Budget Wedding Decor

I went to all the local thrift stores near me and got a variety of crystal vases (so I can have 3 at each table).
I also reached out to a cousin who had specific tea lights I liked at her wedding about 2years prior, and she was able to lend them to us (which will be paired with the vases) which saved me $200!!
I waited for the fake flowers at Michael's craft store to be on sale, and bought an endless amount for the table decor and our boutiques (since my fiance is allergic to pollen).
We are fortunate enough that our venue provides all the linens and table cloths, etc. However, for a backyard wedding I think it would be lovely to use some old family table cloths (if you have any), like if they're lace table runners or embroidered cloths. Make it seem very homey and sentimental. Reach out to your family, or friends! You might be surprised.

I set up notifications on wedding decor items on Facebook marketplace so I get first dibs on items that pop up!


We also bought some small Bougainvillea plants to grow over the winter so they’ll be big and blooming as part of our decor for our late summer wedding. They grow these amazing bright pink blooms which vine upwards. This can save a couple hundred on just the alter flowers!
Also ikea has well priced candles!

My tip would be to keep it simple. You can buy a lot on Facebook yardsales from newlyweds and resell again yourself, we got hurricane vases and our wedding arch made out of books second hand and I'll sell them when we're done. For our small reception we made runners from book pages and I bought fresh candles and a few extra vases, next year I'll add greenery garland which I will buy either from michaels or second hand. My bridesmaids helped me make our bouquets which was our biggest project as we made the crepe paper flowers as well.


If you don't have room to store things or if you know that you won't be bothered to list and sell stuff afterwards then I would rent. I'm fortunate to have access to my parents garage otherwise I wouldn't have room to store our arch and I would have rented one instead. I would also make sure you start DIYs early, give yourself plenty of time to finish them so you aren't stressing close to the wedding.

I wouldn't buy any decor unless it's a disposable or I know exactly how I am to re-purpose it for other uses. And what you would DIY wholly depends on how much time you have and how crafty you are.

I would suggest a tent in case of rain... flowers can get costly so you need to determine if you want them, real or artificial etc. What is your inspiration for decor?

I made our cake, assembled a eucalyptus garland for our table, put together small goody bags for our guests, and sourced and set up all of the decor myself from facebook marketplace, dollar stores, IKEA, and Michaels. This was a TON of work even for our very very small at home covid wedding. For a big and "normal" wedding I'd stick to just a few DIYs and be realistic about how much time you will need for each.

I also think it depends on your skill set. For example, if you're more of a crafty person you can DIY things like signs, garlands, centrepieces, etc. Or if you love baking you can think about making your own cake/dessert. But if you've never held a power tool in your life and you don't own a drill I'd probably steer clear of building anything like an arch. If you and your partner aren't personally DIY people you can also see if any family/friends could help out.

Something else that can save a lot of money is to look for bulk decor sales on facebook marketplace. You might be able to get most of what you need there. And as Amanda said, look at dollar stores before you buy anything from places like Michaels. Way way way cheaper for basically the same items. Or if you do go to Michaels make sure you have a coupon.

Things I would rent are linens, dinnerware, chairs and tables (if you don't already have them). These are usually cheaper to just rent and harder to resell. It seems like a lot of money for these things, but keep in mind that renting and purchasing second hand is more environmentally friendly and saves you all the time of searching for products and then reselling after the wedding.

My fiance and I have done a few diy items for our wedding. We've done signs from picture frames that we've had at home the have been in boxes and haven't been used. And we're going to spray paint them to match our colors for the wedding. Just printed them from Word: Bar Sign, Please Sign Our Guest Book, Pick A Seat Either Side You’re Loved By Both The Bride & Groom, Because there's a few people that we love in heaven, there's a lit bit of heaven at our wedding today

I would see if you can join some wedding sell and swap groups in your local area on Facebook and see what people are selling from their weddings. My fiance and I have bought our candles, candle holders, table runners, a unplugged ceremony sign. And we paid a fraction of the cost if we had bought them from an actual store.

Also check out your local Dollarama if you wish. You can find a lot of great things. We found a part of our centerpieces (a square mirror) for only 2 dollars each and it's the exact same thing Michaels sells for almost 9 dollars.