If you’re at all familiar with wedding planning or maybe just started the process yourself, you know how CRAZY expensive it can be. I was honestly in shock with how expensive anything wedding related is but was determined to stay on budget while still creating the wedding I wanted. I was a complete newbie when I started planning and learned everything along the way so I would have killed for a guide like this to help me! Looking back I still cannot believe we were able to have the wedding we did for our budget and not go over budget, even after all the added charges with having to postpone so many times. So just know you CAN have an amazing, beautiful wedding on a tight budget. I’ll keep this short and sweet and lay out exactly how to plan a budget friendly wedding:
SET YOUR BUDGET– Before you do anything you need to set your budget. After setting your budget you can figure out how much you can spend on each vendor exactly and that will help SO MUCH when hiring vendors and keep you from going over and just piling up cost after cost. My wedding planner had an amazing budget tool that auto-calculated how much I could spend on each vendor based on my budget. Since you have to spend more on certain things like venue, catering and florals and less on others like DJ, cake etc its important to split up your budget according to which vendors will eat up more or less of it. For example I divvied up 1/3 of my budget to catering and basic rentals like tables and chairs etc while only a small fraction of my budget went to other vendors like the cake or DJ.
HIRE A PLANNER: Even on a small budget I can’t recommend hiring a planner enough. I would say I’m very detailed oriented and put extreme thought into making sure everything for my wedding was just how I wanted but WOW the level of detail my planner put into planning, things I never would have thought to go over but that were 100% necessary for the wedding to go smoothly. If I didn’t have a planner my wedding day would not have gone nearly as smooth as it did. From helping you figure out budget, when you need to book each vendor by, communicating with those vendors to ensure every detail has been discussed to actually orchestrating everything on the day of and dealing with any sort of issue, you’ll be more than glad you booked a planner. They can also be a huge help in making sure you stay on budget and negotiating with your vendors. Even if you can only do month of I highly suggest getting a planner!
PICK A LESS POPULAR DATE: One of the best ways to save money on your wedding is on the venue, most venues charge quite a bit less for non-peak weddings, even choosing a Sunday over a Saturday or a March date vs May can save you a lot!
USE A LOCATION THAT SPEAKS FOR ITSELF: This was one of the biggest “hacks” we used. Our venue was small, not fancy and pretty simple BUT it was right at La Jolla Cove with a private grass area in front for the ceremony and an amazing view of the ocean. Our venue was very simple but located in one of the most beautiful locations which made all the difference.
CHOOSE A “NON WEDDING VENUE“: Wedding venues can charge you an arm and a leg to rent for the day simply because they are “wedding venues.” Consider reaching out to venues that aren’t specifically wedding venues. For example our venue does hold weddings but its not very well known and is actually used as a bridge club, because of this it was very affordable. You can also consider renting out a private estate to save money, just be sure having all your vendors brought in, catering, music etc will work in the space.
DON’T OVERSPEND OUT OF CONVENIENCE: The wedding industry is crazy expensive and you can easily end up going WAY over budget. Planning a wedding on a budget is totally do-able but in all honestly will take a lot more work. You most likely will have to reach out to many vendors until you find someone in your price range who’s work you also like. If you’re not on a tight budget you can hire the first vendor you reach out to, but on a budget you may have to reach out to dozens to find someone that fits both your budget and vibe and has your date available and thats okay! Just be prepared to reach out to a lot of vendors.
CHOOSE WHAT TO PRIORITIZE AND WHAT YOU DON’T MIND SACRIFICING ON FROM THE START: Planning a wedding on a small budget most likely means you’ll have to sacrifice on certain areas. Choose what those areas are ahead of time so you don’t end up disappointed if you can’t have every detail exactly how you wanted. For example, we chose from the start that location, florals and catering were our priorities and that we wouldn’t mind sacrificing on things like rental upgrades such as upgrading to cross back chairs or farmhouse tables vs the basic white chairs and round tables. We also decided to forego certain things that can add cost like wedding favors.
PROVIDE CERTAIN THINGS YOURSELF: Renting things like charger plates, table linens, and silverware is VERY expensive especially if you are having the vendor deliver it. We opted to purchase our own linen napkins, provide our own cake stand and do pickup and drop off ourselves for our charger plates. This saved us a ton! Just be sure you have your planner or catering team prepared to set out the items themselves.
REPURPOSE FLORALS: My florist had the great idea to repurpose all our ceremony florals for the reception to save costs and it turned out perfect! He repurposed my bridesmaids’ bouquets to be the table centerpieces and repurposed our arch florals to be the sweetheart table display. Just make sure you have your florist come back to do the repurposing as they’ll have to rework and rearrange each bouquet/display to make them work as their new arrangement.
GO NON-TRADITIONAL: Remember your wedding can be anyway you want, its YOUR wedding. If you want to spend more on your photography, florals and dress but can’t afford to also do a traditional reception, consider alternate options. I know couples who rented out a nice restaurant patio and did an intimate dinner instead of renting a venue, hiring a caterer, rentals etc and it turned out just as beautiful and memorable as a traditional wedding. You can also get creative and utilize free or very affordable ceremony locations such as a beach front ceremony or a ceremony at a lake, mountain etc.
