Five Ways We’re Saving Money On Our Wedding

One thing I wish I knew before getting engaged was how expensive weddings truly are. I personally wanted to elope because how much weddings actually cost gave me anxiety. Of course, I’m excited about our wedding, but the pressure to have the perfect wedding can be very overwhelming. Here are five ways to save money on you and your partner’s big day.

Something New, Something Borrowed

One thing I don’t understand is the shaming that goes along with buying secondhand items, especially for weddings. Reach out to friends that recently got married to see if they have anything they’re getting rid of. Things like decorations, signs, or even tableware. A lot of brides buy brand new, but then those items are literally only used for one day. I’ve also been keeping tabs on Facebook Marketplace for things like vases, dried flowers, and candles. Save even more money by thrifting at your local thrift store for some unique decor. Not only does buying secondhand prevent them from going into the landfill, but you also can save a little bit of cash. Huge shout out to Nolan’s cousin, Kaila, for letting us use her table numbers and a few other things.

Going Green with Minimal Table Decor

I asked a few of my friends that got married recently what they wish they didn’t waste money on. The thing they said they regretted most was buying elaborate table decor and place settings. Of course, this is all a preference, and if you want to go all out, go for it! I’m going to keep our table decor simple with maybe some greenery like eucalyptus and baby’s breath. We’ve also been saving ‘oui’ yogurts over the past year to repurpose those with floating candles. The average centerpiece for a single table can range from $50 to $500!! If your heart is set for each table to have a floral centerpiece, talk to your florist and see if they can use flowers that would otherwise be thrown away in the piece. Most of the time, there is nothing wrong with these flowers but they just aren’t as ‘perfect’ as they should be. I will also have different vases of water for my bridesmaids to put their bouquets in which will add to the table decor without adding any additional costs.

BYOB Please

Finding a venue that is BYOB (bring your own alcohol) can save you a BOATLOAD of money. Nolan was adamant about having an open bar and I wanted to have signature drinks for people to order all night, not just for the first hour. With a lot of venues, this wasn’t possible to have or it was going to cost us about four to five thousand dollars for the size of our wedding. I don’t drink very much so this just wasn’t going to fly, but that’s when we found Agave of Sedona. We’re going to go to Costco a couple of weeks before the wedding to buy all of the alcohol, beer, and mixers we might need. I don’t anticipate spending over a thousand dollars on just alcohol, but if we do, we can take back any alcohol that isn’t opened back to Costco for a refund. Who is really going to be able to tell the difference between Grey Goose and Kirkland Vodka? The answer is no one and if you can tell, I’ll buy you a drink.

Let Mother Nature Do Her Magic

I’m not going to lie, I fell in love with those big arches that are covered in fresh flowers. I think they’re absolutely beautiful and I would love to have one, but thinking more about it, I wanted Sedona’s Red Rocks to shine. We’re thinking about doing a simple setup with the ceremony chairs in a semi-circle facing the red rocks and away from the sun. Instead of doing an arch, I might just hang some floating tea lights in mason jars on the back railing for a little something, something. One of the biggest guilts I personally feel when it comes to weddings is the flowers. Yes, they’re beautiful, but they end up just dying and being thrown away. By going with a simple ceremony, it’ll save us anywhere between $1,000 to $4,000.

DIY That ish, baby

Wedding favors have been a hot topic lately, some people love them and some people think they are pointless. I fall between both of these stances. Honestly, I love a good favor like a polaroid picture keepsake or something like that, but I don’t need any more Koozies (no offense). We are going to buy our favors in bulk and then customizing each one with all of our guests’ names on them. By customizing the favors ourselves and using them as place cards on the tables, we’ll be able to use them for two purposes instead of just one. We will also be doing a craft table for the kids instead of the favors which will cut the cost down a bit as well. I’ll be using my cricut for a lot of the wedding decor & favors. Let me know if you want to see any tutorials with what I’m creating! You can even save more money by not doing favors at all, do whatever you want!

Check out my other blog posts about wedding planning by clicking here. Have any more tips on how you saved money on your wedding? Let me know down below.