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Happy Thursday, everyone!
One of the first things we recommend is getting yourself educated on the costs associated with weddings. When you’re thinking about creating a budget, which we talk more about here, you can’t even begin to do this task comfortably and realistically without understanding average costs.
Once you’ve done that, you can begin to wrap your head around where you can save money. To do that, you’ve got to take a hard look at what you and your fiancé value. Is it flowers? Your ceremony? The party? The full experience? Food? Design? Don’t rush through these discussions. Write them down so you can hold yourselves accountable as you start selected vendors and choosing your design elements.
So I can’t tell you exactly where you could save some costs because without chatting, I don’t know where your values lie. However, I can give you ideas to think about, but I urge you to see how it compares to what’s important for you.
Venue.
Be creative! There’s a lot of great spaces out there and they aren’t all dedicated just as a wedding venue. Explore and spend some time here, but be conscious of time because they can get scooped up quickly!
Your date.
Think about a Wednesday? I mean, why not? Your friends can take a half day. Friends and family flying in will likely make it a vacation anyways. And you, well you’ll start your honeymoon on the weekend! Vendors and venues may give you a great price worth the shift!
Transportation.
Really get a picture of what your guest count will be on the bus you’re planning to rent. Do you really need 2 large coaches? Can you get away with 1 school bus instead? Or a smaller coach that seats half the count?
Stationery.
Do your research here. There are so many companies offering work from talented artists. Get samples, see what you like. Look to your local shops as well that don’t necessarily specialize in weddings. They’ll have great pricing!
Hand lettering.
Think about vinyl signs! Explore printed envelopes instead of hand lettered.
Ceremony flowers.
Unless you can reuse these in an impactful way at the reception, your ceremony is a small piece of the day and there won’t be many wide angle shots of the whole space.
Bridesmaid dresses.
Be thoughtful for your girls about where these come from! There are so many great options that don’t have all the high costs associated.
Flowers.
Think about where you would love to use a talented florist and where you could consider other options: purchasing wholesale and asking a friend to help, renting faux flowers, skipping bouquets and having bridesmaids hold something else, minimalist bridesmaids bouquets. Lots of options to explore!
Skip late night food.
Your guests will be fine without it, promise.
Ceremony music.
Explore local schools and ask about student musicians.
Some of these are making you roll your eyes at me because no way you’d skip late night food. You want your best friends psyched at 10:00 pm when those grilled cheeses come out! Or that first impression on your invitation is super important to you, so you can’t imagine passing up hand lettering. I totally understand, which is why you’ve got to think about what works for you!
Now, go tell your fiancé one place you’d like to save some money, so you can spend it on your honeymoon or new home instead. 😉
xo,
Cassie
Photos by: Julie K. Gray
| Site credit Karima Creative
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