We may earn money or products from the companies mentioned in this post.
Undoubtedly, the wedding reception could easily be the most expensive part of your wedding, so it makes sense to focus your cost saving efforts on the wedding reception. These 12 wedding tips will show you how to spend less on your wedding reception. With a bit of creative thinking you can really save a lot of money on your wedding reception without compromising too much.
Related Posts:
The expectation placed on couples hosting a wedding typically consists of a wedding ceremony, wedding reception followed by an evening reception. During the course of a full day you will need to provide food and refreshments for your guests. This is really when the wedding costs can start to ratchet up.
This post contains affiliate links. If you click through and make a purchase, I’ll earn a commission, at no additional cost to you.
All five elements are inextricably linked so try not to make final decisions until you have all the information you need. A chosen venue for example may then limit what options you have to reduce spend in these other 4 areas.
Before we get into the nitty gritty of saving money on food etc. These would be my top tips to get your wedding budget off to the best start. Here are 4 ways to spend less on your wedding by adjusting your guest list.
The biggest ways to spend less on your wedding are most definitely when you DIY your event, this way everything is under your control. Event caterers can offer a great choice, quality and style of food but they can still be expensive. This would not be my first choice if I was catering on a budget.
Related Posts:
If you are doing this yourself, you will have to work out in advance how much food you will need. Don’t just go shopping with a budget in mind. Everything needs to be worked out so you can avoid over spending. Preparation is key at this point. For example will you allow half a pizza per person. Half a bag of salad per person etc. These are all questions you need to ask and adjust as you go along.
Choosing the right venue will go a long way to determining what you spend on your wedding decor. A swanky posh venue may already look amazing but you are guaranteed to be sold on additional venue dressing by the venue stylist. A blank canvas venue may be a great DIY venue but you may need to do more work to get the venue looking like a wedding reception.
Follow this quick checklist of decor and props you may feel obliged to consider. Make your own list of decor items you may want to add on to this.
DIY will invariably save you money in this category, enlist friends to help set up. When deciding on your theme try to do something that lends itself to using items from home as decor and props.
Mirrors for writing on are one idea instead of expensive Signage. Check out our DIY section here for lots of Wedding decor DIY ideas you can do on a budget.
Get creative with table centrepieces, using candles and lanterns etc. Anything goes really rather than opt for traditional fresh flowers. Foliage and greenery only can offer a simple and classic look which can be either very modern or rustic and would not cost the earth.
A question that is often asked, especially when you see the wedding aisles of many homewate stores. However, opting for silk flowers rather than real flowers is a false economy, the initial investment of buying silk flowers will be high and you take the risk of recouping any money by selling them on afterwards.
Related Posts:
The Venue needs to be chosen carefully, this one decision will affect what food and drink you can and will serve, your decor options and also in many cases what suppliers you can use.
Don’t feel that you have to have that luxury hotel or country Manor. There are many options available from low key informal pubs to village halls that can offer a blank canvas for your decor.
Think about the duration of your event, getting married later in the day means you only really need to fork out for one set of guests and feed them once.
If there is a specific venue which is a deal breaker for you look for off peak times, look out for last minute cancellations and think out if season times. However, if this is an incredibly sought after venue there may not be many opportunities. My tip would be to follow this venues socials and see how often deals pop up to get a vibe on whether you might get lucky on this.
Don’t be afraid to negotiate and ask for a discount especially if your having a significant sized wedding.
Entertainment at weddings has seen an explosion of ideas that will keep the masses happy while also putting a huge dent in your pocket.
Think carefully what is likely to have the biggest impact on your event and look at DIY for some elements. Perhaps a photo booth could be easily created with a backdrop and some fun dress up props brought from home.
Whilst entertainment is important for a great wedding maybe spend more on one good thing rather than spread too thinly. Food, Drink and Music are usually the most important elements guests rate the highest when attending a wedding.
Want to create a wedding filled with joy and colour then a Sunflower Wedding bouquet…
We are swooning over the latest Galia Lahav Wedding dresses from their Spring 2025 collection…
Soft, romantic and classy, blush shades are a classic wedding colour scheme to have at…
Chocolate wedding cakes don't have to be dull brown creations , these beautiful wedding cakes…
Here we are revisting these beautiful Needle and Thread Wedding dresses from their new collection…
One of our favourite Wedding Dress designers we love featuring is Rue de Seine. The…