Wedding budgets are intense. They are scary to dive into, but they don’t have to be if you take your time to allocate money in a way that best fits your wishes for your wedding AND fits into your budget. Believe it or not… you CAN save money on your wedding day without giving up the things you really want. Here at Affinity Events, we LOVE happy and calm, stress-less Brides, so we are here to help!
Happy (stress free) budget planning, friends!
But how will i save without sacrifice?
PRIORITIZE. Make a list… make a few. Cross things off, Add others. The best way to start your budget is to figure out what things you love and NEED at your wedding and which things you don’t. Start with the most important things and continue to the least important. You’ll have a better understanding of where you can save money once you realize what is important to you and what you cannot do without.
FLORAL. To some brides/couple’s weddings mean lots and lots of pretty FLOWERS. To cut back on costs without giving up the dream of a floral filled reception space that smells of heaven, you can start by giving your florist a color scheme instead of specific flowers. When pinning flowers to your dream boards you may not realize that the floral you are sharing with your florist are out of season during your wedding or are an incredibly expensive floral to begin with. Florists are amazing at creating a vision you have in mind with the florals that do not cost a donated kidney. Trust your florist!
FAVORS. I know we have touched on this before in previous blogs, but favors are NOT necessary. All too often we are at the cleanup stage of a couples wedding night and we are tossing away tables full of the cute candy boxes you worked so hard to create and fill, or even worse- The beer koozies or shot glasses most people forget to grab end up with the couple after the big day… which means you’ll likely have 50 or so of those shot glasses in a box in your basement for like, ever… and no one wants to buy shot glasses with your wedding date and names on them, so resell is out! opt for something that doubles as a favor and a place card, or even go for something that entertains your guests rather than something they need to remember to take home after the 4-5 Vegas bombs you paid for. You truly are giving them enough, no one NEEDS memorabilia from your wedding to take home and toss later. Trust us.
STATIONARY. This is 2019-20. Computers are our world. Most people do everything online. Skip the RSVP cards and have an RSVP page on your wedding website and add that to the invite. Save on Escort cards or Programs by utilizing a larger version of something on a board or an old window… all this extra paper WILL be thrown away by 98.9% of your guests. Save a tree and a penny!
WEBSITES. Wedding websites are becoming a VERY popular thing! It’s a wonderful way to get all the information out there without needing to send out paper copies of maps, rsvp, save the dates, etc. You can make the cutest website with literally EVERY thing about you, your partner, your wedding party, the wedding itself, the menu- you name it, you can have it on the website. BUT paying for a wedding website is senseless. You can get a free site to use from many different platforms (theknot.com-Weddingwire.com) Rather than paying money to host a website, buy a domain, etc. Scroll right past all those money sucking websites and use a free version!
OFFICIANT. Consider asking around to family and friends if they are Ordained. You’d be surprised how many people are. If you are lucky enough, using a family member or friend to marry you, will save you a big chunk of money!
ASK. Ask vendors if they offer discounts for paying in full or paying in cash. Some vendors add a processing fee and some offer the pay in full discounts to save them to hassle of collecting more payments. Never hurts to ask.
MUSIC. Do you know anyone who plays the violin? How about a talented cousin who sings beautifully while playing piano? Think about asking someone you know to play/sing at your ceremony. Nothing beats live music. It’s so beautiful when you are watching this glowing, stunning bride walk down the aisle with her brother singing and playing guitar in the background as tears stroll down EVERYONES face. Save the DJ for the after party and you’ll save a few hundred dollars!
RENTALS. People think they save by doing things DIY. I am here to tell you, you absolutely DO NOT. Unless you buy something used and get it dirt cheap, your centerpiece DIY project is likely to run you $40 per table rather than $20 per table you can rent it all for… also saves on work or having to hire someone to bring all your DIY creations to life. Another fun tip is asking your vendor if they have any events going on the same weekend, if so, they MAY be using a certain rental company which you could then ask that rental company to cut you a deal if you used the same chairs/tent/etc. This would save you a delivery cost. Like I said before, never hurts to ask.
LABELS. When you go to a wedding you likely know the couple… you do not need to be reminded everywhere you look with little monograms on all the napkins. You also know you will be fed, and do not necessarily have a choice in what’s being served so peaking at a menu does nothing but cost $$$ for the bride and groom. Skip the lables. There is no need to label the bar, have menus or have everything monogrammed. The cost with these things may be small, but small things add up and after dropping 15-20k, I promise a few hundred dollars in savings will mean the world to you.
JEWELRY. Something borrowed? Something Blue? Jewelry is the perfect excuse for that old saying. Borrow the jewelry your Grandmother wore at her wedding, Use your mothers favorite earrings…. It will become a cherished part of your wedding day and a chunk of cash you’ve added to your pockets. Can’t beat it.
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