How to Plan a Wedding on a Budget

In 2020, the average wedding cost about $19,000. For most people, that is simply not affordable. However, there are several ways that you can potentially lower your costs. With some creative planning, you could cut your wedding costs by a surprising amount. Here are 10 ways that you could reduce the cost of your wedding.

10 Ways to Lower the Cost of Your Wedding

1. Only invite a select amount of guests

   Some people think that they need to invite a hundred or more people to have a successful wedding. The fact is, you and your significant other probably have a handful of close friends. When you include intimate family members, you can potentially cut down the wedding list. That can drastically reduce the cost of food, alcohol, and other expenses associated with weddings. 

2. Do-it-yourself when it comes to decor

   Wedding decor can potentially be such a significant expense. The fact is you can make some of the decor yourself. Websites like Pinterest offer several great DIY wedding decor ideas. If you have the spare time, you and your friends can make decor for the wedding and possibly save a large amount of money.

3. Have your reception at your home or outdoors

   You don’t have to spend thousands of dollars on renting out a space for your wedding. In fact, you could have the wedding ceremony in your home. You could also have your wedding outdoors where you would spend a fraction of your renting a large indoor space. Be sure to check the weather when you are planning an outdoor wedding.

4. Use dummy wedding cake

   A wedding cake can generally cost $4.50 - $6.50 per slice. Instead of purchasing a traditional wedding cake, you can buy or make a dummy wedding cake that you can use for decor. For about $25, you can purchase a one-sheet cake at a bakery and have more than enough cake for everyone.
   
   

   If you don’t want to buy a dummy wedding cake, you can make one yourself. Your only cost will be the crafts needed to make the cake and a couple of hours of labor. You can find some dummy wedding cake plans online. If you have an artistic side, making your own dummy wedding cake will seem like lots of fun.

5. Time your wedding to save costs

   There are times of the year when it could potentially be more affordable to hold your wedding. For instance, having your wedding in the winter months is considered “off-season.” People who provide wedding services may be able to charge you less for their services during the winter months. This alone could save you big money.

6. Be selective when choosing vendors

   You do not have to choose vendors for every single one of your wedding services. It would help if you were extremely selective when it comes to finding the vendors who will work your wedding.

   Here are some tips when it comes to deciding what vendors to hire:

• • What services can you do yourself?

  • What services can your friends and family not provide?

  • What services would be better in the hands of a professional?

Another way you can save on vendor costs is to consider using amateur people who have limited experience but the right amount of skill. For instance, you can find people on Craigslist who could provide the following services at a lower cost: 

• • Florist

  • Wedding planner

  • Caterer

  • Transportation

7. Forgo a live band

   You do not need to spend thousands of dollars on a live band. You can simply create a playlist, bring a laptop, and some speakers, and you will be done. Be sure you get a good idea of what music will be ideal for a wedding and a reception.

8. Have friends and family provide services

   You can potentially save lots of money by enlisting friends and family members to provide services for your wedding. You can tell some of your friends and family members to forgo gifts and simply assist with wedding help. Here are some of the activities that you can have your friends and family members provide:

• • Photographer

  • Videographer

  • DJ

  • Graphic design

  • Cooking and food

9. Use digital wedding invitations

   Why spend hundreds of dollars on printed wedding invitations. You can potentially cut down most or all your invitation expenses by using digital invitations. All you need to do is hire someone on a website like Fiverr to provide the design for the digital wedding invitation or have a friend who has the skill to create it for you. From there, you simply email the wedding invitation to your guest list, and you are done. You can get this task done in a couple of hours. Best of all, you could save hundreds of dollars.

10. Have guest bring their own alcohol

    As you can guess, alcohol can potentially be a significant expense when it comes to the wedding reception. Instead of shelling out big money for the alcohol, simply have your guests bring their own alcohol. Chances are, you have a couple of friends and family members who already have a bottle of something at home. Doing this will not only save you on the cost of alcohol, but you can also save yourself the time and the hassle of transporting alcohol to the party.

Enjoy an unforgettable wedding day without breaking your budget

Yes. It is possible to have an incredible wedding day without breaking the budget. Be sure to use any many cost savings approaches as possible. Who knows? With the money that you save, you could use those savings to go on your honeymoon or even make a down payment on a new house.