Top Tips to Save Money on your Wedding Day

Top Tips to Save Money on your Wedding Day

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Ways to save money on your Wedding

Chances are, there’s something you’re dreaming about for your wedding day that might be just a wee bit over-the-top: a statement flower wall that rivals Kim and Kanye’s crazy wall of blooms; not one, not two, but three stunning wedding gowns, à la Chrissy Teigen or Serena Williams; or, maybe just a diamond tiara worthy of a princess (I see you, Kate Middleton and Meghan Markle). But here’s the thing: All that style is really, really expensive.

Here are some top tips and ideas to help the two of you save money! So you can afford the things that are really important to you for your big day.

Top wedding money saving tips by JB Moments Photography

Consider other days of the week

A Friday wedding will save you thousands on your wedding venue. Even better: A Sunday wedding. Often food and beverage minimums are lower, which is great for smaller parties.

Stationery Savings

Love the look of letterpress for your wedding invitation suite, but not the price? Splurge on it for the main invitation but choose less-expensive flat printing for insert cards.

If you like the look and feel of thicker paper stock, use two-ply for your invitations and make the rest of the insert cards one-ply only.

Skip the envelope liner. Using a colourful or otherwise untraditional outer envelope in lieu of an interior envelope liner means you could pay less per invitation—plus it’s a fun surprise when it shows up in your wedding guests’ mailboxes.

When it comes to your wedding invitation inserts, you can save a lot by having a single insert directing guests to your wedding website instead of multiple cards for your details & logistics, like transportation and details about the hotel room block you’ve set up for your guests.

One more way to save on your printing costs? Print just one ceremony program per couple, instead of one per guest.

Flowers for less

Florists can get discounts by ordering just three to five types of flowers in bulk. Create a chic, uniform centrepiece by grouping together monochromatic blooms in individual vases—for example, one of white hydrangeas, another of white tulips and another of white calla lilies.

Don’t underestimate the beauty of greenery in your bridal bouquet. It’s inexpensive and adds a lot of size and texture to arrangements.

You need only two or three large blooms with a little bit of filler to create bridesmaids’ bouquets that are minimalist cool—and cheaper apiece.

Skip the buttonholes, which can set you back £££. Encourage your partner and the gents in the bridal party to sport pocket squares instead.

Photography bills

Consider booking your photographer for six to eight hours instead of a full day, which is typically 10 to 12 hours. They’ll still capture all the important moments, but you’ll pay less. Many photographers (like myself 😉 ) offer half-day or smaller packages that offer savings.

To save on your wedding photography, you can always choose a less-expensive package that doesn’t include hard-copy prints and albums. Those can always be bought and/or printed later.

Instead of renting a photo booth for hundreds of pounds, create a Polaroid station with a few cameras, props and tons of film. It’s just as fun!

Transport costs

If you can plan your wedding day so that your ceremony and reception are at the same venue—or at two locations that are within walking distance of each other—you can save cash by eliminating the need for guest and wedding party transportation.

Cake cash

If you don’t really want a custom tiered cake with all the bells and whistles, choose a smaller display size and supplement with a statement-making dessert bar, or serve tray cake, which is much cheaper per slice. Some bakers will decorate ‘faux’ cakes for you and can serve cheaper tray cake after you’ve done the obligatory cutting!

Want the look of expensive sugar flowers, gold leaf or hand-painted accents? Ask your baker to decorate just the edges of the tiers to reduce the cost.

Or choose a simple buttercream or fondant cake, which is less per serving, and provide your own decorations. Fresh flowers, a personalized topper, colourful fruit… the possibilities are endless!

Money for munchies

Order late-night snacks or evening buffet for only 70 per cent of your headcount. Some guests may leave early, and others won’t want to eat.

Last but not least

Consider wedding insurance. Despite even the best-laid plans, sometimes events beyond your control can cause things to go wrong on your big day.

Illness, weather and business liquidations are all factors that could scupper your wedding day, so having the right affordable insurance policy could save you hundreds or even thousands of pounds if something unexpected did happen.

Wedding insurance policies are relatively inexpensive and can be tailored to fit your wedding plans so they are worth considering if you are spending a significant amount.