How Can I Afford a Wedding Without Going Into Debt?
Getting married can be a really expensive thing to do. WeddingWire’s 2019 Newlywed Report found that the average wedding costs $38,700. That price tag includes the engagement ring, the ceremony, the reception and the honeymoon.
Not every couple just starting out has that much money in their savings accounts or parents with pockets that deep. But with planning and creativity, you can afford a wedding without going into debt.
Set a Budget
The first step toward walking down the aisle debt free is to create a budget and stick to it. You and your future spouse will need to have a serious financial discussion before the actual planning begins. Take into account how much money you have on hand and what you are willing to spend so that you can avoid borrowing money for your wedding.
If you are here just because out of curiosity, but you have a plan to get married one day, maybe you should start saving for your dream wedding right now. Open a saving account just for this purpose and start preparing financially for that big day:
Establish Priorities
Figure out what means the most to you as a couple. If the dress is the most important item to you decide if you’re okay spending less somewhere else, like maybe on the reception food, to fund the dress. The best debt advice is to avoid it by sticking to the budget so that you can afford a wedding without needing a loan.
The Venue
Five-star hotels and country clubs are nice places but here is no need to spend thousands of dollars to rent a wedding venue when there are so many affordable options.
Church
The church is the first place to start. Whether it’s one you attend or one that allows non-members to use the sanctuary, churches are a lower cost option when you are trying to afford a wedding without going into debt. Sometimes you will pay a cleaning fee and leave a “love offering” for the officiant.
Free Outdoor Areas
Take a look outside and see if you can spot free venues for your wedding. Do you have friends or family with rolling meadows, fields with barns or beautiful backyard pools? If you are taking advantage of beautiful, free landscaping you still need to have an indoor alternative in case you have bad weather on your special day.
Maybe there is a park or a historic landmark or building nearby that could be the scene of your wedding. Maybe you’re lucky enough to live near a beach. If that property you choose belongs to a municipality you’ll have to check ahead of time about necessary permits and any potential restrictions on decorations.
A man and a woman on a beach holding hands
The Guest List
When it comes down to wedding math, each guest is going to cost you.
Reduce the Number of Invitees
If you are trying to afford a wedding without going into debt slim down the number of invitations you send. A wedding with 50 guests will most of the time be cheaper than a wedding of 150 guests when you factor in food and drink. A smaller guest list also allows you to search out smaller spaces for the ceremony and the reception.
Narrow the Number of Plus-1 Invitations
You will have an idea of a guest list of your own. But so will your parents, your future spouse, and your future in-laws. Go through these lists carefully and select the potential guests that will mean the most to have near you on your wedding day. This can also include limiting the number of “plus-1” invitations you send. You don’t have to absorb the cost of dates for people you don’t even know.
One of the easiest ways to afford a wedding without going into debt is to manage the number of guests. Your smaller, more intimate wedding comes with less cost, less work and there’s a better chance you’ll actually get to visit with the people you’ve surrounded yourself with on your special day.
Smaller Wedding Party
Managing the size of the bridal party also helps keep wedding costs down. You don’t need every sorority sister or fraternity brother standing up with you on your wedding day. Focus on meaningful friends and family members. A smaller bridal party will cost you less when it comes to flowers, gifts, hair styling, makeup application, and transportation.
The Dress
Selecting the perfect wedding dress for the big day is one of the biggest decisions to make. It can also be a very expensive decision. While fancy bridal shops that serve champagne are one way to shop for a dress, they aren’t the only way. Saving money on the dress is one way to afford a wedding without going into debt. Floor sample dresses at wedding boutiques will often sell for deeply discounted prices.
Department Store
You can also take your search out of bridal-specific locations. The dress or evening wear sections of some of your favorite department stores might sell dresses that can be worn in a wedding. The simpler the dress, the less expensive it probably will be. Sequins and beading add to the price. When purchasing off the rack a corset-backed dress is adjustable and not as likely to need alterations as a dress that buttons up the back or zips up the back.
Thrift Shop
Your dress doesn’t necessarily have to be brand new. Maybe you can work with your Mother’s or even your Grandmother’s dress. Thrift or vintage stores often have secondhand wedding dresses on the racks. And online resellers like Poshmark have listings for bridal gowns and sometimes the dresses are brand new and the tags are still attached.
Rent a Dress
And since renting is the new owning, Rent the Runway offers bridal packages and the services of a concierge. They’ve got rental bridal gowns and bridesmaid dresses with a per-person charge. A bonus here: no bridesmaid guilt about never wearing the dress again. It was a rental.
The Reception
There are many components to the reception. Budgeting for each category is an important way to afford a wedding without going into debt.
Merge the Ceremony and Reception
Having the ceremony and the reception in the same place is one way to cut costs. You only decorate one venue, you don’t have to transport guests from one location to the other and you don’t have to rent things like chairs more than once.
Pick an Unpopular Date
Choosing a less popular month for the wedding could save you on rental fees. January and February are the slowest wedding months. Saturday weddings are the most expensive. Picking Friday or Sunday could reduce costs.
Minimalistic Decorations Approach
If you are renting a ceremony venue become very well versed in what is included in the rental fee and what isn’t. If you have to have chairs, tables, linens, and twinkling lights brought in you might not be saving any more money than renting a venue where all of that is included.
It’s a bonus if you find a wedding or reception venue that is nearly perfect as is and doesn’t need much in the way of decorating. A beautiful restaurant may already be the perfect backdrop. A ceremony on the sand doesn’t need decorating when the ocean in the background. Needing only minimal decorations is one way to afford a wedding without going into debt.
Save on Food and Drinks
Food and beverage are a huge chunk of the cost of the reception. A plated meal is more expensive than a buffet. The main course is more expensive than hors d’oeuvres. If you want a carving station you’ll pay for the food and the server. You can seat your guests for dinner and have them pass the food items family-style which lessens the number of servers needed.
You can select a time of the day when guests expect a full meal or take the less expensive option of serving appetizers and snacks. Serving brunch foods after a late-morning wedding can also be an economical choice. Or go casual and ask a local barbecue place to cater pulled pork and some sides. You could also enlist the services of a local food truck for a memorable post-wedding meal.
You have many options in drinks that spare you the expense of a full open bar. You can offer up wine and beer selections only. Some couples offer up one signature cocktail. You might skip a champagne toast. And if your reception is going to be in a church, you will probably only be allowed to serve soft drinks, water and non-alcoholic punches.
Cake from a Grocery Store
Cutting the wedding cake is a time-honored tradition at a wedding reception. The cake doesn’t have to come from a bakery. Many grocery stores have excellent bakeries and they will work with you on the design. Shorter cakes are less expensive than taller cakes. You can even buy several different sizes of sheet cakes and stack them together using cake dowels from the craft store.
Small substitutions can add up to big savings when you are trying to afford a wedding without going into debt. Buttercream icing is more budget-friendly than fondant. And you don’t have to pay to have individual flowers crafted out of icing for the cake. That same grocery store probably has a fresh floral department.
Buy in-season blooms that will be available at the best price. You can add fresh flowers yourself to the top and sides of the cake. Another tip from budget-savvy brides is to have the couple cut a single cake together. The staff takes it to the kitchen to slice and adds to it slices of another cake in the same flavor without the decorations on top.
You can also think beyond cake. Maybe you’d rather have tiers of donuts or cupcakes.
Save on Photographer and DJ
Decide how long you’d like the photographer and/or videographer to be on the job. You don’t necessarily have to pay to have them stay until the final moments of the reception. Plenty of your guests will capture those chicken dance photos on their phones.
You don’t necessarily have to book a DJ from a large company. The equipment is so computerized now that many more DJs are able to take these gigs. Online marketplace sites are good places to find DJs. Ask for some references to see if your musical tastes mesh.
The Flowers
It’s easy to overspend on fresh flowers at a wedding.
In order to afford a wedding without going into debt begin by limiting your choices to in-season flowers. They will be more available and sold at a better price. Select bigger blooms rather than smaller ones for visual impact. And maybe limit yourself to two or three different kinds of stems if they are going to have to be ordered.
Think about using flowers in particular places rather than all over the venue. Maybe one flower-covered arch for the ceremony instead of smaller arrangements scattered around the room. Make use of the bridesmaid’s bouquets to decorate a table at a reception. And you don’t have to order enormous floral centerpieces for each table. Petite vases filled with single blooms can be scattered around the dinner tables. Bonus benefit: the guests will be able to see each other across the table.
DIY
If you’re really serious about throwing a cost-conscious wedding this is the time to gather together your craftiest friends and family members and get busy.
Invitations
You don’t have to order engraved wedding invitations from a printer. You can print them yourself using a computer and decorative computer paper. Grandma might not approve but you could skip paper invitations completely and send all electronic invites from a free site.
Once you have a feel for what you want the ceremony and reception décor to be like it’s time to explore lower-priced stores. Craft stores, discount stores, and even dollar stores might carry those votive holders you love but at a reduced price.
Borrow from Friends and Family
The old rhyme says the bride is supposed to borrow something but how about the bride borrowing as much as she can? Check with other newly married couples who might have leftovers like all the glass dishes needed for a candy bar at the reception. Maybe another couple already bought 15 strands of twinkling lights to wrap around the ficus plants? And your sister will probably never need that garter again. Maybe it can be your something borrowed and your something blue all rolled into one.
Gifts for the Guests
You don’t have to leave a favor for each and every guest. You could give something like small potted succulents and distribute them one to a couple. You can also make a single charitable donation in an amount that is comfortable for you and let the guests know that takes the place of favor. You can also consider something handmade or homemade. Maybe Grandma’s favorite brownie with the recipe tied to the gift bag.
Create a wedding website that is a hub for you and your guests. The invitation can direct them there if they are interested in things like maps, lodging options or points of interest. If those things are on the site they don’t have to be printed and mailed to everyone.
Hire a Wedding Planner
At first glance you might not think hiring a wedding planner is a way to afford a wedding without going into debt. But an experienced wedding planner knows vendors and the marketplace. A wedding planner might have access to discounts on some of the professional wedding services. The wedding planner has shaved a few dollars from the bottom line many times before and may have cost-cutting tricks up his or her sleeve. Often event planners also have their own décor stashes in storage. Think vases, glassware, linens and more all in a self-storage unit.
Conclusion
It is possible to afford a wedding without going into debt by doing some planning and being disciplined. The most important factor for cost-conscious couples is to set a wedding budget and stick to it. It’s important to focus on where you and your future spouse want to spend the most money and where you are happy to save a few dollars.
Carefully select venues for both the ceremony and the reception that makes the most financial sense. Maybe adjust the month or day of the week of the wedding to get better deals. Be laser-focused on the guest list. When it comes to a wedding dress be open to options like shopping sample sales or buying or renting a secondhand dress. Carefully examine the food and beverage options available at your reception venue.
Plan your floral options seasonally and remember that bigger blooms will always be seen better. Ask friends and family if they would like to DIY some things with you and you might be surprised by their help and input into everything from invitations to wedding favors. And consider whether or not a wedding planner could help you stay on budget. An experienced event planner already has a vendor network and might help you secure better pricing. You don’t have to give up on having the wedding of your dreams. It is possible to afford a wedding without going into debt.