Welcome to the final week of wedding posts! Thanks for baring with me while I slowly get back in touch with reality. The last bits I want to share with you all are maybe some of the most important: Ways to save money when planning a wedding.
Weddings are expensive. If no one ever told you this, well then you can thank me later. It's not even about the cost of the entertainment or the photographer, it's the $1.75 cake cutting fee {per slice}, and the fee per chair used, that can really surprise you and start to add up. So finding ways to save in every nook and cranny possible can be super helpful.
One of the most common ways to save with a wedding is to experiment with a little DIY. I love to test my creative abilities now and then, so I did several little projects myself.
The Programs:
I created the programs for our ceremony. Read more about that loooooong and grueling {but overall satisfying} project here.
Menu Cards:
Despite the stress that ensued with the programs, I kept on "doin' it myself" and created our stand-up menu cards as well. Check out how this was done here.
Emergency Kits & Knotted Hair Ties:
For my bridesmaids, I really wanted to give each of them a Minimergency kit as part of their gifts. However, they're about $15 and I had already gone over the gift budget for those lovely ladies, so they got a DIY version instead {sorry girls!}. Read more about the "Emergency Kits" and DIY knotted hair tie here.
Pennant Cake Topper:
Our cake topper was a little DIY project as well, and possibly the easiest one. Read how to make a pennant cake topper here.
Guestbook:
We were able to save a little $$ on the package we chose for our photographer by opting out of a professional photo-guestbook. Instead, we made our own.
Centerpieces:
There were also a few projects that were not done by me, but definitely helped us save some coin. Our centerpieces were DIT {did it themselves}, by my uncle and close family friend. To read more about how they created this simple, beach themed centerpiece, click here.
Escort Cards:
My sister/Matron of Honor also lent her creative hand in creating our escort cards, which doubled as our wedding favors with a little sand dollar ornament. I don't have a breakdown on how she created these, unfortunately, but I still wanted to share how awesome and adorable they are.
Some of these projects saved us some major coin, while others may have only saved about $20 or so. $20 may not seem like a whole lot in the grand scheme of things, but I have $20 more to spend on our honeymoon, so I'm celebrating.
One of the most common ways to save with a wedding is to experiment with a little DIY. I love to test my creative abilities now and then, so I did several little projects myself.
The Programs:
I created the programs for our ceremony. Read more about that loooooong and grueling {but overall satisfying} project here.
Despite the stress that ensued with the programs, I kept on "doin' it myself" and created our stand-up menu cards as well. Check out how this was done here.
For my bridesmaids, I really wanted to give each of them a Minimergency kit as part of their gifts. However, they're about $15 and I had already gone over the gift budget for those lovely ladies, so they got a DIY version instead {sorry girls!}. Read more about the "Emergency Kits" and DIY knotted hair tie here.
Our cake topper was a little DIY project as well, and possibly the easiest one. Read how to make a pennant cake topper here.
We were able to save a little $$ on the package we chose for our photographer by opting out of a professional photo-guestbook. Instead, we made our own.
There were also a few projects that were not done by me, but definitely helped us save some coin. Our centerpieces were DIT {did it themselves}, by my uncle and close family friend. To read more about how they created this simple, beach themed centerpiece, click here.
My sister/Matron of Honor also lent her creative hand in creating our escort cards, which doubled as our wedding favors with a little sand dollar ornament. I don't have a breakdown on how she created these, unfortunately, but I still wanted to share how awesome and adorable they are.
In addition to all of the DIY projects, we really saved some dough with a little help from our friends and family. I've already said this, but I'll say it again, people actually want to help! Other than the centerpieces and escort cards, our loved ones did so much to help make our day special and possible {thank you, thank you, thank you!} Our invitations were addressed by my artfully talented aunt, our ceremony was officiated by my uncle {ordained just for our wedding!}, our decorations were done by a close family friend, and another family friend baked over 100 sugar cookies just for the wedding guests! My insanely talented younger brother and cousin saved us about $500-$1,000 just by preforming the music for our ceremony.
So when planning your wedding, don't be afraid to test out your creative hand and do a few projects yourself. Also, don't be afraid to ask some of the people you love to exercise their talents as well.
What other ways have you found to save some coin on your wedding day? What did you DIY?
Read more about Wedding Planning here:
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