Buy A Basic Cake And Decorate It Yourself
The cake is one of the easiest places to save a stash of cash, as wedding specialists can charge an arm and a leg for these. By this stage most guests will be too stuffed to put away much cake anyway.
Here are a few tips to cut the cost of a cake.
My mum and I baked 120 cupcakes for my sister’s wedding the week before, but didn’t have enough freezer space to store them. So we called the local Iceland supermarket. It kindly agreed to lend us one of its industrial freezers free of charge. – Former MSE Debs
Know You Can Have An Affordable Wedding Anywhere
The average wedding cost in the United States costs just shy of $34,000. The average shifts by locationso the average wedding cost in Idaho is $16,366 while the average price in Manhattan is $96,910.
No matter where you are, however, you dont have to spend the averageeven in glamorous Manhattan. You just have to get creative with your choices and nab some of the strategies and ideas below.
Find the perfect wedding venue!
Order All Of Your Own Paper Items Yourself
This means ordering or creating your own wedding invitations and appropriate inserts. Later, you’ll be ordering place cards and table numbers and maybe programs and other things, too. Technology has made it easy to do a lot of this stuff on your own at home. The newlyweds-to-be choose the appropriate paper and print them on their own printer, then assemble, stuff, and mail them. Even if you choose to order printed materials through a stationer, be sure to do it yourself. When you have your wedding planner assist or do it for you, it will cost you more, whether through her markup or because she’ll likely be getting a thank you commission from the shop.
Don’t be afraid to have her proofread them just do the creating, ordering, and assembling yourself.
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If Youre Getting Married In A Church Ask The Auxiliary For Help
If youre getting married in a church or in the hall of a civic organization, ask if the auxiliary club associated with that venue has suggestions or ideas. While they might not be able to directly provide a lot of savings, they may be able to offer ideas and small services that can save a little, and they sometimes can point you to something unexpected that can be a huge savings.
Strategy: Ask the auxiliary club associated with the church or other organization where your wedding is being held for help Savings: Small, but potentially big
Make Your Own Invitations
Again, according to The Knot, the average cost for wedding invitations is $590. This cost can easily be trimmed, however, by getting a DIY wedding invitation kit and printing them yourself.
My wife and I did this for our own wedding after balking at the hundreds of dollars for more traditional invitations. We chose a nice DIY kit that cost around $70 for our guest list and printed them ourselves. If you have access to a professional-quality printer and can do basic layout, you can easily create a very classy wedding invitation on your own for $100, with another $50 for any extra inserts and $50 for postage.
Strategy: Print your own wedding invitationsSavings: $390
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Book Your Most Important Suppliers First
Booking your most important suppliers first can help you manage your budget throughout the wedding process. Theres no point splurging on parts of your wedding that youve agreed you can budget on, and then not having enough when your dream photographer comes along. Making a list of what to book when can be helpful to keep your mind on the task at hand.
We advise starting your wedding search with your venue. The average cost of a wedding venue equates to about 45% of the average wedding budget and can also help you set the date, which will, in turn, help your budget.
Ask For Wedding Help Instead Of Wedding Gifts
Talk to some of the friends and family youre inviting to the wedding and ask them if they would be willing to provide help at the wedding in lieu of a gift. This is particularly true if you have someone on the guest list with a particular talent.
Guests for your wedding might be able to help with photography, provide emcee services, tend the bar at the reception, or perform any of the other endless tasks that a wedding entails. While some guests may prefer not to do this, others will relish the chance.
Many of the roles at our own wedding were provided by family and friends. From our perspective, we felt that everything would be much more meaningful if people we loved were actually involved with the ceremony in some way, and many of them jumped at the chance. Some of them provided supplies as their wedding gift, while others provided discounts.
Getting even a little help can easily shave 5% off of the total cost of the wedding.
Strategy: Ask family and friends for assistance at the ceremony in lieu of giftsSavings: $1,400
With all that money youve saved on your big day, turn to your next big step in life: Buy the home youll love as much as each other. Compare mortgages below.
Check Your Mortgage Rates
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Get Flowers That Are In Season
Buying flowers that are out of season is much more expensive than buying those that are in season. Roses, Tulips, and Calla Lilies are all year-round in terms of seasons, and are quite popular for wedding use. If the flowers you want are going to be out of season at the time of your wedding, consider buying the seeds and planting them before hand to save yourself a lot of money. You can also create your own flowers with tape and ribbons to achieve an arts-and-crafty look that is significantly cheaper than buying actual flowers.
Do It Yourself On Hair And Makeup
If you or one of your friends can do the hair and makeup, you could save $1000s on your DIY wedding budget.
On the other hand, if you cant do it yourself or dont know anyone, why not ask your regular hairdresser for help? They will likely be happy to do it for you, affordably. And, if you extend an invite to the wedding, they will surely be even happier!
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Everyday Savings Help Towards The Big Day
Small sacrifices can boost your wedding coffers. If your big day is a year away, cut out something today that you buy every day. If you cut out £2 on crisps and Coke each day, you’d have 365 x £2 to spend, making £730.
Try our Demotivator tool, which reveals your annual spend on coffees, snacks, cigs, mags and other discretionary purchases to help you cut back.
Drill Down The Details But Keep An Open Mind
Avoid starting your wedding planning and shopping randomly. Instead, you can try this:
- Start researching first and understanding what the price range of vendors charge in your area. By starting with this step, you have a better idea of what to expect in terms of pricing , helping you set a more realistic budget and also putting together your creative details accordingly.
- Set a budget and breakdown details into your budget spreadsheet to avoid surprise expenses!
- Create a mood board/inspiration ideas
- Speak to a wedding consultant to help you review your mood board/inspiration ideas and help develop budget-friendly and creative alternatives that will not exceed your budget
- Start a checklist and set a schedule and break down your tasks
Keeping an open mind does not mean you have to sacrifice your vision completely. It only means that there might be other creative designs that will be as close to your budget and vision as possible and that these options are literally worth considering.
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What If Covid Postponed Your Original Wedding
The 2020 wedding season was a difficult one for many couples, who were forced to alter their plans, sometimes significantly, in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic. If you postponed your wedding, lean on your wedding vendors, who are the true experts here, to help you replan your eventwhether its a smaller event, like a minimony or microwedding, or a larger celebration in the future. Health and safety should be at the forefront of your mind here, as are following national, state, and local regulations. Keep an open line of communication with your guests, and try to keep things in perspective.
Tie The Knot Without Breaking The Bank
It’s easy to get caught up in the excitement of wedding planning. There may be an engagement party and bridal shower to attend with your favorite people. You may be trying on dresses or tuxes and looking through wedding magazines. If you don’t track spending, expenses can creep up and your wedding could end up costing moreeven thousands morethan you planned.
The good news is that the wedding experience can be enjoyable without costing a fortune. Start a budget by figuring out how much you’re willing to spend. Then, write down all of your expenses and keep track of your spending as you sign contracts with vendors.
Lastly, you could consider alternatives like a microwedding or minimony. If you’re hosting fewer people, you may have more space in the budget to splurge on the food, decor or attire that you really wantor ensure that you don’t start your life together saddled with extra debt.
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Make Your Own Confetti
Forumites suggest making your own confetti using small heart or flower punches and colourful paper, which should all be found in your local craft shop.
You can also dry your own rose petals in the oven if you have friends or family with rose bushes you’re onto a winner, but some forumites have managed to haggle cheap roses from flower markets at the end of the day.
Make pretty cones to hold the confetti using doilies, which can be found in pound shops, craft shops and on eBay*.
A Bike With A Floral Arrangement In The Basket
Ask around to see if any friends have old bikes lying around the garage, or check out thrift stores too. The bike may already have a pleasantly rusted, vintage vibe. If not, you can paint the bike white, off-white, or to match your wedding colors. Then arrange an overflowing bouquet inside the bikes basket, or a wicker basket you attach to the front yourself.
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How Can I Get Married Without A Wedding
Self-solemnization or self-uniting without a third party is the best option. Choose a state that legalizes self-solemnization. Submit all necessary documents and apply for the relevant license. The appropriate document costs about $30 to $40. This procedure helps you get married legally in the absence of an officiant or witnesses.
Make It A Family Affair
The next step towards learning how to plan a wedding on a budget of $1,000 relates to the getting help from your family. There are numerous tasks that your family members can perform and help you save a considerable amount. For instance, you can use your own music system and ask your family member to be the DJ for your wedding night.
While planning your wedding, assign different tasks to your close family members. They can help you while decorating the venue and making other necessary arrangements. For instance, you can use family vehicles for transportation purpose and making other arrangements. This will allow you to cut the cost of your wedding to a great extent.
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Choose Your Bridal Partys Attire
Your bridal party has accepted the honor of being in your wedding, and now you have to decide what they should wear.
If you prefer all of your bridesmaids to wear the same dress, its a good idea to provide a few options to choose from and see which one gets the most votes. Youll want to choose a dress that flatters and pleases everybody, so its important to take into consideration the color, fabric and shape of the dress.
The other option is to choose a color you like and let them choose their own dress. It all depends on your theme and the aesthetic that youre going for.
For the groomsmen, decide if you want tuxedos or suits, and in what color. Or, if you prefer a more relaxed look, you could opt for khakis and a button down shirt. Do you want your bridesmaids and groomsmen to color coordinate? Match the colors of the dresses to the mens bow ties for a fun, modern aesthetic.
Draft Your Financial Situation In Detail
Finance is the bottom line for any party, ceremony or event. For organizing a successful event you should be backed up with convenient funds to arrange the wedding of your dreams. While you are discussing your budget details, rule out the contributor of your wedding whether it is going to be your parents or any other guardian.
If you are also a part contributor to your wedding, keep in mind that post-wedding expenses are also waiting for you. Thus, utilize your money efficiently and avoid spending it frivolously.
Compartmentalize each and every segment of your wedding and attach a prescribed budget to them whether you are considering your wedding attire or your mothers, just segregate them and fix a particular cost.
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Have The Wedding Budget Talk
Everyone paying for the event needs to sit down and look at the total wedding budget. This might be your first experience budgeting with your future spouse as a team. What a priceless experience! Learning to talk openly and honestly about how much you can spendand how much youre willing to spendon your wedding is going to lay the groundwork for wonderful budget date nights once youre married!
As uncomfortable as this budget talk might be, just rememberits a heck of a lot easier than still paying for your wedding day on your fifth anniversary!
When I say budget here, Im not just talking about how much money you can spend totalIm talking about how much you should spend in each specific area.
I suggest breaking the total wedding budget into categories and figuring out what percentage to devote to each:
Reception: 55%Dress and Tux: 8%Miscellaneous/Cushion: 5%
These arent set numbers thats just the ratio Winston and I used. You should set your ratios based on whats important to you. Maybe youre willing to splurge on photos, but flowers dont really matter to you. If you care more about one area than another, change up the percentages.
