9 Areas to Save on a Wedding

My wedding was years ago, but as I'm watching my best friend go through the wedding planning process, I've reflected back on where money was best spent and saved.

Here are the top 9 areas I saved in money and stress while putting together my wedding:

1. The Invites

I’m a trained graphic designer, and on some level I felt the pressure to design my own wedding invites. Then a louder voice in my mind said, “don’t waste your energy on perfecting a design when you’ve liked a lot that were online.”

For me, I didn’t want to reinvent the wheel when I had a very short engagement (5 months) and I knew that I’d look back on them later and critique them to death. I found an invite template I liked online, entered the information, and had them sent to me. Big savings on the wallet, stress, and the timeline.

2. The Day-Of Wedding Programs

Again, unless you plan on framing these programs and looking at them forever, this is an easy area to save your time and money.

Very few people took these with them after the wedding, most of them were placed back on the table after the ceremony. I knew I wanted programs, because as a guest at a wedding, it’s always nice to see how much of the ceremony is left and who each person in the bridal party is.

However, you can provide the same amount of information on half a sheet of very nice card stock. I designed the programs to be half a sheet of paper, vertically, front and back. I went to Staples and picked out a paper with a nice finish, and printed about 90 of them for around $20.

Again- Big savings on time, effort, and money.

3. Guest memorabilia

Everyone has been to a wedding where they hand out a personalized beer koozie, or some takeaway gift that says something along the lines of “Becky and Bob’s wedding June 8th 2021” These are likely adorned with some catchy phrase about how fun the event was or a personalized hashtag.

I don’t mean to break your heart, but these things are likely going to get thrown away after a while of reluctantly storing it in a junk drawer. You can save your money here. OR, if you really want to give your guests a gift they can take with them, make sure it’s a useful or edible gift.

At my wedding, we ended up putting together a candy buffet and giving the guests decks of cards. A deck of cards is always handy for playing games back at the hotel after.

4. Groom’s wedding band

Some grooms may want fancy bands. After all, this will likely be one of the few pieces of nice jewelry a guy gets.

However, if your groom is like mine, the band doesn’t matter. We got a tungsten carbide ring off of Amazon for about $12. He lost the first one, but luckily I had anticipated that and had a spare already.

This was convenient because the eventual losing of that band didn’t spur hurt feelings or an argument, plus we saved quite a bit of money.

5. Bridesmaid’s shoes (if you have long dresses)

IF your gowns are floor-length, let them pick their own dress shoes.

Unless you’re really into shoes, or you have a very specific photo you want taken of the bridal party’s feet- this is an easy place to save stress and/or money.

Also, it’s a good way to earn big points with your ladies- no one likes being forced into shoes they didn’t pick.

6. The Cake

Gasp! The cake? Why would anyone cut corners on such an iconic wedding tradition?

Here’s the thing about the wedding cake: You can get a small decorative tiered cake for you and your spouse to cut into for the photographic moment you’ve always dreamed of, AND you can save lots of money by getting tasty sheet cakes that are cut in the kitchen for your guests.

We’ve all seen really impressive cakes on the food channels. Don’t feel the urge to compete with these immaculate designs. It’s also easier on the wait staff to cut and serve sheet cakes rather than trying to deconstruct a masterpiece.

Also, fondant is not the most delicious coating on a cake...

7. Table Centerpieces

These table fillers are going to be used for one night. There are plenty of ideas on Pinterest for good-looking centerpieces.

If it’s not something that can be pulled apart and put to good use, or given away to guests at the end of the night, this is an easy area to scale back on.

8. The Dress

Double Gasp! First she goes for the cake, and now the dress? The once in a lifetime glamorous princess dress I’ve always dreamed of?

Yes. I went there. Hear me out. Undoubtedly, this dress will likely be the most gorgeous gown you’ve ever worn. It will also likely be the one you get the least time to wear. Yes, I know, your photos will live on through the generations... BUT when picking a dress, take into consideration you need to buy the dress, and then get it altered at least once, and possibly more. The alterations add up fast, especially if your weight fluctuates prior to the wedding. (hello stress)

You can still find a beautiful dress that will make your grandchildren weep with joy without breaking the bank. It can be done. Be strong and stay within the budget you set.

9. The Guest Book

I have seen some fancy guest books or giant pieces of “art” that guests sign over the years.

This is an area where you could likely save in because you’re probably not going to look at the guest book too often after the wedding, and if you create a piece of art for the guests to sign, you’ll likely get sick of looking at Aunt Molly’s horrendous signature hanging in your house once the magical dust of being newlywed wears off.

There are plenty of reasonably priced and nice looking pre-made guest books available for purchase.

Remember, your wedding is one day in a, hopefully, long and happy marriage. Don’t bankrupt yourself on a celebration. Be smart about where you put your time, money, and effort for the wedding. When the day comes, you will want to enjoy it, not regret how much you spent on it.

If you’re wondering what my suggestions are for where to spend the most money and time on for your wedding, you can check out this post linked here soon.