Hi Friends,
Today I thought I would share how to save money on a wedding. As soon as you put the word wedding in front of anything "wedding cake," "wedding invitations," "wedding music", etc. the price goes up! It's crazy! However, there are lots of expenses that aren't really needed or missed at all. I wanted to share with you 5 ways Cameron and I saved money on our wedding and everyone still had a great time:
1) Make Your Own Desserts
My mom made the desserts for our wedding. We skipped the (real) cake and instead bought cupcakes for everyone. Other than those cupcakes, my mom made everything: 2 different types of heart cookies, brownies, chocolates, turtles, etc. What was amazing too, is that even though they had been frozen and then un-frozen before the wedding, people loved them! I received so many compliments about them, even from the caterers!
2) Skip The Live Music
A few years ago I went to my friend's wedding and they played their music as a playlist on their laptop, and TBH I didn't even notice a difference. We planned on doing a playlist for our entire wedding (ceremony, reception dinner, and dancing) however we were gifted with a pianist until the end of dinner. So we decided to skip the reception DJ and do a playlist. No joke so many of our guests said that it was the most fun they'd ever had at a wedding! People got to hear the songs they loved and the dance floor was nuts!
3) Email Invitations
Emailing the invites not only saves money but helps the planet. Let me honest, most people throw away your invitations anyway. We only printed invitations for the people we knew would treasure or scrapbook them. We also had a website on WithJoy.com that had all of our information and a section to RSVP. There are many online email invitation services that are budget-friendly, like Paperless Post, or you can paste the invitation into an email as a photo.
4) Look At The Dollar Store First
Buy as much as possible from the dollar store or Amazon first as it is usually cheaper. Companies were renting candlestick holders for $5 per piece and they were being sold for $7 per piece and I just thought that was such a ridiculous price so I hunted for three weeks and found the exact candlestick holders I was looking for at DollarTree for $1 per piece and I can reuse them every holiday. For most things, I didn't take 3 weeks to hunt but I do suggest before renting or buying anything, you do a quick browse of the local dollar store and off Amazon. I'll make a post of all of the items I got from Amazon and all of the items I got from the dollar store.
Connect With Me | It's not a conversation until you join in
Instagram: @Samantha.Twist
Youtube: Samantha Twist (new wedding planning vlogs up!)
Facebook: Samantha Twist Blog
Pinterest: Samantha Twist Blog
Twitter: @TwistSamantha
Podcast: Twist Talks