7 Tips for Planning a Wedding on a Budget

Planning a wedding without depleting your bank account may seem like an impossible task. Between paying for your wedding dress, the venue, decorations, and the cake, your wedding may seem more like a stressful event than a celebration of love. But with the right planning, you can enjoy your wedding without going bankrupt.

Read on to discover seven tips for planning your wedding on a budget.

1. Have a Small Guest List

More guests cost more money. So if you want to save money on your wedding, keep it intimate. Come up with an estimate of the guests you can afford to cater for and make your guest list based on that number.

A good way to estimate the total catering costs for wedding guests would be to multiply your estimated number of guests by the catering cost per head. If your catering costs are too high based on your headcount, you and your fiancé should consider taking guests you are not close to off the list.

2. Get Married During Off-Season or on a Weekday

The off-season for weddings in most places is between December to March. During that time, you are more likely to get discounts that could save you money. Although not all vendors offer discounts during the off-season, most will be more flexible on pricing. Most venues will also offer lower rates during winter and on weekdays.

3. Create a Budget and Be Strict on Following It

The first thing you need to do when coming up with your wedding budget is decide how much money you want to spend on the wedding. Allocate a percentage of the money you plan to spend to different categories, such as the catering, venue, photographer, and clothes for the bride and groom. You may also want to allocate a percentage of your budget to unexpected expenses. If you want to avoid overspending, ensure you follow your budget strictly.

4. DIY Where You Can

Paying a wedding planner, decorator, card designer, and pastry chef can put a huge dent in your finances. So handle some projects yourself. If you are a good baker, consider making your wedding cake. A flair for design can come in handy for decorating the venue, and if you are a good chef, you can take care of the catering yourself.

Team up with friends and family to plan the wedding and do the work to make your dream wedding into reality.

5. Use a Display Cake

Wedding cakes may be part of the decoration as the flowers and ribbons, but they cost a pretty penny. Your guests may admire your wedding cake, but no one will be talking about it weeks after the wedding. Additionally, as long as the cake is delicious, no one cares where you bought it.

So instead of spending a huge amount of money on a wedding cake, get a dummy cake and have it decorated elaborately, then serve sheet cake.

6. Use One Venue for Your Wedding Ceremony and Reception

The costs of moving from the ceremony venue to the reception may be very high if you have a huge bridal team and many guests. Therefore, when looking for a venue, look for one that allows you to have your ceremony and reception in the same place. Not only will you cut on transport costs, but you will also save on the costs of decorating two venues.

7. Choose a Venue That Includes Equipment

Some venues may include equipment like chairs, tables, and decorations for the venue. If you choose a venue that offers equipment, you can save on the money you would have spent buying equipment from a vendor.