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Planning a wedding on a budget is never easy, as it can seem as though when it comes to weddings, everything is crazy expensive! Here are some tips to help you get started with planning a wedding on a budget.

Decide Your Budget Before You Start

Deciding on a realistic wedding budget before you get started with wedding planning is so important, as knowing how much you can afford to spend will determine the types of venues you can look at.

Once you’ve figured out how much you want to spend overall, you’ll need to break that down into smaller chunks, such as the venue and food, photographer entertainment, dresses and suits, and flowers right down to the smaller details such as wedding cars, and favors.

If you’re working on a tight budget you might need to get creative or be prepared to ditch some of the less important aspects. Personally, I would always give a large chunk of the budget for a photographer, as you’ll be looking at your wedding photographs for years and years to come.

While the price wedding venues give can seem very high, don’t forget that they often include lots of things like table dressing, a DJ for the evening, and a wedding planner which could end up more costly (and stressful!) if you sourced them all yourself.

Writing everything down can really help you see how much you have to spend and what to spend it on and I like this Budget-Savvy Wedding Planner which is full of worksheets to help you figure out what to spend and where.

Look At The Cheapest Options For Getting Married

What is the cheapest option for getting married? Well, it’s a simple ceremony with just the couple and two witnesses plus the registrar.

When it comes to planning your wedding, I think this is a good place to start – could you do this and then have a cheaper wedding celebrant on the day?

If you’d like more people then look at the next option up at your local registry office. Of course, the more people you have, the more it costs. It then costs more again for a church wedding or for the registrar to come to your chosen wedding venue.

Another thing you might like to consider to save money is to get married on a weekday. Monday – Thursday weddings are considerably cheaper than weekend weddings, although you will need to give plenty of notice for friends and family to book time off work (and remember some people, such as teachers, may not be able to take time off during term time)

The Cheapest Day To Get Married

Think Outside The Box When It Comes To Reception Venues

Now, official wedding venues can be expensive, but I’ve already touched on how sometimes, it can be worth paying that extra for all the services they provide.

That said, if you fancy something a bit more out of the box, then are plenty of venues that could cost significantly less – just remember that you won’t be able to get married there, so you’ll need to have a registry office or church ceremony first and then host the reception at your chose venue.

You could have your reception in a Village Hall, a Local Theatre (these often have event spaces) a friend’s back garden, or even on the beach!

Shop Second Hand

I am a passionate advocate of shopping second-hand and I honestly wish I’d tried harder to find a second-hand dress for my own wedding.

If you’re on a tight budget then the groom could wear a suit he already owns, bridesmaids could wear their own dresses and the bride could shop pre-loved.

Often brides will buy dresses that they then don’t end up wearing, so there is plenty of scope to bag a brand-new dress for a fraction of the original retail price. Even factoring in the cost of any adjustments, there should still be significant savings. Preloved is a great place to start if you’re thinking about a second-hand dress.

Be Realistic About DIY Projects

Pretty much every single element of your wedding can be DIY’d to save cash. But it is worth asking yourself whether that is something that you really want to do. With our wedding, I feel like we opted for far too many DIY projects and in the end, it was just totally overwhelming.

Choose wisely and try to pick those that are already in your own or your friend’s skill sets as this should make things easier. And then choose some things to have done professionally too, there is nothing worse than spending out on craft stuff, realizing you can’t do it, and then paying a professional on top of that!

Ask Friends And Family For Help

There’s nothing wrong with asking friends and family for help with your wedding, especially if you’re happy for it to be in lieu of wedding gifts.

Could your Mum grow some wildflowers for you?

Is your Brother a Brilliant Baker? 

Your Bestie a dab hand at Design?

Another way to save could be to have a pot-luck-style dinner where everyone brings some food to share. This cuts costs and makes the guests feel involved with the wedding too.

I really hope these tips help you to start planning a fabulous budget wedding!