Plan a Low Budget Wedding

Planning a wedding can be one of the most exciting and stressful things that anyone will ever have to do. While many weddings cost a lot of money, they don't always have to. If you are low on cash but want to have an amazing wedding, there are ways that you can minimize your costs and do things yourself. By making a solid plan and sticking to your budget by reducing your spending, you can have an amazing wedding with just a little money.

Steps

Determining Your Expenses

1. Decide how you'll pay for the wedding. Decide who is going to pay for what and how much you can both collectively contribute. Talk to your spouse about their family and how much they are willing to pitch in. Have conversations with your family about what they have and how they are willing to help.
   • In some families, the parents are willing to pick up a large percentage of the wedding cost.
   • If you have to talk to your family about contributing, you can say something like "As you know mom, my wedding is coming up soon, and I was hoping that you could let me know if you and dad could pitch in. I'm just trying to understand the budget for the wedding right now."
2. Set a budget for the wedding. The best way to reduce overspending is to set a budget and to not deviate from the budget. Have a discussion with your partner about how much money they have and are willing to spend on the wedding. Once you get a good understanding of how much you can spend overall, you'll have a good idea of how much your budget is.
3. Write down the costs of your expenses. It's important to associate specific dollar amounts to your costs so you'll know if you are going to go over budget. The most important expenses to figure out include the cost of the reception, attire, ceremony, flowers, entertainment and photography. Once you've estimated this number, add 5% for other expenses that you may have not accounted for.
   • Remember to include the cost of your honeymoon as well.
4. Keep the guest list short. The more guests that you have, the more money you'll have to spend on the overall wedding. Invite only your closest friends and family to keep the list small. If your guest list is bloated, consider trying to reduce it by 20%, then reduce it again. Invite the people who you care about the most.
5. Shop around when looking for vendors. As you plan for your wedding, you'll need to contact certain people to get quotes for your wedding. Instead of settling for the first person that you talk to, shop around and see who offers the lowest prices. Look for promotions or sales and make sure to read customer reviews so that you can get a better understanding for the different vendors at your wedding.
   • Vendors include photographers, caterers, and musicians.

Reducing Your Costs

1. Get a cheaper dress. A wedding dress is a large expense but it can be reduced. Try looking for sample dresses that fit you instead of getting one custom made. If you are seeking to get a free dress, see if any family members or friends have a dress they are willing to give you or let you borrow. If you want your own dress, make sure to keep it minimalistic instead of getting ornate add-ons that can increase the cost of your dress and wedding.
   • The average cost of a wedding dress in the U.S. is $1,200.
   • Great websites where you can purchase second-hand dresses include OnceWed, Still White, and Nearly Newlywed.
2. Hire your friends for the wedding. Photographers, bartenders, and tailors can increase the cost of the wedding. Think of friends who would be able to fulfill those roles in your wedding at a discounted price. Talk to people that you know and ask them if they would be interested in doing your wedding.
3. Purchase flowers wholesale. Instead of having a florist get all of the materials for your arrangements, you can purchase flowers at wholesale and provide them to the florist. This will reduce the cost that you need to spend on flowers. Negotiate and have a conversation with your florist about what a tight budget you are on.
   • If you or someone you know has gardens with naturally growing flowers, see if you can use them instead of having to purchase them.
4. Keep the wedding small and simple. Instead of getting ornate and extravagant wedding materials, think small but refined. Keep an open mind and be willing to negotiate the quality of certain things to keep the price down. Speak to your partner and bounce ideas off them so that you stay realistic.
5. Skip the traditional gifts for your wedding party. Typically the bride and groom get gifts for people in the wedding party. If you're on a tight budget, consider skipping this tradition. You can also purchase cheaper gifts if you want to get something but don't want to spend a lot.
   • Affordable gifts for bridesmaids include flowers, books, or cards.
   • Cheap gifts for the groomsman include a flask, whiskey rocks, pocket knives, or luggage tags.
6. Buy decorations on sale. Instead of paying full price for decorations, look for ones that are on sale. Consider altering your wedding's aesthetic if you find a great deal on decorations that you can't pass up. If you want to save even more money, there are shops online that are dedicated to selling used wedding supplies and decorations. Do a search online to find the different sites and take a look at what they have to offer.

Doing Things Yourself

1. Select a free location. Instead of having to rent a room, hall, or outdoor space for your wedding, consider holding your wedding at a free location. If you have a beautiful backyard, consider having the wedding at your house. Think of your family and friends and write down a list of people who have a lot of outdoor space. If you need to rent, consider bartering any skills that you have for a discount on the building or function hall.
   • If you are having your wedding outside, make sure that you have a backup plan in case it rains.
   • If you are asking to use someone else's property, you can say something like "Me and Bill were really looking to save money, and you have a beautiful backyard. What do you think about having our wedding at your place?"
2. Ditch the photographer. Instead of having a professional photographer take photos, consider using your friends to create a photo album that you can remember. Encourage your friends and families to snap photos at the wedding and have them all upload the photos to a file sharing website. You can then create the album yourself, or you can do the project with a close friend.
   • Websites like Eversnap will create an album taken by friends and family at the wedding. These services usually charge a fee.
3. Create guest invitations. Instead of hiring a designer or printer to create custom guest invitations, consider designing and creating them yourself. If you aren't artistically inclined, ask your design-oriented friends for help or use a website like Freelancer, Fiverr, or Etsy to get your designs created cheaply. Then, once you have the design you can print them out yourself.
4. Make the food at your wedding. Catering and food costs can run as some of the highest expenses for any wedding. If you aren't good at cooking, check to see if anyone in your family is and is willing to help. If no one in your family can cook, see if a local culinary school will cater your wedding at a discounted price.
5. Borrow a friend's stereo system for the reception. Instead of renting sound equipment, ask around your circle of family and friends to see if anyone has their own sound equipment that you can use. If your reception hall is smaller, you won't need a commercial grade sound system to play music. Get good speakers and hook them up to a laptop or iPod.
   • Instead of hiring and paying for a DJ see if any of your family or friends wants to be in control of the playlist.
6. Have a less formal reception. Traditionally a reception serves a sit down dinner. Rather than pay the expense for catering, consider a less formal option for your reception. You could have a buffet style reception or have a breakfast or lunch reception earlier in the day. This will cut down on the food cost for your wedding.

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Sources and Citations

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