Sneaky Ways To Save Cash On Your Wedding Day
…. ON THINGS THAT NO ONE WILL MISS
Image: Chelsea Pratchler Photography
Weddings may be steeped in tradition, but modern couples are stepping away from the idea of blowing all their cash on one big day. If you want to stick to your budget but you don’t know how, consider these four simple things you can reduce, ignore, or get rid of entirely.
…Then, you can splash your cash on what means the most to you personally (European honeymoon, anyone?).
Ditch the guestbook… no one will notice
A wedding guestbook is designed for capturing feel-good moments and memories, but ironically, they’re often the least memorable part of your big day. If you ask any of your loved ones? Their guestbooks are probably stashed away in storage, covered in layers of dust, and forgotten for the last fifty years.
If you’re trying to cut down on the non-necessities, your wedding guestbook is a great place to start.
That’s not to say you shouldn’t capture keepsakes from your day — but there are so many ways to do it. Instead of dedicating a whole table to your guestbook, taking up set-up time, wedding resources and extra space (while hitting that wedding budget where it hurts), try one of these fun, easy, way-more-effective keepsakes:
• Take a polaroid photo with each table, selfie style. If you’re really hesitant to give up the guestbook, create your own scrapbook with the images later!
• Do a portable audio guestbook, using a retro phone to pass around the venue. The audio recordings will be hilarious to look back on, and it’s so much more meaningful than a quick scribble.
• Set up a large-scale photo of you and your future bride/groom, then invite guests to sign. This requires only an easel or photo stand instead of a whole dedicated table, and you can display it on your wall at home, guaranteeing you actually look at it again (AKA: bang for your buck).
Take your invitations back to the basics
Your wedding invites are one place you won’t have to totally splurge in order to make an unforgettable impression. Most of your guests will be so excited about your upcoming wedding, and that will be much more important than what the invitation looks like!
If you’re trying to save on your invitation budget, there are many ways to scale back, like not using wax seals and fancy stamps, or going for a lower-grade (but still beautiful) stationery, instead of top-of-the-line. You can even deliver your invitations digitally, so feel free to ditch the traditional envelope in favour of oh-so-convenient email.
Forget the welcome sign
Sure, welcome signs are pretty, but are they… a little bit boring? I’m starting to think so! And that’s not to say I don’t love welcome signs (and I absolutely love the designers who do stunning work on your stationery) — but they are one thing that will be mostly unnoticed if you go without. It’s likely to get tossed the morning after, and no one will remember it existed.
Plus, as Saskatchewanians know, our beautiful Sask landscape can become so unexpectedly windy. Will it even last at your outdoor ceremony? Don’t worry about tackling and fighting your welcome sign all day; there are so many ways to welcome guests into your night of celebration that a barely-glanced-at sign can’t achieve.
Think: what else can you put at your entrance? Maybe a sign with your last name that you’ll hang in your home? A glass of champagne to kick off the night? The possibilities are endless!
Scale down the wedding favours
For many of your guests, just being there and enjoying the moment with you is what they’ll savour and remember the most. The idea of ditching (or minimizing) wedding favours is becoming more and more popular as a way to save. Send your guests home with epic celebration memories instead!
If all this planning and budgeting feels overwhelming…
then consider Ele & Co your wedding planning superhero. Planning is a full time gig, but it doesn’t have to be yours. With my help, there’s plenty of time for spin classes, date nights, and brunching with your girls. Put down your calculator and delete those confusing spreadsheets — I’ll help you plan a wedding that meets your budget and exceeds your expectations.
Ele & Co. plans seamless and stylish weddings for modern couples in Saskatchewan. Get in touch, and we’ll make magic!