9 Easy Ways to Save Money on Your Wedding

Here’s a terrifying and true statement: the average wedding costs around $35,000.

If you want to spend this much and have the means to do so, go for it! If you’re like me and so many others and would rather spend a fifth of that crazy price tag, here are some super easy and smart ways to help you achieve that happier total.

1. Skip the Favors

The average favor can cost anywhere from $50 – $500 depending on how personal you want those favors to be and your total guest count. Favors can be super thoughtful, it’s your way of thanking guests, thus I spent a lot of time researching wedding favor ideas.

What will people want and like?

Which favors will fit the theme of my wedding?

Which favors could people use for years so I can feel like I got my monies worth?

And then I started thinking about favors I had gotten from past weddings… and I couldn’t remember those favors.

Did I get a favor? Do I still have those favors?

That’s when I decided to nix the favors. I never cared about receiving a favor from weddings, so why am I stressing about having them at my own wedding?

2. DIY Decor

Create as much decor as you can! My wedding was totally DIY, it was a lot of work but I know it saved me so much money.

If you aren’t super crafty to create the items yourself, look at sale items. I did this, too! Find sale items you can easily transform to fit your wedding.

For instance, I found a Mr. & Mrs. wooden cut out that I ended up using on my sweetheart table. I took my white and blush spray paint, hot glued some flowers and a wooden base (a simple piece of wood I found in my basement) and voila! I had a super inexpensive decoration that fit the colors of my wedding.

Don’t be afraid to paint! Paint can be your best friend for a DIY Wedding.

3. Shop Sale – Dress and Veil

The average wedding dress cost $1,500.

I shopped sale for both my dress and veil. They were both brand new, never worn pieces – they just happened to be the last of those previous season items, thus they had huge discounts. And I mean HUGE.

I saved 80% on my dress and 75% on my veil. I got my dress from BHLDN (which has GORGEOUS dresses). There’s no shame in shopping sale. At full price, my wedding dress would have been hundreds over the average wedding dress cost.

Seriously, look at sale.

Check out BHLDN’s current sale dresses:

4. Artificial Flowers

The average cost of wedding flowers is $2,000.

I wrote a post on my artificial wedding flowers experience, and I am still so happy I chose this option. Artificial flowers can save you hundreds of dollars on your wedding day, especially if you’re like me and want flowers everywhere!

I used Micheal’s for most of the floral decor, and Afloral for the bouquets and boutonnieres since they looked and felt so real.

I love that I still have my wedding flowers; my bouquets (mine and my bridesmaids), my ceremony arch decor, table decor, etc. I use my wedding flowers all around my house. Including my Christmas tree this year!

5. Skip the DJ

Although we had a family friend play his guitar for our ceremony, dining, and special dances (which was his wedding gift to us) we decided not to have a DJ for the dancing portion of our wedding. It was significantly cheaper to rent sound equipment for one day and create a playlist on my laptop.

You can even designate a friend or family member to keep an eye on the playlist to keep the dancing going. Our wedding started at 5pm and we were still dancing at 2am. Not having a DJ obviously did not limit the fun and dancing.

6. No Traditional Wedding Cake

The average traditional wedding cake can be $400-$500.

For cake? This better be the best cake ever. And since it may not be, why not go for a less expensive option. All the guests really want is a nice dessert. We chose to do cupcakes and other small, finger food desserts, which we dressed up on beautiful tiered serving plates and ornate floral cupcake holders.

We also had our neighbor bake all the cupcakes for us, which helped us save even more money on desserts. Chose desserts that fit your tastes: cookies, rice krispy treats, brownies, donuts, pastries, etc.

7. Go Backyard

The average cost for a venue is $12,000-$15,000.

The average cost for a backyard wedding venue is $0. If possible, go backyard!

An outside wedding surrounded by trees was always my dream, and thanks to the generosity of my parents opening their backyard to my husband and me, that dream was made possible.

A backyard wedding is great for so many reasons, the obvious being the huge money saver. With a backyard wedding, you can set up when you want, disassemble when you want, and keep the wedding going as long as you want.

If possible, consider backyard. 

8. Create Your Own Photo Booth

Renting a photo booth can cost from $500-$1,000+ depending on the company, props, and rental hours.

Photo booths are a fun way for your guests to capture and remember your big day. To save money I decided to create my own photo booth. I did so by making a paper flower backdrop, painting my own wooden props and providing guests with a polaroid camera. I also sat out a photo album book for my guest to sign and glue in their pictures for us!

It was fun, tailored to the style of my wedding, and SO inexpensive!

9. Utilize Your Friends and Family

If this isn’t obvious, we saved so much money because of the generosity of our family and friends.

Our big savors because of friends and family: live music, dessert, venue, flower arrangements, and our officiant. We had a friend as our officiant; this gave our wedding a much more personal touch having someone who truly knows us perform the ceremony.

Don’t be hesitant to ask! Utilize the talents and generosity of your friends and family, this can even act as a wedding gift (like our live music).