13 ways to keep from going broke while wedding planning
Weddings are one of the major expenses a couple will ever come across in their lifetimes. Every year they seem to get more expensive, and creep up there with buying a car or a house. It’s never fun to have to finance your wedding, so here are 13 ways to keep from going broke while wedding planning!
Wedding Planning Rule 1: Create a budget and stick to it.
Let’s be honest, creating a budget is pretty easy. Sticking to it? Not so much. When it comes to your wedding planning, it’s super helpful to plan a budget in advance. However, unless you’re in the wedding industry, vendor pricing is not common knowledge. You can find some pretty awesome budgeting in this series Washington Wedding Budgeting
Buy Used or Gently Loved
You can find plenty of gently used wedding decor for a fraction of what buying it new would cost. Watch Facebook marketplace, offer up and craigslist during the season you’ll be marrying in for the best deals. Example: if you’re getting married summer of 2021, watch for brides selling decor during summer and early fall of 2020.
Borrow the Big Ticket Items
Rent the Runway has some beautiful dresses for engagement sessions, and even wedding style gowns. Flutter Dress Rentals has some gorgeous boho gowns that would make perfect elopement dresses. Other awesome rental options include: Wedding Dress For Rent, Lending Luxury, and Poshare. This is a great way to stretch a small dress budget and save the hassle of figuring out what to do with your wedding dress after the night ends!
Share Costs with other Brides
Co-ops have become super popular across the PNW, and wedding planning should be no different! Find other brides getting married around the same time you are, and start a support/cost sharing group. You can use this group to buy in bulk, pass decor from one bride to another, and even snag floral arrangements (provided the florals are of excellent quality and well taken care of, they should last for a day or two).
Don’t forget to price match
Whether you’re buying online or in store, some stores will price match. This is especially important for the DIYer in us all. Stores like Michaels and Joanns will price match any other brick and mortar store. They’ll also give you the lower price if you find an identical item on their app or website cheaper than in the store. This is also helpful if you’re dead set on pillow mints (both stores carry them) for every guest table.
Pick useful favors or skip them altogether
Seriously skip the favors. I can’t tell you how many “favors” get thrown away after weddings. It’s a bit frustrating when couples spend so much time and money on them! If you’re dead set on favors have an item guests can use at the wedding and then take home. A few of my favorites have been bottle openers, tea cups, mason jar glasses, and shot glasses.
Speaking of favors, cash in your IOUs with crafty friends & family
It’s amazing what our crafty contacts can do. My own mom sewed all our wedding invitations for our 2018 Halloween Wedding. My MIL is a hobby baker, so she gets asked to do wedding cakes pretty often (and even baked the wedding cake for Nicole & Kevin’s Browns Point Wedding). So take a look at anyone who might owe you a favor and cash in on their crafty skills!
Go Commando, or wear something you love
You don’t actually need a white undergarment set for your wedding dress. As long as your favorite bright purple thong doesn’t show through your dress, you’re golden. Many dresses have built in bras too, so a special bra isn’t necessary.
Forgo the Alcohol Bill
This is the #1 large expense many couples have on their wedding day. Imagine how much a group of your 5 favorite friends drinks in an hour. Now multiply that by approximately 20 (for a 100 guest wedding) and again by 4 (a typical time frame for a reception). That’s a lot of alcohol right? Instead, opt for mocktails and check out my favorite mocktail recipes.
Pick Double Duty Decor
Make sure your decor items have multiple uses. When we decided to have a Halloween wedding, I made sure that almost everything I purchased would be useful for our Halloween decor. This made the expense double duty since we were able to build a pretty neat stash. If you’re in love with rustic chic, consider using your own farmhouse decor for the table centerpieces.
Do your own thing and avoid comparison
Don’t wedding plan compare. Sure, it seems like such a great thing that you and your best friend of 30 years are getting married at the same time. Remember though, your visions and budgets may be VERY different and that’s totally OK! And I know this is the hardest thing ever, but once you’ve created a vision and budget for your day… stay away from the wedding blogs. Those blog posts are designed to create wedding envy and cause you to overspend.
Hire an Accountant
Assign a “wedding accountant” to manage your plans. Even better if said person is an actual accountant and can assist in cutting bits from the budget here and there to cover other costs. Those money mathematicians are magical. A super frugal friend will also do the trick here, just remember they’re doing what YOU asked them to in order to save you money!
Permanently Postpone the Parties
Truthfully, you don’t need an engagement party, bridal shower, bachelor/bachelorette party AND wedding reception. Unless you’re needing to build a whole household, skip the parties. The wedding is where it’s at, and guests will feel less like you’re in it for the gifts.
