How to save money

Maybe invest your money in a no risk cd at your bank. Watch it mature over the two years and see how much it pays off. Check around for the best rates first though. All the best ! 🌻

View Quoted Comment Thankyou ❤️

I’d set up an excel and keep track of cost for all vendors. Those vary widely by area. Our officiant average is $150, while I’ve seen other ladies quite much higher numbers in their areas.
But doing your research will give you an idea how much you guys need approximately. I second that Thumbtack is a great resource as it gives you industry averages.
Lastly, you two should have a think about what you really want.
For example, We are getting married in an arboretum, so don’t need to buy any flowers (other than the bouquet). We also don’t have a wedding party. Neither one of us is too much into cake, so we don’t have one. My wedding dress was $240 (Azazie) and my veil $20 off Amazon (thanks to the wedding wire ladies for that tip!). My fiancé’s tux was more expensive, but he gets wear out of it.
In the end we are not trying to please other peoples’ ideas of how a wedding should be. We are doing our thing. We are actually spending a good chunk of money on our wedding, but focus on high quality on the venues and for our food and alcohol to have a great time with our guests, which are closest friends and family.

View Quoted Comment I love this. Thankyou so much ! And yes I want to go to a garden for that main reason

View Quoted Comment We only have the ceremony there, so it’s not crazy expensive and are going to a private dining room at a nice restaurant after. You don’t have to worry about flower walls or decor, because nature has it all for you ☺️

CONGRATS ON THE ENGAGEMENT!!!

I'm also in the beginning steps of planning our wedding and have read a few sites with great advice and here are some that can really help, depending on your style.

When you're looking at venues, see when their peak and off-peak months are. usually there's a decent difference in price for those. Also weekdays and sundays are definitely a lot cheaper than saturdays.

The MAIN thing is your guest count. Since that drives the reception site, the catering, the bar, and the rentals. If you keep the guest count low, then you should be able to save a lot. Dont forget that vendors should be accounted for in the catering, they may have something in their contract about providing them food the day of the wedding (reasonable, since they'll be there all day).

I've also been seeing that florals can be really expensive, so consider that when planning your centerpieces and decor. Speaking of decor, if you choose a reception outdoor, that can cut your decor by a lot, since you'll have some great natural scenery!

happy planning!

View Quoted Comment Thankyou congrats to you as well. Great advice ❤️