When people hear “frugal” they often think cheap. But, planning a frugal wedding doesn’t mean you have to have a cheap wedding. In fact, there are plenty of ways to pull off a budget-friendly wedding without looking like it was a “budget” event in the first place. So, if you are on a tight budget, consider these 11 tips for pulling off a frugal wedding.
1. Skip the Weekend Wedding
If you really want to save money, skip the weekend wedding. Wedding venues and even service providers often charge more for weekends, because they are peak times. Venues will sometimes offer special discounts for having a mid-week wedding too.
2. Ask for a Wedding Fund; Instead of Wedding Gifts
There’s nothing wrong with asking your guests to contribute toward a wedding fund rather than your gifts. If you don’t really need anything, set up a fund where guests can contribute money instead of buying you useless items.
3. Have the Ceremony Somewhere Free
There are plenty of parks or backyards you can borrow to have a wedding — and they are free. Sure, you may have to rent a few things to pull it off, but you’re saving plenty of money not paying for a venue.
4. DIY the Flowers
Flowers are extremely expensive. If you can, do the wedding flowers yourself, or better yet, see if you can pull off a wedding not using flowers at all.
5. Create Your Own Invitaions
You can easily spend a few hundred pounds on wedding invitations. Instead of paying for professionally created ones, just make them yourself. There are plenty of templates online, cutting machines and scrapbooking kits at your local craft store to help you create your own for pennies compared to professionally-made ones.
6. Skip the DJ
All you need is a good home stereo and you can do your own wedding music. This also puts you in complete control of the playlist. If you have a family member willing to help, put them in charge of the music.
7. Shop for Decorations Early
Wedding decorations can be purchased slowly over time to help you break up the costs. Also, this gives you ample time to look for sales or even scour the local clearance aisles to pick up everything you need. Local craft stores and wedding supply stores often unload at the end of the season — allowing you to grab wedding decorations for up to 75% off.
8. Use Coupons
When you can, use vouchers on items you are buying for the wedding to bring down the costs as much as possible. While you might not get it for free, every little bit you can shave off helps.
9. Go Simple on Cake
Wedding cakes can be expensive. Consider doing cupcakes or sheet cakes instead of a wedding cake. If you are the non-traditional type of couple, you could skip the cake altogether and offer up a dessert bar.
10. Use a street food Truck
Instead of expensive catering, use a food truck. Food trucks give you a variety of menu options and still offer gourmet meals to your guests — but for a fraction of the cost.
11. Buy Discontinued Wedding Gowns
Discontinued or floor model wedding gowns often are heavily discounted. This helps you walk away with a designer dress for cheaper. If you have the time, look into ordering a designer knock-off. These can be ordered through seamstresses in your area and are often cheaper than buying the name brand version.
No matter what you do, don’t think you have to go cheap to have a frugal wedding. By taking your time, shopping the sales, and just getting creative you can significantly lower the cost of your wedding.
Readers: What are your frugal wedding tips?