If you want to know how to cut wedding costs, consider six ways to trim your budget and make it work. This guide should help you modify your first wedding plan to save money on your wedding.
Cost-cutting is not as stressful as it seems, but couples usually are worried that it’ll mean settling for a wedding they don’t like. And to help you increase your budget if needed, read how to pay for a wedding.
How To Cut Wedding Costs: 6 Ways To Make Your Budget Work
Have a small wedding
- The first factor you can modify and adjust to trim your wedding expenses is the type of wedding you’re having
- The size of your wedding or the number of guests you’re having will significantly influence the wedding costs; for example, you’ll need a bigger venue and more items for the catering
- Be realistic with the number of people to invite based on your wedding budget; you can always select your close relatives and friends as acquaintances and distant relatives will increase your guest size
- Another way to cut wedding costs is to have a simple wedding; opt for a simple theme and request for a semi-formal or dressy casual dress code as it’ll fit a more lowkey and cheaper celebration
- You can also modify the type of ceremony you’ll have; consider a civil wedding ceremony, then just celebrate afterward to save on the ceremony venue and vendor costs
Consider outdoor venues
- You’ll be surprised how much you can trim from the wedding budget based on the wedding venue you’ll choose
- If your ceremony and number of guests are allowed, why not find an accessible outdoor wedding venue?
- Most parks and beaches in the US only require a small fee to hold a gathering in these outdoor locations; just make sure to follow their regulations
- Nowadays, it’s also no longer considered cheap to have a garden or backyard wedding ceremony; you’ll cut the wedding cost for the venue, so your budget for the wedding will fit more comfortably
- But of course, select a naturally beautiful location as it will save you on wedding decoration costs
Have a short reception
- The wedding reception is not as strict as the ceremony because the couple has already been legally united during this event; therefore, you can modify it according to your budget
- Instead of a wedding reception that can take 4 to 6 hours, you can shorten it to save on the catering and alcohol expenses
- The decors and other elements you’ll also incorporate at the wedding reception can be omitted or substituted to help you manage your small wedding budget
- For example, you can omit the cocktail hour or have a dry wedding to cut costs on the appetizers and alcohol
- How grand you want your wedding reception to be and where you want to hold it will also affect your wedding expenses; consider having the ceremony and reception in the same place or have a simpler restaurant dinner or backyard picnic for the reception
Go digital
- If you don’t want to try the suggestions above to cut your wedding costs, then an element you can modify and compromise is your stationery
- You can send your wedding save the dates and invitations online to save on printing and mailing costs
- If you still want to send invites, then you can maximize your wedding website for the other wedding information than including more cards on your invitation suite; they’ll be cheaper to mail since the envelopes only have the invitation card
Give a chance on newbie wedding vendors
- The wedding vendors you’ll book for the wedding will affect the budget; why not give those new in the industry a chance?
- Newbie photographers, dress designers, decorators, florists, and caterers sometimes offer value-for-money packages to get more clients
- If a friend or family member volunteers being the DJ, photographer, MC, or baker, they can also save you on expenses
DIY your hair and makeup
- You would want to look your best on your wedding day, but if you’re confident in your hair and makeup skills, you’ll also cut wedding costs
- A more straightforward wedding and lowkey dress code also lessen the pressure to have a very glamorous look
- You can always check various bridal makeup tutorials online and practice in the weeks before the big day
What Are The Biggest Expenses For A Wedding?
The biggest expenses for a wedding are the venue, catering, and reception entertainers. The wedding venue takes up 30% of the wedding budget, while the catering can be 20% or higher.
Surprisingly, the wedding reception entertainer such as the band can also take more than 10% of the wedding budget. Therefore, check these areas when you need to cut wedding costs or consider a more reasonable, cost-effective alternative to these wedding needs.
If you need budget-saving tips, you can check our guide on how to have the cheapest wedding possible.
Conclusion
And that’s it! To recap how to cut wedding costs, you can have fewer guests, opt for a cheaper venue, shorten the reception, go digital with invites, find new wedding vendors, and DIY your hair and makeup.
Understand that the venue and catering costs take the most of the budget, so check these areas to trim your wedding expenses. We hope this was helpful; let us know if you have any questions below.