Say ‘I Do’ to Affordable Weddings
Published on April 8, 2010 by admin · 11 Comments
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Two Key Steps to Wedded Bliss:
- Pay for what is most important to you; don’t shell out silly money on things that don’t matter. No matter what Mom says.”Your guests will remember your vows and how great the party was,” says Lori, “No one remembers how expensive your pew decorations were or whether you had designer shoes!”
- Think outside the wedding box. Millions of couples have battled the wedding industrial complex and found creative ways to save. Here, highlights from readers:
- Swap. Ask friends to do your flowers, wedding album, hair, makeup, music, etc., in lieu of a gift.
- Substitute. Wear a white cocktail dress; have a tapas party instead of a dinner; get married on Friday.
- Track costs. Planning takes months, so monitor spending in a Google doc shared with your mate or parents.
- DIY. Whatever you can, from invites to hors d’oeuvres.
We liked the advice in this SmartMoney article, and the budget worksheet here-and the warnings about rip-off scams here. Budget wedding resources are plentiful, so keep clicking to have the happiest financial day of your new life together!
Want tips on how to throw a GREEN and CHEAP wedding? Check out some our *favorite* tips for an ECO Wedding HERE. AND: Check out the top 5 ways to save on your wedding (via the author of “The Tax Deductible Wedding”) HERE.
Have any favorite wedding saving tips that worked for you? Do share in the comments section below!
DailyWorth is a free daily personal finance email for women. They deliver practical tips, empowering ideas and the occasional kick in the pants.
Tags: affordable weddings, budget wedding planning, budget weddings, Cheap Wedding, Daily Worth, Eco Wedding, green party throwing, green weddings, how to throw a cheap wedding, how to throw an inexpensive wedding, HRC, Marriage Equality, mp dunleavy, planning a wedding on a budget, smartmoney, vegan weddings
Readers Comments (11)
Good article. I’m an Officiant, and my fees are reasonable.
For what it’s worth, my wedding (18 years ago!) was SUPER cheap. We did the following.
1. I wore my mother’s dress. Spent $20 on alterations and $35 to have it dry cleaned. $55 for a wedding dress is about as cheap as it gets.
2. I made my headpiece. It’s amazing what $15 at a craft store can buy…and it looked very nice.
3. I had my cousin, with his very nice car, act as my “limo driver”.
4. We did hire a pro photographer, but chose a simple package and asked friends to give us copies of whatever pics they took as well. Our fav pics were NOT the professional ones, though they were good.
5. We had my father-in-law (a minister) perform the ceremony. FREE
6. We chose the simplest invitations imaginable — most people throw them away eventually anyway, so why spend a ton there?!!!
7. We did spend a little on flowers and it’s one of the splurges that I don’t regret. Even the simplest of settings can be transformed by beautiful flowers (we were also married in the summer, when flowers are abundant).
8. We hired a DJ rather than a band, and we provided him with a playlist. No guessing as to what we wanted to hear during our reception.
9. We did NOT serve alcohol, though there was a cash bar. A few alcoholic relatives totally enjoyed themselves without putting a dent in our budget.
10. We served a buffet-style meal, not fancy, but nobody complained. We simply had a large room in a nice restaurant for the reception.
11. We didn’t go crazy inviting people; I think there were 100 people there. Certainly not a tiny wedding, but not huge either.
12. We saved for two years just to put this shindig on!
13. I wear my husband’s grandmother’s wedding ring; he wears my (deceased) father’s wedding ring. RINGS WERE FREE.
14. We had a friend who can REALLY SING sing at our wedding, and a friend who is a professional pianist play. USE YOUR TALENTED FRIENDS!!!
15. I got my shoes at Payless; unless you regularly wear white/off white shoes, why spend a ton on them?
16. I did my own makeup and hair. I was so relaxed the morning of the wedding that I also did my sister’s hair and my best friend’s hair.
17. I skipped the manicure and told the photographer I didn’t need the usual shot of husband-and-wife hands.
I think, even including the week-long honeymoon in Maui that we found through a budget travel agent, we didn’t spend more than $2500 on the entire wedding/honeymoon.
It is very possible to have a lovely, even tradition-filled, event without breaking the bank.
And, in case anybody needs reminding — the MARRIAGE is a whole lot more important than the wedding!!
Elaine: What fabulously useful tips!! I’m sure many ladies will find this uber helpful!
We saved enough on our wedding to be able to go to Canada for our honeymoon!
This is a message from La Rochelle / France ……. I’m a Green/Friendly designer and I’ll follow Elaine’s tips, too
A nice souvenir for all romantic brides : save the last slots from where you spended your honeymoon, and send me them; you’ll receive the more modest and pretty bracelet you ever had … a small something to wear with ……… LOVE
The price is up to you, girls !
Just send me a message
Regine
I just don’t like the tone of this post that denigrates couples who want to throw an epic party for all their family and friends to celebrate the couple’s love and committment to one another. You absolutely should only buy what you can afford and shouldn’t feel pressured to spend whatever amount of money the industry standard is for things like dresses, flowers, photography, etc–IF YOU DON’T WANT TO. Those of us who LOVE an incredible dress and want to remember it for a lifetime, or want Candle 79 to cater an amazing sit-down dinner for us, or go all out with a spread of flowers reminiscent of the Garden of Eden should do that if they want, as long as they have the cash! Judging what other people spend their money on, as long as their spending isn’t hurting anyone else, is pretty petty and dumb.
And also, I HATE the judgment that people who throw grand weddings aren’t actually focused on the marriage. That’s BS, and yet again petty and offensive and wreaks of latent jealousy for those who can afford to spend more.
And by the way, I am not having a platinum wedding, my wedding is going to be costing us on the very low end of the average NYC wedding, but I have made quite a few splurges that I’m entirely happy with and don’t think anyone has the right to judge me for them.
Thanks alot – your answer solved all my problems after several days srutglgnig
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This website has really good info on planning weddings that are on a budget and that are eco-friendly –
http://www.eventleadershipinstitute.com/course-details-Event-Management-Companies-Creative-Within-Budget.aspx
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