04Apr2016

Real advice from real brides: How to save thousands on your wedding without sacrificing fun, fancy, and fabulous.

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Over the past eight years, I’ve attended or been a member of 14 weddings, including my own. When you witness someone you care for marry the one they love, it’s easy to get caught up in the magic and not realize just what goes into the planning of it all. The dress, flowers, venue, and the festivities are what you notice, not realizing the careful choices and budget-busting costs that went into the big day.

I know plenty of brides, including myself, who wished someone would have shared a few wedding cost-saving ideas with them during the planning phase. So, besides collecting dresses and dried bridesmaids bouquets from friends’ and families’ weddings, I decided to ask brides for advice on ways to save money, while still keeping the big day true to their desires. Here’s what they had to say:

1. THE DRESS

Ashley, Florida bride, 2011 I have been a part of multiple ‘this is the dress’ moments at big name bridal shops. I have witnessed someone falling in love with a $500 dress and someone handing over a credit card for a $6,500 dress. My dress was $350 and I found it after trying on over 20 dresses at all price points. I found my dream dress walking through the mall one day. It was featured in the window of a non-bridal shop and I bought it off the rack. Why this dress? It was perfect – comfortable, unique, and beautiful. I knew that I would rather take the extra dollars and put them toward something else. As someone who is painfully practical, I could not justify a $3,000 dress for one event, even if that event is a very important one. I still think that this was one of the best budget decisions I made.

2. THE FLOWERS

Amanda, Bahamas bride, 2008 Let me preface this by saying that I adore fresh flowers and have at least one vase full in my house at all times. But wedding table bouquets are highly overpriced. Instead of spending upwards of $4,000 on table flowers, I decided to go big on my bridesmaids’ bouquets and have each of them be responsible for putting their bouquets in a vase on the table. Our guests had no idea and the bouquets had a second life that lasted past the initial 30-minute ceremony.

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3. HAIR AND TRANSPORTATION

Megan, North Carolina bride, 2014 I was able to call on my guests to help with some of the aspects of my wedding. My cousin happens to be a wonderful hair stylist who charges well over $100 for a simple haircut. As his wedding present, he agreed to do my hair and the rest of the bridal party’s hair. It was such a special part of my day, and the photographer captured wonderful moments of us laughing and crying during the get-ready process. One of my closest friend’s father owns a car dealership and provided our Mercedes transportation for free. Between the hair and transportation, we saved a total of $1,200. If only I had a baker and photographer in my circle, I would have been able to save even more.

4. DJ AND BAND

Nicole, New York bride, 2015 Our wedding party was full of highly entertaining friends and family. Instead of spending the extra money on the DJ and his partner who was responsible for making sure everyone was having a great time, we decided to only hire the DJ and have our wedding party take turns making sure everyone was out of their seats, dancing and laughing. They loved the assignment and having their ‘special’ talents on display. It also saved us $400.

5. INVITATIONS

Amy, Florida bride, 2012 In preparing for our wedding, I read multiple blogs and magazines that all stated to set the mood of the wedding from the get-go with the invitations. I priced out multiple styles, sizes, fonts, and lots of add-ons. My wedding guests list was 175 and I was prepared to spend about $6 a person on the invitations, response cards, and postage. What I quickly learned was that $6 a person wasn’t going to go far. I had to make a decision. Where did I really want to spend my budget? Was it on the invitations or on the party itself? I wanted my guests to remember our day as the best party they had ever attended. With that in mind, I toned down the invitations and went all out on the food, open bar, and music. It was the best decision I could have made because almost four years later our guests still talk about our big day. For more wedding savings ideas check out Brides.com 50 ways to save on a wedding.

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