7 Genius Ideas To Save Money On Your Wedding

Searching for ways to budget for your upcoming wedding? No problem. We’ve compiled a list of ideas on where to cut costs, and perhaps put that extra cash towards beach cocktails on your honeymoon!

1. Hire a Food Truck instead of a Catering Company

Okay, but an honest question: who doesn’t want to eat nachos in a tux?

We love the idea of hiring a local food truck to sort out the primary food for the reception. We’ve seen couples that splurge on canapés and grazing boards during the early hours of the reception, but then transition to trucks in the evening to cover dinner. On average traditional catering can range between $70-160 per guest, whereas food trucks can be as little as $15 a head (+ other misc. booking costs)

2. Opt For A Seating Chart Instead Of Escort Name Tags

It (money) is all in the little details. Ditch the old-school escort cards and save by only designing and printing a seating chart for the reception entrance. It’s arguably unnecessary, especially for smaller weddings where most people know each other. It’s also a nice opportunity for people to choose who they get to sit next to at their table.

3. Organise Your Own Drinks

If you’re having a more intimate wedding, we love the idea of the bride and groom organising their own alcohol rather than hiring a beverage service company. You can tailor the drinks menu to sentimental wines or spirits that other service companies may not have access to. You can also budget for exactly how much you want to spend in this area, rather than running into unpredictable costs with a service company.

However, do keep in mind that you would need friends or whoever is serving the drinks to hold a current RSA. We also wouldn’t recommend organising your own beverages if there are over 50 guests, as hiring the glasses and the risk of running out of alcohol early may cost you more than actually hiring the professionals to run the show.

4. Consider Affordable Bridesmaids Dresses

You don’t need to spend thousands on your bridesmaids' dresses to style them beautifully for your special day. Considering the overall cost of the dresses, hair, makeup, jewellery and shoes - why not save in areas that you wouldn’t notice a difference in?

P.S. Frocks offer a large range of Bridesmaids Dresses to choose from, each colour is also available in a variety of designs to suit everyone’s style and body shape. They’re significantly more affordable than the average alternative brand name, possibly allowing you to save hundreds of dollars. We personally can’t rave enough about the Aphrodite Maxi Dress. There’s a colour to suit ANY wedding theme and suits every body shape - it’s baby bump friendly too!

5. Book For A Weekday, Not The Weekend.

It may be a pretty small change in your wedding planning, but the savings of this would make a massive change to your budget. Understandably, most venues have a larger markup on weekends as most weddings are booked for these days as it’s easier for guests to make it. But if your guests are more flexible or perhaps a sentimental day falls outside of the weekend, why not book it for a weekday?

The venue will most likely give you a discounted rate and the hiring companies won’t need to charge extra for weekend staff rates. This could save you thousands of dollars, allowing you to splurge on more food and drinks … or be more responsible (unlike us) and pop that extra cash towards a house deposit ;)

6. Find A Wedding Cake Alternative

Is cake not really your thing? Then why wouldn’t you want to save a few hundred dollars? Organise a stack of donuts, cream puffs, cinnamon scrolls or other sweet treats for the dessert. If you don’t have much of a sweet tooth then the world is your oyster. We’re thinking stacks of cheese, pizza tower, pies….the list goes on.

7. Or Instead Just… Elope!

You may think that this is a big jump from our other suggestions, but hear us out. These days, eloping doesn’t mean spontaneously running to the courts with your lover and making the sudden decision to legally marry. More and more people are making the choice to elope for many different reasons - which we’ll dive into another time. But one major pro for eloping is the saving cost of not holding a public ceremony. Instead, if you still want to celebrate with friends and family, you can focus the budget towards a small reception. You can also save on other elements such as on a traditional wedding dress. We love the P.S. Frocks Kaftan Style Maxi Dress in White for elopement ceremonies, as seen on Rhiannah above.