10 Ways to save on your wedding - Bestie Guest Post

Hey all! To end my little guest post series, I asked Megan to do another guest post and she thankfully obliged. This time she's going to share 10 ways that she saved on her wedding, and if you are getting married in the foreseeable future, perhaps these will help you. 

  

Hello again faithful See you in a Porridge readers! It’s ye’ old bestie here for another guest post while Kristen is off frolicking in Europe :)

So lets get right down to it! I recently came across my “Wedding Spreadsheet” on our laptop the other day and thought – “wow, we did well.” So I thought I would share some of my personal tips on how you can save some money and still have a magical day with your friends, family, and most importantly – you partner <3

FYI - This list is not in any specific order and I thought I would also add some fun photo’s and gifs because why not?!

 1.  Don’t have a long engagement. So I know most of the time this is unavoidable for many reasons, but I felt personally that the longer I had to plan the more money I would end up spending…. Also, a short engagement = less time you have to change your mind (and change your mind again, and again). Side note – I had roughly 12 weeks total from getting engaged to saying “I Do”.

2.  Figure out what your 3 MUST HAVES are and let those be the things you will splurge on no matter what. Have dreamed of a certain dress since you were a little girl? Do it. Or maybe you want to have a complete open bar? If it is a must have, do it.

3.  Try and find a venue that is already decorated/doesn’t need a lot of work.  The “small things” add up very quickly. Maybe there is an old historic home in your city that is already beautiful but a bit pricier that the old rustic barn that is empty. Keep in mind you may spend a fortune on decorations for the barn that you will be stuck with at the end of the night…

4.  Open Bar with Beer and wine only - NO LIQUOR. In my experience, an open bar with beer and wine is perfectly sufficient for a wedding.  Your guests are getting this wonderful free night of celebration on your tab and liquor is suuuper expensive and it never fails – there is always a handful of guests that take way to many shots and get messy…. And who wants to deal with that shit?

5.  Do your own flowers! This was both cheap and fun for me to do. So if you are even the least bit crafty – go for it!! You can get flowers quite cheap at your local costco or supermarket.  Remember Pinterest is your friend. Do a practice bouquet a few weeks before and if you have a wedding party – have them help! (side note – I did Kristen’s wedding flowers as well as my own J)

6.  Don’t get a DJ. My biggest nightmare was paying $500+ for a DJ and him/her not playing what I wanted to hear on my wedding day- and I just plain and simple didn’t have the money to fork out for a DJ… We (with the help of Kristen’s Hubby) downloaded our favorite songs and made an “arrival/dinner” playlist and a “Dance/Party” playlist. We then rented speakers, amp, mic etc. and paid a close friend 100 bucks to announce us into the party. All together cost us $140 for our “DJ”.
Note from Kristen: we did the same thing and if I do say so myself, our wedding was a blast.

7.  Do your own makeup. So I know this kind of a hard one, but just hear me out. There are SO many tips, blogs, youtube how-to’s that I feel with enough practice and the right tools, any lady could do it! Have a little faith in yourself and go for it!! My personal tip is go to your local Sephora or department store and buy the expensive super long wear foundation. I did – and I didn’t regret it. And lastly – practice, practice, practice!!!! Then practice one more time.

8. Skip the engagement photo session. Now again – if this (or any of these are on your Must Have list) please feel free to skip the advice. This was just something that personally was not important for me. My husband and I paid for our entire wedding (minus a couple of things our parents gifted us) and when we talked about engagement pictures we were both like “eh”. So that was easily omitted from the running tally of purchases.

9.  Don’t worry about what anyone says or thinks about your wedding plans. Easier said than done. But taking opinions personally can really persuade decision making- thus you could end up spending money on things you didn’t initially plan on.  If you just can’t afford to have the photo booth or you only really have the money for Hors d'oeuvres vs a full dinner – who cares?! It’s your day and if they don’t like – well they can stay at home… sorry not sorry.

10.  Make sure the person you’re marrying is more important than the wedding itself. This kinda goes without saying, but if you're not happy deep down or have serious doubts about marriage…. Well you already know.  None of this is worth it if you aren’t happy at the end of it all. The wedding is the icing on the cake. I had so much fun planning and doing wedding stuff because I was just so gosh darn excited to marry my man!!! I know cheesy but true!

Well hope you enjoyed and maybe were able to take away at least one of these tips! Happy wedding planning!!!