Chances are, if you are reading this, you are planning a wedding or going to be planning one soon. With that—CONGRATS! This is truly such a special season in your life and you deserve to cherish those feelings and memories that come with it. Weddings do come with a price tag, but the beautiful thing about that is you get to pick exactly what you want your day to look like with the budget you have set. Here are 5 tips to help cut wedding costs so that you can allocate more of your wedding budget to other things you want to prioritize more!

1. Trim up your guest list. Do you really need your mom’s cousin’s best friend’s brother to be at your wedding? Nope. Be intentional about the people you choose to invite and celebrate with you on your big day. Creating a smaller guest list will cut costs because you won’t need as much food, catering, tables, decorations, etc.
2. Buy a wedding invitation template off of Etsy or design your own invitation on Canva and print it at a local print shop. Wedding invitations can end up costing $2-$5+ per invitation, so having them print at a local print shop can cut costs on stationary. If you need to cut these costs even further, you could send your invitations virtually to your guests.
3. Instead of having your wedding dinner catered, hire a food truck. These are a huge hit at weddings and allows your guests to choose exactly what and how much they want to eat. Some ideas for food trucks: taco trucks, pizza trucks, waffle trucks, ramen trucks, etc. They are a more affordable option to feed your guests and create a fun vibe on your wedding day.
4. Rent a wedding dress and suit. There are lots of wedding rental places and it is the perfect option if you don’t want to hold onto your wedding attire forever.
5. Get the more expensive venue. I know what you’re thinking…I thought this was blog post was talking about how to cut costs on your wedding day…it is! If you book a venue that costs more because it is naturally beautiful inside, the less money you will have to spend on decorating it to make it prettier. Plus, lots of venues let you use their decorations as well so this will save you lots of money in the end. This will be a much better option than booking a venue that is more affordable and having to spend lots of money on decorations and lighting to make it look better.

This blog post is not for those wanting to have a budget wedding, but for those that want to put their money into vendors that they prioritize and value most. Wedding days can go by so fast, but the only way to remember all of the details is to have it photographed or recorded. Photography and videography are one of the best things to invest in because at the end of the day, you are left with the photos and videos to tell your story. You can hold onto these precious photos and videos for decades to come.

If you need a photographer that can tell the story of your day in the best way possible, fill out my contact form to get in touch! Oh and here are 11 helpful tips to get ready for your engagement session!

Also if you need a videographer, I highly recommend hiring Bailey Reese Visuals. She creates such beautiful art and makes the coolest movie out of your big day. What better way to commemorate your unique day?!