5 Money Saving Wedding Planning Strategies

My goodness! Weddings are expensive!

If you’re like most people, you more than likely had no idea how expensive planning your wedding could be. What’s worse, the image you had in your mind of how you dreamed your wedding would be is slowly being tarnished by the grim reality you can’t afford nearly half of what you wanted to include in your big day.

However, fear not!

There are strategies we can implement to help you still create the wedding of your dreams – without breaking your budget.

Let’s break it down.

1. Reduce guest list. Okay, I know this is not easy and in some cases will be painful, but it is a MUST. Inviting a large number of people to your wedding is the quickest way to blow your budget. Keeping your list small will allow you to spend more money on those beautiful centerpieces you saw on Pinterest or hire the photographer you REALLY want. It will also make the occasion more intimate and special because you’re only including your closest, most beloved friends and family. Therefore, be realistic. If you only had dinner with them once last year – remove them from your list. If you’re only friends with them because you work together – establish the “no co-workers” rule. If you’d like a little more guidance regarding how to create your guest list, check out my Step-by-Step Guide to Create Your Perfect Guest List for your wedding.

2. Tone down the bar package. I know the alcohol component of a wedding is a tricky one. If you do decide to offer alcohol at your wedding, remember there are many ways to integrate libations without breaking the bank or looking cheap.

Here are a few ideas:

Serve only beer and wine. Many venues offer the option to stock your open bar with only beer and wine. These packages are usually less expensive than the full bar packages. If not offering hard liquor makes you nervous, consider offering a featured signature cocktail for your wedding during the cocktail reception. This is usually a nominal up-charge that will still be less expensive than opting for a full open bar package.

Close your bar during dinner. Another route to take, would be to choose a full bar package for a shorter amount of time. You can extend the time of your bar package throughout your wedding by closing down the bar during dinner. How would this work?

See below for my suggested timeline for a 3-hour bar package:

5:00-5:30p – Ceremony
5:30-6:30p – Cocktail reception (Bar open)
6:45p-7:00p – Wedding Party Grand Entrance
7:00p-9:00p – Dinner, First Dances, Toasts (Bar closes; Consider offering champagne for toasts or wine service with dinner.)
9:00-10:30p – Dancing (Bar re-opens)

Split it up. My last suggestion, albeit my least favorite option, would be to offer an open bar through the cocktail reception and dinner. Then switch to a cash bar later in the evening.

The timeline for this option would look something like this:

5:00-5:30p – Ceremony
5:30-6:30p – Cocktail reception (Bar Opens)
6:45p-7:00p – Wedding Party Grand Entrance
7:00p-9:00p – Dinner, First Dances, Toasts
9:00-11:00p – Dancing – (Bar switches to Cash Bar)

3. Re-purpose ceremony floral and décor decorations in the reception. Floral and rental décor decorations can really add up. It makes sense to re-use them for different sections of the wedding. Therefore, when picking your décor for your ceremony, be sure to keep in the back of your mind possible ways to reuse the décor in your reception, too.

4. Eliminate floral centerpieces. I just heard a collective GASP. (I am also preparing for hate mail from all of my florist friends-sorry guys!). However, thinking outside the floral centerpiece box is a great way to cut costs on your wedding budget. For example, consider making a beautiful rustic candle lantern be the main focal point for your tablescape. If you simply cannot part with some floral, think of ways to use flowers as an accent on your table, not the main feature. Limiting your floral budget will help you save money.

5. Pick a beautiful venue. Selecting the venue for your wedding might be one of the most important decisions you’ll make. Your venue will dictate the majority of your remaining wedding planning decisions. Therefore, if you’re on a tight wedding budget (which, let’s be honest, who isn’t?), choosing a beautiful venue, that looks amazing “as-is” is a wonderful way to go. The more your venue can naturally create the mood and ambiance you are hoping for, without many décor additions, the fewer additional resources you will need to create the feeling you are hoping for in the venue. Make your venue work for you, not the other way around. Select a beautiful venue you love immediately, without having to change or add one thing. This will save you a ton of money on décor, rentals and lighting.

If you’d like more venue selection guidance, check out my guide to select the perfect venue for your wedding.

Whew! I know this was a lot to digest. I encourage you to consider implementing these tips throughout planning your wedding. These tactics will help you save money and stay on track to not exceed your target budget.

Resources: Below are links to a two of my favorite wedding planning resources to help you stay on track with your wedding planning budget: Wedding Budget Workbook and the Guest Count Calculator.

Download Your Budget Workbook

Download Your Budget Workbook

Download Your Catering Cost Calculator

Download Your Calculator

Related blog articles you might be interested in…

Step-by-Step Guide to Create Your Perfect Guest List

How to Select the Perfect Venue for Your Wedding

Action Steps: What wedding saving strategies do you plan to implement? Do you have any saving suggestions for your fellow brides? Please leave a comment below!

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