You Asked; I'm Answering! How to Save on Your Wedding Budget

The number one question I get as a wedding planner, whether in person or on social media is, "How do I save on my wedding budget?" And the answer isn't simple, because it all comes down to a ton of different factors like where you're getting married, how big or small your guest list is, what your priorities are and what your vision is. Every wedding is different. Every set of nearlyweds is different and their priorities just as unique as they are! So this won't be a simple answer; instead, welcome to my new in-depth series: You Asked; I'm Answering! How to Save on Your Wedding Budget.

Today, we're starting with some general areas of places to save and then stay tuned for specific advice within the different wedding planning and vendor categories.

Guest Count

We're starting this list off with guest count, because that's the number one way to affect your budget. It changes the general capacity you'll need at a venue, how many people you're feeding, how much you spend on the bar, how many rentals you need (depending on what your venue includes, that could mean tables, chairs, linens, napkins, glassware, tableware, flatware, etc.), how many centerpieces, favors if you're doing them, etc. The more people, the more you're spending! The less people, the less you spend. It's simple math!

Photo by Rove Coast Photography

Wedding Party

If you're having a wedding party, there are costs to consider on your part. The first is if you're having them carry bouquets or wear boutonnieres. If you are, then the more party members means the more floral you'll need. When we get to the Floral post, I'll talk about some cost-cutting options, but for now, just keep that in mind. The other cost is attire. Now, experts and nearlyweds alike differ on whether wedding party attire should or shouldn't be covered (and I say it's a case-by-case) choice, so that's another one to keep top of mind when building your wedding budget.

Where you get married

And I don't mean the venue; no, I mean the region. Major cities tend to have higher prices across the board because the businesses located there need to survive and pay their costs, and so that cost is passed onto you. But cities differ in cost of living, let alone choosing small towns. Sometimes the cost of a flight to and hotel in a place that costs less can be a significant savings overall. For example, I service the general Portland, Oregon region and surrounding areas, and I've had a number of clients who live in San Francisco or Seattle who chose to marry here to see a big budget savings for them across all vendor categories. It's a little like a destination wedding without any overseas or international travel. And if family is flying in from somewhere anyway, may as well choose a place you will save budget in, maybe in a place that has significance for you two like a place you met, or visited together, or got engaged in, or one of your hometowns or college towns, etc.

Photo by Red Aspen Photography

When you get married

What time of year are your marrying? What day of the week? These things can all impact cost! Most venues offer off-peak season and weekday and Sunday wedding rates that can be significantly less than peak-season Saturday weddings. Yours truly got married on a Friday for just this reason and none of our declines were due to the day of the week. I've had clients choose winter and early spring weddings here in the PNW, because of the cost savings. And while venue cost can be the biggest budgetary impact, I've seen various vendors offer similar discounts or sales to fill in those off-peak times. Keep in mind that peak wedding season will vary depending on the region, so make sure you're doing your research before you bank on some savings.

Wedding Favors

The biggest source of wedding budget waste is always, in my planner opinion, wedding favors. You spend a lot on something you've taken special care to make or buy and then the guests just leave it at the venue where it gets packed up at the end of the night or maybe even thrown in the trash. I had two clients make really useful and creative wedding favors this year, so if you must do favors, my rule if is: make it consumable or make it useful! And a drink koozie with your initials on it isn't very useful anymore.

I hope this was a great start to giving you some ideas for saving on your wedding budget! Make sure to come back for more in this series to find out ways to save in every vendor category.

Happy wedding planning,

Andy <3