- While weddings can be costly affairs, there are a number of ways to reduce spending dramatically.
- Purchase bridesmaid dresses during retail sales and ask friends if they can recommend any good-value photographers or DJs.
- Before spending any significant money, sign up for a reward card — the points could potentially cover honeymoon hotel-stays or flights.
When Joe and I got engaged, a lot of my loved ones wondered, out loud, to me, if my practical nature and aversion to lavish spending would result in us nixing the wedding tradition entirely. After all, we'd already bucked the whole engagement ring tradition, what was one more? Trust me, we thought about eloping, but both social norms and our desire to celebrate our union with loved ones won out. However, I wanted to do it in a way that reflected us, minimized our exposure to the wedding industrial complex, and reduced the time we spent researching and agonizing over details. And above all, I didn't want to blow my bank account up (or anyone else's). Here's what I learned.
SEE ALSO: I'm a 25-year-old newlywed and share my bank account with my husband — here's why
Avoid Pinterest and trendy hashtags
Joe and I planned most of our wedding in about three weeks. Seriously, we had: a date, venue, registry, wedding website, colors and decorative style, DJ, caterer, photographer, hair and makeup team, bridesmaids dresses, and groomsmen tuxes all picked out and booked. This is coming from a bride and groom who never had fantasy Pinterest boards or day dreamed about a perfect wedding. We first decided what we cared about most in order to know where to splurge (a great DJ for a killer dance party, open bar, and excellent photos). Then we just made decisions that felt like us. Afterwards, we went on cruise control for six months before we needed to start thinking centerpieces, seating charts and all those final details.
By staying away from wedding websites and Pinterest after decisions were made, we were able to both keep our sanity and stay within our budget. Continued tweaking of plans is one of the many ways it becomes easy to steadily drift further and further away from your original limit.
Pick bridal party outfits early so you can hold out for sales
I have been put through the financial wringer a few times as a bridesmaid, so it was important to me that I heavily subsidize the cost for my own bridal party. Within a week of getting engaged in August, my sister helped select three dress styles from which the bridesmaids could choose. When we were at the dress shop, I asked the clerk about sales. The attendant told me Black Friday was always offered the biggest discount of up to 30% off. So, I had my bridesmaids pick their preferred style and send me their sizes by early November, then I purchased all the dresses on Black Friday at 30% off.
Brides who don't care about everyone matching can give their bridal party a specific color and just let people pick their own dresses within their budgets. Great options that offer reasonable prices include Rent the Runway, Weddington Way, and Nordstrom Rack if you have a smaller bridal party. I once was the maid of honor for a bride who found five matching dresses atNordstromRack for $15 each!
If you pick a dress that's very "in" during your wedding season, you should suggest your brides check eBay, Tradesy or similar consignment sites to buy one that's only been worn once. I nabbed a bridesmaids dress off eBay once for 40% of what it would've cost for me to buy at Nordstrom.
Borrow your gift registry
Every married couple has advice to give about how to handle your wedding day. The advice I wanted: what are the three three things from your registry you love and use all the time. What are the items you never use and shouldn't have asked for? (Fancy china, juicers, and espresso machines were people's common regrets.)
Most people's wedding websites and registries live on long after they're married, so I went digging through registries to see what people picked — especially for kitchenware. All our cookware is based on the registry of a foodie friend who loves to cook. It eliminated the need for me to go down a rabbit hole researching pots and pans.
We also set up our registry a full year out from our wedding, which has given us the chance to go back and audit when we're feeling a little less zealous and away from the draw of pointing the registry gun at any item we wanted. But if you find yourself with some registry remorse after the wedding, you could re-gift items that don't fit your lifestyle to future brides and grooms, saving some money in the process.
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