18 Ways to Cut Spending but Still Have a Kick Ass Wedding!

Weddings are expensive guys! Seriously, it's tough to stick to a budget, even if you're super creative and thrifty! So I've made a list of 18 ways that you can cut your spending on your wedding without it seeming like you're just trying to throw a cheap party.

You may hate these ideas. That's fine. You may find 1 you'll use. Just read and see.

Here goes nothing:

1. Calm down on the Invites

Skip the super extensive invitations. Honestly, when I get an invitation to my friend's wedding I've already put the Save the Date on the fridge, so I throw the actual wedding invitation away. Sorry, friends. Don't send expensive invitation suites with all the fancy glitter and the 12 different envelopes. Just don't.

2. Skip the RSVP Card

Speaking of invites, just ask people to RSVP online. It's much easier for you and for them! All you have to do is make sure that you have the RSVP link printed on your invites somewhere. They go online, click RSVP, fill in any other information, and you get all of that information organized for you! (ps, if you don't have a wedding website, get one!

3. Cut the Guest List

Narrow down the guest list (sorry uncle bob's stepson; also sorry brides bc this is everyone's least favorite suggestion). This one speaks for itself. The less people at the wedding, the less expensive it'll be. I'm not a big fan of this one, either. It's fine.

4. Bridal Party Attire

Have the bridal party buy their own attire... but remember, they don't care as much about your wedding day as you do tbh. So keep it under $200, please. Your friends will appreciate you.

old navy groomsmen & bridesmaids dresses from an online boutique ($10 each)

5. Venue

Go with a venue that includes the important things, not everything. You need tables and chairs. That's much easier if your venue includes it. Other than that, don't stress about needing an all inclusive venue. You can get tablecloths, food, drinks, centerpieces, and coordination services for much cheaper than they'll offer.

our venue was so low-key

6. Coordinator

I think that you need someone to be there as a coordinator on the day of your wedding to make sure things run smoothly. If you don't want or need a full scale wedding planner, go with a day of-coordinator! You can even use your mom's super organized friend as a day-of coordinator, just make sure they're there for the rehearsal, too!

7. Do Your Own Hair & Makeup (or have someone in beauty school do it!)

You want to be comfortable and feel like yourself on your wedding day, so do your own hair and makeup! If you're just terrible at that stuff, have a friend or family member who doesn't suck do it! Or even pay someone in beauty school to do it.

i went with a super natural look, so it took like an hour total to get ready

8. Artificial Flowers/Greenery

Flowers are mega expensive. You can opt for artificial flowers and greenery for your wedding day to save some money! Make your own bouquets with your bffs. You'll have a great time and you'll be able to customize it! I had my bouquet made by a florist, but he used artificial peonies! It looks great and costs less!

the berries and peonies are artificial; i also made my own flower crown

9. Seating

Make sure your venue has seats and tables for you. It's less of a headache, and then you don't have to price shop for chairs.

our venue had tables and chairs for us, but only 150. our guests carried their chair from ceremony to reception. haha!

10. DIY Decor/Centerpieces

If you can, make some centerpieces yourself! Recycle old bottles and candles for a boho look!

ft. costco baby's breath

11. Tablecloths

Either find a realllllll cheap rental company, or buy them yourself so you can resell them or use them again later. I bought mine here.

tablecloths ft. our fam & friends watching tennessee beat uga

12. Place Settings

First thing's first, you have to decide whether you want real or disposable place settings. If you want real, just rent them. Don't try to scavenge for the cute things that a rental place already has. You can find a rental company that will rent them for less than you'd spend to buy them, and it's much easier! If you want disposable, restaurant supply stores are your go to. Remember, you need dinner plates, dessert plates, and drink cups. For our wedding, we drank everything out of the same disposable cup. Wine and champagne don't need a wine glass! Next, don't get huge plates. That means people will put more on their plate, and either eat more or waste the food you're paying for. 9 inch plates are it.

we ate quick so here's our place settings (lol)

13. Cut Programs

There is not a person in this world who uses these for anything other than a fan. Just make a big program on a chalkboard or something. People really only look at it once. They just want to know when they get food & drinks.

(I don't even have a picture for this because it's highly irrelevant in the grand scheme of life)

14. Your Music Choice

This one is really depending on what your preference is! Do you want a live band? Are you good at making playlists that everyone loves? If you want a live band, you probably won't be cutting costs when it comes to music. This is super cool and original, but remember, no matter how good a band is, they can't play all types of music! You could also get a DJ, just make sure it's someone you really like! We personally did a Spotify playlist. Levi is really good at making playlists, and we knew what the people at our wedding would enjoy hearing, so we made our own. It saved us so much money because our venue already had a speaker system that we just plugged our MacBook Air into.

spotify ftw

15. Food

Ughhhh another expensive one. Choose a food that most people like, have a veggie option, and go with it. We did a BBQ potato bar and salads! Just have a buffet. You can put the plates at their seat and have them take their plate to the buffet, but no matter what, this is the most cost effective (9 inch plates) and easiest! You don't need people walking around with appetizers in their hand. You don't need servers to fill up drinks. People can do that themselves. Have a self-serve drink station.

salads, baked potatoes, and bbq are crowd pleasers

16. Limit Drink Options

Honestly all you need is beer, wine, tea, and water. Buy the beer, tea, and water from a grocery store, and the wine from Trader Joe's. Put the beer and wine at a self-serve station and have the tea and water in drink dispensers. Easy.

you can shotgun; need i say more?

17. Have a Dessert Bar

People love options. What's better than a 7-layer cake? Basically everything. Have some Sams Club cupcakes, Krispy Kreme donuts, homemade pies, and whatever else you want! You can still have a mini cake for yourself, but a dessert bar is easier, cheaper, and guaranteed to please more people!

bonus if your dad makes cake stands from trees & your grandma bakes mini pies

18. Skip the Favors

You'll end up with at least half of them yourself. Nobody takes them until you beg them, and even then they don't really want them. Just save yourself time and money and remember that you're paying for them to enjoy a big party (aka your wedding), why do they need a favor? Lolz.

we took home around 75 bags of coffee beans

Seriously, don't feel bad about cutting these things! It's your day. Be you. You can save some money and still have a kick ass time marrying your best friend!

If you have any questions about where I got things or vendors I used for my wedding let me know! I'd love to help you out!