Feb. 27, 2020
Getting married can put a serious dent in your bank account, but there are ways to host a fabulous wedding while also sticking to a budget.
Insider spoke to wedding planners to get their tips for cutting costs without sacrificing style.
Here are the best ways to save money on your wedding, according to experts.
Keep your guest list exclusive.
Wedding planner and designer Meggie Francisco told Insider that one of the best ways to cut costs on your wedding day is to be ruthless with your guest list.
"Each guest represents money that could be going toward a home or a college fund for a new baby. Couples who limit their weddings to only their closest family and friends rarely regret it," said Francisco.
Ask your venue's caterers if you can purchase food "on consumption."
Wedding and event planner Greg Jenkins of Bravo Events shared a cost-cutting tip with Insider that may help save couples from covering the cost of uneaten food.
"Ask the venue whether you can purchase food 'on consumption.' Many venues won't propose this to a couple, but the benefit is you only actually pay for food and beverage that is consumed," said Jenkins.
If your venue isn't willing to allow you to purchase all your food "on consumption," try offering to pay a minimum for food and proposing that anything consumed after that amount is paid for as it is eaten.
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At a buffet-style reception, use smaller dinner plates to help stop guests from taking portions that are too large.
Jenkins suggested using slightly smaller dinner plates if you're looking to save cash on a buffet-style reception.
"I suggest using 7-inch rather than 10-inch dinner plates. Guests usually only eat what's on their plate, and smaller plates will help you avoid having to place a reorder for food," said Jenkins.
Ask for pitchers of water with slices of fruit instead of bottled water.
One simple move that could save you hundreds is to swap bottled water with naturally flavored water that's served with style.
"Request pitchers of water with lemon or cucumber slices instead of pricey bottled water. This substitution should also apply to water provided at the bars," said Jenkins.
If your local area's tap water is not ideal, you can still skip on sometimes-pricey water bottles by buying larger jugs of water that can be poured into pitchers.
Make sure your vegetable dishes are in season before ordering them.
Asking for seasonal fare can save you a surprising amount of money if you're planning on serving your guests a salad or vegetable side.
"Request the venue or your caterer to provide seasonal vegetables instead of more pricey items that may be out of season," said Jenkins.
Though your savings will depend on the time of year and your wedding's location, Jenkins told Insider you can easily save a few hundred dollars by serving seasonal food.
Consider shortening the length of your reception if you really want to save.
If you're looking for an easy way to keep your wedding costs down, simply trim the length of your reception.
"Most couples really don't need more than a five-hour reception, including cocktail hour, dinner, and dancing. More intimate weddings with 100 guests or fewer are best ended at four hours," said Francisco.
When you reduce the length of your party, you can save money on alcohol (particularly if you have an open bar) and many other time-sensitive elements, such as entertainment, photography, videography, and transportation.
Rent your bridesmaid dresses instead of buying them.
It's a cliché that bridesmaid dresses are only worn once, but with modern formal-wear rental options, that's not necessarily a bad thing.
By renting dresses instead of purchasing them, you can easily save hundreds of dollars, plus, as Francisco pointed out, you won't be saddling "bridesmaids with another $300 dress that will hang lifeless in their closet after the wedding day."
Sometimes it's cheaper to buy linens instead of renting them.
Though it may sound counterintuitive, wedding planner Emily Monus told Insider that renting event linens like tablecloths and napkins can actually be more expensive than buying them outright.
"Renting linens is expensive because the process to clean them is labor-intensive and included in the rental price. If you purchase your own linens, you will cut costs by over 50%," said Monus.
Plus, after your wedding, you can resell any unused or clean linens to further recoup your costs.
Instead of ordering a big, fancy cake, get a small one to cut for photos and serve your guests a lower-cost sheet cake.
One classic tip for reducing wedding expenses is to serve your guests slices from a plain sheet cake after publicly cutting a smaller, more elaborate cake.
"A wedding cake that can serve hundreds of wedding guests typically starts at $500. Instead, order a fancy 9-inch cake for cutting and display and serve the guests sheet cake in the same flavor," said Monus.
Wedding cakes are almost always sent back to the kitchen for slicing and serving, so your guests likely won't even know the difference.
Repurpose ceremony decor for the reception.
A lavishly decorated ceremony space can look amazing in photos but has the potential to drain your wedding budget — so wedding planner Lizzie Lumley of Hakuna Matata Weddings & Events told Insider that repurposing ceremony decor is a must.
"Couples often spend between $2,000 and $5,000 on ceremony decor that is only used for 10 to 30 minutes. Reusing that decor in the reception is a huge cost-saver," said Lumley.
For example, couples can use bridesmaid bouquets as table centerpieces, floral arches can be placed behind the gift table, and ceremony backdrops can often be used to decorate the space behind the wedding party's seats.
Choose greenery over fresh flowers.
Selecting vibrant greenery over fresh-cut flowers can help keep you from spending a lot on decorations and bouquets.
"For centerpieces, having an arrangement made from fresh greenery like palm, tropical leaves, or ruscus can really help take down the cost," said Lumley.
If you really love flowers but don't have room in your budget for full bouquets, you can pay a bit extra for your florist to place a few blooms within the greenery.
Use digital RSVPs instead of paper cards.
If you're looking for a way to save money on invites but don't want to go totally digital, Lumley suggested using an online RSVP system instead of mailing physical cards.
"Couples who do not really care about invitations can send email invitations, but if you still want a paper invite, you can opt for online RSVP through your wedding website," said Lumley.
To allow your guests to RSVP online, add an RSVP form to your wedding website and include the URL on your paper invites. Alternatively, you can also simply ask your guests send RSVPs via email.
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