Planning a wedding is an exciting experience but can get expensive quickly! It is easy to get swept away when shopping for your wedding dress, cake, catering, venue, photographer, entertainment, stationery, and other wedding details. Complete Weddings + Events Northwest Arkansas has a list of 5 tips and tricks to help have a cheap wedding without sacrificing the wedding of your dreams.
Ways to Have a Cheap Wedding in Northwest Arkansas
Create a Wedding Budget and Stick To It
Creating a wedding budget should be one of the first steps in your wedding planning process. Talk openly about what type of wedding experience you both want, as well as how much you want to spend. Some couples pay for their weddings themselves and some have help from family. If the family is also helping, then they too should be included in this discussion, so you know the total amount you have.
Break Down Your Wedding Budget
Breaking your budget down into categories and percentages might be helpful for you to visualize as well. For instance, typically the reception portion of your budget will be about 50% or more of your budget since it has many subcategories like venue, food, alcohol, entertainment (DJ, Photo Booth), rentals (tables, chairs, linens, etc.), and centerpieces.
Don’t be surprised if you must adjust your budget once you start getting quotes collected since couples rarely guess correctly how much things cost.
Prioritize
You may not want to hear this, but prioritizing what you want is critical when planning a cheap wedding. I suggest making a list of all the vendors you need to hire and then prioritizing what is most important to you so you can be prepared for what you might need to compromise on. Personally, I knew my wedding photos were not something I wanted to cheap out on because those captured memories would be how I would remember my day for years to come.
Wedding favors were an area I was willing to skimp on since I feel most people throw them away. We ended up doing a photo booth as entertainment for our guests and a party favor.
Cut Down your Guest Count
Of course, you want to be surrounded by all your family and friends. However, be purposeful when picking who you want to celebrate one of the most important days of your lif. Every person that you invite ends up costing you more money. So, if you don’t want to compromise on the floral budget you might think about inviting fewer people, so you don’t have to do as many centerpieces.
Research
Even if you are not trying to have a cheap wedding, it is always important to research your vendors. Collect quotes from multiple vendors and then compare not only the price but also what is included in the package. For instance, some venues will have extra things like linens, décor, tables, and chairs that you can use that end up saving you money down the road but might be slightly more expensive than another venue that just includes the building.
Please remember though that cheaper is not always better. You should also research if the vendor is reputable by reading customer reviews! You wouldn’t want to cause more stress for yourself later because you chose someone $100 cheaper, but then they backed out on your right before your big day!
Do It Yourself When Possible
You could save a ton of money if you chose to take on some of the vendor responsibilities yourself. Be mindful though that you might be saving money, but these tasks could be rather time-consuming so don’t bite off more than you can chew!
A common area couples choose to DIY is stationary. The internet has so many sites that you can design your own stationery or purchase a design and send it somewhere to get it printed. Just make sure that your design follows postal regulations and has an envelope that fits all your pieces.
If you are crafty, you could also take on the responsibility of making your own centerpieces. For my brother’s wedding, we shopped at local thrift and resale stores for different vases and created arrangements out of feathers in them. Also, using seasonal items for décor will help cut costs. If you are getting married in the Fall, mums and pumpkins make a great affordable addition!
Complete Weddings + Events Northwest Arkansas
Planning your wedding in Northwest Arkansas is a big job, but it doesn’t need to be overwhelming. By making a plan to start and then working one thing at a time, you will find yourself a master party planner in no time. For any questions you have, Ask Complete Weddings + Events to get our expert help on wedding planning in Northwest Arkansas!