How To Do A Wedding On A Budget
Elopements and smaller, more budget-friendly weddings are fast becoming a very popular choice since the pandemic, and more couples are realising that you don’t need to spend vast amounts of money to create your special day. If you are thinking about cutting back and focusing on the things that truly matter most, then have a read through my ideas (based on my own experience) on how to create a more budget-friendly wedding, without skipping out on the important parts!
Why You Should Consider Doing A Wedding On A Budget (Based On My Own Experiences)
Our Wedding. Photo By Dominic Smith Photography
When we started planning our wedding, everything in the world was pretty normal, therefore we started planning what I would call a ‘typical’ British wedding, including a ceremony, drinks reception and photos, followed by a wedding meal then continuing on to a party with a DJ, buffet and all our extra evening guests. For the day we had 80 guests and 150 in the evening and it was to all take place in one venue. So including our honeymoon our estimated total ended up being in the region of £18-20,000. That’s an enormous amount of money, but unbelievably that figure is way below the average nowadays.
However as the coronavirus pandemic struck we had to face an incredibly difficult decision in whether we postpone our entire event to the following year, or still get married, even if it ended up being just the two of us, and having to cancel our original planned wedding. It was a decision we never imagined having to make, but we decided that the whole point was to get married to each other, so why on earth would we prioritize the big party aspect? Our venue ended up cancelling on us anyway a mere 4 weeks before our wedding date so we had to scramble to plan a wedding from scratch in less than a week in order to still get married on our original date.
Whilst this was not a thing I would ever wish anyone to go through it did give us a huge amount of perspective. Firstly, we are so incredibly lucky to have such amazing friends and family who immediately came to our aid and helped, alongside incredibly kind wedding vendors who did everything they could to make sure our day could still happen. One thing it did make us realize though, was why on earth we would have ended up spending nearly £20,000 on our wedding. Our wedding ended up having only 20 guests for the ceremony and 10 guests for the meal afterwards, which (after many refunds) ended up saving us over £10,000. And whilst the day was certainly unique under the circumstances, and it was sad that we couldn’t spend it with all of our loved ones, we still got married and it was still such a wonderful day spent with those closest to us.
The point I’m trying to make is this. When we first started planning our wedding, we started spending loads because we just assumed that ‘this is how weddings are’ and ‘this is how much it costs so we will pay it’. Not true. If you actually sit back and work out what is genuinely important to you, then you can actually forgo all the unnecessary things and have a day that is completely unique to you, whilst inevitably saving a ton of money. If this sounds good to you, then keep reading on to my tips on doing your wedding on a budget.
First, Add Up The Essential Expenditures
When planning a wedding there are some aspects that you must have regardless of whether your wedding is big, small, expensive or on a budget. These include the legal parts such as hiring a registrar for civil ceremonies or paying the church in religious ceremonies. You cannot have a legal marriage without this; therefore these should be the first essential things you budget for. Technically everything else is optional!
The prices you pay for the church or registrar will depend on your venue location or parish. Different parishes charge different amounts for weddings, as do different venues in each county. For example, we originally paid around £480 for a registrar for our original hotel wedding venue in West Sussex. When this was cancelled we went to the church instead. For the church wedding we paid around £300 to the parish and £200 to the vicar, alongside £45 for our banns certificate (which you will need to get married in most churches I believe).
My Top Tips For Saving Money
Once you’ve added up the necessary costs, you can then sit down and work out how much you want to pay for everything else. You may have a specific budget in mind, or you might just want to save as much money as you can in each area of the wedding. Follow my tips below to prevent any frivolous spending!
No.1- SMALLER GUEST LIST
Unfortunately, the number one killer of your wedding budget is the headcount. The catering is a huge part of the budget so if you have a lot of guests, it adds up very quickly. A larger guest count may also mean you have to find a venue that can host a larger amount of people, which once again racks up the pounds. So cutting back on your list should be the first place to look when doing a wedding on a budget.
No.2- RECONSIDER YOUR VENUE OPTIONS
Wedding venues are monstrously expensive, there is no other way to say it. When we were looking for our venue, we originally liked the idea of a barn wedding, but we were quoted an average of £7,000 just to hire one, and that’s without the catering and décor on top! So if you want a proper wedding venue, places like hotels can be a cheaper alternative, especially as most hotels offer catering within the price too, maybe even accommodation as well. If you aren’t overly fussed about where you hold your wedding or reception though, you could consider holding it at your home (or a family members home). If you know anyone with a big field, why not ask for their help and hire a marquee to put in it? Thinking out of the box when it comes to your venue can save you some serious money.
No.3- GO FOR SECOND-HAND
This is going to be one of the best days of your life, so if you want to splurge on certain things (like your dress for instance!) then you shouldn’t have to justify your purchases. It’s your day! If you do want to cut back though, then there are some simple ways to do so, such as purchasing second-hand items. There are so many shops and online websites that sell second-hand wedding items like dresses, accessories, décor and more. Likewise, if you’ve made a load of DIY décor for your wedding and now you’re not sure what to do with it, you can sell it online too to another bride-to-be and get some of your money back!
No.4- ALTERNATIVE WEDDING STATIONARY
A lot of recommended stationary is actually very unnecessary in my opinion. For example, you really don’t need to print an order of the day, let alone a copy of it for every single one of your guests! In my opinion the only important piece of stationary is the invites. But regardless of what stationary you choose to have, you can saves hundreds by thinking outside the box a little. For example, I created my own invitation design in Canva for free, then had them printed at Vistaprint along with rsvp and information cards. All I had to do was put them all together into the envelopes. They looked amazing and saved me hundreds. If you want your stationary professionally designed and printed though, then consider cutting back on certain things. For example, every guest doesn’t need an order of the day, so just print one or two and pin them up where everyone will see them. Same goes for menus; if you really need them, then have one on each table instead of one per person!
No.5- CONSIDER SKIPPING A FEW OF THE SMALLER DETAILS
There are some details that you may love but there may also be some that you may think unnecessary. Favours is a big one. Whilst they are a nice sentiment, they can end up costing you hundreds, only for most of your guests to forget them and leave them behind! No one will notice if you don’t have favours believe me, so if they aren’t a priority to you then scrap them. Same goes for things like the bridesmaids and groomsmen gifts on the day. You don’t have to do them at all, but if you do want to, they don’t need to cost the earth.
No.6- ENLIST HELP FROM FRIENDS AND FAMILY
Whilst I usually tend to advise couples that they should always hire a wedding professional wherever possible (for many reasons!) if you are serious about saving money, then getting help from your friends and family could be a possibility. For example, if you have a friend that runs a café or any sort of catering business, you could ask for their help. I would only recommend this though if they really know what they’re doing. For example, asking your friend who is ‘good at baking’ to do your wedding cake could end up causing you a few issues when they realize there is a lot more that goes into making a wedding cake than a normal cake! But if you want your wedding to be a relaxed, more casual affair, getting your friends and family involved could be a lovely experience, as well as saving you some money.
No.7- MOST IMPORTANTLY
Finally the most important thing to remember when planning your wedding- who are you planning it for? After all the chaos of the pandemic, we came to realise that the majority of our wedding was for our guests not us. Yes you want to spend your day with all your friends and family, and yes you want to show them a good time, but your guests’ happiness shouldn’t be a priority over your own. After all, this day is about the two of you getting married, not just about hosting a big party! So when you are making decisions, especially difficult ones, try to think about who the decision will benefit. Why should you pay for something you don’t want just because it’s ‘the norm’ for your guests? This may sound a tad harsh, but if you are really determined to stick to a budget, this is an important factor to think about.
Hopefully this was helpful for you and I wish you lots of luck in your wedding planning journey! If you want more tips on keeping costs down, want to know how much each aspect of the wedding could cost, and tips on how to create a set budget, visit my blog post ‘Wedding Budget Tips’ here.
