Recession-friendly, money-saving wedding tips to stretch your budget as far as it'll go
Budgeting Advice
By
on April 06, 2011
99
That was an amazing wedding, too bad we're broke now. Photo by Michelle Hayes.
No bullshit — planning a wedding is MURDER on your wallet. From vendors that try to up-sell you at every turn, to venues that cost more than your entire budget (and that's JUST for the venue — nothing else), and then there's the dress, the accessories, and maybe favors and wedding party gifts. And do your vendors expect to be tipped on top of all that? And aren't we in a recession? And… and… and… Are you breaking out into hives, yet?
This shit is truly ridiculous, I feel you. I also want to help you! So here are a few ideas on how you can stretch your wedding budget as far as it'll go.
PLANNING
- Make up a game to save money. So far this is the best money saving advice I've ever read.
- Repurpose stuff. This is where your grandma's ring and your mother's wedding dress comes into play. You could also use stuff from your own home as party decorations and centerpieces.
- Small guest list. The fewer people you invite, the fewer people you have to feed, the fewer chairs you need to rent, the fewer invitations you need to buy, etc, etc. Small weddings can be awesome too!
- Email your invitations. No postage due. No paying for stationery, envelopes, RSVP cards, plus the RSVP card postage.
VENDORS
- Ask people to donate their services instead of gifts. Do you have photographer friends who'd shoot your wedding for free or for a discounted rate? (I say this as a pro photog who's shot several weddings for friends) Do you have a designer friend who could help you DIY or donate an outfit? A bossy friend who can play day-of wedding coordinator?
- Get your decor from the dollar store. Dollar stores often have paper goods like lanterns and balls to hang around the venue.
- Make your own hairpiece. We have so many tutorials that'll help you make an awesome fascinator or veil on the cheap.
- Don't mention the wedding. When you go make an appointment to get your hair done on your wedding day, don't mention that it's for a "bridal do." Similarly, when you ask for floral centerpieces, don't tell them it's for a wedding. More on that whole concept over here.
- Rent your outfits or buy used. There are services that will even let you rent a wedding dress. And if you buy your outfits, make sure to get clothes that you can wear again.
- Hand pick the fruit you serve from your local U-pick farm. I did this for my birthday once, it was a ton of fun.
- Craigslist! Craigslist is your friend for finding deals on so many different things. Get this: Tribe member Mari purchased her dance floor on Craigslist for $90, when renting a dance floor for the reception was going to cost around $300 to $800!
CEREMONY
- Have your wedding in your backyard or in a public park. Free venues FTW!
- Get an internet-ordained friend to marry you.
- Get married in a courthouse. Affordable, simple, and sweet.
RECEPTION
- DIY desserts. Make your own wedding cake or cupcakes. Bake your own pies or cookies. Or find a friend or family member who's a wiz at making delicious treats and beg them to make the dessert as their wedding gift to you.
- Potluck reception. Whether this concept will work for you depends a lot on your community, but we have a tag full of potluck weddings to give you ideas and inspiration.
- Brew your own beer. Open bars are expensive and if you brew your own "I DO Brew" you can give them away as wedding favors, too. One Tribe member said that brewing their own wedding beer cost them only $30 for five gallons of beer!
- BBQ cookout. Have a down-home-style barbeque reception with hot dogs and hamburgers… mmm, I'm making myself hungry.
- Turn your wedding reception into a fundraiser where, instead of gifts, your guests can donate to an organization of your choice, and get organizations to help out by donating their services instead of hiring vendors.
- Candy favors. Set up a candy bar using several different kinds of penny candy to keep costs down.
- DIY centerpieces. If you skip the flowers, you can save a load of cash. Check out these posts for non-floral centerpieces.
Of course, most of these ideas came from previous offbeat brides — you guys are nothing if not resourceful. So tell me: what are some of your favorite budget-stretching tips?
About Megan Finley
Megan Finley is the Managing Editor for Offbeat Bride and the Associate Publisher for the Offbeat Empire. When she's not slaving away for the Empire, she's sharing her dork side on her own blog and on Twitter @meganfinley.
Amy said
Thank you guys for the ideas – I'm going for a "Lord of the Rings" party atmosphere (not in decor or theme!) not only to save money but also because the best wedding I ever attended was the simplest… and all of the expensive weddings have been tiresome. Good luck to all.
Amy said
I already have my rental wedding dress, veil, and head piece awaiting my wedding in MArch. Such a fantastic idea to rent it, save big bucks, and not have to clean and store it after!
tobey said
i know im a little late on the game here. But as far as stocking the bar goes.. one of the best ideas i heard and am going to use. Is a "stock the bar" wedding shower. We are doing this as co-ed one but it can be a guys only one, make it into a poker party or something fun for them and each person brings a bottle to stock the bar for the wedding. Its going to cut down costs ALOT and we are going to register at specs (if we can) for this bridal shower! Just thought i would share this. We are doing our wedding for just around 5 grand. so budget is key!
Sarina said
Flowers: Utilizing more greenery is always a great way to save money. For my fathers 60th I used all flowers and greenery from my moms backyard. We took galvanized watering pitcher and fill it with overflowing grape vines with green grape delicately hanging and nasturtium thats grows all over their yard. It gave a nice natural feel since it was a backyard party.
We also took mason jars and filled them with herbs and tied the top of the glass in a bow with garden twine.
You could also make placecard marker with mini mason jars, herbs, twine, and a manilla gift tag tied with the guest names.
For center pieces you can save money by using wheat grass and a couple flowers like they are growing out of the grass. if you dont have containers for the wheat grass you can always use burlap, ribbon or hot glue moss to the side of the existing container that the wheat grass comes in.
As someone else suggested getting married at the reception site is a great way to save money. For my wedding they took my decor from my ceremony a incoorperated it into my cocktail hour and then moved all of the flowers from my ceremoney and cocktail hour to the reception area. I was lucky to have large private garden area in balboa park that had multiple different areas for the vendor to set up and break down with out bothering the guest.
Jenni said
Don't buy your wedding dress new from a bridal boutique. If you are wanting a traditional type dress, try Craigslist, eBay, etc. Or go with a vintage-inspired dress from an antique store. OR if you are looking for a funky/ fun dress, try JC Penney or even Target or K-Mart right before/ right after the high school proms in your area. They have so many cute dresses for $30-100!
Kim D. said
What a fantastic post (and comment section)!
I definitely agree with DIYing as much as you can reasonably do, but I'm surprised that no one mentioned bridal shows/expos. They can be overwhelmingly girly (so leave the men at home…I learned this the hard way) but it's nice to bring your MoH, Mom, MIL, etc. A lot of vendors will say that their promotion is only good if you book the day of the show, but most of them realize that a good decision is not made in a split second so they allow you to retain the discounted price weeks or even months later if you simply mention that you saw them at the show. It's easy to get ripped off if you don't pay attention/shop around but it's a great opportunity to get free stuff and discounts. At one of the smaller shows I went to, I scored 2 prizes from vendor drawings- both for $200 off any package I wanted from those vendors! (And they weren't that pricey to begin with.) Thanks to a bridal show, my FH and I are saving $400 on an already affordable DJ and our one splurge- a photo booth.
Sarah said
If you have a yard with some space (or your friend or family member does), you can grow your own flowers. That's what I'm thinking of doing. Seeds and bulbs are cheap, plus your flowers will mean a little more to you because they were lovingly grown from your own garden. (or your mom's!) This is especially great if having seasonal or indigenous flowers is important to you.
Also if you're not particularly picky about flower arrangements for bouquets and/or centerpieces; Costco, Whole Foods or any store that sells fresh flowers are good options to consider. You buy them the day of or day before and they look nice for your wedding without costing an arm and a leg.
Karl B said
Brewing your own beer costs lots more than $30 if you don't have any equipment. Yes, the ingredients can cost you $30, but the stuff to brew it will cost well over $100 + all the time you put into it.