21 Tips for Planning Your Dream Wedding on a Budget

By Ashlyn Jacobs

According to Zola, an “average wedding” in my mid-size Wisconsin hometown would cost $40,000.

As a newly engaged bride, I saw this number and started to sweat. If that’s just average, how much does a Pinterest-perfect wedding cost? I wondered. Will my below-average budget doom me to disappointment?

That statistic gave my high expectations a wake-up call, but I didn’t need to despair—and neither do you. You and your loved ones can still enjoy a beautiful wedding day without draining your bank account.

Read on to find out ways to plan an affordable wedding that feels like you!

Gather your inspiration.

1. Join like-minded online communities. Take advantage of the couples who have traveled the affordable-wedding path and posted their experience online. I recommend starting with the subreddit “r/weddingsunder10k.” Also check Facebook and Reddit for local wedding-related groups for vendor recommendations in your area.

2. Follow content creators who get it. Find your inspo from Instagram accounts like @lyneadaprix and @thefinancebrides. The Budget Savvy Bride is another great online resource for planning an affordable wedding.

   
   

   Create a unique budget.

3. Decide your total spend amount. Before you start booking tours at your dream venue, schedule a coffee outing with your fiancé and anyone else who will help fund your wedding. Decide the amount of money you can spend. As you talk numbers, consider restricting your guest count to decrease costs in food, beverages, and décor. For example, with a typical $150 per-person cost, cutting your guest list from 200 to 100 will decrease your total spend by $15,000.

4. Pick three or four must-haves. Do you want a four-tier wedding cake to wow your guests? Do you dream about colorful bouquets and boutonnieres? Balance your budget sheet with your unique hopes by deciding three to four aspects of your wedding that matter most to you. For example, we allotted 70% of our budget to our venue, photographer, and dinner. That meant leaving only 30% of our funds to everything else, such as drinks, attire, entertainment, and dessert.

5. Split your budget into categories. With your priorities in mind, divide your total budget into smaller categories. Reference a few sample budget breakdowns online, such as these examples for budgets of $5,000 and $10,000. Adjust the example’s categories to your specific wishes, and remember to leave plenty of buffer space (I recommend 10%) in case something costs more than you expect.

   Choose a cheaper time and place.

6. Consider a less popular date. Saturdays in June may be the classic choice of couples everywhere, but your budget will benefit from other options. Winter weddings, for instance, can save money because many venues offer slow-season discounts. If you’re still stuck on summer, go for a Friday, Sunday, or even weekday wedding. Some guests may need to request time off work, but the less popular day will give your budget breathing room. We saved over $3000 by scheduling our wedding on a Sunday.

7. Pick a park, church, or big backyard. Alternative places like parks, churches, or backyards will decrease venue fees. You may have to add the cost of renting tables, chairs, a dancefloor, and/or a tent. If you’re comfortable with a little more research and setup, feel free to get creative!

   Book a budget-friendly photographer.

8. Say no to extra coverage. Start with a checklist of your coverage needs. Do you want a wedding film, or just photos? Will one photographer do, or do you need two? Which parts of your wedding day do you want covered? Saying no to extras like a second shooter, videographer, and longer coverage hours will lower your photography costs. Consider the balance of quality and quantity in your decisions.

9. Ask for discounts. If you find photographers that you love, but their services cost a little too much, explain your situation to them. They might be willing to offer a discount or change something about their pricing package to accommodate your needs. My fiancé and I asked for (and received) a 10% discount from our photographer because she had never shot at our venue before.

   Scale down your food and drinks.

10. Pick a low-price dinner option. You and your guests can enjoy dishes like classic chicken and veggies, pasta, tacos, or even pizza for much less money than steak or grilled lobster. We saved $1,500 by choosing the chicken and pasta meal instead of prime rib for our 150 guests.

11. Skip the fancy cake and delivery service. Make your sweets more affordable by serving cupcakes, doughnuts, cookies, or sheet cake instead of the traditional tiered cake. We opted for sheet cake and saved about $400. You can also slice those delivery fees from your budget by asking a friend to chauffer your dessert to the venue.

12. Explore ways to host a partially open bar. If you’re planning to serve alcohol at your reception, avoid hosting a fully open bar. Many couples plan for guests to pay cash for their drinks or host a tab limited by time or drink type. We took our bar costs down from $48 to $15 per guest by only providing free soft drinks, beer, and wine.

    Build your bridal outfit.

13. Shop off-the-rack. Look for dedicated off-the-rack bridal shops or boutiques with sample sales in your area. By shopping off-the-rack, you can browse through affordable wedding dresses that fit your budget and your style. Dresses at Bridal Boutique by New Name, for example, cost less $1000. Brides in the Chicagoland area have found their dresses at the boutique for 50 to 80% off their original prices.

14. Avoid high-end accessories. The veil, the shoes, and the jewelry complete the look, but they don’t need to finish off your wallet. A quick search on Amazon reveals several high-rated veils at 10% of the price of boutique veils, for instance. For my wedding day, I planned to re-wear a pair of white heels I already owned.

    Decide on affordable flowers.

15. Opt for faux or DIY florals. Avoid spending thousands on a traditional florist by choosing to rent faux blooms, buy dried bouquets, or order flowers in bulk to DIY your arrangements. Homemade bouquets will save money; just budget extra time to practice and enlist some helping hands to create them. Check out online sellers like Bloom Culture and Fifty Flowers for your supplies. Ling’s Moment, Something Borrowed Blooms, and Hidden Botanics offer great faux and dried options.

16. Order less and stay in-season. Still prefer a traditional florist? Keep your floral order small. Swap elaborate centerpieces for simple bud vases. Size down bridesmaid bouquets to a handheld posy. Repurpose your ceremony altar arrangement as a head table decoration at the reception. You can also opt for in-season flower varieties to keep the cost down. For my August wedding, the florist planned to use lower-cost blooms that she could easily source in late summer.

    Pick low- or no-cost invitations.

17. Buy from print shops instead of designer vendors. Beautiful as they are, those letterpress invitations do not get along with a small budget. Local and online print shops offer hundreds of pre-made or DIY templates that work just as well. Plus, you can still add your personal touch by ordering affordable stationery accessories, such as vellum jackets or wax seal stickers, from Amazon.

18. Take advantage of sales. Pay less for your paper by taking advantage of sales at your local print store or online stationery shop. For example, Shutterfly offers an automatic 50% discount for Costco members. Vistaprint also frequently runs half-off sales of their own, no Costco membership needed. I took advantage of both sales and paid $275 instead of $550 on our wedding stationery.

19. Go digital. No matter how affordable your paper, postage stamps can still have you pinching pennies. Skip the stationery costs altogether with a digital option for save-the-dates, invites, or both. All you need is a list of emails and a little faith in Grandma Lou’s internet skills.

    Search for affordable décor.

20. Buy secondhand. We bought our wedding décor almost exclusively secondhand, including cloth napkins, water glasses, candles vases, and picture frames. Used decor typically cost us less than renting from a party supplier. For used décor, Facebook Marketplace is your new best friend. The platform hosts a thriving community of brides buying and reselling their wedding decorations.

21. Resell your supplies. Replenish your cash by selling the leftover décor. After the wedding, log in to Facebook Marketplace again and create a listing. Post-wedding resale is another reason to buy décor instead of renting. Instead of returning items to the renter, you get money back.

    
    

    Conclusion: Parting Encouragement

    Whether you’re in your party-planning zone or dizzy with decision fatigue, you are not alone. Your family and friends can support you along the way! Some of the best decisions I made about my wedding were the times I chose to ask for help. Lean on your loved ones throughout the planning process.

    
    

    Finally, enjoy the engagement season with your fiancé. Take time away from the planning process when you need a break and remember all the reasons your wedding matters to you. Your budget might be limited, but your love isn’t.