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FEATURE ARTICLE: 11 Easy Ways To Save Money on Your Wedding, According to Wedding Planners

Tracy French — Sun, 18 Sep 2022 02:25:32 +0000

I am thrilled to have been asked to contribute to this article on GoBankingRates.com.

11 Easy Ways To Save Money on Your Wedding

Your big day doesn’t have to come with a big price tag.

A wedding is a momentous occasion in a couple’s life; you want it to leave a big impact on you and your guests, not a big dent in your bank accounts. The wedding industry will lead you to believe that weddings should be big, glamorous, pricey events, but in truth, you can have a perfectly lovely event on a budget that will leave you and your guests pleased.

Here, experts weigh in on 11 easy ways to save money on your wedding.

Let Guests Take Photos

Jim Campbell, founder and CEO of Honeymoon Goals, has a fantastic hack to save on the high cost of professional photographs, which also engages guests.

“Instead of hiring a wedding photographer, which can cost up to $3000, give all of your guests a disposable camera and have the photos printed the following day. You get so many great moments from your wedding that you wouldn’t have got to see, and everyone gets a say in how you remember your wedding.”

Avoid Favors

Though you may feel as though you need to put together a memento for guests, their memories of the event are more precious than any trinket you can buy. A simple way to save money on your wedding, according to Amber Sironen-Massey, owner of Epic Elopements, is to not give out favors.

“They are a waste and people never take them. Depending on the size of your event this could save you $500 (or more). If you really want to offer something, make a donation to a local charity or organization.”

Downsize Your Cake

People don’t come to weddings for the food. They come to celebrate your special day. Sironen-Massey said when you buy a big cake there is often too much leftover. “Scale back on the cake. Yes, a big cake is beautiful, but you are spending hundreds to throw it in the garbage. Talk to your cake maker about possibly putting in a Styrofoam layer.”

Be Flexible on Your Date

Wedding venues and vendors often offer different rates for each season and also alternate their rates by the day of the week, according to Retno Dwinika, founder and lead wedding planner at Amora Bali weddings. Flexibility is key to savings. “Often, you’ll pay less on weekdays and more on weekends. Being flexible with the wedding date can save you a lot of bucks when seasonal price differences can save you a lot on your vendors or venues.”

Reduce Your Guest List

One of the biggest wedding costs is the number of guests you invite, said Amberly Odom, a wedding planner with Wrennwood Design. Venue and food often add up the more people you invite.

“Each guest for example may cost $500 to attend,” she said. “The cost will increase depending on how luxurious you want the day to be.”

“Other than the number of guests, you can opt for a buffet over a plated, seated dinner. The cost of the food itself isn’t necessarily decreased, however, the amount of staff needed is not as high as a buffet.”

Downsize Your Bridal Party

If you’re not able to scale down the total number of guests, you could try to decrease the number of members in your bridal party, which will save you a considerable amount of money, Odom suggests. “This means you’ll spend less on bridesmaids/groomsmen gifts, personalized flowers or custom dresses or outfits.”

Go With a Signature Drink

If you are paying for alcohol at your wedding venue, Odom recommends “You can opt for a single signature drink that can be batch made or serve beer and wine versus a full open bar.”

Use Secondhand Decorations

Before you spend a mint on brand new decorations and more, Lindsey Nickel, owner of Lovely Day Events, recommended couples look at secondhand sources for items such as “reserve signs, favor signs, and any other signage that doesn’t have a specific name or wedding date on it on secondhand shopping sites like Facebook Marketplace.”

Other items you can find second hand might include picture frames, votives, candles, a card box, or basket to put your cards in. “Don’t be afraid to think outside of the box and look inside your home for items like a tray for cards or decor on your bookshelf for your welcome table.”

Send Electronic Invitations

Not only can you save money but also trees for your wedding by using electronic invitations, Nickel said. “This trend has been on the rise and I highly encourage it. Also, some of my clients have opted out of printed paper programs for their ceremony in lieu of one giant sign–which can also be purchased secondhand, along with the easel to place it on. Or they’ll opt out of wasteful, paper-based items altogether.”

Serve a Family Style Dinner

Instead of a sit-down, plated dinner, consider having a family-style menu, said Tracy French of The French Connection Events. This would look more like meal items put on platters in the center of each guest table so guests can pass them around. “[This] will often be less expensive over a plated meal as your caterer will not need as much staff to serve each guest.”

However, she cautions, “You will need to limit your table centerpiece size when doing this to accommodate the family-style food service but the payoff is a more interactive reception while saving dollars.”

Elope Instead

Though you may have dreamed of a big wedding, if your budget doesn’t allow it but your heart can’t wait, the most affordable way to save on a wedding is to elope, Dwinika said.

“As opposed to throwing a party just because of the social pressure of your friends and family, eloping would make your day with your partner so much more meaningful. As an alternative for a $34,000 wedding, you could elope in a beautiful destination, where you’ll also celebrate your Honeymoon. Share the pictures with loved ones afterwards. Whether they are there or not, I promise you, they will still be happy for you.”

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101 Summer Wedding Ideas

Mao Hog — Sat, 22 Jun 2019 14:58:38 +0000

We are teaming up with our pals over at Pixan Photography to bring you this fab Summer Destination Wedding Idea list. With the 1st day of summer here and we are excited to share these great ideas to help make any Summer Wedding amazing! Be sure to head over to Pixan Photography to see even more of their gorgeous photography and ideas! Happy Planning!

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Featured Wedding …. Carats & Cake

Mao Hog — Fri, 29 Sep 2017 01:50:22 +0000

Suzanna and James’ wedding is featured on Carats & Cake today! We are so happy to see our client’s day being shown off! Check it out at our favorite San Antonio, Texas venue Southwest School of Art

see full gallery here Carats & Cake gallery

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Garden Boho Wedding featured on Glamour & Grace

Mao Hog — Tue, 22 Nov 2016 17:52:15 +0000

Excited for this wedding featured on Glamour and Grace blog! The venue was The Veranda which is centrally located in the heart of San Antonio with beautiful oak trees and a unique home on the property. The venue offers lots of charm and character that perfectly accented this day. We had so much fun planning and designing this day working very closely with our sweet bride. Creating her custom wedding invites was one of our favorite parts as we really wanted them to tie into the over look for the entire day that the guests would witness. Check out the wedding featured here on Glamour & Grace! CLICK HERE

photos by: Miranda Laine Photography

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Museum Wedding featured on Borrowed and Blue

Mao Hog — Wed, 26 Oct 2016 23:21:13 +0000

We are so excited to see this lovely wedding we planned featured on Borrowed and Blue. Click here to see the full feature. We had so much fun designing this wedding for our client. She was not afraid of color so we ran with it! We are obsessed with the red poppy flowers that we incorporated throughout her decor!!

Photos by: Miranda Laine Photography

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Destination Wedding Planning Specialist – Featured Article

Mao Hog — Wed, 07 Sep 2016 20:00:37 +0000

Being a Destination Wedding Specialist is a passion of mine. I love helping client’s fulfill their dream of having a wedding away from their home towns often in exotic locations. Mexico, Jamaica, Hawaii, Grenada, Grand Cayman are just a few of the exciting destinations I have worked in. I am excited to see this article San Antonio Weddings Magazine did on my destination wedding planning services.

Check it out HERE

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Featured Wedding! Michele and John – Southwest School of Art

Mao Hog — Tue, 06 Sep 2016 15:13:37 +0000

We are delighted to see this beautiful wedding featured on Fab You Bliss website. We just loved working with this sweet family to help them create this gorgeous day. photos by: Miranda Laine Photography

Click Here to see the entire feature

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La Mansion Wedding featured in San Antonio Weddings Magazine!

Mao Hog — Wed, 16 Dec 2015 17:15:56 +0000

Such a pretty wedding that we thrilled to see featured in the pages of San Antonio Weddings Magazine on newsstands now! Photos by David Lack.

San Antonio Weddings Magazine Feature

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Featured on Style Me Pretty ~ Southwest School of Art

Mao Hog — Wed, 12 Nov 2014 17:58:56 +0000

Proud to share that another one of our lovely weddings has been featured on Style Me Pretty!!!

Click Here to see feature

Several weddings featured!

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25 Most Influential Wedding Planners in the WORLD!

Mao Hog — Tue, 11 Nov 2014 07:00:17 +0000

Tracy French is included in this list of the 25 MOST INFLUENTIAL WEDDING PLANNERS IN THE WORLD! How cool is that?!

Click here to see the entire list

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