16 Sneaky Ways to Save Money on Your Wedding
Weddings are SO expensive! Even the bride with the biggest budget needs to find savings somewhere! There are a few places we NEVER recommend cutting costs, such as your dream venue and a good photographer! However, there are other places where it’s okay, even recommended, to save! But, how do you find those areas and how do you save money in those areas? Read on to find out…
Full disclosure: some of the links I provide earn me a commission when you make a purchase. However, I never advertise products I do not believe in.
1) eBay Samples
If you are thinking of buying a wedding gown, bridesmaids dresses, or any other kind of fabric item on eBay, I recommend asking the seller for a sample. In the beginning stages of planning my wedding, I considered buying my dress on ebay, and I asked for a sample of the lace they use in ivory so I could see what it looked like and if it was quality. They sent me back about 3 yards of embroidered lace fabric!! I’m not even kidding! Now, the dress that fabric was for was supposed to be entirely made of lace appliques and should not have been made with actual lace fabric…so I did not buy my dress from them. However, that crazy amount of fabric they sent me ended up becoming the table runners for my ten guest tables!! I also requested samples from another seller with the same dress listed. They sent me about 4 feet of ivory tulle, 4 feet of white tulle, 2 white lace appliques and 2 ivory lace appliques! I wasn’t planning on having a standard veil, but I could have easily made one for free with that fabric, and I fully plan to use those appliques for something in the near future!
2) Don’t be afraid to ask
Now this one, you don’t want to overdo – don’t be THAT bride. However, asking never hurts, as long as you’re actually okay with being told "no." I met with two different day-of coordinators before I decided which one I wanted. Coordinator A wanted $450 for the day. Coordinator B wanted $550 for the day. I really wanted to go with the cheaper planner; however, she did my sister’s wedding, and let’s just say I was less than impressed…But how could I justify spending $100 more for the same thing? So, I just told Coordinator B my dilemma…and you know what? She met me in the middle and I got her for $500! (Now of course, after my wedding I was less than impressed with her as well, but I still know she was better than Coordinator A would have been!)
Another little secret that most people don’t realize is that vendors like to advertise! Not only that, but they like to advertise to their ideal customers--your wedding guests! When you first start thinking about who to hire for wedding vendors, what do you think of first? “Remember Alice’s DJ at her wedding? Oh, the food at Nick’s wedding was sooo good, who was that?!” Vendors like to advertise at weddings! Now, I don’t recommend this for everyone because you do have to give in order to get here. If you offer to let your DJ advertise at your wedding, or offer to let you caterer put a card at each place, or anything else you can think of (and are okay with!) they might actually be willing to give you a small discount! Either way…it never hurts to ask!
3) Look to the internet
Don’t just buy something because you fell in love with it in the store. We all fall into this trap during wedding planning. We are walking through Nordstrom and we see the PERFECT shoes for the wedding! Before you freak out and walk to that counter and dump half your paycheck on some gorgeous shoes…take to the internet. Amazon, EBay, and many other sites all have great steals! I can’t tell you how many times over the course of wedding planning that I was in a store and found something “perfect,” but every single time, I grabbed my phone out of my pocket and did a quick search on the Amazon app for the exact same thing. 9 times out of 10 I would find it, and at half the price, or almost half the price. I’m not even kidding! I bought 99% of my photo booth props on eBay. Sunglasses that I would have spent $4+ on in the store, I got for less than $1 each! I got 2 masquerade masks (in my wedding colors!) for less than $2 each that would have cost $6-10 in a store! Also check out stores like CoCoMelody and LightInTheBox!
We occasionally do giveaways and contests on the blogs Facebook page as well as send our subscribers special discounts not available to everyone! Subscribe today so you don’t miss anything!
5) Look for wedding freebies
EverMine (can’t guarantee how long this will be going on, however) is running a promotion on their website right now for 120 address labels for free (really $2.99 because you have to pay shipping) if you share it on Facebook! That’s pretty awesome! That’s cheaper than you could buy Avery address labels for and print them yourself! Also check out our Facebook page for prizes!
6) Look on Clearance
You never know what goodies you might find on the clearance aisle, from Bridesmaid dresses for $40, shoes for $10, to fabric for a photo booth backdrop for $5 and beyond. Some awesome places to check out clearance for wedding items are Walmart, Michaels, and David’s Bridal. For bridesmaid and MOB dresses and jewelry don’t forget about department stores like Dillards and JCPenney!
7) Look for promo codes
You can seriously find promo codes all over the internet! Check out Retailmenot.com and just do some google searches! Also, keep reading our blog because we have promo codes in our articles from time to time. If you subscribe to the blog you will get promo codes only available to our subscribers delivered to your inbox as well!
Often times, places will give you “registry perks” to try to get you to make your registry with them. Every store is different, and they are also ever-changing. One example of registry perks is Amazon Registry. With Amazon you get a one-time 20% discount on anything left on your registry (or 10% if you’re not a prime member). You get an extended 180-day return so that you don’t have to worry about returning stuff on time and you can enjoy being newly married! Some items earn you free bonus gifts as well (these vary depending on when you register, but for a current list click here!) Amazon also keeps a list of everyone who buys for you and what they bought to streamline the “Thank You” process after the wedding (this is awesome because sometimes people forget to write their name on the card or don’t even include a card!) For a list of items to register for at Amazon click here. For more information on how Amazon can be your best friend during the wedding planning process, click here. Bed, Bath and Beyond sometimes gives free gifts with the purchase of registry items. For example, buy a set of Calphalon pots and pans, and get a free 12-inch nonstick skillet with a lid! There are tons of other stores with awesome perks as well, but that’s a list for another day!
9) Learn to accept help
Sometimes it can be hard to relinquish control around your wedding. Whether you’re worried about someone else not doing things the way you want, just love doing creative stuff yourself, or you’re a total control freak like me, it can be hard to accept offers of help, much less ask for help! But this is a big one. Try not to turn down help and don’t be afraid to reach out and ask for help. This not only can save you money but it can also ease your stress a little. This isn’t the most money-saving tip, but “time is money” and time is always in short supply while you’re wedding planning!
10) Don’t mention the word "wedding"
This one is harder than it seems and I personally was never able to do this with my wedding, but if you can, try it! Anything that has the word “bride,” “wedding,” etc. attached to it automatically goes up in price by a surprising amount.
For instance, as a hairstylist I usually charged $55 for an updo; however, if the person mentioned that they were the bride that price automatically went up to $65-75. The reasoning behind this is because brides tend to be pickier and take longer than your average client who’s just coming in for Prom or a special event. I would personally rather my client didn’t tell me and make it up to me with the tip (Instead of paying $70 and tipping me $10, pay the $55 and tip me $20 – you save $5 and I actually make more money that way!) I can’t promise all stylists will feel this way, however.
11) If a vendor makes a mistake, don’t be afraid to let them know you’re unhappy...Nicely
So the photographer I hired for my wedding was absolutely AMAZING in every way possible. She was incredibly nice, fun to work with, professional and an amazing artist. I wouldn’t have traded her for the world. That being said, she was one of the first vendors I booked (over a year before the wedding). At that time, she wasn’t nearly as busy as she was by the time my wedding came around. When we first sat down, my budget was also lower so I booked her for only 4 hours. We both agreed that since we were so far away from the wedding date, I might change my mind and increase those hours once I looked closely at my day-of plans. She agreed that it wouldn’t be a problem for me to add a couple more hours if I needed to. A month or so before the wedding, I sat down and finalized my timeline and realized that I absolutely had to have her for 6 hours in order to get all the shots I wanted. I emailed her and she emailed me back saying she couldn’t give me more hours as she had booked another wedding for the same day. I called my mom crying of course! We decided that we needed to either hire another photographer for those two hours or hire a different photographer altogether and lose our deposit. We both called my photographer to discuss our options and reminded her that she had agreed to let me have more hours. In her defense, she doesn't normally book that way, but she had an assistant who was going to cover that other wedding, and then the assistant ended up parting ways with her. A lot can happen in a year! My photographer ended up eating the cost of a second photographer, who stayed the extra two hours that I needed her for. Bonus--the second photographer stayed the entire day on top of the additional two hours! Now, I didn’t come at my original photographer furious, I had my mom help calm me down first--which I highly recommend if you’re going to confront a vendor. Just let them know that a mistake was made and you aren’t happy but you want to work with them to find a solution TOGETHER.
12) Borrow from friends
Do you know any friends who have gotten married in the last say, 2 years? Ask them if they have any leftover wedding stuff (most of us really do hang on to a good portion of it for months, and even years in some cases!). My sister got married about 8 months before me, and we had VERY different styles. I was doing black and white, glamorous and vintage. To see more from my wedding click here. She was doing pastels and rustic. But guess what? I borrowed quite a few things from her. The “BAR” sign at my wedding was borrowed from hers, the Mr. and Mrs. wooden letters on my head table were borrowed from hers, believe it or not even some forks and cups were borrowed from hers! (Yes, the forks. She had bought enough silver, plastic forks for every guest to have a dinner fork and a dessert fork, but the dessert forks somehow did not get set out…she had about 120+ leftover forks!)
13) Wait for a sale
If you don’t have to buy it right away; wait and watch. Michaels is a PRIME example of this. Michaels often does sales from 20%-60% off. It changes all the time. They also put out different coupons weekly, from 20% off your entire purchase to 60% off one item. Shop smart. Have a $50 item you want from Michaels? Wait for a 40-50% coupon. Have to buy 30 different $1 items? Try to wait for a 20% off your entire purchase coupon.
14) Go to bridal shows and Resale Events
Bridal shows are a great way to save money! The majority of the vendors that go to these events give out special discounts just for showing up to the event and talking to them! They also often do prize giveaways, everything from free catering and honeymoons to smaller stuff that you might register for! Also, check out resale events like the one I host in Missouri. These are events where lots of past brides get together and sell their stuff to future brides who are looking to buy at discounted prices! (This is also a great way to make some money back after the wedding, as it’s way faster and less of a headache than trying to sell on places like Facebook Marketplace!) If you're in Missouri also follow our resale page on Facebook for updates about our events!
15) Pick a non-profit venue
I got married at a summer camp about 1.5 hours from my house. Camp Pin Oak is in a State Park at The Lake of the Ozarks and is a non-profit camp. I won’t list the exact price, as it is subject to change, but lets just say it was less than half the price of almost everywhere else I looked at! I don’t yet know if it is a tax writeoff (for my mom, since she paid for it) but I will certainly be doing more research into that! To see more from my wedding click here.
16) Don’t assume renting is cheaper
Most people assume renting will be cheaper than buying, but that is not always the case. My local rental place was about $2 (each) more expensive for table linens than buying them on Amazon was. I found my sequin table runners on eBay for about $20 less than the rental company wanted per table (and was able to get them in custom length!) Always, always, always price-check EVERYTHING! You never know what will be cheaper. (Plus buying gives you the option to resell after the wedding, as opposed to renting, where you don’t get any of the money back!)
