How to save money on our wedding?

Question

okay so my fiance and i are young (18 and 20 when we get married) and are pretty much paying for the wedding on our own. So im just wondering what kind of things can i do to cut down on the costs of our big day?

Answer 1

Try to have an outdoor wedding, such as a beach or a nice garden/park that's private. You will only need to have permits from the city (reception only) and it's cheap and easy to do.

hire vendors that are starting out fresh in the business. They are always cheaper and it's easier to bargain with them for a lower rate. They're more interested in clients than money so they can start up their portfolios.

another saving money tip is to keep the decorations on a small budget. Add some beautiful candles instead of using flowers for centerpieces. It will create your reception area a nice romantic glow throughout the night. Also, christmas lights are AMAZING! (the white ones, not the colorful ones). once you turn down the lights in your reception area, and you turn those lights on, it creates a beautiful area as well. They're very cheap and all you need is someone to help put them up.

Answer 2

Don't have a wedding.

Answer 3

Have a daytime wedding instead of a nighttime wedding. This is because daytime meals are cheaper, and the theme is usually a bit more casual (don't worry it can still be beautiful and classy). If you'd like to avoid a bar (which can really drive up the overall price), have the wedding on a Sunday afternoon. You can have brunch or an ice cream reception. Make your own favors and invitations; there are a lot of nice products for the DIY bride. When looking for a wedding dress, shop for last year's clearance models. You can find a beautiful dress for a budget price. Good luck.

Answer 4

Keep your guest list small. Immediate family, and a few close friends.

Avoid telling anyone your having a wedding, then the price doubles or triples

Use students or people who are starting out in business. You can get some great deals that way.

Get married off season, choose a day in the week. That will save you a ton of money.

Forget the favors most of the time people throw these away

If your going to have live flowers chooses flowers that are in season and inexpensive.

Get your wedding rings when you have coupons. I helped my friend get her wedding rings for $170.00, using a couple of coupons and my J.C. Penney employee discount.

I hope this helps. good luck :)

Answer 5

Keep your guest list small first off. Find a venue that has the catering there. That way you aren't paying for a place and then the food/drink separate. No open bar. Hire a college student as a photographer (one that is taking photography as a major obviously) Make your own favors/your own bouquets/place cards. Buffets are cheaper then sit downs. Or even do an appetizer reception. Do cupcakes instead of a cake. Check orientaltrading.com. Look into buying a used dress. Keep your bridal party small.  

Answer 6

See best budget tips ever here:

http://community.theknot.com/cs/ks/user/...

I think it is a good idea to consider wearing a white bridesmaid's dress, instead of an expensive bridal gown . . . as this bride did.

http://community.theknot.com/cs/ks/user/...

Have the wedding at a non-meal time.  Then serve cake, punch and finger foods at the reception.  Much less expensive than serving a full meal.

Keep your guest list as small as possible.

Answer 7

Avoid anything marketed as 'wedding' since it will automatically be 10x more expensive than the same product in the other end of the store that doesn't say 'wedding' that is also higher quality.

Sit down with your fiance and make a list of things you can't live without, things you can live without but are nice to have, and a list of things that you don't want to include at all. Use those as a guideline to keep yourself on track.

Either do a simple cake and punch reception without alcohol obviously since you are both underage, or have your favorite local restaurant do the catering. Most are more than happy to work with you, you would already know you love the food, and they are much cheaper than the base price of a wedding caterer and you may end up with freebies that a wedding caterer would nickel and dime you for.

In your everyday life, cut down on unnecessary expenses. Make coffee at home instead of going to Starbucks everyday. Take your lunch to work whenever possible. Go to the library for books and dvds rather than buying them new or spending a ton of money at the theater. The list goes on.

Answer 8

One thing our church is good about doing for those that want it, is the mother of the bride (or someone you trust) makes a list of recipes and food items they want to have for the reception food, and gets the older ladies in the church to make them. They deliver them to the church in either some local pottery that most people in our town has or silver/crystal. Whatever you choose. Then have someone making sure the food is put out the way you like and to receive the food - kind of run the kitchen. It's a nice gesture by the church family. If you don't have a church family, you could get friends of your parents to do this.

Another idea . . . I went to a wedding of a couple who met in a coffee shop. They were trying to save money so they had a "coffee shop" theme reception. And I think it went over the best out of any wedding that I had been to this year! (and probably the cheapest) They just have two different types of coffee, flavored tea, water, and sugar cookies, nuts, maybe muffins - things you'd find in a coffee shop, and their wedding cake.  Very inexpensive and it was a hit. They also had some checker boards and chess games set up for people to play at a few tables.

Be creative and put your stamp on your wedding and it will be perfect!! Good Luck!!  

Answer 9

not have one because you are going to get divorced anyway

Answer 10

don't let anyone tell you that you are too young because when you know you just know and you have to take those chances to find out ..that's what life is all about!! As for cutting costs ..http://www.myweddingfavors.com/unique-fa...  - this site is the best for wedding favors and they are adorable and really afforable!!

You can save money by opening a seperate account for the wedding fund and just contribute to it whenever you can ..or even just start buying little things now for the wedding so it's not a huge cost!! :)

Also, second hand dresses can be a good thing ..you can get designer dresses for cheap if you really look!!

Answer 11

Here are some suggestions: Make your own favors.  We had harvest knots at ours and I braided all 300 of them myself, each knot being 4 separate braids of raffia ribbon ordered online from a wholesaler.  Make your own invitations instead of ordering them.  How much you save here depends on the size of your guest list.  We had about 300 on ours, so the savings was really only about $30 or so.  I suspect the savings might be greater with a smaller guest list.  Definitely go to bridal shows if just to get the coupons and nothing else.  I was able to get a coupon for my gown, found the one I wanted in my hometown using the coupon, then found a store in the wedding location with the same gown that matched the price.  They have all sorts of deals there that do not involve committing to anything.  Use potted plants for your floral decorations, such as mums.  Leave them in the pots and then you will still have them to plant later.  

Probably the biggest hit we had was transforming a honeymoon picture into a postcard using one of the online places, and then sending those postcards as thank you cards for gifts.  Saves the cost of the thank you card, saves on postage, and everyone will love it.  

Answer 12

I just got married in May and I did things cheap but beautiful!

Find a place that you can get married on a Sunday. Fri/Sat are usually more expensive or have a minimum you have to spend. We did a brunch, breakfast food is cheaper. So it s a buffet compared to a sit down.

Also, my mom and myself did all my flowers. And they were FAKE! We spend $200 on 15 centerpieces, my bouquet, 2 others bouquets,  and 5 boutonnieres.

Veils cost a lot of money....I made mine, they actually have veil making kits at Walmart. I spend $5!

Good luck!

Answer 13

There are some fabulous ideas here already for you and good on you for even thinking about saving money, that is such a good start to your new life. You are already sounding very mature for your ages!

We made all the invitations at my daughters wedding and instead of a photographer we gave the camera (it was a very good digital, so easy to use) to our nephew (13 years old) and let him go wild!  Honestly they were the best photos ever.  My daughter did not want stuffy poised photo's with fake smiles, she just wanted him to snap away at anything and anybody. It was fun, memories forever, gave him something to do, cost nothing for a photographer and we just printed a couple for frames and thank you cards.

Enjoy your time as a bride and all the best for a very happy future together.

PS:  Thanks for giving the snowboarder a mouthful.  Makes you wonder why he would even answer this question.  A little jealous maybe????

Answer 14

Have a garden wedding at a local park, but make sure with the shire or council, municipility that you can get married there, as you may need a permit. (sometimes they are a small fee, some can exploit, some of the councils where i live will charge $200 just for photos).

Different churches will have different fees depending on where they are,(If the church is in an area that get alot of tourists, or it is by the sea or in the city they will charge up to $1,500, but other lesser known churches in lesser known suburbs may charge up to $250) Celebrants can be expensive too, sometimes it is best to go to a church as the minister is included in the packaage.

You can reduce the costs by using a restaurant as apposed to a reception centre, even chinese restaurants have wedding banquets. You could have a reception in a backyard of a friends or reletives house, or in a park.

Get guests to buy they're own drinks at the bar, or BYO at some restaurants.

Use friends cars instead of a hire car, get disposible cameras for each table and have guests take photos, instead of the professional photographer at the reception. They only need to be at the Ceremony and family photos.

Buy a dress on sale( sometimes birdal gown stores will have sales on during the year)

Look around for florists, they are all different prices.

If this is too expensive tell people you will elope, then have a cocktail party at your house when you get back.  

Answer 15

You can get tons of wedding supplies at walmart. My boyfriends brother and his wife got their runner, wedding ring pillow, guest book, decorations, and wedding favors, and some other things there. You should really check it out before you start buying more expensive items at all these 'discount' websites.