How To Get The Most Bang For Your Wedding Budget (even with inflation, labor shortages, and supply chain issues!)
Have you googled "Cheap Wedding Ideas" recently? You're not alone.
Something Blue Mountain Venue | Maddie Kay Photography
The hard truth is that in our post-pandemic world, wedding costs are rising. According to Think Splendid, as of 2022, "Wedding costs are minimum 40% more worldwide because of product shortages, increased labor costs, and supply chain issues. And that 40% doesn't factor in the higher rent prices for studio/office/warehouse space, repayments on any new debt taken on to survive 2020, nor the raise wedding pros should have given themselves just to break even with inflation."
So here's a not-so-fun question: What do you get when you combine a surge of couples planning weddings with inflation, a labor shortage, rising gas prices, and supply chain issues?
You guessed it: Demand is up, supply is low—and as a result, weddings are now more expensive than ever before.
The good news is the wedding industry is back in full swing. But the bad news is that the swing has collided with a whole slew of complications beyond anyone's control—leaving both engaged couples and wedding industry professionals under pressure.
For example, did you know that there's a global champagne shortage, or that the California drought and wildfires impacted the supply of many popular wedding flowers, or that there was a paper and ink shortage that limited the availability of wedding invitations?
As romantic as weddings are, they're not immune to real-world issues. So here are 12 hacks to help you keep your wedding budget in check—even in these most unprecedented of times.
Before We Begin...
Our takeaway to engaged couples? Stay flexible and creative. Keep in mind that wedding professionals are dealing with wholesale price increases, higher cost of labor and staffing shortages, longer lead times to receive products, and oftentimes slaving away for longer hours to try and make it all work for their couples.
The best thing you can do during this time is remain adaptable. Be creative with substitutions—or trust your vendors to be ingenious on your behalf! Allow plenty of time for orders to come through, book everything as early as possible, and don't be afraid to pivot to a Plan B when necessary.
Keep your focus on the big picture, and everything else will fall into place. Okay? Okay. On with the hacks.
Natachia Miller Photography
Wedding Budget Hack #1 → Limit Your Guest List
The single most impactful thing you can do to lower your overall wedding spend is to decrease your guest list. The total cost of a wedding is pretty much based on guest count. The number of guests in attendance will determine not only the size of your venue, but also how much food and alcohol you'll have to provide (which, by the way, just happen to be two of the biggest wedding expenses).
Looking at your wedding as a "per-person" expenditure will help put the costs into perspective. Simply put: More guests = more money. A larger wedding venue, more food, more alcohol, more tables, more centerpieces, more rentals, more cake, more, more, more!
With wedding costs rising, consider limiting the total number of guests invited. Focus on your absolute VIPs and don't feel pressured to invite acquaintances, neighbors, distant relatives, plus-ones, or other guests you barely know. Keep your wedding party small, or forgo the wedding party entirely and just make it about the two of you.
Need help whittling down your guest list? Check out 9 Tips For Putting Together Your Small Wedding Guest List.
Wedding Budget Hack #2 → Get Married on a Weekday
Since Saturday is the most popular day of the week for weddings, it also tends to be the most expensive. The demand for Saturday weddings can drive up every associated cost—from venue rentals, to food & beverage, to vendor packages. Expect to see higher price tags galore to meet the demand of a Saturday soirée.
With competition to secure wedding venues and vendors at an all-time high, weekday weddings are becoming more and more commonplace. Once you set your midweek date, give your guests as much advance notice as possible so they can take time off work or make other necessary arrangements to work remotely. You could also consider an evening ceremony to give your 9–5 guests the opportunity to get their workday in first. Just take rush hour traffic into account before setting the start time!
Wedding Budget Hack #3 → Book Your Wedding Venue Early
Popular wedding venues (and vendors, for that matter) are getting booked up 12–18 months in advance, or more. So if you truly want your first pick of venue or have a non-negotiable wedding date already set, start your venue search ASAP and schedule those site visits as soon as you can.
Keep in mind that if you don’t want to deal with floral and décor supply chain issues, you can choose a venue that is naturally beautiful. A celebration on the beach, in a lush garden, or in a colorful art gallery requires very little embellishment.
It also bears mentioning that much of the reason wedding costs have been driven skyward is due to pent-up demand. Couples who had to postpone their weddings due to the pandemic are now booking up venues and vendors. Waiting a full year or two to celebrate your big day could mean lower costs as wedding bookings begin to normalize.
Wedding Budget Hack #4 → Prepare for Unexpected Expenses
From taxes and service charges to tips and gratuities, there's a whole slew of extra expenses that have the potential to bust your bottom line. Don't let these hidden fees catch your budget by surprise—on top of dealing with inflation! Check out 21 Hidden Wedding Costs You May Forget To Budget For to ensure you don't get blindsided by unanticipated extras.
We recommend building an Emergency Fund / Unexpected Costs Buffer of at least 5% into your overall wedding budget. This will help safeguard you against going into debt for your big day.
Wedding Budget Hack #5 → Think Seasonal and Local
Two words will lower both your catering and floral expenses: seasonal and local. When you buy what's in season, you get food and flowers at the peak of their supply when the price is naturally lower. Plus, when they're locally grown they don't need to be shipped halfway around the globe. So opt for local pasture-raised chicken over imported shellfish, and bubbly from the nearby family-owned vineyard instead of from northwest Italy.
As for flowers, book your floral designer early and get your design plan in place ASAP so your florist can plan ahead. Flowers are in hot demand and it's intensely competitive out there, with floral designers already reserving specific flowers and colors with their wholesalers.
Wedding Budget Hack #6 → Simplify the Menu
Do you really need multiple protein choices or a big variety of passed hors d'oeuvres? Keep it simple! Try one appetizer station or a modest grazing table, pare down alcohol selections to just the essentials, and streamline the menu to something your guests will love but won't break the bank. You'd be surprised how many people would rather have a fun and relatable meal (like a taco bar, BBQ, or woodfired pizza) rather than something overly fussy! Also skip that late night treat. Your guests won't miss it.
Remember that catering companies aren’t just dealing with price increases and supply-chain issues, but also staffing shortages. We're not just talking about chefs here. We're talking managers, wait staff, dishwashers, bussers, bartenders, and everyone else involved in providing a seamless service experience. Trust your caterer to come up with innovative, cost-cutting solutions to pare things down. They may encourage a cocktail-style reception over a seated multi-course meal, or a made-to-order action station over buffets.
Pro Tip: It may be smart to opt for a caterer that can also take care of the bar service and even the cake and desserts. Oftentimes an all-inclusive venue or caterer is an easy and reliable way to save both time and money while crossing off a bunch of wedding to-dos in one fell swoop.
Sunken Gardens | Regina as the Photographer
Wedding Budget Hack #7 → Get a Jump Start on Vendor Bookings
This isn't the time to take your sweet time on vendor booking decisions! With the influx of weddings, all vendors—from planners and photographers to florists and calligraphers—are feeling the pressure. Wedding professionals are booking up fast and steadily upping their prices to offset inflation, so the best thing you can do is inquire early and begin locking in your vendor team swiftly.
The nice thing about booking vendors early is that you may be able to work out a doable payment plan that spreads out the costs over the course of your planning process. Plus, booking early allows you to lock in today's pricing for next year's wedding. Every little bit helps!
As an aside: Remember that wedding professionals are typically their own small businesses, and they’re dealing with rising costs just like the rest of us. Being flexible, communicative, and understanding with your vendors will go a long way!
Wedding Budget Hack #8 → Find Alternatives to Expensive Flowers
While supply chain issues, labor shortages, flower farm closures, unsuitable weather conditions, natural disasters, and even climate change has impacted the availability and price of wedding flowers across the globe, a pandemic-related pause on the production of things like vases, floral tape, glue, and even candles has made procuring fresh wedding floral arrangements a bonafide feat.
The fresh-flower situation is a big issue: Event-quality stems (which are grown to a higher quality than typical grocery store flowers and are bred and harvested to open at peak bloom by the day of the event) are now three to four times what they were pre-pandemic.
We recommend trusting your floral designer to come up with creative solutions to procure budget-friendly, local, and seasonal varieties that can stand in as beautiful alternatives to their more expensive, harder-to-obtain counterparts. For example, instead of white roses, a talented pro can make carnations or a billowing arrangement of baby's breath look simply luxurious.
You can also try utilizing more greenery, plants, branches, pampas grass, and potted trees, or considering dried florals or artificial silk flowers as an alternative to fresh. Or forgo the flowers entirely! Use décor elements such as string lights, artistic installations, elegant balloon arrangements, feathers, or paper streamers to achieve your desired aesthetic effect.
hand+heart weddings and events | Cheers Babe
Wedding Budget Hack #9 → Go Digital
If the paper and ink shortage has you hesitant to order traditional stationery, consider going partially or entirely digital. There's a wide array of elegant electronic invitations that emulate the experience of opening a printed invitation. But you can always just send digital Save The Dates if you want to keep that tactical paper feeling for your formal invitation suite.
Another digital option is having your guest list RSVP via your wedding website instead of through snail mail. You can also cut down on your paper and printing costs by using signage instead of individual day-of stationery for things like ceremony programs and menus.
Wedding Budget Hack #10 → Buy In-Stock or Off-The-Rack Attire
Place the order for your wedding dress or suit at least 8–12 months in advance of your wedding day. For even more peace of mind, order something that's in stock and ready-to-ship as opposed to custom-made or backordered.
Want to avoid the wedding-dress woes of fabric shortages, supply-chain disruptions, and shipping delays entirely? Consider going the vintage route! Not only is this an incredibly sustainable option, it's also incredibly stylish. Whether you repurpose and restore a family member's heirloom wedding outfit or hit the local (or online!) thrift shop circuit, you're sure to find an off-the-rack ensemble that will fit you like a dream—after some expert alterations and customizations, of course.
P.S. Want to pay it forward and give your dress new life? Consider donating your wedding dress.
DeBell Golf Club | Aurelia D'Amore Photography
Wedding Budget Hack #11 → DIY If You Dare
We're huge advocates of hiring seasoned wedding professionals for your big day. Skimp on professional services and you could easily end up paying a big price anyway: lots of stress headaches and a wedding that's memorable for all the wrong reasons.
When you hire a wedding pro you're not just paying for their experience, you're benefiting from their experience. The extra services and advice they provide are invaluable. A good wedding planner, for example, can use their professional connections and creative genius to actually save you time and money—even in the midst of all these inflation and supply chain issues!
That being said, if you're particularly crafty and up for the challenge, then by all means pick a DIY project or two that you feel is within your wheelhouse. Mentally prepare yourself that DIY projects tend to involve a good chunk of time and lots of supplies to complete, so be sure these projects are worth the money and effort before you begin.
And remember that DIY doesn't mean you have to do it ALL yourself. Your friends and family can be your personal saviors! Enlist retired aunts for centerpiece prep, ask your talented cousin to do your makeup, and see if your BFF who loves to bake will whip up some wedding cookie favors. A "divide and conquer" approach will keep things affordable and take some of the DIY stress off your shoulders.
Wedding Budget Hack #12 → Get Clear on your Must Haves
What is most important to you and your partner when it comes to your wedding? What are your non-negotiables? You might have differing opinions: Perhaps you have your heart set on a stellar wedding photographer and gorgeous gown while your partner cares more about the drinks and music at your reception. Getting clear on your priorities will help you decide where to invest vs. where to cut costs.
When you’re dealing with inflation, shortages, and the like, you'll need to set realistic expectations when it comes to your must-haves. Give yourself plenty of time to order / book, have a Plan B (and C) in mind, and stay flexible with out-of-the-box solutions and substitutions. For example, maybe a custom wooden wedding arch bursting with imported blooms would have been a must-have, but now you know you’ll need to shift your vision to a more readily-available structure rife with greenery. Still gorgeous—just a bit different than what you had in mind!
More Money-Saving Resources That May Help:
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