Weddings are expensive affairs and trying to figure out a wedding budget can drive you close to tears. Luckily, there are many extravagances you can cut back on to make more room for the things you are dreaming about.
Paper Invites
With the advent of wedding websites and social media events, printed paper invitations are becoming less and less necessary. Our suggestion? Make a list of your closest family and friends who you would like to have a wedding invitation. Send them out and then use your online resources for everyone else. This should dramatically cut back on the number of wedding invitations you have to order.
The only exception would be if your wedding invitation company has deals or discount prices when you purchase larger quantities that you would definitely end up using.
Wedding Favors
Chances are your guests won’t remember if you had fancy wedding favors or not. If you must have wedding favors, don’t add personalization or choose ornate packaging. Also consider checking in your food budget if you can add a late night treat for your guests to take on the way home. That is the sort of favor they’ll remember!
Fresh Flowers
Fresh flowers are beautiful, but they are definitely one of the most expensive investments for any wedding. Because Latter-day Saint couples do not have traditional wedding ceremonies, but rather ring ceremonies and receptions outside the temple, think about keeping your floral budget to a minimum. Stick to the bridal bouquet and small floral tokens for the groom, bridesmaids, and groomsmen. These are likely the floral accents that you’ll want to remember once the wedding is over.
If you really want fresh flowers, do some research into more affordable choices, such as baby’s breath, daisies, tulips, carnations, and sunflowers.
A Large Wedding Cake
More and more couples are ditching three-tier wedding cakes that can feed their entire reception. You have so many more options! You can do a dessert buffet for your guests and a small cake to cut into. You can cut into a single cake and feed your guests pre-made cake slices from the caterer. You can also ditch the cake altogether and simply take a bite of something else.
You can also save a lot of money by making a cake yourself.
Professional Entertainment
With the access you have to streaming services and equipment, a professional DJ or MC may not be the most affordable option. This is especially true if you’re keeping your entertainment low-key, with just a few traditional dances and music playing in the background. You can see if your reception site has audio equipment already or if there is some to rent. Then, you can just create a playlist on your own.
At the end of the day, your budget should be all about the things that matter most to you as a couple. There could be something on this list that is really important to you. The best way to cut back is to figure out what doesn’t matter to you and scaling back in that area.
