Cheap Wedding Tips
to Cut Your Budget

These cheap wedding tips are based on my own wedding, so I can assure you that they work and
will shave thousands of your budget.

You just need to think a bit differently, afterall, who wants to end up in more debt then necessary?

During the initial stages of planning there are always big budget considerations. You may have had some quotes in already and seen your budget creeping up and up. Well, here are some of my best cheap wedding tips to significantly reduce your budget.

Cut your numbers
Is it really necessary to have that long, lost, school friend, or that second cousin, twice removed at your wedding? Are they going to be missed?

At the top of our list of cheap wedding tips is cutting your numbers. It’s possible to shave up to £100 per guest off. So if you’ve got large numbers, be ruthless and think twice about whom you’re inviting - you could save thousands.

Reconsider your venue
Perhaps the stunning, country hotel is simply too much or the hire of the stately home is tipping you over? One way to seriously cut some cash from your wedding budget is to reconsider your venue.

It’s easy to find free or low-cost venues, which can easily provide a personal, special and unique touch to your wedding day.

Prioritise what is important
If you still find you’re over budget, you need to sit down with your partner and begin to prioritise what is important and what’s not.

Go through your wedding budget planner and consider every line. Perhaps you can cut back in one area, so that you can splurge in your important areas.

For example, the dress maybe really important to you, but the favours aren’t. By cutting back on what you give as favours, or eliminating them altogether, you should be able to shave down the costs in the budget, hopefully to a number you’re happy with.

Catering
The food is one of the largest costs at a wedding and some easy changes can make a huge difference to your bottom line. Many couples these days have a three course sit down meal which is often followed later in the evening by a buffet.

Think outside-the-box and do something different. Alternatives include ‘high tea’, afternoon tea, champagne and canapés, only providing one meal, having a sit-down buffet instead of fully catered evening meal or even catering yourself – all these will reduce your costs significantly.

Choose a weekday
Most couples get married on the weekend placing high demand on venues. With high demand comes high prices as the venues can charge what they want knowing that the couples will pay.

One way to significantly drop your costs is to have your wedding on a weekday. You could probably save about 30% on most of the services in your budget!

Use a bar
In an ideal world, the drinks would flow freely but this is likely to be your biggest expense. If there is a bar on the premises, perhaps you could offer free drinks for just a couple of hours, set a limit to the bar budget or offer just beer and wine.

Another alternative is just to provide drinks during the meal or just for the toast, with a bar afterwards.

If you’re still set on providing all the drinks for free, then I would strongly advise a booze cruise. Even with the costs of getting to France, you’ll still save a fortune.

Do it yourself
My final cheap wedding tip is to try and do as many things yourself. If you have the time and energy, this is a great way to save money. By getting friends and relatives to help you, you should be able to pull in lots of services that you would have otherwise spent hundreds on.

Perhaps your mum is a bit of a cook and will make the cake, the flowers could be done by your aunt and your make-up by your friend. Start asking around. Your friends will be honoured to help and you’ll save a packet.

By following one, two or all of these cheap wedding tips, you will certainly cut your budget.

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