7 Tips to Stick to Your Wedding Budget

Weddings are an event that most women dream about for their entire lives. But I will let you in on a little secret – they can also make you sick when you see how quickly every little detail can add up. From the venue(s) to the food + drink, to the transportation, + table decor, it can be a little overwhelming at times. Trying to stick to your wedding budget can feel impossible if you don’t know where to start. I’ve created this list of tips I believe will allow you to have your dream wedding while feeling comfortable about what you are spending – whether that is $1,000 or $50,000.

There are some tips to consider such as moving your date to a weekday, inviting fewer guests, + planning outside of the typical wedding season but I feel as if those are often repeated tips. So, I wanted to give you tips that we followed or that I feel will make a huge difference if you aren’t willing to budge on some of the tips I just mentioned.

*I would like to thank my parents + in laws because they both contributed to the wedding//rehearsal dinner. Without their financial support, my vision for our wedding would not have been possible. My husband + I contributed some money of our own as well to cover additional costs. But I would say that overall, we did a great job of staying close to our initial wedding budget!

Tip #1: Make a Non-Negotiables List

This is an activity that you + your soon-to-be spouse can do together! Create a list (separately) of the 3-5 most important things to you regarding your wedding. This can be vendors, venues, details, food, etc. Then come together + decide what the both of you feel is the most important as a couple. These non-negotiables are the areas you want to focus on when sticking to your wedding budget. They will serve as an important reference point when you make decisions regarding other areas of your budget.

For our wedding, our non-negotiables list consisted of the following: the venues, the memories (photography + videography), the music (we both love to dance), the food//drink (excluding dessert), + the decor details. I realllly wanted a dessert table. It’s one of the things I talked about from the beginning of wedding planning. But when we were quoted for the dessert table, my husband + I made the decision to not include it. It was quite expensive for what we were looking for + we knew it wasn’t on the non-negotiables list. Ultimately, it was removed from the wedding ideas list. My sweet in-laws actually did some individual dessert options for the rehearsal dinner + we were still able to enjoy the dessert bar, even if it wasn’t at the wedding!

Tip #2: Create a Digital Budget Spreadsheet

This one seems pretty obvious but the keyword here is *digital*. I created one through Google Docs + I loved how easy it was to see each individual item. But I also was able to keep a running sum of everything as I added each vendor into the sheet. I would encourage you to also include the dates your payments are due for easy reference. As well as highlight items you wish to sell after the event (if you purchase any items yourself). This will allow you to see a master list + to be mindful of the total cost.

I’ve created a free wedding budget template for you, in case you want to use the exact budget spreadsheet I used! I’ve included additional items I could think of, but all categories may not apply to you. After copying the template to your own google doc, feel free to delete the rows that aren’t necessary for you! You can download that freebie, here.

Tip #3: Hire a Wedding Planner/Coordinator

This may seem contradicting to help save money – how does spending help to save? But hiring a wedding planner or day of coordinator can help you in the long run. Wedding planners can help with the selection of vendors, negotiating contracts, + being that voice of reason if you are adamant about trying to stick to your wedding budget. A day of coordinator is also a great option if you are not looking for a wedding planner to assist you through the entire planning process. Sometimes they will offer some additional services when it comes to vendors as well.

We were very fortunate to find a friend that I knew from my sorority in college. She had just started her business for wedding planning + was offering a rate we could not let slip away! We could not have asked for a better planner + she helped us remain focused on our non-negotiables. Plus, because of her, I could truly enjoy the day without worrying about the vendors, timeline, or behind the scenes work. We were also able to get an amazing deal since we took advantage of the promo she was running! Which leads me into tip #4…

Tip #4: Book Vendors + Buy Gifts During a Holiday or Promo to Save $$$

This tip won’t work in all situations + it depends on how much time you have prior to the wedding. Some vendors will offer specials throughout the holiday season (think Black Friday or New Years). Some will also run promotions if you attend an event they are at. Or you can simply reach out to a vendor you’re interested in + ask about any specials they are running. I’ll share a vendors we were able to get a steal of a deal with.

Our photographers – I met them at a wedding show//bridal expo in Richmond, VA with my mom as we were looking for wedding inspiration. I told my mom “this is EXACTLY what I am looking for.” I actually had no intention of booking a vendor from Richmond, since our wedding was in Tampa, FL. But after speaking with the lead photographer, he said he would offer us the following: they would provide 2 photographers for the rate for 1 because they wanted to make a trip of traveling down to FL after the wedding was over with their family. They would pull the money for the airfare, car rental, + lodging from our package rate. This meant no additional cost for us to pay for travel!!

I thought it was to good to be true but we read through the contract + sure enough, it was all on there! We also got an additional $300 off because they were running a promo for any client who signed after meeting them at the wedding show. In the end, we got a discount of just over 50%!!! Which is a HUGE discount!

We were also able to take advantage of promotions with our DJ + our venue. We explored our options + saved a few hundred dollars with our DJ + save $5,000 with our venue because we booked on a Friday. Take the time to do some research + do not be afraid to ask about any specials!

***BONUS TIP: consider buying your gifts for your bridal party or guests during Black Friday!! I was able to purchase my bridal party PJs + earrings at a great discount by waiting to purchase them during a holiday sale. I shared my bridal party PJs in this post!

Tip #5: Ask Vendors for Alternate Contract Options

This is another tip that may not work with every vendor but some are willing to change their typical contract offers to fit what you are looking for. The best example I have of this was when I negotiated with our transportation company. The standard contract offered round trip options for all of the services we needed

• a sedan for my father + I//husband + I both to + from the church
• a minibus for the bridal party to + from the church
• 2 trolleys that shuttled guests from their hotel to + from the reception later that evening.

After speaking with the company about our specific transportation needs, they were willing to offer one-way trips for a few of the vehicles. They offered a discount for a one-way sedan for my father + I to get to the church if my husband + I wanted to ride back on the minibus with the bridal party. They also offered partial use of the trolleys for our guests. We were able to work a contract that included 2 trolleys to shuttle guests from the hotel to the reception. Then we kept 1 to shuttle guests back toward the end of the reception + after. It knocked off a couple hundred dollars to only use 1 shuttle for half of the time needed.

Tip #6: DIY Projects Can Help or Hurt Your Budget

Some DIY projects can cost more than renting or asking someone else to create it for you. An area that I chose to purchase our own items was for our reception table candle holders + vases. I chose to purchase all of the vases for the center of the tables at $12 a piece. Our florist offered a rental rate for the same vase at $15 per vase. By purchasing the vases + candle holders on my own, I was able to sell them after the wedding! That was money back into our pockets!

On the flip side of the DIY projects, I chose to create the stationery for our guest bags, ceremony info card, + reception menu cards myself. I created them on Canva + had them printed at Staples. I was not expecting the price I had to pay for the printing + realized I could have spent less money by ordering them through someone on Etsy or a similar website.

Tip #7: Consider All-Inclusive Services

This one definitely piggybacks off of tip #6, but I thought it should have its own dedicated section. Even though it can seem like a lot of money for all-inclusive services, sometimes it is absolutely a better deal. This definitely applies if the majority of guests at your wedding would enjoy an open bar. Side note: we mayyy have run our venue out of tequila!! For our wedding, we knew it would cost more to pay for the drinks consumed per person by running a quick run of numbers based on what we knew about ourselves, our families, + our guests. We knew the flat price for the open bar was going to be better financially for us, so that is what we chose.

This tip can apply to venues or vendors as some will offer great rates for a more inclusive package. Our venue, for example, offered all of the tables, linens, silverware, drinkware, + food//drinks for the event. So, we knew we would not have to worry about finding other vendors for these items. While some other venues do not offer those services, it is important to keep in mind that each vendor may have additional fees for set up//break down. Additionally, the boutique I purchased my wedding dress, Brides of Florida, from offers a flat rate for basic alterations. I had no surprise payments when I went for the alterations.

If you made it this far, thank you for taking the time to read all of these tips to try to stick to your wedding budget! I hope you find them helpful as you plan your own wedding! + as always, if you loved any of these tips, or have any questions, you can leave a comment below! Also, let me know what else you would like to see wedding related here on the blog!