Top 3 Most Efficient Ways to Lower Your Wedding Costs

These three specific tactics will efficiently and effectively lower your overall wedding costs.

Planning a wedding is an exciting and joyful experience, but it can also be a significant investment. With rising costs in various aspects of wedding planning, couples are often looking for ways to make their dream day more budget-friendly without compromising on quality and style. If you're looking to lower your wedding costs without sacrificing the magic of your special day, here are the top three ways to help you achieve just that.

1. Prioritize Your Spending

Identify Your Non-Negotiables Before diving into the planning process, sit down as a couple and discuss your priorities. Determine which aspects of the wedding are most important to you and where you're willing to allocate a larger portion of your budget.

Focus on What Matters Most Whether it's a stunning venue, a talented photographer, or a gourmet menu, focus your spending on the elements that will have the most significant impact on your wedding day. By prioritizing your spending, you can allocate your budget more effectively and ensure that you're investing in the aspects of your wedding that truly matter to you.

Heatherly Event Design recommends that you each write down your top three priorities on a sheet of paper. Next, come together and see if there is any crossover. Any of the three priorities that you BOTH have, definitely make the list of top three. If you have only one that crosses over, that is your top priority, followed by your top priority and then your partners.

For example, if your priorities are flowers, food and fun (aka the entertainment) and your partner prioritizes food, bar and venue then perhaps you would have Food, Flowers and Bar as your top three.

2. Lower Your Guest Count and Wedding Party Size

NOTE: Heatherly recommends that you put the most weight on this specific tactic. Lowering your guest count and wedding party size is the most effective and efficient way to lower your overall costs. On average, guests can expect a multiplying factor of $200 per guest (aka a wedding of 100 guests should plan for, at minimum, a budget of $20k in Charlotte, NC).

Intimate Celebrations Consider hosting a smaller, more intimate wedding with close family and friends. By reducing your guest list, you can save on catering costs, venue size, and other related expenses. An intimate wedding allows you to focus on quality over quantity, creating a more personal and meaningful experience for you and your guests.

Smaller Wedding Party Limiting the size of your wedding party can also help reduce costs. Opting for a smaller bridal party means fewer bouquets, boutonnieres, and gifts to purchase. It can also simplify the planning process and reduce logistical challenges, making the wedding day run more smoothly.

3. Your Vendor Team Matters

While you may think that hiring a full time planner or top-tier floral designer is costly, lead industry vendors can and will ultimately save you money. These vendors are trained to find loopholes and deals in addition to knowing just where to push and pull. They know the exact rental company you need to get the right linens, but reduce the service fee by picking the linens up for you, for example. Your florist will have tons of rentals in house that will save you thousands over the cost of DIYing our buying up, storing and transferring used goods.

When combined with florals, the Heatherly Planning/Coordination team saves couples, on average, $400 in “service and cleaning fees” alone.

Hire efficiently, not cheaply, and you’ll save in strides in the end.

Conclusion

Planning a wedding on a budget requires creativity, flexibility, and careful planning. By prioritizing your spending, lowering your guest count and wedding party size and embracing the talents and connections of your vendor team you can lower your wedding costs without compromising on the quality and elegance of your special day. Remember, the most important aspect of your wedding is celebrating your love and commitment to each other, so focus on creating meaningful moments and cherished memories that will last a lifetime. In the end, if you’re happily married and without new debt, the wedding was a success!