You wedding may be one of the most expensive events in your entire life. Though it should be the happiest time of your life, many can’t help stressing over the costs of everything to ensure the wedding is perfect. With a strict budget, it’s easier to save money but can also be more difficult to get the dream wedding you’ve always imagined. Follow along with these few tips, and you can still have the best wedding possible while sticking to a strict budget. 

Keep the Guest List Minimal 

You don’t really need to invite every family member and friend that you’ve ever had. If you’re not close with someone, haven’t talked to them in years, or don’t really know them, skip the invitation. Having a minimal guest list is one of the biggest keys to having a perfect wedding on a small budget since more guests means more mouths to feed, more tables and decorations to have, and a more spacious venue. 

Send Out E-Invites 

While it may be tempting to go with the traditional way of sending out physical invites in the mail, E-Invites are an eco-friendly, cheaper alternative that’ll help you send out your invitations while on a strict budget. Invitations are crucial and something that can’t be missed, but you can end up spending a lot more money on design, printing, and sending out those physical cards than you would an electronic one. In addition to sending out an electronic invite, you can also design it exactly how you’d like online with no cost at all. 

Find a Cheaper Venue 

Going all out and choosing a fancy venue can be overall unnecessary, and it can take a huge chunk out of your budget. If you’re already having a smaller guest list, you can go small with the venue too. Many local restaurants would allow you to rent out the place for the night, and that can be a lot cheaper while also covering food costs too. If a restaurant isn’t keen to your liking though, consider having the reception outdoors, or if possible, in your own home! That way the cost of the venue is eliminated completely. 

Skip Out on the DJ 

You don’t absolutely need a DJ for your wedding. Instead, try being your own DJ and set up your own playlist of music, put it through a speaker, and then you’re set for the wedding. If you’re at a venue, there’s most likely already a speaker system there which you can easily connect your phone to. If not, see about renting a few concert speakers for the night and you’ll be able to play all the songs that you want, when you want. 

Use Imitation or Homegrown Flowers 

Flowers are a great centerpiece and decoration at weddings, but if you’re buying from a vendor, they can become super expensive. Consider opting for buying fake flowers, as they’re much cheaper and can be reused for other events as well. Michael’s is a great store to shop at for imitation flowers, and the materials you may need for your bouquet as well. However, if you don’t like the idea of imitation flowers, you could always cut from your own garden or ask your friends and family to cut from theirs for your wedding. That way you’ll have fresh flowers, with personal stories, for much cheaper! You may also be able to buy bulk precut flowers from places such as nurseries or farms, for cheap and make elaborate, multi-flowered bouquets and decorations yourself. 

Ask Friends and Family for Help 

Rather than hiring people to do all the hard work for you, if you have the time, try out doing it yourself with the help of friends and family. If you need help setting up the venue, don’t be afraid to ask for assistance from some people. Decorations can be hard to set up all on your own, as well as arranging everything to ensure it’s perfect. Don’t hesitate in asking friends and family to be there to help you make your wedding perfect. 

Ask for Paid Services from Friends and Family 

In addition to just asking for help setting everything up, ask your friends and family if they wouldn’t mind providing paid services for you as well. If you have someone in your family who’s a great photographer, ask them if they can take your wedding pictures for you. Photographers can also be expensive to hire, so if a family member or friend is willing to extend a discount or opportunity to you, take it. Some friends and family may even be up for being that DJ we ditched, so make sure you ask around to see what people say. 

Provide your Own Alcohol 

Having an open bar can be a great addition to your wedding, but it can also be extremely costly. Supplying your own is a great alternative, plus you can decide exactly what you’d like to offer. The best choice on a strict budget is to just offer simple wines and beers, nothing too over the top. Pick up some bottles of red and white wine, and a few different types of beer. If you still have a little bit of spending room, you can pick up the basic liquors for cocktails. This is another instance of when you should ask friends if they’d be willing to bartend as well, because hiring a professional bartender might be a bit out of your budget. 

Buy a Dress Off the Rack - or Have One Made by Family 

Some people are blessed enough to have Mothers and Grandmothers that are excellent at sewing, and if that’s the case then ask if they’d be willing and able to make you a wedding dress. Not only will it help you, but they may be touched and honored that you asked them, and in the end the dress will have a lot more meaning to you as well. But if that’s not the case, buy your dress off the rack instead of ordering a custom one. Custom dresses can go extremely high in price, and take months to receive, so you’ll find that on a budget, buying off the rack is the way to go.