Budgeting! What to diy and what to skip out on in order to save?

And we got wooden flowers that we can keep forever for around $300

We are ordering pre-made flowers. All fake

our invites Have no inserts RSVP all done online
We are only doing 5 hour wedding. So less money for vendors.
No videographer
buffet dinner

View Quoted Comment But many of us are doing memory tables. Sorry I am not going to ignore the fact my mom can’t be there. So yes you said something to. People who are doing it. If you do t want to do as memory table don’t.

Also DIY signs
no programs they end up in the trash or on the floor.
Cuocakes are sometimes cheaper then cake.

We will be saving on flowers, DIY those easy. Photobooth idea comes and goes but everyone has a cellphone. And you can always get cheap props. or ask everyone to bring something to make it more entertaining. Guestbook - we found a panel we really like at hobby lobby. Everyone will sign that. As far as photo - we had a set budget of it. I din't even want to do our max because I thought it was ridiculous to spend so much. Ended up $500 under budget and got way more in a package from a different company than I intended on. (i can print out photos and put them in a book myself) But the center pieces we will be doing verses having someone else do them

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Everything was beautiful and you made the right choice going without the tablecloths

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What I would suggest is a note in the program or perhaps a toast where it is said, "And we are all a bit sad that So and So isn't with us tonight." Look, my dad had passed when I first married and by wedding number 2 both had passed. We were 52, a table with all out dead relatives would have been huge, lol!!! It can be jarring to see photos of deceased people, that is all. Everyone will know your mom can't be there is person, and I am very sorry for that, I understand. It is a day with a lot of heightened emotions and some people struggle with that.

Best wishes to you!

I am making our invitations and save the dates, using artificial flowers for the bouquets. Not sure about the decorations yet, depends on where the ceremony is, reception is a BBQ so might have a few decorations there (hard to say). I kind of get to cheat, I have a cousin that has offered to take the pictures as our wedding gift, and an aunt that is making our cake & cupcakes for us. My daughter and uncle will be taking the engagement photos.

View Quoted Comment Thank you!

View Quoted Comment I am not doing programs. Never been to a wedding that had them.

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I agree - we just went to a wedding that had programs and I think it was to explain who was who but honestly I don't remember, and it was two weeks ago. I did not remember later that night! Unless you have a religious ceremony that has aspects your guests may not understand, like when to stand or kneel, programs are not needed.

I one of the best ways to save is on real vs. fake flowers and DIY flowers. Our floral bill is about $2600. If I were to have DIY it would have been about $900. I opted for the florist because (1) I'm not creative and didn't want to risk having so-so flower arrangements and bouquets (2) I don't have the space to keep the flowers cool for 2-3 days before the wedding and (3) I would have to transport them to the venue and set them up. You also have to factor in your time being used to DIY and if that stress is worth it.

Also, many will say that skipping favors, save the dates and programs are a good ways to save. We aren't doing programs but are sending save the dates and having favors.

good luck!

View Quoted Comment If possible, one way you could honor deceased members of your family is by sharing photos of their weddings. We found old family photos of our parents, grandparents, great grandparents and siblings’ wedding photos and framed them for a display. We also framed photos of us through the years. It felt like we were putting our story in line with what came before. This way, these past couples could be there to support our new union.

View Quoted Comment That’s what I am doing. you have to read all the comments lol.

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I think it's morbid and distracts from the guests that are at the wedding and what they did to help the big day come together. Though I might be saying this because my oldest step sister was the only person I've known to have one and had several meltdowns over her grandmother, who had passed years before her wedding, during her reception and ceremony. Did a big memory table that was so big it took up space where family could have sat and people had to eat outside. She did a big show of thanking the women in her life who "made her big day possible" gave flowers to her deist grandmother. During this she said nothing about and gave nothing to my grandmother. My grandmother gave her a several thousand dollar loan to help with her wedding expenses.

Keeping your guest list small is the most effective way to keep costs down. Even if you keep all the decor to a minimum, you don’t really want to skimp on food/drinks, so saving there just means keeping the guest list small.

Other things we did to save some money:
We’re skipping liquor and just doing beer/wine (water, lemonade, and tea for our other options)
No real flowers
I got my dress from a consignment shop
Ceremony and reception at one venue
No favors
No STDs
We’re using my mom to DIY EVERYTHING (all our signs, invites, I don’t even know what else at this point)
We're doing a fajita buffet instead of plated dinner

I am putting less attention on flowers (bouquets, centerpieces). I think all flowers are beautiful, there's no wrong compilation of flowers. I decided to purchase silk flower bouquets for me and my bridesmaids from Etsy. My bouquet is the same size as my bridesmaids (very small, like 7-8 flowers). Total cost for me + 7 women was $260. Centerpieces will be greenery and candles. We are also foregoing boutonnieres or corsages. We skipped save the dates because we only got engaged in May and our wedding is in October. We also skipped out on lots of stuff in the invitation suite; details cards, maps, menus. All of that is on our free wedding website. I put a link to our wedding website on the invitation itself. I found gorgeous simple earrings for me and my bridesmaids on Etsy for $141. That's 8 pairs or earrings that we can all wear over and over. We may skip out on wedding favors as well, I'm undecided. We're also not paying for anyone's transportation anywhere, including me and my bridesmaids from the getting ready spot to the venue. My parents are driving and/or we're taking ride share or driving ourselves. We're not paying for any group wedding weekend activities aside from the rehearsal dinner, i.e. no welcome dinner/happy hour, no hosted brunch afterward, etc. I have one final recommendation; do not offer to pay for your bridesmaids' hair or makeup. I wanted to be generous, and so I did offer to extend the services of my hair/makeup people if anyone wanted. Hair was cheaper and most people can probably do their own makeup. I went against my own gut on this one. It is what it is, and it'll be super fun, but it going to be VERY expensive when multiplying it over 7 people. People said it was a good move because everyone will look good for pictures. Let me tell you, everyone would probably still look great without hair professionally done (especially with a professional photographer).

We are skipping all real flowers. I have only been buying items while on sale. I bought my boquets from a past bride on facebook marketplace. I joined my states buy/sell wedding group on fb and have been buying items cheap on there.
Dollar tree has been a HUGE help with diy projects.

We did DIY flowers, $120 from Trader Joe’s to make 14 bouquets. It would’ve easily been over $600 if we’d had someone hired.
For cake, we used Walmart. Less than $210 for two cakes to feed 175 people. We were quoted over $700 for what we wanted elsewhere.
Do a buffet! Unless you’re having a black tie wedding, buffets save money. We had 51 pizzas and 13 trays of salad catered for $1200 instead of $2000+

View Quoted Comment This is a lot of what we're doing and why. Also, doing our own flowers and using vases from home and flea markets. Facebook Marketplace for bird cages for a card and gift box, candleholders etc. You do not need to personalized and monogram everything.