Money Can't Buy You Love! Top Tips For Budget Weddings

When you hear that the average US wedding costs $26,000, you may automatically fly into panic mode. As if you haven’t got enough to do trying to plan a wedding, you’ve now got to try and find thousands of dollars for your dream day. That is unless you adopt some savvy money-saving strategies. You don’t have to spend a fortune to enjoy the perfect wedding. The saying goes that money can’t buy you love, so here are some incredible tips for beautiful budget weddings.

Swap Saturday for a weekday

Traditionally, weddings take place on a Saturday, but if you’re willing to sacrifice a weekend wedding, you could save a huge amount of money. There are benefits of tying the knot on a Saturday, but if you give your guests enough notice, they should be able to book time off work during the week. Even if you opt for a Sunday or a Friday, you’re still likely to pay less than you would for a Saturday. It’s also worth trying to avoid peak wedding season if you can. The summer months tend to be most popular. If you get married between January and March or September and November, you may find that fees are significantly lower.

Do your own invites

By the time you’ve designed, ordered and posted save the date cards and invitations, you could have spent hundreds of dollars. The good news is that there are much cheaper alternatives out there. Using programs like Adobe Spark, you can create customized cards for your occasion, and then share them on social media or email them without spending a penny. The vast majority of people check their virtual inboxes as frequently as their mailboxes at home, so there shouldn’t be any worry about guests missing out.

budget weddings invitations — Image via Flickr

Make your ceremony guest list smaller

Many of us dream of having a big wedding, but you’ll soon realize that it costs a lot of money to have a large number of guests at a daytime ceremony. If you can trim down the guest list and add more people to the evening invite list, you could save hundreds or even thousands of dollars. The cost of evening catering, for example, is usually much lower, especially if you’re having a sit-down wedding breakfast.

budget weddings couple — Image via Pixabay

Make your own entertainment

If you want a DJ and a photo booth, the cost of entertaining your guests will soon add up. The good news is that you can make your own entertainment. Set up a DIY photo booth with an array of fancy dress props, and leave a camera and a tripod or a tablet, which your guests can operate to take snaps. Make your own playlist rather than forking out for a DJ. Many venues have integrated light and sound systems, so you should be able to press play and hit the dancefloor. If there isn’t access to speakers, you could look into hiring them for the evening.

budget weddings photo booth — Image via Pixabay

There’s no doubt that weddings can be costly affairs. If you don’t have an unlimited budget, don’t write off your dream wedding. It is possible to make huge savings and plan a day that gives you everything you want and more without blowing the budget.