Brides Are Sharing Tips On How They Planned Their Wedding For Under $10K, And A Lot Of These Are Really Clever
Wedding planning is an exciting time in one's life, but it can also be stressful, chaotic, and let's face it — expensive!
In 2021, the average cost of a wedding was $28,000 ($34,000 including the engagement ring), according to a study conducted by The Knot. The study showed that in some states, like New Jersey and Rhode Island, the average was closer to $50,000 for a wedding.
If you're in the midst of planning a wedding but are looking to do it on a smaller scale and budget, you're not alone. To help with this, I rounded up tips, tricks, and advice from the super-useful subreddit r/Weddingsunder10k. If you have others to add, share them in the comments!
1.Self-shoot your own engagement photos. This bride-to-be and her fiancé made it work with their cellphone and a tripod.
2.Rather than splurging on a custom dress, buy one secondhand — then get it tailored so that it fits you perfectly. This bride found hers at the Goodwill for $100.
3.Consider doing your own makeup — just remember that you'll want to potentially apply more than you're used to so it can show up in photographs. (Try a test shoot for this reason!)
"My makeup was heavier than I was used to, but in the photos, it still looked really natural. I love the eyeshadow; it’s beautiful, but if I could do it again, I would add more pigmentation and deepen the eyeshadow colors slightly and add false lashes so it shows up more in photos."
"I’m by no means super versed in makeup, but I would add more bronzer/contour to your cheekbones and under your chin. This can help give more shape to your face that will be lost in photos."
—u/witchygirl97
4.Explore the world of YouTube cake-baking tutorials. This mother-of-a-bride did that and made her daughter's stunning wedding cake for a fraction of the price of a professional bakery.
—u/groomgurl21
5.Floral arrangements can cost a ton. Swap real flowers for silk ones — just like this bride did for her, her groom, and their bridal party.
"I ordered these silk flowers from the shop BeeBlooms on Etsy. I was really nervous about them, but the quality is great! I was able to order my bouquet, six bouquets for my bridesmaids, and boutonnières for my fiancé and his groomsmen for around $300. The shop has other colors and styles, and I would definitely recommend them if you are looking for an easy faux flower option."
6.Design and print your own wedding invitations — or go entirely paperless.
"I [uploaded] photos and wedding information to Staples' website and [used] Microsoft Edge as my browser to get a discount code on the invites. I paid $68 for 100 5x7 invitations, and that included envelopes."
7.If you're letting your bridal party pick out their own dresses to save on cost, remember to give them guidelines.
"Even something like dark colors, muted colors, or warm colors would be helpful to tell them. Most definitely tell them if it’s casual, cocktail, formal, or black tie."
8.Repurpose an old decorative box — like this bride did — for an inexpensive place to collect and store wedding cards from guests.
9.DIY your wedding centerpieces by placing fake flowers inside inexpensive small vases. This bride found her small vases for $1 each at the Dollar Tree.
"I’ll be adding in live greenery from Trader Joe’s as we get closer to our wedding date. So they will be even more lush and green by then."
—u/Dannah_Hay
10.Consider looking online for a wedding dress, where there may be more inexpensive options than in boutiques or bridal-specific stores. This bride found a stunning dress for under $200 online and then found a store that carried that same dress.
11.This bride found her dress online — for $100! — as well:
"I ended up browsing AliExpress just to check it out...and I ended up finding my dress for just $100! Alterations cost an additional $75–$100 (I added a bustle and shortened the length)." —Charis Barg
Read more about this bride's wedding — which cost $8,700 total — here.
12.Make your own welcome sign for guests by using a piece of plywood, a can of wood stain, and a stencil kit.
"I bought this stencil kit from Etsy and made the signs myself! My welcome sign was made with a piece of plywood from the hardware store, a small can of wood stain, and some flowers from the dollar store hot-glued on. I also bought some cheap $1 bamboo cutting boards from the dollar store and used the same stencils to make signs for 'Cards,' 'Sign our guestbook,' and other miscellaneous signs. Turned out great!"
—u/Avena_sativa
"We chose this for our wedding welcome sign during a 50% off sale on all wedding merchandise from Hobby Lobby, so it was only $25. It is not incredibly large, but pretty big to place on a table."
"I designed my sign on Canva and printed it at Office Depot on foam board. Mine was no more than $30."
13.Create your own ceremony backdrop using this ornate birdcage-shaped gazebo from Amazon, like this bride did.
"Drape this birdcage-shaped gazebo with some tulle, and you're set."
—u/OhioGirl22·
14.Customize your own bouquet of fake flowers by using inexpensive paint to change their original color, similar to what this bride did.
"A cheap fix at home for these flowers was with a $5 watercolor paint set."
—u/smolbanane
15.If you're shopping around for wedding bands, think outside-the-box by asking talented local musicians what their wedding rate is. One bride found a performer at a local pub who was willing to perform at her wedding for around $200.
We had been looking at bands, but the cheapest was coming up at ￡1,200 ($1,282.86). We found a few slightly cheaper options, but we weren't keen on what they were offering. We ended up at a random pub one night watching a solo performer who sings, plays guitar, and puts together his own (really well-done) backing tracks. He plays the kind of music we like. We asked him for a quote —￡200 ($213.81)! Just sharing here because I am so excited; we really wanted live music but had given up hope of getting it on our little budget!"
