There are a zillion ways to save money while planning a wedding. A simple google search will result in hundreds of ideas. But some of them? Not so practical. Such as- “Piss off your future mother-in-law- Cut your guest list to only 15” or “Have a potluck- because that’s totally not tacky.” We appreciate the help guys, but I think we maybe kinda sorta want this day to be an awesome and classy affair. So here are some ideas to save money planning your wedding!
One way to save money? Have your wedding on a day other than a weekend day. Having a wedding on a Friday evening could save you about 20% off your total venue bill. Want to save even more? Have your wedding on a Monday-Thursday! This is definitely unconventional but becoming more and more acceptable as people are being woken up to the insane costs of a wedding. Especially if most of your guests are coming in from out of town- they will already have to take time off to make it anyway, so why not save some money also?
Serve one or two specialty drinks as opposed to having a fully stocked bar. Have some fun with them- like a ‘his’ and ‘hers’ favorites! ‘Brides Rose’ and ‘Grooms scotch on the rocks.’ Ok- those are kind of boring, but they are just examples! This will save the venue money from having to stock the entire bar, plus if you are doing a champagne toast and tableside wine this gives guests a couple of different options. Another way to save money on the bar tab is just to serve wine and beer, or to find a venue that allows you to supply your own alcohol.
The best way to save money is for you and your spouse to each choose the ONE thing that is most important to you. Splurge on those two things and keep everything else simple. He likes food, and you want to be a princess? That’s fine! Splurge for gourmet catering and get your Vera Wang but have the wedding someplace simple like at a park or a backyard. Don’t care about the dress but want a beautiful setting? Get your dress on the cheap from a consignment shop or from Craigslist and hire the best florist in town. I promise you that when all is said and done- you will look back on a lot of details that don’t really matter and think to yourself, “Maybe that wasn’t really necessary.” So really try to narrow down what’s most important to you guys and focus on those.
Here’s another eye opener- maybe 20% of your guests will eat cake. At least this was the case for my wedding, and was even confirmed by many a wedding planner. By the time it’s served a lot of the older guests will have already left, the younger guests are getting their groove on, and a lot of people are already full from dinner or simply don’t like cake. You could probably skip out on this altogether but if you can’t imagine your day without cake, lie to your bakery about the number of guests. I’d say by a good 30% at least. 120 estimated guests? Tell your baker your guest list is 85-90 people, then tell your caterer to serve smaller pieces. can almost guarantee that a metric butt ton (yes- that is a technical measurement!) of cake will still be tossed at the end of the night. And no one wants to be responsible for wasting cake, right?
Here’s another crazy thought. Don’t. Do. Favors. This is another thing that most people will ‘forget’ at the end of the night, or toss out very soon after. That’s so much money literally thrown away. Do people really need a memento of your night? Witnessing your love, breaking bread, and partying on with you wasn’t enough for them? Really? If you must do favors do something edible and leave it on their place setting so they can eat it right away, or do something fun like a photobooth. Those are the only two things that will be used. No one wants a glass swan that’s going to break in the car or that they will have to dust for the rest of eternity. They really, really don’t. Don’t do favors, and throw some more mula where it counts- the bar.
I know there are a TON of more ways I could come up with to save you some money so definitely keep an eye out for part 2 of this article.
What do you think brides? How do you plan on saving money on your big day?