If you have a great tip on how to save money on your wedding send it to us using our contact us form. We'll post it here and share your genius with others!
Instead of regular RSVP's, make it a postcard to save on return postage. ---Kathy B.
Need flower girl dresses...think outside of the box. My wedding colors were chocolate and copper. I was able to get 4 beautiful copper colored dresses for our flower girls at the after Christmas sale on clearance at a notable department store. The post Easter and Christmas sales are good times to start looking for dresses at reduced prices. Save your money or their parents money by taking advantage of this!!
Jamai B.
Buy wedding shoes that you can easily dye to another color later. I see so many wedding shoes that in reality are pretty tacky and we'd never consider wearing out again. Why not go to the store with the goal that you will only buy shoes you can also wear later? For example, dye satin non-beaded or sequined heels (remember you cannot dye beads or sequins!) black and wear them all the time to formal occasions or use them to dress up your jeans!
Rachelle O.
If you'
re a bride looking for a very simple gown, look at bridesmaid dresses.... more often than not, the dress is available in white or ivory and some shops can order them in 'extra length' and some simple alterations will mimic a short sweep train. It will cost much less than an actual 'destination' or sheath wedding gown.
Sara J.
Get your shoes at Aerosoles (or similar), they have cute styles and the prices are pretty good. Best of all... you'll be able to dance all night!
Toni C.
I saved hundreds of dollars by not using the seamstress in the store where I bought my dress. The seamstress wanted $250(!) to hem my dress, but I found someone who did it for $25. It pays to look around!
I saved loads of money buying my flowers in bulk online from a wholesaler. Not only did I get beautiful flowers, they were able to help me choose which flowers would be best for my wedding, and how to arrange them into gorgeous bouquets and centerpieces. I was very skeptical about the whole idea of doing my flowers on my own, but they were so helpful, and everything came out beautiful! I can't tell you how many compliments my husband and I got on our "professional" bouquets. And the savings were unbelievable!
Sara B.
If you don't have access to a wholesale florist try your local farmers market. We're getting dahlias for $6/doz or $50 for a huge laundry detergent bucket. I get to go to the field a week before to decide the varieties to pick. There are also u-pick fields nearby & we could pick cosmos, zinneas, sunflowers, etc out there for more options.
Gabby V.
I saved hundreds of dollars by really educating myself on what flowers were in season (i.e. much cheaper) at the time of my wedding. By limiting myself to those choices (there were plenty), I was able to really save... and I didn't think I was missing anything.
Meredith M.
Flowers can get very expensive. I found that ordering flowers in bulk from a wholesaler like Marisol Blooms really helped out. You get can hundreds or awesome roses for a fraction of the price. They also carry tons of other kinds of flowers as well as rose petals. You only have to put them in a special solution 3-4 days in advance, keep them cool, and BINGO! You've got flowers. Buying a flower arrangement book can also give you great ideas for them.
Lindsey C.
found my bouquets at JoAnn Fabrics on sale 50% off -- $5 each! I add a few baby's breath to them, used some green florist tape to keep the flowers together, and added a gold bow to each. They looked beautiful, and I received a lot of compliments on them. Also, I can keep them and not have to pay for preservation of flowers.
Heather M.
No person at my wedding was identical and therefore I saw no reason to make every aspect of my wedding identical either. I had different flowers in a variety of colors on every table. There were different #s of candles on each table too. And I let my bridesmaids pick out their own flowers for their bouquets. This gave the event more personality. People would get up and walk about the room seeing new things every time. By being flexible, I was able to buy small quantities of beautiful flowers that the wholesalers wanted to unload at a cheaper price.
Susan B.
I bought silk flowers for decorations at the craft store at the end-of-season clearance instead of real flowers. I was able to get everything I needed to decorate the entire room with flowers draped everywhere, from runners along the tables to runners on the stairs and even the toss bouquet! (including across my horse and in her mane and tail!), and I got all of my flowers for 90% off. When I told my aunt, who used real flowers, that I was using silk, she sighed and said "I wish I'd used silk ones for my wedding. They look real in the photos and afterwards you can use them to decorate your house!"
Kari N. (Ohio)
Flowers: See what your local Botanical garden cost for a wedding is. The ceromonial costs at mine were comparable to other places I checked out for an outdoor wedding, and I didn't have to buy any flowers but those for attendants and Head table. Fresh cut seasonal flowers were provided at each reception table (included in cost). I did not have any specials arrangements at ceremony, just natural setting at gardens...full of roses at the location I chose.
If you're marrying in summer and considering diy flowers- go all the way. Many farms that have pick your own fruits also have pick your own flowers. Here in the pacific NW I'm surrounded by dahlia farms (my fave flower) that sell u-picks at $5 a dozen. It'll be a fun pre-wedding event with my bridesmaids- out there in the sunshine picking flowers with a picnic after :)
Colby H (Portland, Ore)
Instead of renting a limo for our special day, which is going to cost minimum of $400 because it's $100 per hour and a minimum of 4 hours, we're going to rent a sports car. Or a convertible sports car. I've always dreamed of having one and if I can't own one, I can at least look pretty good in one for at least the day! Much cheaper too!
If you know someone who owns a classic car ask them if you can borrow it for the day. We were able to use my fathers White ranchero for our wedding. My brother in law was able to use a vintage Rolls. And all it cost was gas.
Heather P.
I think it was more special to have a friend perform the ceremony so our friend Bob got certified through Universal Life Church and not only do we save on an officiant fee it will be more special. Plus we hired a DJ even though we wanted a band but we have talented friends and family so many are going to sing and perform their instruments.
Rebecca L.
My husband and I purchased our wine in bulk from a wine store. We told the caterer it was a gift from my aunt who couldn't attend the wedding (that way they couldn't tell us no). We saved over $1000 and had the same wine the caterer would have served!
Beth B.
We saved a lot of money by burning our own cds of music for the ceremony, cocktail hour, and reception. We got exactly the music we wanted, had a friend make announcements, and didn't have to worry about a DJ playing something we didn't want. We borrowed a sound system from a friend (although a lot of locations have them available for your use if you ask), and no one even noticed that we'd "cut a corner."
Sarah L.
Don't bother spending your budget on favors for the wedding reception! Most people do not want them and many are left behind. Instead, wow your lady guests with a single flower of your choice when they arrive at the reception! It will be a huge hit and they will talk about it for months. When our guests arrived at our reception, each lady received a two foot long stemmed rose. After the reception had ended, there was not a rose to be found. Happy planning!
Tanya G.
Instead of giving out favors that might be thrown away we decided to give pieces of cake as our favor. To keep the cost of the cake down we ordered a smaller cake and an additional "kitchen" cake.
Do not spend money on expensive favors. Your guests will not miss them, I promise. Do not pay to have your place cards calligraphied. You can very easily print them off on the computer in a gorgeous font. Research the idea of making your invitations yourself. I made mine, and all of my guests kept asking me how much I had to pay for them, and where I got them. And my greatest money-saving tip of all: Resale everything that's just going to sit in a closet. I'm sure there's someone in need who would be glad to use your gorgeous dress, veil, headpiece, centerpieces, cake serving set, toasting goblets, and unity candle holder at a discounted price. Just think: The spirit of your wedding goes on to give someone else their perfect day! How wonderful!
Lindsay G
Instead of renting glasses for our outdoor, fall, Colorado wedding @ 50 cents each, we purchased mason jars in various sizes. (They are on sale for canning season). Everyone commented on how cute they were, how easy to drink out of and we didn't worry if they broke (and we created less waste). And we have great classy glasses to use at future BBQ's. We also purchased beer and coffee cups made out of recycled products (corn for beer and brown kraft for coffee) from a great website. They compost in two-three weeks, which made us feel better about throwing them out. Wedding create a huge amount of waste, its nice to do your part when you can!
Melanie W
We are having a morning wedding (10am) with a brunch reception (11am-3pm). We've found that brunch prices are less than half of the per person dinner price at the same location. Also, most of our vendors have offered special rates for the morning, since they can still attend and evening event.
Lynn O.
Have your wedding on a day other than Saturday. We are having ours on a Sunday afternoon, with a dinner reception at 5:30. Many reception sites and vendors have discounted rates for the non-"prime" days of the week because it is not the most typical wedding day. A Friday night may also be a good choice. Our reception will cost half of what it would have cost had we done our wedding on a Saturday.
Kristin G.
Instead of party favours, my daughter is making a donation to the local hospital in memory of our loved ones.
Charlene P
Alcohol can be a huge reception expense, and the results of people's overindulgences can ruin the night. I think it's just as sophisticated (and maybe even more so) to have cute a Italian soda bar or mock-tails. You'll save a bundle, and you won't have to worry about having embarrassing drunken wedding moments.
Jen C.
I used pretty paper from an art supply store for our menu's and programs. I tied them with pretty ribbon. I used a formal looking font and did everything via my computer. The programs/menus looked like they were very expensive.
One simple but huge way to save money is to specify that you do NOT want the waiters to pass champagne during cocktails before dinner or for the toast--many people don't drink it or only take a sip and it's usually the most expensive bottle on the bar. Simply have champagne available at the bar for those who want it. No one missed it and toasted us with their wine or other beverage and we saved hundreds of dollars.
Skip the DJ! My then-fiance put all our favourite songs into different folders and then loaded them up on our Ipod. The venue had a receiver and speakers. We hooked up the Ipod with an adaptor and played our own tunes. The songs were organized in folders with ceremony, cocktail time, dinner music. In all, we had 6 hours of music on auto play.
Go with a non-professional yet experienced photographer to save thousands of dollars. Our photographer had a lot of experience in weddings but does not do it professionally. We saved around $3K-$4 on our photography (wedding photographers charge upwards from $5000 in my area). We also made our own photobooks using MyPublisher and they came out great.
Kathi E
Photography and music takes a huge bite out of your budget. Consider using college students majoring in photography and music (upper level students of course). Be sure to view their portfolios, and do auditions. This will save you a lot of money, and young students are usually eager to get the experience.
Approach your wedding like a business... pay attention to contract details; Bother people; embrace conflict... say no to their offer and say you need a better deal** Always speak to a manager.
Go to every bridal festival and enter every drawing you can. I went to my first two last weekend and won the grand prize ($5,000 value) at one and another $1,000 to spent online at the other. Plus, I got so many great tips and met more vendors than I ever imagined were even in my town.
Don't be afraid to thrift store shop. No one will know unless you tell them and you can find some great buys for your wedding. My fiancé and I have found (over the course of 4-6 months) 50+ of the SAME EXACT candle holders for an average of $0.36 each! Retail price for them is $1.50 each! That's a savings of $60 just on the candle holders! Also, lottery tickets make great guest favors. I haven't met a person yet who didn't enjoy an occasional scratch off ticket. Average cost depends on how expensive each ticket is. Most favors cost $3-$4 and people leave them there. You can get $1 or $2 scratch offs and save 50-75% on favors that everyone will enjoy.
Go to e-bay for everything! I got my candelabra centerpieces plus candles and rose petals from E-bay for a grand total of less then $10 each!!
Everything is negotiable!!! This industry is billions of dollars per year. Remember that you are the customer, the client, and you are the one who has the final say. If your vendor says, "We don't do it that way," you walk away from them, and tell them their inability to be flexible just cost them a client and that client's good word-of-mouth. Bew
are of the 'wedding factory' where they simply cannot imagine you wanting to personalize your ceremony/reception/flowers/vows/etc.
Jessica B, Denver
To make each guest feel welcomed for my son's destination wedding, we made "welcome baskets" for each family, couple, individual, etc. We purchased local wine, items of interest, i.e. hand made soaps, fancy napkins from the party store, plastic wine glasses from a local department store, sight-seeing pamphlets from the tourism department (wedding was in St. Augustine, Florida) candies from local vendors and I made chocolate chip cookies. We purchased the baskets from a local "basket" warehouse, put them together, shrink wrapped each and tied together with a bow. We then delivered each basket to the hotels of each guest. The front desk was more than happy to place the basket in each guest room prior to their arrival. The response we received was incredible.
Diane C.
When calling vendors for quotes (particularly reception locations and rental companies) don't volunteer the fact that you are planning a wedding. Provide them only the necessary information (date, time, number of people, etc.) and request a quote in writing. Some people hear "wedding" and see dollar signs!
Allison C.
THANK YOU NOTES Don't spend money on custom or engraved thank you cards, they only get thrown away. Use postcards (from your honeymoon, or of the area where you were married). Save postage and get them out quickly!
Alexas O.