An average US wedding costs around $34,ooo
Most people plan on parents, grandparents etc helping. Although they usually do to an extent, the bulk of the cost nowadays is paid for by the bride & groom alone. So, it’s no surprise that more and more couples are leaning towards a more intimate cost-effective wedding. Your wedding is all about you and your partner; celebrating the love & unity of you two, rather than a display of wealth & accommodations. We can help our brides stay within their budget.
1. Wedding Dress
We know how much you want to stand out on your special day, but this can be achieved with a combination of your cute face, great makeup, the perfect updo, jewelry and accented by the perfect dress. There are so many boutique shops, department stores, & wedding dress shops within our area. I think going in with an idea or budget of what you want to spend is the start of staying on track with this. Remember also when going into start trying on, you don’t have to settle with the first one you like. Most of the dresses they have in stock, or on the racks they have more than one. They also have hundreds of different options of color, design etc, so sometimes walking away and coming back to try it on helps assure you are in love and that’s the one. Wedding dress’ start at around $250 and go up from there. The average cost as of 2021 for a wedding dress is $720. The attendants at the shops usually will ask you first thing on budget, color and style. This way they are not even pulling dresses out of your price range. Also, know that in fact the wedding dress is usually not even close to in the running for the biggest expense. Go in with a clear mind of getting what you have envisioned for yourself with the budget in mind. Shop around and enjoy this part of the process, there are so many options.
2. Simple Stationery
Believe it or not, stationery can be a huge part of your wedding budget, especially for larger weddings with many guests. A great idea for invites is simple online templates you input your days info to on sites like Vistaprint, Shutterfly etc. This normally will include the envelope in the cost, and you don’t have to re-invent the wheel on what the invite should say. You input your times, names etc into a template of your choice and it is truly that simple. Keep in mind they look at the invite for about 3 minutes when they get it in the mail. The other thing to remember if you get to carried away on size, shape and cards inside the invites all of these add onto the mailing cost. Just putting stamps on all of these can be expensive especially if you end up needing additional postage.
3 Flowers
Flowers are the most common and most eye-catching wedding décor. They can also be the most expensive one. If you’re going with fresh flowers, you can always order online from a flower wholesaler and arrange them yourself the day before your ceremony with your crew. If this is not your expertise you can also order them fresh grown from farmers markets and they will have them ready for you the day prior to your event. Picking out bouquets by the flower is crazy expensive. Never mind if you need them for your tables as well. However, if you splurge on your bouquets, we highly recommend transferring them to your reception as well to avoid the extra costs of multiple settings. Your wedding planner or director can usually get these where they need to be if they know ahead of time. You can reference Etsy & Pinterest online for so many great visuals on silk bouquets.
4. Limit Your Guest List
We know you want to invite everyone, but keep in mind that every guest equals expense. So, one of our top tips on having a cheaper wedding is to go for a smaller guest list. Less of a party & more of a celebration of you two with your closest family & friends. You can always blame it on venue space to those weird people that try to invite themselves.
Hopefully, we’ve given you a couple ideas on how to save on your big day without compromising quality. Remember that what truly matters is sharing your love and making this day enjoyable and about you two. Spending a fortune won’t prove your love or wealth. Just by being aware of your spending you’ll be surprised how stylish and budget-friendly your wedding can be.
