wild…..I think about 3:00pm. The next day the caterer showed up and hauled away the stacked tubs of dirty dishes and tablecloths.
My vegetarian brother (that current phase) succumbed and ate two steaks himself. That was 25 years ago, and maybe….maybe the total bill was $1500. I had so much beer and wine left over my friends came over for Friday after work pub (in the shop) for several months. Many people also brought extra refreshments.
It was a lot of fun, and it was what my wife wanted and asked for. She had a ring made up at a local jewelers….her own design. The jeweler was an excellent goldsmith. Great way to start a marriage that is still going strong.
I absolutely love the outdoor BBQ idea, Paul. The only downside risk is inclement weather.