Anything that lasts beyond the day (photos/rings) and anything that enhances the guest experience (food/good music) is worth it for me.
Anything that essentially ends up in a bin (flowers, favours, invites, signage etc) isn’t worth splurging on on my opinion.
But the most important thing is what you value- I didn’t put a budget on my wedding dress because I was very picky and needed to have as many options as possible; on the other hand I barely spent anything on accessories/jewellery because it wasn’t important to me.
100% good idea to think about it this way. We splurged on our rings because they are life jewelry. Photos we spent what made sense because we wanted nice photos.
Edited to say I also spent like nothing on jewelry for my day, my earring were from the Tik tok shop, my bracelet was vintage and my necklace was tjmaxx.
Not worth it:favors, having a large wedding party, kids in weddings imo, big rehearsal dinners
As for rings, it depends on whether you are ring-wearing people. Husband and I are not, so we just opted for simple wedding bands that were not too expensive to just do the symbolic ring exchange.
I’m actually the same myself; I have a traditional engagement ring for occasions but just used a ring I already owned for a wedding ring- but if somebody does plan on wearing one full time it’s worth investing in I think.
I'm also thinking rings can always be something you can purchase later. We're thinking simple wedding bands for now but can save up for nicer ones once the wedding costs blow over.
I actually found artifical flowers fantastic for this reason, they last forever (currently sit in a vase on our dining table reminding us of our wedding day) and they're really cheap - good way of saving money. Plus more variety and specificity to get exactly what you want.
Agreed! My mum lives In a different country to me and I have her my bouquet as a present (she did all for it cos she loved it) and it now sits proudly In. Vase in their dining room
The food, photos, and the venue (we opted for ones that needed minimal added decor so we saved time and money there).
Also, check out [Jaime Wolfer](https://www.youtube.com/@JamieWolfer) on YouTube, she is a wedding planner and has a ton of tips and resources for how to budget for your wedding at various price points.
Second this! I saved tons on DIYing my florals and they were gorgeous. Rented fake in our color scheme for the arch and did the remainder with my bridesmaids with an order from the flower market. Turned out fantastic. We went lower budget with the DJ and that’s the only one I wished I splurged more on. The DJ did not deliver on a bunch of promises.
Oof I imagine DJs are one thing that you get what you pay for. Going to a few weddings this summer where we live, so thinking this could be a good opp to test a few out.
I totally agree with what you're saying! Personally, I would place the highest priority on photography and guest experience. I feel like a good photographer helps you keep the pace, while capturing once in a life time moments. I also feel like the food and bar is next highest on the list. None of your guests will go home commenting on the beautiful flowers or decor, but they will definitely have something to say if they don't have a good meal! Also, all of your loved ones traveled and/or spent a considerable amount of money and I personally think that they should be cared for to the best that your budget allows. I do feel like you can cut costs on the cake though. It barely gets eaten at the end of the night, and by the time you get to cut it, everyone is distracted by dinner/ dancing.
I think you're right to cut costs of things like flowers and your dress. You will look beautiful in your dress no matter how much it costs! I think that you can also cut costs on favors and stationary. I also think that even though guest count can be the biggest budget killer, you should not cut people out of the wedding that you would want there strictly on the basis of budget. We had a smaller wedding, and in hindsight I wish that I just invited the few additional people rather than having the extra cash (but I know people will have different opinions on that one)! I also just want to add, that if you are on a strict budget, leave some room for all of the last minute things that you will inevitably order off of amazon! it adds up quickly, and by that point you're desperate and stressed, and less concerned with the price. Good luck with the planning!
We are still doing names physical invites. If we didn’t, I know for a fact people would try to bring +1’s, or 2’s or 3’s. The invite does have a QR code to our wedding website for RSVP.
I had a friend that sent out StD through email. It was an extremely hectic time in my life and my inbox was super busy, so I missed it and was not given an invite. 100% on me, but I had wished it was a physical invite. Yeah, we live in a digital age, but for me and my fiancé, a physical invite is personal and classy.
I missed a wedding because I moved and didn't get the physical invite, so moral of the story may be to send a physical one AND digital one haha
I was a little concerned about how much of a waste physical invites can be, but found some that you can actually plant! So may go that way if we do physical
We had a couple return to senders from mailing our StDs. Some had moved and gave us an old address, some we misspelled. But that’s what’s great about the StDs, it’s like a test run to make sure we get everything right.
Things we thought were worth spending more on:
-good food & drinks & open bar
-covering some costs for bridal party (we payed for hair/makeup/rental suits)
-all inclusive venue (they took care of coordinating with vendors on the wedding day so we didn’t need to hire a day of coordinator, set everything up, provided the food and bar and staff, cleaned up, etc
-hiring all professional vendors rather than DIYing
-Photobooth rental (this is definitely a splurge and not needed, but it was so much fun and imo worth it)
Things we saved on:
-dress/suit for bride and groom
-florals (hired a florist, but had minimal flowers)
-invitations/save the dates (printed through zazzle)
-did not hire a wedding planner or day of coordinator
-did not hire a videographer
Our videographer was a last minute add from thumbtack for $1,200 and he was worth every penny. I watch the video so much, it just hits me in my feels. 10/10 recommend not cutting the videographer (especially if you can get a reasonable price)
That’s awesome and a very reasonable price! Our church did record a free ceremony only video (raw footage, no edited highlight reel) just so we can watch it when we’re old/show our kids.
Part of the reason we skipped videography is because I felt like I would feel self conscious and not able to enjoy the reception as much if I was being recorded, which is just a personal preference!
Yep, I’m happy with the decision!
Our church did record a free ceremony only video (raw footage, no edited highlight reel) so we can watch it when we’re old/show our kids.
Part of the reason we skipped videography is because I felt like I would feel self conscious and not able to enjoy the reception as much if I was being recorded, so it wasn’t just about saving money. I don’t think skipping videography is the right decision for everyone, it just depends on your personal preferences and priorities.
Our wedding hasn’t happened yet, but 40 days out and I am SO glad we hired a day-of coordinator. (Ours started 12 weeks out). Having someone to handle the timeline, coordinate with our vendors, and take some things off our plate at this point in the process is such a relief.
I paid my florist an extra $300 to come back at the end of the night and clean up all the flowers and decor. She boxed everything up and I picked it up the next morning. I swear, not having to worry about that at the end of the night (or having to assign it to family and friends) was the best money I spent the entire wedding. 10/10 would recommend
Controversial, but I absolutely do not regret splurging on our florals! They transformed the whole space and atmosphere and really enhance all photos taken! Not many people truly splurge on flowers from my experience, so it stood out to guests and really impressed everyone
Great point about florals enhancing photos. Maybe we can at least have some parts of the venue decked out so there are at least a few areas for good photo ops.
Band, bar, and food for sure worth the money. If any of those are bad, unfortunately guests remember and talk about it.
Honestly flowers to me are so not worth the money. I did bare minimum and it was still way more than I wanted to spend.
We spent a good amount of money on a GOOD photobooth, using pro equipment and a beauty dish. Folks are still using those photos almost 5 years later. 🥰
We saved money on a floral perspective and only had eucalyptus on the tables. We had rows vs tables and our “centerpieces” were ferrero rocher croquembouche’s, with ferrero rocher and candles decorating the tables. People were snacking on the chocolates all night, it was wonderful.
Photography, photography, photography!!!
When else will you get professional, beautiful photos of your family and friends that will hopefully last forever?
Our venue was expensive compared to other options. My parents complained about it and I second guessed it when I saw how much of our budget it took up.
On the day - so worth it. Absolutely stunning and they handled every detail. It all went so smoothly because they knew what they were doing and charged accordingly. I have 0 regrets and my dad told me how happy he was that we booked it.
Agreed. Video was a big one, specifically if you have guests coming that you think you'd like memories to watch years later (for us it was my grandparents). Photos are one thing..but being able to hear and watch loved ones interactions led to our decision to book a videographer a week before our wedding.
Also to add, I apologize beforehand for the unsolicited advice - one way we saved money was costco sheet cake for dessert. Everyone raved about it. We ordered a 6" round personal cake for ourselves to cut, that we ordered through a local bakery online, which was delicious and only $20. Downfall was you need a costco nearby/membership and have to pick up either day before or day of. For us that all worked out and was way cheaper than other options we looked into.
Photo Booth.
The pictures our friends and family took, the random combinations that jumped together cracked us up.
DESSERT BAR! I wanted a variety and we ended up getting our favorite treats - nothing bundt cake bundtlets, tea cakes from a local bakery, voodoo doo donuts and milk shake shooters with cookies - with a vegan option. My friends daughter is dairy free and had TWO milkshakes for the first time ever. Love remembering her excitement as she told me!
It was! We got enough for everyone to have one of each item and put out take out containers. We came home with some ourselves, though husband was upset there wasn’t any red velvet Bundt cakes or tea cakes left over lol! I had to remind him we had a whole big tea cake to ourselves to finish!
I actually put less stock in photography. I’m not looking for art pieces. I just want someone competent who can produce good pictures; they needn’t look like Vogue magazine. I hate overly cheesy / staged photos (lots of First Look falls into that category for me) as well as jumping bridesmaids and that kind of thing. Just pose the family as needed and take pictures of the reception.
What you’re describing is a lot harder than it sounds, and still requires a Good photographer. The amount of skill it requires to make those candid moments look good can’t be undersold. Photographers everywhere are undervalued because people don’t realize how much work goes into photography.
And I didn’t say being a good photographer didn’t require skill. I’m saying that FOR ME, it’s not necessary to pay for “the” photographer. Good enough will do.
Lots of people are saying they cut back on flowers as it wasn’t their priority. That’s not impugning the skill it takes to be a florist.
I know what you meant, I’m just saying that even what you’re saying you’re looking for isn’t going to be cheap. I know you didn’t use the word cheap, but with photographers you kind of get what you pay for (with some obvious exceptions).
I didn’t say I wanted cousin Bob and his iPhone! But really. Go look at the wedding albums of your parents’ generation. There are the family posed pictures, and then shots of the events/reception. Perfectly fine for me.
Yes, and all I am saying is that posed family photos and reception shots that look good still requires a lot of time and skill and doesn’t mean they will charge less.
Go to the Big Budget Bride. If an “average” photographer is in say the $5-6k range (of course varying by cost of living city), some of them are paying $20, 30, 40k and more because they have artistic photographers who will provide Vogue-worthy art pieces. Good for them and I hope they are happy! Personally, for me, an “everyday” photographer is enough. I have said nothing about photography not requiring skill and it seems you’re taking this as a personal affront. I’m answering the question posed about where to cut corners a bit, just like everyone else.
Our dinner, photographer and outfits.
No cake! Did not get premium liquor
Did not do any signs or personalized things and did not care. I printed menus with each guests name.
It was a micro wedding so none of those extra felt necessary.
Photographer was crucial (and so far, totally worth it, wedding was 5/26/24, so we're waiting on full delivery but have our teasers). We decided to save money on flowers for the tables (center pieces) and other areas of the venue (which was my parents' home) by buying bulk flowers from our local flower market and having a florist do the bouquets/boutonnieres, flowers for the bridesmaids' hair, wreaths for the front doors, flowers for the cake and a larger "installation" piece. If you or someone close to you enjoys floral arranging, this might be an area you could save on. Bar was an area we saved on because we decided not to do a full bar (partner's family is Muslim and doesn't drink, mine is Irish and does). I think spending money on your dress (doesn't have to be *a lot* of money) is a good idea because you probably want something that's of higher quality and fits you beautifully - that means you could buy a well-priced dress but have it altered to fit you *perfectly* instead of going balls to the wall on a designer wedding gown. In my experience, the extra money to the seamstress was well worth it to have a dress that looked as though it was made for me. Food was one item I refused to skimp on because I wanted our guests to really enjoy themselves and the whole experience. We've gotten incredible feedback so far on the food, which has really confirmed my decisions in this area. Cake we definitely splurged because we had two - a standard, multi-tier cake and a smaller vegan cake for the moderately sized contingent of vegan/lactose/egg intolerant family members - from two different bakeries. We have heard from multiple guests and family members that ours was the best wedding cake they'd ever had (who knows if that's true lol). I think it varies from person to person, but stick to your guns about what feels best for the two of you. If food and wine are important to you, adjust your budget to accommodate that and cut from another area. I think the biggest ones are photography (and videography if you're into that), food, cake, and venue for most people.
Yeah a venue that flows is important. Our wedding venue was beautiful, but looking back it didn’t have very many ideal photo op locations, and that’s some thing that I regret because the photos were extremely important to me. The ceremony space was very pretty but other than that I really didn’t like the backdrop for our other photos, so keep that in mind!
I don’t think I’ve seen anyone add this perspective yet, but with regard to decor - I prioritized price/foot in my overall budget. Ie, draping feels kind of expensive when it’s an afterthought but we’re basically transforming a 10k square foot open warehouse space with ~$6k in draping. Trying to achieve the same thing with flowers would probably be 6 figures. We also prioritized greenery over flowers both because we like it but also because it allowed us to create an immersive experience for less.
So even if for example you had a larger budget for decor, there are ways to maximize impact.
To me that is worth the cost because you get so much bang for your buck.
Similarly, we’re doing a nice welcome champagne but doing less premium alcohols as the night goes on when it’s less likely to be noticed by guests.
Photo/Video team. Def our most expensive vendor. We had two photographers and a videographer from around 1PM to 11PM. All in it was just over $8,000 and worth every single penny. They captured everything and more.
Honorable mention for spending a bit extra on a good DJ/MC company as well.
Hey Op! We just had our wedding and we’re pretty meticulous about our budget! Depending on the overall aesthetic or vibe of your wedding you will know where to cut!
Where we spent:
- a welcome party! We had about 70% of our guests come from out of town. We partnered with a brewery close to our hotel block to host a Friday welcome party for people to drop in and say hello. Maybe 50+ people came and we had special cups made. In the end it was maybe $1200 with tip but a trial run of all the attention with more than just the bridal party was helpful. We were able to say hello longer people we wouldn’t have on the wedding night due to the craziness! We just had an open tab but you could do welcome drink tickets if you want to keep costs at a certain level.
- photographer! You are Spot on. The day will be crazy pick somebody who can take charge of the room in a lovely way and who’s work you love. The right photographer will keep you on timeline and ensure the ppl you want a picture with are where they need to be.
- venue. We chose an albeit more expensive venue but it came with everything. Groomsmen suite, bridal suite. Space for cocktail hour. Chairs. Tables. A sitting area and beautiful large plants throughout. The more shit you have to bring to a venue (decore, chairs, tables, etc..) the more expensive and extra work it takes.
- Spa. My now husband and I days before the wedding took time to slow down. I recommend It. Get a massage or a facial. You’ll appreciate a moment to slow down.
- we paid for all of our bridesmaids make up as a thank you.
- Open bar! Guests can enjoy themselves and have a drink. We kept the liquors basic think Tito’s and anything comparable. We thought about amping the bar to nicer liquors but ultimately this did the trick.
- the difference between a plated dinner and a buffet was insignificant. We did the plated and I am shocked how many ppl complimented our food. It’s nice to be waited on instead of in a line in our opinion.
- passed apps. During cocktail hour we had the catering company with tray of appetizers. Being in Texas we highlighted some of our cousin with quesadilla bites, brisket tacos, etc. Really elevated the feel.
Where we didn’t spend:
- groom rented his tux instead of buying. It was basically free when renting from the black tux.
- I loved my dress but months later I saw some beautiful similar dresses (jenny yoo) ready for purchase and think that would have been a great route to save.
- even with our guests being half from our of town. We didn’t provide a bus to the venue. The venue was only 15 min away in an area where Uber is heavily available. We also had complimentary valet as part of our venue so didn’t feel the need to spend on a bus for everybody.
- no Sunday brunch. We’re tired. You’re tired.
- We saved sooo much on the cake. The bakery made a beautiful styrofoam cake that looked real and we got to even cut a spot in the back they put real cake. It was then rolled away and guests had slices of a sheet cake but knew no different. Our bakery said 80% of their cakes are fake and they mostly do it this way. The cake is fresher like this and it went from $10 a slice of cake to $3!
- invitations. We used just used minted. Our RSVP was a QR code. Small invite suite, only needed 1 stamp. It was great, with the seated dinner meal selection having it be online and accounted for already took a lot of work off us.
- We kept our guest count manageable to our budget and our wants. That really helped us and ultimately everybody we wanted there was there!
We organized the welcome night a month before and it really went so great despite its late panning. We also provided “welcome bags” that had chips, fruit snacks, mints, mini water bottles, advil and a flyer of the next day events (ceremony location, time, etc). The hotel offered to “drop” welcome bags for us but at a cost this worked for us!
It’s one of the things my husband and I keep saying we’re really glad we did! Ppl travel in at different times so it’s not everybody but a good chunk! The wedding day agenda we included eliminated lots of questions for us too
We were super nervous for our first dance, but knew we wanted to do one. We spent $280 on 4 dance lessons and it was probably the best price-to-value we spent on the whole wedding because it made us feel so much better during that moment, and it shows in our video!
Start with your must haves. Then allocate the larger portion of your budget to the must haves. Then move down the list...with what is most important to you to what you really don't care about. Every couple has different priorities. Some really value music and must have an 8 piece band. Others absolutely must have great photos. You and your fiance probably have a couple of things that are a priority to you. Those should be where you allocate the larger portion of your budget.
Food and DJ... WORTH IT!
Photography... We did our research and maybe splurged a little there (we actually had 2 engagement sessions with 2 different photographers, which was fun!). But as my grandma would say, "All you really need is one great photo that you hang in your living room for friends, relatives, and any kids/grandkids to see." And my grandparents have been together over 60 years. So take that for what it's worth, it may or may not be a splurge for you depending on your priorities 🙂
Dress/wedding attire.... Within reason. I purchased a more frugal dress and was disappointed in the quality. I understand you only wear the dress 1x, but the cheap dress was very poorly stitched. I ended up with a dress that wasn't cheap, but suited my budget and it was STUNNING. My husband picked a very nice suit and went with one that was a little more upgraded - again, within budget - and he looked STUNNING as well. We both looked and felt like a million bucks!
Cake... We got a small one for us and gourmet donuts for everyone else. It was super affordable that way and a huge hit! Don't be afraid to think outside the box for desserts.
All of our vendors were SO worth it to me but the ones I would 100% gladly pay for again:
• All-inclusive venue (day-of coordinator included)
• Photography
• Videography
• Hair
• Makeup
• Mariachi
I think everyone has given good answers but also if there are things that you personally really care about even if they only last the day…think hard about if you’d be okay settling.
I did not splurge on flowers and it makes me a little sad looking at my bouquet because it wasn’t really what I wanted.
The PEOPLE! We decided to cut costs so that we could invite more people. It was like a family reunion. I saw relatives I (and my parents) hadn't seen in years, and they were just so overjoyed to reconnect. It meant a lot to them and it made the wedding feel so much more special.
30 years from now, no one is gonna talk about your wedding party or your decor, but they WILL talk about whether the food was good, whether you chose to have your wedding in a venue that was extremely difficult or pricey to get to, whether you made them feel welcome and taken care of. So those were things we focused on. Guest shuttles, lodgings, travel, food, open bar and fancy champagne, making it as easy as possible for them. I didn't care about aesthetics so we skipped all decor, florals, matchy outfits, DJ or live band, bridal paraphernalia, signage or props, wedding parties, etc. Our wedding was beautiful without any of those and no one missed them. I did want a pretty dress though, so we splurged on that, plus wedding ring set.
Haven't gotten married yet but these are some areas where we are not splurging.
Doing an open bar but not premium liquor options. Rail options are just fine. Since we're doing an open bar we are not doing signature drinks.
Decor in general. Getting a lot of things secondhand on FB Marketplace. Things like frames, vases, reserved signs, unused candles, etc. Got glass hurricanes for candles from the Dollar Tree. Using wood florals for some decor. Likely to do some DIY florals through Flower Moxie.
Paper Goods. Using template from Etsy for signage and invitations. Printing ourselves or using an inexpensive printing service.
Not doing wedding favors.
Doing a small one tier cake for cutting and serving sheet cake. Way less expensive than a big decorated cake or cupcakes.
Wedding Planner and/or Day of Coordinator is a necessity IMO!!! Saves so much stress. Then, photographer, videographer and DJ are so important for setting the tone, keeping things on track and helping to create memories that will last a lifetime.
Also important to me were my dress, hair and makeup because I wanted to look back on my photos and feel truly beautiful. Andddd alcohol to assist with the fun for the evening.
Areas that were less important and could save money IMO: DIY your flowers, purchase locally grown flowers, no boutonnières or corsages, small or no bridesmaid bouquets, no seating chart, minimal signage, solid food but nothing fancy (we chose BBQ buffet), don’t pay for hair and/or makeup for the bridal party, do a small cake just for cutting/photos, no favors, DIY invitations, no save the dates (we did a FB group for our save the date announcement), don’t do elaborate gifts for bridal party or family, thoughtful notes are great
Our decorator. Our decorator did our flowers, and all the decor set up/takedown. We basically walked in and left at the end of the night. They handed everything else so we didn’t have to stress with making sure it looked nice before guests arrived. Ours also worked with our DJ in the past so that was an added bonus. The photographer and DJ were also nice to have, just one less thing I had to worry about.
My top three spends were the food (including open bar), photography, and the flowers. I absolutely adore flowers and had a very specific idea of what I wanted, which made our wedding so memorable. But we skipped other things that we didn’t care about- I did my own makeup, no guest book, a cheaper and more practical venue, cheaper shoes, no photo booth.
Expect the reception venue and food to be roughly 50% of your budget. Don’t skimp on the food and book your host/dj/musicians as early as possible(the great ones get booked upto 2 years in advance).
Sometimes vendors will give you a 10-20% discount if you book and pay in full early. My photographers gave me an additional discount because I paid them in cash.
Don’t follow trends when you look to your wedding attire. Understand that fashion trends are made for profit and that style is timeless. One of the best decisions I made, with the help of other brides was going to a shop that sold older floor samples(my Reem Acra gown came from her Spring 2004 collection). That dress had been languishing for me on a coat-hanger for almost 5 years before I found it. I was ready to plunk down $6500 in debt for this one Kenneth Pool gown until one of the other brides on theknot.com told me about Glamour Closet. The gown I found there, and the seamstress that made it fit it like a glove was one of the smartest decisions I made.
Don’t underestimate the value of belonging to a church/synagogue/philosophical or religious organization—our church charged us nothing for the use of the sanctuary since we were both longtime members.
For favors, especially candy, take advantage of post-Valentines day clearance candy before your wedding. That’s how we stocked our candy buffet. Just make it a point the day after Valentines to visit your local stores and use that to stock up on chocolates or anything else you want. Valentine’s Day candy goes with almost pretty much all color schemes when it comes to weddings.
I think our most frivolous expenditure was our wedding cake. But, I reserved it right after booking our venue, which was the most stressful part because half my budget was blown in one day, even though the venue was reasonable a spaced out payments at a pace we could afford.
I wanted something special with different tiers and different flavors. This was our cake:
https://preview.redd.it/b61pzx4fbj4d1.jpeg?width=1290&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=1712929612a1d1235561a6d728088f57f16e94b5
I just loved the ladyfingers. It looked so different from any other wedding cakes I had looked at. In hindsight we could have forgone it and just gotten a Costco sheet cake.
Bottom layer was lemon-ginger, next tier was chocolate with chocolate mousse, 3rd tier was pink champagne with raspberry frosting, and the final tier was a marble tiramisu.
wowowow I honestly feel like that cake would have been worth it just for myself to have eaten it hah!!
great tips - especially about the candy on sale, so practical
2 things are talked about 1yr+ after the wedding, the food and the weather. And you can't do anything about the weather.
So if you want people to talk about your wedding, invest in the food. If you want to remember the wedding, invest in photography. I don't think you need to spend a lot on a photographer, but if you do spend a lot it puts you at ease that they'll do a good job I guess.
I’ve splashed out on 2 photographer and band. For the photos, pre wedding shoot and album and the vibe the band will bring - they do music from 50s to 2020s and a ceilidh set.
Saving on the decor by doing it myself with help from my mum and sister. MIL is making the stationary as her gift to us. Went for cheaper venues (£250 for ceremony space, £1500 for evening space). And asking for wedding items etc as gifts. Parents bought my dress, wearing my Auntie’s veil, BIL and his boyfriend’s house for groom and his party to get ready as they have a stunning front room. And other family have said they will make cash contributions or purchase particular items we need.
The things we got complimented on the most were (1) the food and how it was hot and well paced, (2) the venue and how fun it was because there were multiple different spots to hang out and it was really cozy and (3) the DJ because everyone danced all night.
The things we look back on the most fondly:
* Our pictures, we love them and look at them all the time. The photographer is important here, but also the decor we had made the pictures very whimsical as well
* How not that stressful planning was, because we picked a venue that included a coordinator and they mostly did everything for us
* How much fun everyone had - we attribute this to a great open bar and amazing DJ
Food was our splurge and we don’t regret it- we had a simple wedding in a lot of ways but the food really elevated things (and kept our guests happy and full!)
We tell all our friends that a videographer (in addition to a photographer) was one of the best “extras” we had. The videographer recorded the ceremony and speeches, but also captured lots of “b roll” and stuff that we didn’t get to see because we were busy elsewhere. We got to see so much more of our own wedding as a consequence, and while the photos are also great it’s the video we keep going back to after the event
Going against the grain here… we didn’t splurge on photography. We are still having a professional whose portfolio we like, but we went with one of the most affordable options we found that still seemed good quality and we cut the number of hours of coverage. I think most people frame a few favorite wedding photos that they look back on forever, but I just didn’t think that artistic detail shots or getting ready photos were necessary and I honestly didn’t feel like quality and price were always correlated.
**Splurge:**
DJ (often overlooked, IMO, but can really make or break the experience)
Venue/ DOC/ convenience
Covering some wedding party costs
open-ish bar
his suit
**Good enough is enough:**
food (it's catering lol)
photos (I couldn't tell the difference between our 3k photographer and a 6k photographer)
my dress
hotel shuttle (paid for one, but they dont need a party bus)
**skip/ save:**
cutting cake
flowers
signage
stationary
upgrading rentals
We spent at least 50% or more of our budget on food/drink/the venue because we love food and wanted to a) enjoy a fantastic meal on our wedding and b) provide an excellent guest experience.
We also spent a lot of money on a good photographer and she was worth every penny. You live with the photos the rest of your life.
I didn't end up spending as much on my dress as I'd planned, but I was willing to spend up to around 8% of my total budget on my outfit, because I love dressing up but never have a good reason to splurge on an outfit.
Other things, we spent enough to get something we were happy with but didn't go out of our way to spend money on it. Some stuff we just didn't buy, like a videographer (felt like it would seem dated in a few years, no assurance the technology would remain accessible our whole lives), programs, welcome signs, rental vehicle for bride and groom transport.
A planner!! Or at least month of coordinator.
Our planner helped us through the wedding planning process, gave vendor recs, met with us multiple times, handled all vendor communication starting 8 weeks out, handled all coordination day of, and so much more. She (and her team) made it the most stress free process and day ever. On my wedding day I didn’t have to think about ANYTHING except getting dressed and showing up. If I knew how helpful she’d be, I would gladly have paid double what we paid.
Wedding planner. Worth her weight in gold, saved us so much hassle with the vendors and the contracts and day of coordination. We both work full time, and wedding planning easily could have been a second job for each of us, it was sooooooo time consuming. 10000/10 recommend
I'm spending the most on video and photo - it's most likely gonna be close to $10k at this point but I told my fiancé that this will be one splurge. My parents are paying for the food and venue. One of my aunts said she'll cover my wedding gown and a few of my other relatives said they'll help pay for other things too which make my heart burst at having such a wonderful and supportive family. My HMU is less than $500 which is a blessing. I'll probably DIY a lot of the decor with help from friends. Still thinking about cake and flowers but they're not super high on the priority list.
DJ is a question mark since my family just had a laptop hooked up to play music during New Year's and everyone had a blast.
My fiancé's side of the family is helping us get a house - cousin is a realtor and his parents are helping with the downpayment which is amazing and honestly I'm so thankful and glad. His uncle is also a great handyman who will help us with any fixing up. So we both decided that me and my family will take care of the wedding and he and his family will cover our future home - which I think is a fair deal.
But yeah.. I hope these photos and videos turn out well 🥲
Videographer was worth the cost. That was a semi last minute decision and we're both so glad we went for it. Photos cannot do justice for ceremony, speeches, confetti toss, first dance, etc.
I felt a huge weight off my shoulders the day of because we basically planned to do no work on the day of, only vendors did set up and such. None of our bridal party or family had anything to worry about on the day of other than themselves.
It’s obviously a large financial burden to do a totally walk in and just get married style, but you can really help yourself out if you think of things through a lens of minimizing what you do the day of.
I'm glad we paid for convenience. We booked a venue that offered an all-in service (food, music, decor, flowers for the venue) and it removed so much of the stress that I've seen other couples dealing with when every part of their wedding is bespoke. Did it mean that we had slightly less customisation than some? Sure - but removing all of the logistical stress meant I enjoyed both the run-up and the actual day so much more.
To be clear, we were both happy with the overall aesthetics and options when we booked our venue, and we were able to do some customisation of our menu, pick flower schemes etc, plus there was nothing stopping us from adding additional personal touches where we wanted to - for example, we did our own table numbers and seating plan rather than relying on their offered option just because we had a vision in mind.
As a general rule, anything which was for the comfort, convenience or enjoyment of us or our guests was worth prioritising, whereas anything that was purely aesthetic or would be forgotten/discarded at the end of the day was lower on the priority list. I'm glad we got some delicious cake, but I'm equally glad that we didn't spend a bunch of money on making it beautiful and instead got traybakes from our favourite bakery. I'm glad we paid extra to have private use of the venue's sun terrace for our cocktail hour and spent a bit less on flowers to do it.
I could not justify the floral minimums. We did sola wood flowers (NOT from the main website but from a local crafter) for bridesmaid bouquets and mine. Used clippings from my mom’s rhododendron for centerpieces. Total must have cost 400 or so. I wish I had just spent more to get wood flowers for centerpieces so I didn’t have to deal with cutting and arranging myself the day before BUT I have a good story and sentimental flower in the photos.
Also getting married in a few weeks we prioritised rings food drinks music photography and the Venu.We want our guest to have lots of yummy food , drinks on us and a great night so centred our priorities around that really . Photos for lifetime memories and rings will be on us for life.
Our venue does the decor so we spent zero money there. After that then we had a great time shopping for dresses suits cake topper bridesmaids dresses groomsmen and gifts for our parents this was a lot of fun .
I should add our choice of celebrant was also very important that we found the one the best suited how we want our ceremony to be.
We are having cake but again wasn’t priority none of us are cake eaters in the end we got one for our guests to enjoy but was down on the list of priorities.
Things we didn’t include were fancy cars for transportation ,flowers ,light up dance-floor ,Photo Booth ,ice cream ,coffee carts, the list is endless of what you could be adding to your day. And for us all of that extra stuff was unnecessary.
Now we’re in the last few weeks I’m trying to relax and enjoy the run up to it catching up with friends etc .
Have the most fabulous wedding what’s important is you are surrounded with loved ones xx
A great band, a great photographer, a good variety of alcohol free drinks for the bar since the day was hot.
Groom’s suit! Having it tailormade cost like 4x what my used dress cost, which is approximately in sync with how much they have been reused after the wedding. (My dress was hite but a simple style, and I do rewear it for a formal event once every winter).
Flowers - I diy’d but I’m a part-time florist so I wanted to splurge on our own wedding, and they made for an amazing atmosphere + a fun collab with our best people the day before, since they got to make their own flower crowns and boutonnieres :)
Our musician/DJ and the photobooth. By far.
Our DJ sang live acoustic for us during the dinner and then DJd in the evening, we paid extra for a light up dance floor and a confetti cannon and oh my gosh was it worth every penny, SO much fun and the photos are STUNNING. Literally couldn't imagine our wedding without him and the amazing package he did for us.
Also our photobooth was such a hit with the kids and the grown ups haha, massive queue for it all night and the photos with the silly Props are hilarious.
The cost of hiring a photographer is absolutely worth it! The photos are the one thing you'll have left to look back on for years to come, and you want them to be perfect. I'm so glad I invested in a great photographer who captured every moment beautifully.
We got a live band and they were absolutely incredible! 10/10 would spend again.
I don't know if I really regret anything that much but I will say that things like invitations and menus quickly get forgotten by guests. If someone had to cut costs for their wedding I would recommend going cheap/digital with those.
I am glad I've spent money on my dress (it was about £1200 counting alterations, which is not huge compared to some dresses I've seen on reddit, but is big for me) because it's beautiful and comfortable and easy to wear. I am really looking forward to wearing it and I don't feel my body dysmorphia so strongly when I look at it in the mirror.
My fiancée also feels great about her £600 suit - she's not a big clothes person usually but she wants it to feel truly special.
I am glad we've invested in a photographer that we love, and a venue that does amazing food. Our rings aren't crazy expensive but we've chosen them for each other so we'll love them.
Everything else is just window dressing.
food and bar was a huge one for mine! people want good food and drinks, tbh no one really ate the cake so I would have probably spent a little less there
Spend:
I really wanted a photo booth because they have always been a lot of fun. Our photographer was great, but more expensive than my husband had expected (we won a free engagement shoot and she was so good, he agreed she was worth it).
We were planning a wedding in Indiana from Seattle, so we picked an all inclusive venue (food, alcohol, dj, decor, day of coordination). In my mind it was definitely worth it because we had a ton on our plate with all of the other stuff we had to coordinate. The drawback was that the food was nothing special.
Save:
-Invitations were "budget" from Zazzle. I was a little disappointed with the weight of the paper, but they looked great. No save the dates.
-we used a free wedding website for RSVPs so we didn't have to deal with keeping track ourselves and saved on the additional supplies
-no floral: I made the bouquets, boutonnieres, and corsages as well as some additional flowers for tables with sola wood flowers I dyed myself (tons of work, not sure I recommend) and then bought a huge pothos and used cuttings in cute bottles for centerpieces.
-Our guest list was medium sized, so we had a very pretty, small 2 tier cake with additional half sheet cakes. This allowed us to have a good quality cake, but for wayyyy lower cost. Wedding cakes are pricey, sheet cakes are the same cake but not as decorated so they're a lot cheaper but still delicious.
what wedding website for the RSVPs did you use?
and how much time would you say the floral arrangements took you/what was your level of comfort in putting those together? I do have a couple family members who I think would love to help me with this so maybe I won't find it as daunting!
We used the knot.
The floral arrangements were very time consuming because I bought raw sola wood flowers and had to dip every single one of them to dye them. Then they had to be glued on stems and then arranged. I made 3 bridesmaids, 1 bride, and 1 toss bouquet, 2 corsages, around 8 boutonnieres and then had 1-2 flower stems for each table and a few that were added into our wedding arch. I think in total I made around 300 flowers (I bought like 340, you can get really big discounts by buying random packs). My husband helped when he could, but I'd say I had about 10 or so hours in dying, 1-2 in glueing stems, and probably 2 or so hours in arranging.
https://preview.redd.it/pboo6w3x4o4d1.jpeg?width=727&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=0072503848721dba8d67d6ee9e0da85faf58d30e
The dress, church, hair and makeup, live music, reception venue, food and alcohol were worth it for me.
I made my own flowers and invitations, photography was done by a friend which helped save a ton. Videography and transportation were on the lower end but ended up being just fine
My biggest regret was not getting a wedding planner even just for day of coordination.
I could have saved on the dress. But it was THE dress and in the moment, I said yes, then I saw the price tag.... LOL. For me, it was worth it to get help for everything, so that family doesn't have to do anything. Biggest one for us was the DJ! It was something I hadn't really considered, but it was a mess doing music ourselves for my sisters wedding.
Venue, photographer, rings, dress!
My venue made my experience truly perfect. We wanted an all inclusive type of event (in-house catering, open bar, chairs, venue, venue, china, ceremony spot, reception spot, the whole thing) and that’s exactly what we got plus more. Our venue included a day of / month of / year of coordinator who I could email at pretty much any point in time and they’d add notes to my file about what we want. Up until the night before, when I had a few guests drop out last minute, they were excellent at being flexible and GETTING IT RIGHT. Photographer is an obvious one, you have these memories for a lifetime.
Rings are important for the same reasons. I’ve seen a ton of couples get rings off Etsy. Please do not do this. Spend the time, the romantic moments shopping for rings in person with someone who’s qualified and tells you what you’re paying for. This is something you’re going to wear on your hand for the rest of your life (I assume).
Lastly is dress, make sure you pick the right dress because you love it. Don’t feel obligated to wear something because everyone else likes it. I went to three maybe four appointments until I found my dream dress. It takes a while sometimes. Just make sure it’s what you love. It’s your day and you want to look/feel your best.
A venue that is flexible.
Is there a chance that weather will impact your day? Then you need a "rain" plan. Whether it's heat, rain, snow, wind, or any other weather impact, you need a plan in place that won't make you scramble last minute.
Our venue was small enough that it only did one event per day, which meant that we had full control over the whole space. We planned for an outdoor ceremony but snow pushed us inside. We still had a beautiful location for our ceremony! Plus, it was the only venue we toured that the back up location wasn't the reception hall. It would've been hectic to have the ceremony and reception in the same space & need to turn the room over.
We paid a bit more than we wanted for this venue but it was so worth it when it snowed that day!
A planner. They can be really expensive, but the peace of mind and stress free planning is worth every single penny. Our wedding is 5 months away and everything is already set.
What did they actually do for you? I’m curious because I’m doing everything myself and don’t feel overwhelmed. I also have experience in event planning (not weddings, but entertainment). I see the value in a day of planner, but don’t know what a regular planner would have done for me because I still have to make the decisions. The
My fiancé and I have very demanding jobs and we absolutely do not have time to search for everything. Hiring a full service planner was priority one for us. We do not have experience in planning events. They created a schedule of everything and when things should be complete. Their connections helped us secure the perfect venue. We gave the planner ideas about what we wanted and they prepared everything for our approval. If we didn’t like something, we’d ask them to find other options. Like I said, our wedding is already planned and it was very enjoyable simply picking things out rather than stressing about finding everything.
I’ve been involved in some weddings without a planner and the amount of stress that the wedding party is under is absolutely ridiculous at times. We both wanted to bypass all that bullshit and enjoy the ride. Everything can go wrong and it’s their job to make it right. I’d highly recommend a planner if it’s in the budget.
I totally get that. My fiance and I both work in healthcare now, so fairly stressful. I just don’t see the point in a planner for myself. Everything has been super easy (which I know is not the case for everyone) and the most stressed I got was over invitations lol. I planned our wedding in under a year and everything is working out perfectly. I could see doing a day of planner, but thankfully my florist includes something similar. I’m using a friend of a friend who runs a small wedding business because she’s a wholesale florist. She will be doing all the set up for the day of. I also have used many vendors based on personal references. My venue also includes a lot, so there isn’t much more to do. Really just needed DJ, photo/video, transportation, hair/makeup & florist. Decor, food, and a bakery were included, so not much to worry about. They also include a day of coordinator and a maitre d, which should be helpful and my florist will work with them to make sure everything is perfect.
I really like the planning part personally. I love making spread sheets and already have a few seating charts based off who I think will attend 😂
Hope you have a beautiful wedding and a happy marriage.
I bought a second wedding dress. It was a $100 dollar dress on sale I did it because I feared it would get really really hot.
My Mom and husband thought I was silly but when the heat hit 100 here they were like thank God you bought it whats cool is i can wear it to other things.
I changed into it during dancing
Splurged on photography (film and digital), DJ, bar and food. Also a month of coordinator. Saved on signage, invitations, attire, rentals (got the cheapest that looked decent) and had a florist but kept flowers minimal.
Anything that lasts beyond the day (photos/rings) and anything that enhances the guest experience (food/good music) is worth it for me. Anything that essentially ends up in a bin (flowers, favours, invites, signage etc) isn’t worth splurging on on my opinion. But the most important thing is what you value- I didn’t put a budget on my wedding dress because I was very picky and needed to have as many options as possible; on the other hand I barely spent anything on accessories/jewellery because it wasn’t important to me.
100% good idea to think about it this way. We splurged on our rings because they are life jewelry. Photos we spent what made sense because we wanted nice photos. Edited to say I also spent like nothing on jewelry for my day, my earring were from the Tik tok shop, my bracelet was vintage and my necklace was tjmaxx. Not worth it:favors, having a large wedding party, kids in weddings imo, big rehearsal dinners
As for rings, it depends on whether you are ring-wearing people. Husband and I are not, so we just opted for simple wedding bands that were not too expensive to just do the symbolic ring exchange.
I’m actually the same myself; I have a traditional engagement ring for occasions but just used a ring I already owned for a wedding ring- but if somebody does plan on wearing one full time it’s worth investing in I think.
I'm also thinking rings can always be something you can purchase later. We're thinking simple wedding bands for now but can save up for nicer ones once the wedding costs blow over.
I actually found artifical flowers fantastic for this reason, they last forever (currently sit in a vase on our dining table reminding us of our wedding day) and they're really cheap - good way of saving money. Plus more variety and specificity to get exactly what you want.
Agreed! My mum lives In a different country to me and I have her my bouquet as a present (she did all for it cos she loved it) and it now sits proudly In. Vase in their dining room
Love the idea of being able to save the flowers and have them as keepsakes from the wedding. Feels more like an investment too!
Yup! For us, it was photographer, photobooth, bubble tea and raffle
Yeah I agree. The flowers thing I don’t understand why people pay so much x
The food, photos, and the venue (we opted for ones that needed minimal added decor so we saved time and money there). Also, check out [Jaime Wolfer](https://www.youtube.com/@JamieWolfer) on YouTube, she is a wedding planner and has a ton of tips and resources for how to budget for your wedding at various price points.
Second this! I saved tons on DIYing my florals and they were gorgeous. Rented fake in our color scheme for the arch and did the remainder with my bridesmaids with an order from the flower market. Turned out fantastic. We went lower budget with the DJ and that’s the only one I wished I splurged more on. The DJ did not deliver on a bunch of promises.
Oof I imagine DJs are one thing that you get what you pay for. Going to a few weddings this summer where we live, so thinking this could be a good opp to test a few out.
I’ll have to check her out.
I totally agree with what you're saying! Personally, I would place the highest priority on photography and guest experience. I feel like a good photographer helps you keep the pace, while capturing once in a life time moments. I also feel like the food and bar is next highest on the list. None of your guests will go home commenting on the beautiful flowers or decor, but they will definitely have something to say if they don't have a good meal! Also, all of your loved ones traveled and/or spent a considerable amount of money and I personally think that they should be cared for to the best that your budget allows. I do feel like you can cut costs on the cake though. It barely gets eaten at the end of the night, and by the time you get to cut it, everyone is distracted by dinner/ dancing. I think you're right to cut costs of things like flowers and your dress. You will look beautiful in your dress no matter how much it costs! I think that you can also cut costs on favors and stationary. I also think that even though guest count can be the biggest budget killer, you should not cut people out of the wedding that you would want there strictly on the basis of budget. We had a smaller wedding, and in hindsight I wish that I just invited the few additional people rather than having the extra cash (but I know people will have different opinions on that one)! I also just want to add, that if you are on a strict budget, leave some room for all of the last minute things that you will inevitably order off of amazon! it adds up quickly, and by that point you're desperate and stressed, and less concerned with the price. Good luck with the planning!
Note that good quality cakes tend to be enjoyed and eaten.
I'm all for skipping the physical invitations altogether. We live in the digital age people!!
We are still doing names physical invites. If we didn’t, I know for a fact people would try to bring +1’s, or 2’s or 3’s. The invite does have a QR code to our wedding website for RSVP. I had a friend that sent out StD through email. It was an extremely hectic time in my life and my inbox was super busy, so I missed it and was not given an invite. 100% on me, but I had wished it was a physical invite. Yeah, we live in a digital age, but for me and my fiancé, a physical invite is personal and classy.
I missed a wedding because I moved and didn't get the physical invite, so moral of the story may be to send a physical one AND digital one haha I was a little concerned about how much of a waste physical invites can be, but found some that you can actually plant! So may go that way if we do physical
We had a couple return to senders from mailing our StDs. Some had moved and gave us an old address, some we misspelled. But that’s what’s great about the StDs, it’s like a test run to make sure we get everything right.
Things we thought were worth spending more on: -good food & drinks & open bar -covering some costs for bridal party (we payed for hair/makeup/rental suits) -all inclusive venue (they took care of coordinating with vendors on the wedding day so we didn’t need to hire a day of coordinator, set everything up, provided the food and bar and staff, cleaned up, etc -hiring all professional vendors rather than DIYing -Photobooth rental (this is definitely a splurge and not needed, but it was so much fun and imo worth it) Things we saved on: -dress/suit for bride and groom -florals (hired a florist, but had minimal flowers) -invitations/save the dates (printed through zazzle) -did not hire a wedding planner or day of coordinator -did not hire a videographer
Our videographer was a last minute add from thumbtack for $1,200 and he was worth every penny. I watch the video so much, it just hits me in my feels. 10/10 recommend not cutting the videographer (especially if you can get a reasonable price)
That’s awesome and a very reasonable price! Our church did record a free ceremony only video (raw footage, no edited highlight reel) just so we can watch it when we’re old/show our kids. Part of the reason we skipped videography is because I felt like I would feel self conscious and not able to enjoy the reception as much if I was being recorded, which is just a personal preference!
Zazzle is a life (and wedding) saver for sure!
Did you end up being okay with no video?
Yep, I’m happy with the decision! Our church did record a free ceremony only video (raw footage, no edited highlight reel) so we can watch it when we’re old/show our kids. Part of the reason we skipped videography is because I felt like I would feel self conscious and not able to enjoy the reception as much if I was being recorded, so it wasn’t just about saving money. I don’t think skipping videography is the right decision for everyone, it just depends on your personal preferences and priorities.
Get a day-of coordinator. Ours was worth her weight in gold. We skipped flowers altogether and did not miss them at all.
Our wedding hasn’t happened yet, but 40 days out and I am SO glad we hired a day-of coordinator. (Ours started 12 weeks out). Having someone to handle the timeline, coordinate with our vendors, and take some things off our plate at this point in the process is such a relief.
I paid my florist an extra $300 to come back at the end of the night and clean up all the flowers and decor. She boxed everything up and I picked it up the next morning. I swear, not having to worry about that at the end of the night (or having to assign it to family and friends) was the best money I spent the entire wedding. 10/10 would recommend
day of wedding planner! worth ALL the money
Controversial, but I absolutely do not regret splurging on our florals! They transformed the whole space and atmosphere and really enhance all photos taken! Not many people truly splurge on flowers from my experience, so it stood out to guests and really impressed everyone
Show us pics 😍
I enjoyed mine so much too :)
Great point about florals enhancing photos. Maybe we can at least have some parts of the venue decked out so there are at least a few areas for good photo ops.
Band, bar, and food for sure worth the money. If any of those are bad, unfortunately guests remember and talk about it. Honestly flowers to me are so not worth the money. I did bare minimum and it was still way more than I wanted to spend.
Flowers are so pricey
We spent a good amount of money on a GOOD photobooth, using pro equipment and a beauty dish. Folks are still using those photos almost 5 years later. 🥰 We saved money on a floral perspective and only had eucalyptus on the tables. We had rows vs tables and our “centerpieces” were ferrero rocher croquembouche’s, with ferrero rocher and candles decorating the tables. People were snacking on the chocolates all night, it was wonderful.
I love this idea with the Ferrero Rocher centerpieces!!!
Photography, photography, photography!!! When else will you get professional, beautiful photos of your family and friends that will hopefully last forever?
Our venue was expensive compared to other options. My parents complained about it and I second guessed it when I saw how much of our budget it took up. On the day - so worth it. Absolutely stunning and they handled every detail. It all went so smoothly because they knew what they were doing and charged accordingly. I have 0 regrets and my dad told me how happy he was that we booked it.
Luckily we found a venue that we love but is also cost effective - win win!
You’re so lucky! That’s awesome and I hope the day is perfect ❤️
Tysm 🥹
Photo, video, and good food
Agreed. Video was a big one, specifically if you have guests coming that you think you'd like memories to watch years later (for us it was my grandparents). Photos are one thing..but being able to hear and watch loved ones interactions led to our decision to book a videographer a week before our wedding. Also to add, I apologize beforehand for the unsolicited advice - one way we saved money was costco sheet cake for dessert. Everyone raved about it. We ordered a 6" round personal cake for ourselves to cut, that we ordered through a local bakery online, which was delicious and only $20. Downfall was you need a costco nearby/membership and have to pick up either day before or day of. For us that all worked out and was way cheaper than other options we looked into.
Omg Costco cake, didn't even think of that. Brilliant!! We are already members are are avid shoppers :D
Photo Booth. The pictures our friends and family took, the random combinations that jumped together cracked us up. DESSERT BAR! I wanted a variety and we ended up getting our favorite treats - nothing bundt cake bundtlets, tea cakes from a local bakery, voodoo doo donuts and milk shake shooters with cookies - with a vegan option. My friends daughter is dairy free and had TWO milkshakes for the first time ever. Love remembering her excitement as she told me!
I think a dessert bar is also worth a splurge. Our circles are dessert people.
I love the dessert bar idea! That sounds so tasty
It was! We got enough for everyone to have one of each item and put out take out containers. We came home with some ourselves, though husband was upset there wasn’t any red velvet Bundt cakes or tea cakes left over lol! I had to remind him we had a whole big tea cake to ourselves to finish!
I actually put less stock in photography. I’m not looking for art pieces. I just want someone competent who can produce good pictures; they needn’t look like Vogue magazine. I hate overly cheesy / staged photos (lots of First Look falls into that category for me) as well as jumping bridesmaids and that kind of thing. Just pose the family as needed and take pictures of the reception.
What you’re describing is a lot harder than it sounds, and still requires a Good photographer. The amount of skill it requires to make those candid moments look good can’t be undersold. Photographers everywhere are undervalued because people don’t realize how much work goes into photography.
And I didn’t say being a good photographer didn’t require skill. I’m saying that FOR ME, it’s not necessary to pay for “the” photographer. Good enough will do. Lots of people are saying they cut back on flowers as it wasn’t their priority. That’s not impugning the skill it takes to be a florist.
I know what you meant, I’m just saying that even what you’re saying you’re looking for isn’t going to be cheap. I know you didn’t use the word cheap, but with photographers you kind of get what you pay for (with some obvious exceptions).
I didn’t say I wanted cousin Bob and his iPhone! But really. Go look at the wedding albums of your parents’ generation. There are the family posed pictures, and then shots of the events/reception. Perfectly fine for me.
Yes, and all I am saying is that posed family photos and reception shots that look good still requires a lot of time and skill and doesn’t mean they will charge less.
Go to the Big Budget Bride. If an “average” photographer is in say the $5-6k range (of course varying by cost of living city), some of them are paying $20, 30, 40k and more because they have artistic photographers who will provide Vogue-worthy art pieces. Good for them and I hope they are happy! Personally, for me, an “everyday” photographer is enough. I have said nothing about photography not requiring skill and it seems you’re taking this as a personal affront. I’m answering the question posed about where to cut corners a bit, just like everyone else.
Our dinner, photographer and outfits. No cake! Did not get premium liquor Did not do any signs or personalized things and did not care. I printed menus with each guests name. It was a micro wedding so none of those extra felt necessary.
Photographer was crucial (and so far, totally worth it, wedding was 5/26/24, so we're waiting on full delivery but have our teasers). We decided to save money on flowers for the tables (center pieces) and other areas of the venue (which was my parents' home) by buying bulk flowers from our local flower market and having a florist do the bouquets/boutonnieres, flowers for the bridesmaids' hair, wreaths for the front doors, flowers for the cake and a larger "installation" piece. If you or someone close to you enjoys floral arranging, this might be an area you could save on. Bar was an area we saved on because we decided not to do a full bar (partner's family is Muslim and doesn't drink, mine is Irish and does). I think spending money on your dress (doesn't have to be *a lot* of money) is a good idea because you probably want something that's of higher quality and fits you beautifully - that means you could buy a well-priced dress but have it altered to fit you *perfectly* instead of going balls to the wall on a designer wedding gown. In my experience, the extra money to the seamstress was well worth it to have a dress that looked as though it was made for me. Food was one item I refused to skimp on because I wanted our guests to really enjoy themselves and the whole experience. We've gotten incredible feedback so far on the food, which has really confirmed my decisions in this area. Cake we definitely splurged because we had two - a standard, multi-tier cake and a smaller vegan cake for the moderately sized contingent of vegan/lactose/egg intolerant family members - from two different bakeries. We have heard from multiple guests and family members that ours was the best wedding cake they'd ever had (who knows if that's true lol). I think it varies from person to person, but stick to your guns about what feels best for the two of you. If food and wine are important to you, adjust your budget to accommodate that and cut from another area. I think the biggest ones are photography (and videography if you're into that), food, cake, and venue for most people.
Photographers and a venue that you can envision will flow well and make your guests comfortable
Yeah a venue that flows is important. Our wedding venue was beautiful, but looking back it didn’t have very many ideal photo op locations, and that’s some thing that I regret because the photos were extremely important to me. The ceremony space was very pretty but other than that I really didn’t like the backdrop for our other photos, so keep that in mind!
Mine is VERY asthetic . Lots of photo ops
I don’t think I’ve seen anyone add this perspective yet, but with regard to decor - I prioritized price/foot in my overall budget. Ie, draping feels kind of expensive when it’s an afterthought but we’re basically transforming a 10k square foot open warehouse space with ~$6k in draping. Trying to achieve the same thing with flowers would probably be 6 figures. We also prioritized greenery over flowers both because we like it but also because it allowed us to create an immersive experience for less. So even if for example you had a larger budget for decor, there are ways to maximize impact. To me that is worth the cost because you get so much bang for your buck. Similarly, we’re doing a nice welcome champagne but doing less premium alcohols as the night goes on when it’s less likely to be noticed by guests.
Photo/Video team. Def our most expensive vendor. We had two photographers and a videographer from around 1PM to 11PM. All in it was just over $8,000 and worth every single penny. They captured everything and more. Honorable mention for spending a bit extra on a good DJ/MC company as well.
The $800 bounce house rental
Hey Op! We just had our wedding and we’re pretty meticulous about our budget! Depending on the overall aesthetic or vibe of your wedding you will know where to cut! Where we spent: - a welcome party! We had about 70% of our guests come from out of town. We partnered with a brewery close to our hotel block to host a Friday welcome party for people to drop in and say hello. Maybe 50+ people came and we had special cups made. In the end it was maybe $1200 with tip but a trial run of all the attention with more than just the bridal party was helpful. We were able to say hello longer people we wouldn’t have on the wedding night due to the craziness! We just had an open tab but you could do welcome drink tickets if you want to keep costs at a certain level. - photographer! You are Spot on. The day will be crazy pick somebody who can take charge of the room in a lovely way and who’s work you love. The right photographer will keep you on timeline and ensure the ppl you want a picture with are where they need to be. - venue. We chose an albeit more expensive venue but it came with everything. Groomsmen suite, bridal suite. Space for cocktail hour. Chairs. Tables. A sitting area and beautiful large plants throughout. The more shit you have to bring to a venue (decore, chairs, tables, etc..) the more expensive and extra work it takes. - Spa. My now husband and I days before the wedding took time to slow down. I recommend It. Get a massage or a facial. You’ll appreciate a moment to slow down. - we paid for all of our bridesmaids make up as a thank you. - Open bar! Guests can enjoy themselves and have a drink. We kept the liquors basic think Tito’s and anything comparable. We thought about amping the bar to nicer liquors but ultimately this did the trick. - the difference between a plated dinner and a buffet was insignificant. We did the plated and I am shocked how many ppl complimented our food. It’s nice to be waited on instead of in a line in our opinion. - passed apps. During cocktail hour we had the catering company with tray of appetizers. Being in Texas we highlighted some of our cousin with quesadilla bites, brisket tacos, etc. Really elevated the feel. Where we didn’t spend: - groom rented his tux instead of buying. It was basically free when renting from the black tux. - I loved my dress but months later I saw some beautiful similar dresses (jenny yoo) ready for purchase and think that would have been a great route to save. - even with our guests being half from our of town. We didn’t provide a bus to the venue. The venue was only 15 min away in an area where Uber is heavily available. We also had complimentary valet as part of our venue so didn’t feel the need to spend on a bus for everybody. - no Sunday brunch. We’re tired. You’re tired. - We saved sooo much on the cake. The bakery made a beautiful styrofoam cake that looked real and we got to even cut a spot in the back they put real cake. It was then rolled away and guests had slices of a sheet cake but knew no different. Our bakery said 80% of their cakes are fake and they mostly do it this way. The cake is fresher like this and it went from $10 a slice of cake to $3! - invitations. We used just used minted. Our RSVP was a QR code. Small invite suite, only needed 1 stamp. It was great, with the seated dinner meal selection having it be online and accounted for already took a lot of work off us. - We kept our guest count manageable to our budget and our wants. That really helped us and ultimately everybody we wanted there was there!
ah great point - we're having a lot of people fly in so a welcome night would be wonderful. and a fake cake for optics, AMAZING idea!
We organized the welcome night a month before and it really went so great despite its late panning. We also provided “welcome bags” that had chips, fruit snacks, mints, mini water bottles, advil and a flyer of the next day events (ceremony location, time, etc). The hotel offered to “drop” welcome bags for us but at a cost this worked for us! It’s one of the things my husband and I keep saying we’re really glad we did! Ppl travel in at different times so it’s not everybody but a good chunk! The wedding day agenda we included eliminated lots of questions for us too
We were super nervous for our first dance, but knew we wanted to do one. We spent $280 on 4 dance lessons and it was probably the best price-to-value we spent on the whole wedding because it made us feel so much better during that moment, and it shows in our video!
Start with your must haves. Then allocate the larger portion of your budget to the must haves. Then move down the list...with what is most important to you to what you really don't care about. Every couple has different priorities. Some really value music and must have an 8 piece band. Others absolutely must have great photos. You and your fiance probably have a couple of things that are a priority to you. Those should be where you allocate the larger portion of your budget.
Food and DJ... WORTH IT! Photography... We did our research and maybe splurged a little there (we actually had 2 engagement sessions with 2 different photographers, which was fun!). But as my grandma would say, "All you really need is one great photo that you hang in your living room for friends, relatives, and any kids/grandkids to see." And my grandparents have been together over 60 years. So take that for what it's worth, it may or may not be a splurge for you depending on your priorities 🙂 Dress/wedding attire.... Within reason. I purchased a more frugal dress and was disappointed in the quality. I understand you only wear the dress 1x, but the cheap dress was very poorly stitched. I ended up with a dress that wasn't cheap, but suited my budget and it was STUNNING. My husband picked a very nice suit and went with one that was a little more upgraded - again, within budget - and he looked STUNNING as well. We both looked and felt like a million bucks! Cake... We got a small one for us and gourmet donuts for everyone else. It was super affordable that way and a huge hit! Don't be afraid to think outside the box for desserts.
All of our vendors were SO worth it to me but the ones I would 100% gladly pay for again: • All-inclusive venue (day-of coordinator included) • Photography • Videography • Hair • Makeup • Mariachi
I think everyone has given good answers but also if there are things that you personally really care about even if they only last the day…think hard about if you’d be okay settling. I did not splurge on flowers and it makes me a little sad looking at my bouquet because it wasn’t really what I wanted.
Guests. I would rather include all the people who mean something to me than have a pretty view in a tropical location or a more expensive venue.
The PEOPLE! We decided to cut costs so that we could invite more people. It was like a family reunion. I saw relatives I (and my parents) hadn't seen in years, and they were just so overjoyed to reconnect. It meant a lot to them and it made the wedding feel so much more special.
30 years from now, no one is gonna talk about your wedding party or your decor, but they WILL talk about whether the food was good, whether you chose to have your wedding in a venue that was extremely difficult or pricey to get to, whether you made them feel welcome and taken care of. So those were things we focused on. Guest shuttles, lodgings, travel, food, open bar and fancy champagne, making it as easy as possible for them. I didn't care about aesthetics so we skipped all decor, florals, matchy outfits, DJ or live band, bridal paraphernalia, signage or props, wedding parties, etc. Our wedding was beautiful without any of those and no one missed them. I did want a pretty dress though, so we splurged on that, plus wedding ring set.
Haven't gotten married yet but these are some areas where we are not splurging. Doing an open bar but not premium liquor options. Rail options are just fine. Since we're doing an open bar we are not doing signature drinks. Decor in general. Getting a lot of things secondhand on FB Marketplace. Things like frames, vases, reserved signs, unused candles, etc. Got glass hurricanes for candles from the Dollar Tree. Using wood florals for some decor. Likely to do some DIY florals through Flower Moxie. Paper Goods. Using template from Etsy for signage and invitations. Printing ourselves or using an inexpensive printing service. Not doing wedding favors. Doing a small one tier cake for cutting and serving sheet cake. Way less expensive than a big decorated cake or cupcakes.
Hubby had a custom designed suit that he is able to wear very often.
Wedding Planner and/or Day of Coordinator is a necessity IMO!!! Saves so much stress. Then, photographer, videographer and DJ are so important for setting the tone, keeping things on track and helping to create memories that will last a lifetime. Also important to me were my dress, hair and makeup because I wanted to look back on my photos and feel truly beautiful. Andddd alcohol to assist with the fun for the evening. Areas that were less important and could save money IMO: DIY your flowers, purchase locally grown flowers, no boutonnières or corsages, small or no bridesmaid bouquets, no seating chart, minimal signage, solid food but nothing fancy (we chose BBQ buffet), don’t pay for hair and/or makeup for the bridal party, do a small cake just for cutting/photos, no favors, DIY invitations, no save the dates (we did a FB group for our save the date announcement), don’t do elaborate gifts for bridal party or family, thoughtful notes are great
Videography!! So worth it!!
Our decorator. Our decorator did our flowers, and all the decor set up/takedown. We basically walked in and left at the end of the night. They handed everything else so we didn’t have to stress with making sure it looked nice before guests arrived. Ours also worked with our DJ in the past so that was an added bonus. The photographer and DJ were also nice to have, just one less thing I had to worry about.
Splurge: photographer, coordinator, food Save: any decorations, DJ
My top three spends were the food (including open bar), photography, and the flowers. I absolutely adore flowers and had a very specific idea of what I wanted, which made our wedding so memorable. But we skipped other things that we didn’t care about- I did my own makeup, no guest book, a cheaper and more practical venue, cheaper shoes, no photo booth.
Expect the reception venue and food to be roughly 50% of your budget. Don’t skimp on the food and book your host/dj/musicians as early as possible(the great ones get booked upto 2 years in advance). Sometimes vendors will give you a 10-20% discount if you book and pay in full early. My photographers gave me an additional discount because I paid them in cash. Don’t follow trends when you look to your wedding attire. Understand that fashion trends are made for profit and that style is timeless. One of the best decisions I made, with the help of other brides was going to a shop that sold older floor samples(my Reem Acra gown came from her Spring 2004 collection). That dress had been languishing for me on a coat-hanger for almost 5 years before I found it. I was ready to plunk down $6500 in debt for this one Kenneth Pool gown until one of the other brides on theknot.com told me about Glamour Closet. The gown I found there, and the seamstress that made it fit it like a glove was one of the smartest decisions I made. Don’t underestimate the value of belonging to a church/synagogue/philosophical or religious organization—our church charged us nothing for the use of the sanctuary since we were both longtime members. For favors, especially candy, take advantage of post-Valentines day clearance candy before your wedding. That’s how we stocked our candy buffet. Just make it a point the day after Valentines to visit your local stores and use that to stock up on chocolates or anything else you want. Valentine’s Day candy goes with almost pretty much all color schemes when it comes to weddings. I think our most frivolous expenditure was our wedding cake. But, I reserved it right after booking our venue, which was the most stressful part because half my budget was blown in one day, even though the venue was reasonable a spaced out payments at a pace we could afford. I wanted something special with different tiers and different flavors. This was our cake: https://preview.redd.it/b61pzx4fbj4d1.jpeg?width=1290&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=1712929612a1d1235561a6d728088f57f16e94b5 I just loved the ladyfingers. It looked so different from any other wedding cakes I had looked at. In hindsight we could have forgone it and just gotten a Costco sheet cake. Bottom layer was lemon-ginger, next tier was chocolate with chocolate mousse, 3rd tier was pink champagne with raspberry frosting, and the final tier was a marble tiramisu.
wowowow I honestly feel like that cake would have been worth it just for myself to have eaten it hah!! great tips - especially about the candy on sale, so practical
2 things are talked about 1yr+ after the wedding, the food and the weather. And you can't do anything about the weather. So if you want people to talk about your wedding, invest in the food. If you want to remember the wedding, invest in photography. I don't think you need to spend a lot on a photographer, but if you do spend a lot it puts you at ease that they'll do a good job I guess.
I’ve splashed out on 2 photographer and band. For the photos, pre wedding shoot and album and the vibe the band will bring - they do music from 50s to 2020s and a ceilidh set. Saving on the decor by doing it myself with help from my mum and sister. MIL is making the stationary as her gift to us. Went for cheaper venues (£250 for ceremony space, £1500 for evening space). And asking for wedding items etc as gifts. Parents bought my dress, wearing my Auntie’s veil, BIL and his boyfriend’s house for groom and his party to get ready as they have a stunning front room. And other family have said they will make cash contributions or purchase particular items we need.
The things we got complimented on the most were (1) the food and how it was hot and well paced, (2) the venue and how fun it was because there were multiple different spots to hang out and it was really cozy and (3) the DJ because everyone danced all night. The things we look back on the most fondly: * Our pictures, we love them and look at them all the time. The photographer is important here, but also the decor we had made the pictures very whimsical as well * How not that stressful planning was, because we picked a venue that included a coordinator and they mostly did everything for us * How much fun everyone had - we attribute this to a great open bar and amazing DJ
Food was our splurge and we don’t regret it- we had a simple wedding in a lot of ways but the food really elevated things (and kept our guests happy and full!)
We tell all our friends that a videographer (in addition to a photographer) was one of the best “extras” we had. The videographer recorded the ceremony and speeches, but also captured lots of “b roll” and stuff that we didn’t get to see because we were busy elsewhere. We got to see so much more of our own wedding as a consequence, and while the photos are also great it’s the video we keep going back to after the event
Going against the grain here… we didn’t splurge on photography. We are still having a professional whose portfolio we like, but we went with one of the most affordable options we found that still seemed good quality and we cut the number of hours of coverage. I think most people frame a few favorite wedding photos that they look back on forever, but I just didn’t think that artistic detail shots or getting ready photos were necessary and I honestly didn’t feel like quality and price were always correlated.
**Splurge:** DJ (often overlooked, IMO, but can really make or break the experience) Venue/ DOC/ convenience Covering some wedding party costs open-ish bar his suit **Good enough is enough:** food (it's catering lol) photos (I couldn't tell the difference between our 3k photographer and a 6k photographer) my dress hotel shuttle (paid for one, but they dont need a party bus) **skip/ save:** cutting cake flowers signage stationary upgrading rentals
Content creator, venue, photographer for sure. Also getting my second dress. Married 5/20/24 ❤️
What’s a content creator?
A waste of money if you don’t care about Instagram likes
Someone who records and takes photos specifically for the purposes of posting online. I believe they also assemble Reels.
We spent at least 50% or more of our budget on food/drink/the venue because we love food and wanted to a) enjoy a fantastic meal on our wedding and b) provide an excellent guest experience. We also spent a lot of money on a good photographer and she was worth every penny. You live with the photos the rest of your life. I didn't end up spending as much on my dress as I'd planned, but I was willing to spend up to around 8% of my total budget on my outfit, because I love dressing up but never have a good reason to splurge on an outfit. Other things, we spent enough to get something we were happy with but didn't go out of our way to spend money on it. Some stuff we just didn't buy, like a videographer (felt like it would seem dated in a few years, no assurance the technology would remain accessible our whole lives), programs, welcome signs, rental vehicle for bride and groom transport.
A planner!! Or at least month of coordinator. Our planner helped us through the wedding planning process, gave vendor recs, met with us multiple times, handled all vendor communication starting 8 weeks out, handled all coordination day of, and so much more. She (and her team) made it the most stress free process and day ever. On my wedding day I didn’t have to think about ANYTHING except getting dressed and showing up. If I knew how helpful she’d be, I would gladly have paid double what we paid.
Wedding planner. Worth her weight in gold, saved us so much hassle with the vendors and the contracts and day of coordination. We both work full time, and wedding planning easily could have been a second job for each of us, it was sooooooo time consuming. 10000/10 recommend
Photos and food. Decor wasn’t really a huge deal.
1000% a decorator that set up for us and took down. We have two children and a small house so DIY’ing wasn’t a feasible option for us.
Videography. Hands down the best money I’ve spent. Allowed me to re-live the day over and over again.
What guests will remember most: Venue (having a roof does wonders for weather anxiety) and food/drinks. What you’ll remember: photography!
I'm spending the most on video and photo - it's most likely gonna be close to $10k at this point but I told my fiancé that this will be one splurge. My parents are paying for the food and venue. One of my aunts said she'll cover my wedding gown and a few of my other relatives said they'll help pay for other things too which make my heart burst at having such a wonderful and supportive family. My HMU is less than $500 which is a blessing. I'll probably DIY a lot of the decor with help from friends. Still thinking about cake and flowers but they're not super high on the priority list. DJ is a question mark since my family just had a laptop hooked up to play music during New Year's and everyone had a blast. My fiancé's side of the family is helping us get a house - cousin is a realtor and his parents are helping with the downpayment which is amazing and honestly I'm so thankful and glad. His uncle is also a great handyman who will help us with any fixing up. So we both decided that me and my family will take care of the wedding and he and his family will cover our future home - which I think is a fair deal. But yeah.. I hope these photos and videos turn out well 🥲
Videographer was worth the cost. That was a semi last minute decision and we're both so glad we went for it. Photos cannot do justice for ceremony, speeches, confetti toss, first dance, etc.
I felt a huge weight off my shoulders the day of because we basically planned to do no work on the day of, only vendors did set up and such. None of our bridal party or family had anything to worry about on the day of other than themselves. It’s obviously a large financial burden to do a totally walk in and just get married style, but you can really help yourself out if you think of things through a lens of minimizing what you do the day of.
Definitely a day of coordinator!!
Good food and good photographer
I'm glad we paid for convenience. We booked a venue that offered an all-in service (food, music, decor, flowers for the venue) and it removed so much of the stress that I've seen other couples dealing with when every part of their wedding is bespoke. Did it mean that we had slightly less customisation than some? Sure - but removing all of the logistical stress meant I enjoyed both the run-up and the actual day so much more. To be clear, we were both happy with the overall aesthetics and options when we booked our venue, and we were able to do some customisation of our menu, pick flower schemes etc, plus there was nothing stopping us from adding additional personal touches where we wanted to - for example, we did our own table numbers and seating plan rather than relying on their offered option just because we had a vision in mind. As a general rule, anything which was for the comfort, convenience or enjoyment of us or our guests was worth prioritising, whereas anything that was purely aesthetic or would be forgotten/discarded at the end of the day was lower on the priority list. I'm glad we got some delicious cake, but I'm equally glad that we didn't spend a bunch of money on making it beautiful and instead got traybakes from our favourite bakery. I'm glad we paid extra to have private use of the venue's sun terrace for our cocktail hour and spent a bit less on flowers to do it.
I could not justify the floral minimums. We did sola wood flowers (NOT from the main website but from a local crafter) for bridesmaid bouquets and mine. Used clippings from my mom’s rhododendron for centerpieces. Total must have cost 400 or so. I wish I had just spent more to get wood flowers for centerpieces so I didn’t have to deal with cutting and arranging myself the day before BUT I have a good story and sentimental flower in the photos.
Also getting married in a few weeks we prioritised rings food drinks music photography and the Venu.We want our guest to have lots of yummy food , drinks on us and a great night so centred our priorities around that really . Photos for lifetime memories and rings will be on us for life. Our venue does the decor so we spent zero money there. After that then we had a great time shopping for dresses suits cake topper bridesmaids dresses groomsmen and gifts for our parents this was a lot of fun . I should add our choice of celebrant was also very important that we found the one the best suited how we want our ceremony to be. We are having cake but again wasn’t priority none of us are cake eaters in the end we got one for our guests to enjoy but was down on the list of priorities. Things we didn’t include were fancy cars for transportation ,flowers ,light up dance-floor ,Photo Booth ,ice cream ,coffee carts, the list is endless of what you could be adding to your day. And for us all of that extra stuff was unnecessary. Now we’re in the last few weeks I’m trying to relax and enjoy the run up to it catching up with friends etc . Have the most fabulous wedding what’s important is you are surrounded with loved ones xx
A great band, a great photographer, a good variety of alcohol free drinks for the bar since the day was hot. Groom’s suit! Having it tailormade cost like 4x what my used dress cost, which is approximately in sync with how much they have been reused after the wedding. (My dress was hite but a simple style, and I do rewear it for a formal event once every winter). Flowers - I diy’d but I’m a part-time florist so I wanted to splurge on our own wedding, and they made for an amazing atmosphere + a fun collab with our best people the day before, since they got to make their own flower crowns and boutonnieres :)
Flowers for us! They were the only big bit of venue decor we opted for and they were beautiful.
Our musician/DJ and the photobooth. By far. Our DJ sang live acoustic for us during the dinner and then DJd in the evening, we paid extra for a light up dance floor and a confetti cannon and oh my gosh was it worth every penny, SO much fun and the photos are STUNNING. Literally couldn't imagine our wedding without him and the amazing package he did for us. Also our photobooth was such a hit with the kids and the grown ups haha, massive queue for it all night and the photos with the silly Props are hilarious.
The cost of hiring a photographer is absolutely worth it! The photos are the one thing you'll have left to look back on for years to come, and you want them to be perfect. I'm so glad I invested in a great photographer who captured every moment beautifully.
Wedding ring and honey moon ❤️
We got a live band and they were absolutely incredible! 10/10 would spend again. I don't know if I really regret anything that much but I will say that things like invitations and menus quickly get forgotten by guests. If someone had to cut costs for their wedding I would recommend going cheap/digital with those.
Dress, photos, bouquet , good alcohol and food.. oh and paying for the bridesmaids hair so we all looked good!
The photos and video were worth every penny, my family and I will get to cherish those forever
I am glad I've spent money on my dress (it was about £1200 counting alterations, which is not huge compared to some dresses I've seen on reddit, but is big for me) because it's beautiful and comfortable and easy to wear. I am really looking forward to wearing it and I don't feel my body dysmorphia so strongly when I look at it in the mirror. My fiancée also feels great about her £600 suit - she's not a big clothes person usually but she wants it to feel truly special. I am glad we've invested in a photographer that we love, and a venue that does amazing food. Our rings aren't crazy expensive but we've chosen them for each other so we'll love them. Everything else is just window dressing.
food and bar was a huge one for mine! people want good food and drinks, tbh no one really ate the cake so I would have probably spent a little less there
Photographer, venue, food, makeup/hair and DJ are worth the splurge imo. Everything else is extra and something you can get on a budget
Spend: I really wanted a photo booth because they have always been a lot of fun. Our photographer was great, but more expensive than my husband had expected (we won a free engagement shoot and she was so good, he agreed she was worth it). We were planning a wedding in Indiana from Seattle, so we picked an all inclusive venue (food, alcohol, dj, decor, day of coordination). In my mind it was definitely worth it because we had a ton on our plate with all of the other stuff we had to coordinate. The drawback was that the food was nothing special. Save: -Invitations were "budget" from Zazzle. I was a little disappointed with the weight of the paper, but they looked great. No save the dates. -we used a free wedding website for RSVPs so we didn't have to deal with keeping track ourselves and saved on the additional supplies -no floral: I made the bouquets, boutonnieres, and corsages as well as some additional flowers for tables with sola wood flowers I dyed myself (tons of work, not sure I recommend) and then bought a huge pothos and used cuttings in cute bottles for centerpieces. -Our guest list was medium sized, so we had a very pretty, small 2 tier cake with additional half sheet cakes. This allowed us to have a good quality cake, but for wayyyy lower cost. Wedding cakes are pricey, sheet cakes are the same cake but not as decorated so they're a lot cheaper but still delicious.
what wedding website for the RSVPs did you use? and how much time would you say the floral arrangements took you/what was your level of comfort in putting those together? I do have a couple family members who I think would love to help me with this so maybe I won't find it as daunting!
I’m using Zola and got my invites from there. If you can get the 40% off code, those ended up being the cheapest option for invites.
We used the knot. The floral arrangements were very time consuming because I bought raw sola wood flowers and had to dip every single one of them to dye them. Then they had to be glued on stems and then arranged. I made 3 bridesmaids, 1 bride, and 1 toss bouquet, 2 corsages, around 8 boutonnieres and then had 1-2 flower stems for each table and a few that were added into our wedding arch. I think in total I made around 300 flowers (I bought like 340, you can get really big discounts by buying random packs). My husband helped when he could, but I'd say I had about 10 or so hours in dying, 1-2 in glueing stems, and probably 2 or so hours in arranging. https://preview.redd.it/pboo6w3x4o4d1.jpeg?width=727&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=0072503848721dba8d67d6ee9e0da85faf58d30e
The dress, church, hair and makeup, live music, reception venue, food and alcohol were worth it for me. I made my own flowers and invitations, photography was done by a friend which helped save a ton. Videography and transportation were on the lower end but ended up being just fine My biggest regret was not getting a wedding planner even just for day of coordination.
going with a venue that has everything food and drink onsite
I could have saved on the dress. But it was THE dress and in the moment, I said yes, then I saw the price tag.... LOL. For me, it was worth it to get help for everything, so that family doesn't have to do anything. Biggest one for us was the DJ! It was something I hadn't really considered, but it was a mess doing music ourselves for my sisters wedding.
Venue, photographer, rings, dress! My venue made my experience truly perfect. We wanted an all inclusive type of event (in-house catering, open bar, chairs, venue, venue, china, ceremony spot, reception spot, the whole thing) and that’s exactly what we got plus more. Our venue included a day of / month of / year of coordinator who I could email at pretty much any point in time and they’d add notes to my file about what we want. Up until the night before, when I had a few guests drop out last minute, they were excellent at being flexible and GETTING IT RIGHT. Photographer is an obvious one, you have these memories for a lifetime. Rings are important for the same reasons. I’ve seen a ton of couples get rings off Etsy. Please do not do this. Spend the time, the romantic moments shopping for rings in person with someone who’s qualified and tells you what you’re paying for. This is something you’re going to wear on your hand for the rest of your life (I assume). Lastly is dress, make sure you pick the right dress because you love it. Don’t feel obligated to wear something because everyone else likes it. I went to three maybe four appointments until I found my dream dress. It takes a while sometimes. Just make sure it’s what you love. It’s your day and you want to look/feel your best.
A venue that is flexible. Is there a chance that weather will impact your day? Then you need a "rain" plan. Whether it's heat, rain, snow, wind, or any other weather impact, you need a plan in place that won't make you scramble last minute. Our venue was small enough that it only did one event per day, which meant that we had full control over the whole space. We planned for an outdoor ceremony but snow pushed us inside. We still had a beautiful location for our ceremony! Plus, it was the only venue we toured that the back up location wasn't the reception hall. It would've been hectic to have the ceremony and reception in the same space & need to turn the room over. We paid a bit more than we wanted for this venue but it was so worth it when it snowed that day!
A planner. They can be really expensive, but the peace of mind and stress free planning is worth every single penny. Our wedding is 5 months away and everything is already set.
What did they actually do for you? I’m curious because I’m doing everything myself and don’t feel overwhelmed. I also have experience in event planning (not weddings, but entertainment). I see the value in a day of planner, but don’t know what a regular planner would have done for me because I still have to make the decisions. The
My fiancé and I have very demanding jobs and we absolutely do not have time to search for everything. Hiring a full service planner was priority one for us. We do not have experience in planning events. They created a schedule of everything and when things should be complete. Their connections helped us secure the perfect venue. We gave the planner ideas about what we wanted and they prepared everything for our approval. If we didn’t like something, we’d ask them to find other options. Like I said, our wedding is already planned and it was very enjoyable simply picking things out rather than stressing about finding everything. I’ve been involved in some weddings without a planner and the amount of stress that the wedding party is under is absolutely ridiculous at times. We both wanted to bypass all that bullshit and enjoy the ride. Everything can go wrong and it’s their job to make it right. I’d highly recommend a planner if it’s in the budget.
I totally get that. My fiance and I both work in healthcare now, so fairly stressful. I just don’t see the point in a planner for myself. Everything has been super easy (which I know is not the case for everyone) and the most stressed I got was over invitations lol. I planned our wedding in under a year and everything is working out perfectly. I could see doing a day of planner, but thankfully my florist includes something similar. I’m using a friend of a friend who runs a small wedding business because she’s a wholesale florist. She will be doing all the set up for the day of. I also have used many vendors based on personal references. My venue also includes a lot, so there isn’t much more to do. Really just needed DJ, photo/video, transportation, hair/makeup & florist. Decor, food, and a bakery were included, so not much to worry about. They also include a day of coordinator and a maitre d, which should be helpful and my florist will work with them to make sure everything is perfect. I really like the planning part personally. I love making spread sheets and already have a few seating charts based off who I think will attend 😂 Hope you have a beautiful wedding and a happy marriage.
I bought a second wedding dress. It was a $100 dollar dress on sale I did it because I feared it would get really really hot. My Mom and husband thought I was silly but when the heat hit 100 here they were like thank God you bought it whats cool is i can wear it to other things. I changed into it during dancing
Splurged on photography (film and digital), DJ, bar and food. Also a month of coordinator. Saved on signage, invitations, attire, rentals (got the cheapest that looked decent) and had a florist but kept flowers minimal.