What do you recommend to save money?

I totally agree that decorations can be a big money suck, so keep it simple. I would say splurge on your photographer and you wedding bands. Those two things will last beyond the Wedding day and you want them to be exactly what you want. Other wise, cut everything else

We used paperless post for our save the dates and invitations to cut down on the cost on our wedding day.

My fiance and I are looking to spend money where it matters most - for example, we definitely do not feel it necessary to spend a ridiculous amount of money on decorations or invitations as I am quite crafty and enjoy DIY'ing. I also have the software and the training to design my own invitations. But we are curious to know where you have found is the best place to save money in terms of wedding planning.

What is necessary to you in a wedding? What would you consider a luxury?

Me and my FH are in the same boat with wanting to not spend a ridiculous amount and save however possible.

Our big necessaries were:

1. Photography - These are the photos that will serve as memories for years.

2. Venue/Food - As most venues here in Halifax don't allow outside caterers from what I have discovered and we are dodging several allergies in the family.

3. Make-up and Hair done - I have no make-up skill, so this is more for me not to look like a clown...lol.

Big things we are skipping:

1. Videography - Photos are enough for us, and my FH's father did wedding videography. We both agree no matter how good the videographer is that the people being recorded aren't, so it's going to look like a very well shot and well edited home movie.

2. DJ - We aren't doing a dance, but rather an alternative entertainment so it seemed unnecessary. Most of the venues we have on the short list to look at have audio systems you can plug a laptop into. We'll be doing that for little background music.

3. Alcohol - It's a dry wedding. I know this will not be a popular thing to say but there are multiple valid reasons for this beyond money savings.

4. Save the Date Cards - We're making a video to send via Facebook and e-mail instead with the camera and items we already. Save trees, printing cost, and postage!

DIYing for Money Saving:

1. Designing all Stationary-like things - Invties, RSVPs, Table signs, seating, and welcome signs. Getting them printed at Staples...Good prices and works out to less than paying for the ink in our printer/cardstock.

2. My Veil - Seriously, I can make like four or five for the cost of one at the prices I have seen listed!

3. Centerpieces & Decorations - even then, not going super overboard.

4. Potentially Bouquet/Boutonnieres. Fake flowers most likely. Real Touch Flowers are apparently amazingly real to their look and touch. Still working on tracking them down.

5. Possibly the Cake - My sister is a certified chef with specialties in desserts and cake decorating, including wedding cakes. Depends on the time needed to set up the day of though where she is going to be in the bridal party.

View quoted message 👌👌👌👌👌👌

We are currently planninh our 2019 wedding and we are savinh HUGE on having a Brunch wedding on a Sunday.

Necessary: Good food, flowing open bar, good music, beautiful dress, perfect ceremony location, photographer

Luxury: Over-the-top décor, flowers, videographer

We saved money by having our venue handle a lot of our third party vendors (decor, meal, DJ, ceremony, and wines). We are also DIY'ing are centre pieces, desert table and more.

We saved money by hiring a caterer that also included rentals in his fee, opted to make our playlist for the wedding and didn't hire a band or DJ, DIYed our centerpieces and seating chart and favours.

Talk to vendors about cash option to save taxes. A lot of them around me do that.

For us. Good food/open bar/good music were important. But we are still doing those things very conscious of the cost (like im not picking the beef tenderloin steak vs roast beef).

I want a videographer. But cant justify that it costs more than our photography. So the best man is loaning us his digital SLR camera and im gonna have my brother film what I want.

Vistaprint is a great way to do invites too. With mine im doing an invite that will have ceremony and reception details on 1 page. Then a 2nd page of details (like block of hotel rooms and how to rsvp on our wedding website). Pay attention when rexall does 10% off because you can buy stamps at 10% off.

View quoted message I agree! The totally store is 100% my favourite place on earth when I’m decorating for anything on a budget. thanks Stephanie!

Venue has been our biggest luxury! But they provide full linens, napkins, charger plates, chavarie chairs, centre pieces, even a free hotel night! I'm doing a lot of DIY to save on costs now and getting a lot of stuff to dress up from the dollar store!! That place is bomb! And it's amazing how fancy u can make things look with some gold spray paint haha!

View quoted message I agree Michael's coupons are awesome!!! I got a couple times a week just to make use of the good coupons! They can also have higher discounts around holidays too!

Btw- i also recommend booking early AF to get better prices.
my venue & catering i managed to get pro-rated at 2015-16 prices because i booked SO early (i also booked early knowing my date was gonna get booked super FAST.)

I wanted GOOD.. like REALLY GOOD food. That was my #1.. lol

View quoted message Tell me about it! we've actually been lucky in regards to this.
our florist is giving a discount b/c it was a referral from my workplace (15%!), Stephita Markham knocked $40 off my order b/c it was a referral from a colleague- they did my invites/inserts/rsvp cards/envelopes and also doing my guest favour tags, menu cards, table numbers etc.

View quoted message That’s amazing!
And yes agreed! Phones off until the reception!

View quoted message Hahahahaha!! one of my FH's friends is a pro photog. getting this as a gift & skipping videography literally put almost $4000 back in our pockets, allowing us to have more of what we want. we're opting for an uplugged ceremony though...i think it's rude to be on your phone/taking pictures etc during this precious moment

View quoted message Thanks sara!
I love the idea of making my own bouquets! And oh man I love Michaels, I will for sure be paying a visit to them during this journey!

View quoted message Thanks Jocelyn!
Im choosing to skip videography as well, i DOnt see the point when I’ll have pictures and friends who will Instagram everything already haha

View quoted message Thanks Terri! I am so prepared to stick to my guns haha

I tried to hire as many 'friends' as I could, so if you know anyone that does any sort of service hire them, it helps them out and you save money. My DJ is my best friend's sister, I used to work with my photographer so he's giving me a great price, the MUA I'm using I used to work with her too many years ago.

Flowers too is a big one! If you are crafty, maybe but your own flowers in bulk and many your own flower arrangements - that's what I'm doing, making our own bouquets.

We're also doing a DIY Photobooth so that's saving money as well. Maybe if you want to save, don't have so many activities for your guests: Photo Booth, sweets table, cocktail hour (not sure how your day is set up), do a cash/toonie bar, things like that.

Also, try to get your own decorations from IKEA and Costco. Michael's is a great place to get stuff too, and they often have 40% off coupons, go with your FH or MOH or anyone really and you can use two coupons, save more there too. I found a lot of stuff at Amazon as well, and AliExpress (the one thing with this last one is that it takes between 1-2 months to arrive, so you need to plan for that)

I skipped videography.
pics & guest favours are gifts from his friends.
skipping real bouquets, corsages etc.
bought my dress on sale (80% off!)

The two most important things for us we’re to have great pictures and all our friends. The friends were super important to my FH. So we booked a bed and breakfast that allowed us to bring in our own vendors and accommodate my FH hunge friend list. Photos were the most important to me so we splurged on a great photographer. To save money we did evites and created a wedding website ( huge plus being you get rsvp instantaneously ), I bought decorations off buy and sell sites which I can resell ( no diy necessary), we only got a 6 inch cake because no one ever eats it and are just getting little treats. Honestly pick your top 3 things that matter and spend your money there.... and stick to your guns! People will tell you that you “need” certain things but just ignore them lol

View quoted message Thanks for the advice Taylor!
So glad I got a Costco membership recently! Seems like I might do quite a bit of shopping there!

We are saving a lot by getting married at a local church and reception at the local agricultural hall, dinner is 15$ per person and hall rental is free, they run the cash bar. I'm using mason jars as centerpieces, Costco flowers and IKEA candle holders. We are doing a popcorn bar after dinner kernels worked out to 80$ for 300 people (we have 140 guests but getting extra). We are doing a chip bar for late night snack from Costco too

View quoted message Thank you so much Jennifer! I never even thought about Costco! That’s such a great idea!! Thanks!

I’m horrible at this saving money thing!! Lol
My mother in law also has graphic/web design so she made our invites for us she’s also making our wine which has saved us money.
We’re only using our florist for the bouquets and boutonnières and getting the flowers (baby’s breath) for our centerpieces from Costco.
We’ll be ordering our liquor from Costco too I believe.
We were originally only going to have photography but then I changed my mind and really wanted videography lol so that wasn’t good for the budget at all. I’m happy with our decision though I’m so excited to have both!
I think photography is necessary and the videography is a luxury. Having a big guest list was necessary for ua since my fiancé has a large family. Our limo was a luxury as well.

What I think is necessary in a wedding: the couple being married lol honestly at the end of the day that’s all that matters. As a guest I enjoy food and refreshments as well as entertainment- DJ, photo booth ... etc.

View quoted message Wow Brittany! Thank you so much for all that advice! I will take all of that into consideration!
thank you!!

You already look like you're doing off-season, good start here. Look for venues that don't have high rental fees, lower food cost options, and are naturally "pretty" (to minimize the need for additional decor).

A venue that is also the same place for ceremony & reception will cut down on costs, especially with transportation.

Don't pick the most expensive food option, pick a quality menu that still provides good options for guests.

Don't do open bar. Either do cash bar, or toonie bar.

Invitations, details inserts, etc: Staples Print Centre. I'm using them... super easy to make your own online, I've ordered 6 samples and they are all great. If you wait for a print centre coupon you can get 70 invites, inserts and envelopes for about $70. Also, if your guest list doesn't have lots of elderly (65+), consider e-rsvps (great on this site), and only do mail-in RSVPs for the ones who can't figure out the computer.

Go with a smaller cake, or no cake, paired with less expensive dessert options. (Mini cupcakes, donuts, cookies, etc).

Go minimal flowers. I'm a January wedding... aside from bouquets, we have no flowers, and will be DIY-ing the rest of the decor.

There's lots of stuff you can do to save money!!

Our essentials is the look of the venue, food, and guest list. Everything else can be cut back or eliminated.