With inflation steadily making its way into everyone’s budget lately, wedding budget costs have also fallen victim to higher price tags. Here are some tips to help you plan your wedding without breaking the bank!
Book a Multi-Service Vendor
Booking a multi-service vendor is a no-brainer for a few reasons. Most, like us at Complete Weddings + Events, will offer bundling discounts for booking more than one service. This not only helps you save money with your wedding budget but also allows you to save time by having fewer people to coordinate with.
Unfortunately, you will spend tenfold more time planning for your big day than celebrating it, so keep it simple with fewer vendors. Send one email to ask questions about your Quad Cities wedding photographer, DJ, and videographer. Done and done.
Cut the Guest List
The most common piece of advice given is to cut the guest list. With food being a very large portion of your budget, this is the easiest way to cut money fast! It may require some very hard decisions. Many couples want the grand experience of 300+ guests and sometimes that just isn’t going to be in the budget.
One additional thing to consider is the fact that, in the past, you could count on 20% or higher of guests invited to not RSVP. But, post-COVID we have seen a much larger percentage of people RSVP’ing. Everyone wants to PARTY!!
Alternatives to a large guest list for the full reception is to have an open dance and invite as many people as you want to that. This is a great way to still celebrate with you and not break the bank. Put on your dancing shoes, get on your packed dance floor, and let loose with all of those you love!
Choose a non-Peak wedding Date or Day
Weddings are typically held on Saturdays in the late spring, summer, and fall. If you are willing to have a Friday or Sunday wedding, there are many vendors that will offer off-peak pricing.
Additionally, if you are willing to get married in the winter or early spring there are many vendors who will gladly work with you and your budget. Have you seen snowfall wedding photos?! Gorgeous!
Offer to Pay in Cash
Taking the time to find the right vendor – or negotiate with the one you’ve chosen – can be worth the extra effort for your wedding budget.
We suggest shopping around different wedding vendors to find the best bang for your buck. Once the decision has been made on your vendor, prices can be negotiated further.
If vendors know they won’t have any credit card fees for the transaction, they oftentimes will provide a little discount.
Check Facebook For Awesome Wedding Deals
Did you know you can get some awesome deals on wedding stuff on places like Facebook and other marketplace apps? There are several Buy/Sell Bridal groups on Facebook, where brides are selling lots of their decor, dresses, signs, etc., and trying to make some money back from their own wedding.
You can usually find great deals here instead of paying full price for something at a bridal store. You may need to be patient and keep checking to see what’s available, but it can be very rewarding once you find your perfect decor.
Long engagement = Big savings
Time is a major wedding planning savings factor. Simply put, if you can manage to stay engaged for a longer period of time, then you’ll have more time to save and set aside money for the wedding.
Complete Weddings + Events in Grand Forks, North Dakota
Planning your dream wedding or event should be simple and fun, and we firmly believe that having all our services under one roof makes planning easier for you. So relax. We’ve got this. Our job is to make this easy for you, your job is to enjoy the party! Complete Weddings + Events, Grand Forks’ leading provider of event and wedding photography, videography, lighting, coordination, DJ services & photo booth rental.