As you embark on the big wedding planning process, you’ll quickly notice how a few small additions to your wedding bill, can quickly add up to thousands of dollars. It’s inevitable; With a venue for a large group, entertainment, a whole day of meals and preparations, this will come at a hefty price. This is where you can come in and make significant changes to ultimately hit a lower wedding budget and answer the big question of how to save money on your wedding.

Upcycle a Wedding Dress and the Groom’s Suit

Start with the ever expensive wedding dress and groom’s suite. In most cases, a brand new dress can range in price from $1000 to $5000. The groom’s suit can cost from $500 to $2000. Just imagine if you can stick to a $1000 budget for both the dress and the suit? This is where upcycling can be your best choice.

Wedding attire is literally worn once and packed away forever. A lot of brides and grooms choose to donate their wedding day clothes or sell them online. It might not seem that appealing to wear someone else’s wedding attire. But this is where upcycling comes into play.

What is upcycling? – This is the process of taking a used/old item and re-designing it to create an entirely new product.

In this case, you can buy a second-hand dress from anywhere between $100 to $500, and have it re-tailored for a few hundred dollars, and have a completely new design that’s tailored specifically for you. With the perfect fit and the choice of beautiful materials, you’ll find that this is a far better choice than buying a brand new dress.

Shop Affordable Entourage Dresses

A big mistake that many brides-to-be make is having their entourage’s dresses customized alongside their own wedding dress. The first thought is that this will be cheaper than buying from a big boutique. But with the cost of tailoring, the labor, and everything else on top of the materials to make the dresses, this will still cost a lot.

The key is finding affordable entourage dresses in places you least expect. High-street shops such as Topshop, Zara, and H&M, offer beautiful dresses for a cocktail or formal occasion. You can literally buy a dress for less than $50, and they all come in different sizes. It’s both affordable and guaranteed to be a stylish option.

Find an Experienced Wedding Planner

If you want to really know how to save money on your wedding, the key is finding the right partner to get the job right alongside you. No, this is not your groom, but rather, an experienced wedding planner. You’ll need a planner who has done a fair share of wedding planning on a budget. The reason for this is that it is guaranteed that they will have enough tricks up their sleeves and the knowledge to get it right when it comes to saving money for your wedding.

How to find an experienced wedding planner:

• Ask for sample weddings they’ve done in the recent past
• Discuss ideas you have to save money and see what their say on this is
• Ask them for their tips on how to save money
• Tell them your budget and see if they can work around this

Don’t be afraid to approach more than one wedding planner. You’ll need to find the right one for you, and this means consulting with a few local wedding planners who you think can do the job for you. The good part about this is that if they know that you are consulting with other planners, they’ll make that extra little effort to convince you to book them as yours. This is a win-win situation.

Shop Wedding Bands and Diamond Rings Online

Try your very best to avoid buying your wedding and engagement ring at the mall or from famous jewelry shops. If you’re familiar with a jewelry shop (seen it in popular culture), it’s likely that it’s an expensive brand to buy from. If the question is ‘how to save money on your wedding’, the answer is online shopping.

There are online jewelry shops that cater specifically to the market that wants an affordable option for their wedding and diamond rings. A wedding ring shouldn’t cost as much as your wedding. You’ll find wedding bands and diamond rings that can cost less than $1000.

Approach Local Businesses for Services and Products

When it comes to your catering, your flowers, your gifts, music, and entertainment, do not hire anyone outside of your local area. Finding services and products from somewhere close to you, will cost a lot less than ordering or hiring people who have to travel from far away. If you have catering, try to choose dishes that use local produce. You’ll not only save money on your wedding, but you’ll also be helping to support the local businesses around your area.

Choose a Start-up Photographer and Videographer

You’ll want to be able to capture the big moments of your wedding. From the second you start walking down the aisle, to the ‘I do’s’, down to your first dance. But unfortunately, wedding photography and videography can cost a lot of money. This is where you can choose to hire a start-up photographer and videographer who provides affordable packages for wedding events.

You might worry about the quality of the photos and videos if you are to hire a start-up, so do your best to do a little bit of research and maybe a personal meet-and-greet before committing to someone or a team. Ask about previous weddings or events they have done. If possible, ask to do trial photos at the venue to see how they will capture location and lighting. If you take this little extra effort to get to know photographers, you’ll be able to find a start-up one who can produce the photos you want for your wedding.

Final Thoughts

Gone are the days when spending thousands of dollars on a wedding is a norm people adhere to. Nowadays, more and more brides and grooms approach wedding planning with a conscious stand-point on the overall cost of a big wedding. In fact, minimal weddings that prioritize a budget and little waste is now the big trend. Knowing how to save money on your wedding without compromising the experience and aesthetic appeal of your event is exactly what you need for your upcoming wedding plans.