With so many weddings delayed or postponed because of Covid, couples are desperate to finally get on with celebrating their big day now restrictions have been eased.
And it’s so easy to get carried away when planning a wedding. You want everything to be perfect but before you know it your carefully planned wedding budget has become a distant memory.
In this blog we explore how to have a beautiful and memorable wedding whilst keeping the cost and waste down.
Cool ways to keep the cost down with your wedding breakfast
Luckily people don’t expect a 3 course sit down meal at weddings anymore and there are loads of creative ways you can feed your guests whilst sticking to your wedding budget in a way that makes your wedding memorable.
One option is to hire a street food cart to serve favourites such as fish and chips, pizza, or burgers. Your guests will love the informality of this option.
Another option is to consider afternoon tea rather than a formal meal. This can be a very special but affordable, laid-back option.
If you are on a tight budget for your wedding, consider planning your ceremony later in the afternoon so that you only have to feed your guests a full meal once in the day. No-one will notice or mind!
Consider your wedding guest list
Micro Weddings became a necessity during the height of the Covid restrictions. Whilst there are currently no limits on guest numbers a lot of people have realised the benefits of having a smaller, more intimate wedding. And, of course, one huge benefit is the lower costs. It follows that the less people you have to cater for, the more likely that you’ll be able to stick to your wedding budget.
"So many couples have said to me that they never imagined having a small wedding but that actually their day was magical which is lovely to hear. "
Think carefully about the wedding day 'extras'
Wedding favours are lovely, but the costs can add up and they can be unsustainable. However, there are lots of lovely options for gorgeous low costs, and low waste wedding favours such as:
Putting out little boxes on the tables and then putting a piece of wedding cake in each one. Loads of people don’t the cake at the wedding itself anyway so it’s a nice way for everyone to enjoy it and take home.
Set up a little flower station with the flowers from the wedding; and guests made themselves a little bouquet at the end of the day to take home with them.
Give your guests a jar of homemade jam, or mini bottle of gin. You can get cute personalised labels printed for these.
Little organic bags of seeds that they can plant when they get home – a lovely little reminder of your wedding day when the seeds grow into flowers! These 'magic dust' wedding favours from Frock Goddess are perfect for this.
As soon as you start researching wedding planning you come across so many cute ideas of things you can have at your wedding to make the day extra special. Gifts, games, magicians, photo booths, donut walls, smoke bombs, LED lights, blossom arches, elaborate table displays, disposable cameras etc. However, all of these lovely 'extras' can really impact on the cost of your wedding
There are ways to achieve some fun wedding extras and stay within your budget. For example, instead of paying for a photo booth you could set up an area with a make-shift frame and a load of borrowed props for people to take their own photos. You can hire or borrow fancy wedding displays. And you can set up a facebook page dedicated to your wedding day and ask guests to upload photos in there instead of supplying disposable cameras.
Wedding decorations on a budget
There are plenty of ways to decorate your venue beautifully without blowing the budget.
For pretty decorations that cost next to nothing, you could try tea lights in glass jars, paper pom poms, draped fabric, DIY decorative arches, and homemade bunting.
Ask friends and family to collect glass jars before the wedding and on the day fill them with tealights. This is such an inexpensive but beautiful way to add atmosphere to your space. You can also make your own giant pom poms from recycled tissue paper and hang them from the ceiling with fishing wire. They look really good and aren’t difficult to make.
Hire or buy pre-loved
You may be able to borrow decorative items for your wedding day from friends or family. If not hiring is cost effective; or buying second-hand wedding decorations is a good idea. Avoiding buying new is also much more eco-friendly and means that you are not left with a load of decorations that you have no use for after the day.
If you have to buy anything new try selling in on afterwards somewhere like Ebay or Facebook marketplace to recoup some of the cost.
Wedding Dressing on a budget
You absolutely do not need to spend thousands of pounds to get a stunning wedding dress. It’s possible to have a beautiful bridal gown even on the tightest budget.
You could try scouring the pre-loved market for a bargain. Try Ebay or specialist wedding charity shops.
Another option is to hire a wedding dress at a fraction of the cost of buying new from many of the companies that are springing up to offer this service.
If you want to buy new and are on a budget take a look at the gorgeous budget friendly dresses we have available here at Frock Goddess. Our bridal outfits start from as little as £150!
Call in your mates to help
Calling in help from your friends and family can be a great way to save some of the cost of your wedding. You could utilise the talents of your friends and family in lieu of them buying you a gift. It’s also lovely to have your friends and family involved.
The possibilities are endless. Know anyone with a nice car? That could be your wedding day transport. Or if you have friends or family with talents such as make-up, hair, flower arranging, baking, or sewing these could come in very handy and save you a fortune. Even friends without any special talents could be drafted in to help with your DIY decorations.
Ultimately it can be so easy to get focused on the small details and forget that whatever you choose for your wedding day you and your guests will have an amazing time!
We'd love to hear your thoughts or tips on how to keep the costs of your wedding down.
Jen x
@frockgoddess