Wedding Saving Tips

By Victoria J. Brown of Calm Weddings

Photos by Jen Hart Photography 

The average wedding costs £20,000. This is why it’s important to work out your budget from the outset: before anything is booked, anyone is invited and before any plans are made.

Whether your budget is under £10,000 or over £30,000, you still need to decide where you want the majority of your funds to go. You must both identify what’s important to you on your wedding day, for example: the bride may think having a pair of Jimmy Choo is essential, and the groom may desperately want to arrive in a helicopter, it’s important to understand what you both want from your wedding. Setting aside pennies for the things you really want and saving in other areas is the best way to keep your costs down.

Here are 10 top wedding saving tips: 

1/ Do you have any family or friends who can help out? Anyone with special talents: cake-making, stationery, flowers etc. Ask anyone who can contribute to your wedding to help.

2/ Don’t get married in the peak season. Hold your wedding mid-week and not in the summer months. Compare the cost of the different seasons and days of the week: you’ll be surprised at the saving you can make.

3/ Only have one meal. Most couples have a wedding breakfast and an evening buffet. Getting married late afternoon will allow you to have an early evening meal, which cuts out the need for two meals.

4/ Hire a small hall: a village or church hall. This is great for vintage weddings. You will need to hire outside caterers, but this can still be much cheaper than hiring a venue.

5/ Look carefully when choosing your wedding dress. Ex-display dresses, out-of-season dresses and smaller designers can be picked up at a fraction of the price. Most of your guests won’t know who designed your dress (and probably won’t be non-the-wiser if you told them) or whether it’s in season or not.

6/ Keep it small. Invite only family and very close friends. If you really want the big celebration then hire a hall after your honeymoon and throw an informal party.

7/ When it comes to decorations there is so much out there to choose from. Search the internet for cheap and discount deals. You’ll be amazed at what you can find.

8/ Research local music schools/dance schools: could students perform for you? Or ask the universities for any talented individuals who can help. It not only keeps the entertainment cost down and gives your wedding the wow-factor but looks great on their portfolio.

9/ Ask guests to contribute money as their wedding gift. This is becoming very popular, but still some people feel rude asking for cash! The best way around this is to set-up a fund so your guests can see the money is contributing to something in particular i.e. honeymoon fund, new bathroom fund or a new extension fund.

10/ Most importantly – Research! Compare costs.

Important: Keeping a note of the costs will enable you to keep an eye on what is being spent. You may underspend in one area, therefore, letting you overspend in another, but this will also help you if overspending becomes a big problem.

TO HELP WITH YOUR BUDGET, DOWNLOAD OUR BUDGET PLANNER