Due to the covid pandemic’s effect on people’s finances, people are looking for ways to reduce their outgoings and stick to a budget. One area where this is becoming more and more prevalent is the wedding industry.
The average cost of a wedding in 2020 was $129,00, which is down $10,000 from 2019, in which the average cost was $29,000. In 2021, it is feasible that budgets could be cut even more as people choose to forgo all the trappings and extravagant wedding day entails.
If you are looking to trim the budget for your wedding, this post looks at some of how you can do this.
What Means More to You?
If you have a reasonable figure to pay out for your wedding day, make a list of everything you need to have. What you are willing to pay for and what you can compromise on. This will allow you to effectively allocate your budget and identify areas you can save money before committing to anything.
It could be that you want elegant and elaborate weddings and flowers, but you can compromise on stationery and décor to cut back costs. This will allow you to book in with a baker who specializes in wedding cakes and a florist such as todayflowers.com to allow you to choose the perfect flowers for your wedding day.
Go Digital
These days, you can forgo the need for many physical wedding items and opt for digital versions, which you can find online for relatively small amounts or even free if you choose to do it yourself.
Wedding invitations, save the date emails, thank you cards, and more can all be done digitally, saving your time and money. Go one step further and create a wedding website where all your guests can find out all the latest information about your wedding. You can post seating plans, order of service, gift lists, timings, directions, and more. You can set up a domain name and website for free using Google’s Blogger platform or free to use WordPress. After all, it will only be temporary, and you want to save as much money as possible.
Use Guest Photography
If you are struggling to afford the cost of a photographer for the day and night, ask for reduced packages to cover the ceremony only. This way, you can use your guest’s desire to capture images to help you build a photo album of the evening part of the day.
Suppose you are going to allow them to post to social media. Create a wedding account on Instagram or a hashtag for them to use when posting to allow you to round up all the images easily. What’s more, some platforms allow you to import Instagram photos to create photo albums or accessories using the pictures your guests have taken. Meaning you can print them out to add to your official wedding photography.
Get Married Off Peak
Choose the time of the year people typically avoid getting married to benefit from lower costs if you hire venues. Get married midweek too, which can also offer you discounts. A midweek wedding will also put off many people from offloading to your wedding, meaning you can streamline the guest list if required too. Call around a few venues and see what rates they offer for hire quieter times n the year to lock in the best prices.
Simple Décor
Keep your scheme relatively simple to avoid having to spend out on décor that you can’t use again. Keep it understated, think less is more, and consider hiring decor over buying it as it could work out cheaper still. Make your own place cards or table settings, or even décor if you can use reclaimed products to make it unique and personal to you.
Avoid paying out for all the little things such as photo booths, sweet tables, dessert bars, etc. Think hard about if you actually really need them or if they are just another expense.
Set A Bar Limit
If you are hosting a free bar, it might be worth putting a limit on it or keeping a close eye on how much it is totaling throughout the day. Instead, you can limit it to a set number of bar tokens per person or have a cut-off time where drinks will be chargeable from. This will give you an idea of how much you will be liable to pay at the end of the night.
Hire Amateur Musicians
You will be paying a lot for a wedding package if you hire a wedding band or DJ. Instead, scope out your local area and choose a popular local band or DJ that you like that will be cheaper than a wedding entertainment package. You might even be able to afford more than one act, depending on the cost.
What Are Your Food Options?
Food is an easy way to cut costs. Your guest will be expecting to eat, but typically buffet prices cost less than sit-down meals, and you can get more for your money doing it this way.
The same goes for the cake. If you don’t have your heart set on a big fancy wedding cake, you can look at DIY options such as donut towers, cupcakes, or an assortment of different cake options. If you really want to cut your food budget, you can look to local providers or even Costco for platters of finger food that will appease your guests or even hire a food truck for part of the celebrations.
Cutting the cost of your wedding doesn’t mean you have to sacrifice everything you imagine a wedding to be. It does mean you need to think long and hard about what a wedding means to you and what you can compromise on to keep the cost down. Rope in family members and friends to help you get more ideas of ways you can save money. After all, they will be joining you so they can help you plan the best wedding for less.
What are some other ways that you can do to cut the cost of a wedding? Let me know in the comments below!
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