You guys I’m so excited to officially let you know that the Lovely Letter Co. is specializing in greeting cards AND wedding stationery. Wedding stationery was my favorite part of the wedding planning process. I loved dreaming up the first impression to my big day and I’m very excited to be doing the same for others. I’m feeling all the things (especially as I head into my first vendor show this weekend, eek).
To kick off this next chapter, I thought it would be a fun opportunity to share some wedding tips. Last July, my husband and I celebrated the beginning of our marriage with almost 200 people and it was the most beautiful day. Here’s the catch - we were on a VERY tight budget. When I say it was tight, I mean it was tight. We were not dropping thousands upon thousands of dollars like nothing. We simply didn’t have that available to us (hello teaching salary). But, the incredible thing is that we didn’t have to sacrifice much to receive the best of the best. Sure, the researching part did take some of our time, but it was so worth it because we got all the things we wanted and then some.
I’ll save all the nitty gritty details of our big day for another post. Today, I want to keep things short and sweet by focusing on the 5 biggest ways we were able to save thousands of dollars. These are key details that transformed our celebration from a budget wedding to our dream wedding. They’re the solutions that I wish I would have known about early on in our planning. And I hope that they will support you in your planning wherever you find yourself. Without further ado, let’s begin!
#1 Flowers from Trader Joes
Flowers were a big deal to me. Early on in the wedding planning, I had a vision for what I wanted the flowers to look like. In fact, my entire wedding was built upon this vision so they had to be perfect. I didn’t realize it at the time but flowers can be very complicated. There are so many options and many of which are very costly from renting flowers, to buying fake ones vs. real ones, paying someone to assemble vs. assembling them ourselves. All of these details overwhelmed me but I couldn’t let go of my vision.
We ended up discovering that Trader Joes had exactly what we needed. They even allowed us to order them ahead of time. I was still nervous about assembling them and making sure they’d be alive for our big day (I do not have a single green thumb in my body!) Luckily my bridesmaids offered to assemble them for me. Looking back, I probably could’ve figured it out if I needed (there’s a ton of YouTube videos) But I was grateful one thing was taken off my to do list. I ordered an assembly kit and ribbon off Amazon. All in, I paid about $200 for flowers (This included bouquets, and centerpieces). Considering the average couple spends $2,200 on flowers, I still can’t believe this was our final cost. And let me tell you , you wouldn’t have even noticed the difference. They were literally the most beautiful bouquets - identical to my Pinterest inso.
#2 Cupcakes from Walmart/Sam's Club
I could not imagine spending thousands on a cake. Most people don’t even like it and some can’t even eat it (me included!). If cake is your thing by all means, invest in your favorite but I just could not justify it. After doing some research, we discovered that Sam’s Club and Walmart had the best prices (50 cents PER CUPCAKE!) It hurt my soul just a little bit to buy my own wedding cupcakes from Walmart - I’m just not the biggest fan lol. But I swallowed my pride and got ‘em anyway. I just could not pass up that price. A friend baked us a small gluten free, dairy free cake for myself and for the guests with allergies. It was the perfect solution to accommodate those dietary restrictions and the budget. Together they were displayed beautifully (presentation was key!) and people loved them. I don’t think we had one cupcake leftover.
#3 Limit Your Reception Guests
Initially, I didn’t want to have a wedding of more than 100 guests. Once we started adding the names to a list we realized we were going to have trouble keeping the number down. Even after long conversations and trying to put rules on our decisions (my favorite tip - if you wouldn’t eat dinner with them and treat them to dinner, don’t invite them) we were still at almost 300. We decided early on the best option for us was to invite everyone we were doing life with to our ceremony and then our closest friends and family to our reception. We were fortunate enough to have friends that understood that there was a limitation to our funds. I know - this isn’t wedding etiquette. But it worked for us and it might work for you too. We did our best to make ceremony-only attendees feel special by giving them their own invitation (names on envelope in calligraphy - the whole thing) and we sent them thank you cards. Before you turn this down, you might want to consider this last piece of truth: Your bank account could feeling the effects of those extra guests long after the wedding is over. That person could be over it before then. Is it worth that risk? It’s okay to say no.
#4 Check Out Deals on Facebook Marketplace
Need something expensive… like say a tent, tables and chairs? Try looking at Facebook Marketplace first!
We chose to have our wedding in a friend’s backyard. It was a beautiful place and didn’t need much to create wedding vibes… and it was free. We had no reason to turn it down. And then as our day approached and the reality of July weather began sinking in, we realized we would probably need to invest in a tent. If you haven’t researched tent prices, let me just break the news to you - they are just as expensive as a venue. Set up, travel, the tent itself and all the things they add up. After much research on marketplace, messaging lots of people, and setting aside my initial vision of set up, we landed on an option. Let me tell you - these two guys came in big time! They were just a little side hustle business but they had all the things, were very professional for set up and we had no issues with their things.
My favorite solution was the dance floor. I refused to pay $500 for a dance floor. We decided to invest in cheap rugs instead. But people could injure themselves, you can’t do that. Well we did. We weighed all the options and it just came down to cost and what would look the most beautiful. We didn’t have any issues. People threw their shoes off and we all had a blast. We chose to ignore the traditions of the event and choose what was best for us. People still talk about the rugs to this day - the way they looked and how practical they were. All in, (with the help of thrift stores) we spent about $70 on rugs.
#5 You Don't Need to Buy Matching Pajama Sets
I’m including this one because this was a decision I wrestled with until the night before the wedding. I thought through it all - do I make the investment? Try Shein? Amazon? Again, I just couldn’t justify the costs so I passed. We also weren’t planning on getting those typical “getting ready” shots anyway. Instead of wedding day outfits, I splurged more on gifts for my bridesmaids early on. I did end up buying myself a comfy outfit from aerie. I figured it was important to wear something I felt confident and comfortable in. It was something I would want to wear at home too even after the wedding was over. It was the right solution and honestly, I wasn’t concerned that I wasn’t matching with my bridesmaids - I just needed them to be ready for the ceremony.
#6 Book Your Honeymoon with Costco
If you believe a resort trip is outside of your budget, check again with Costco. We had the most incredible experience. You guys, we saved thousands on our trip to Hawaii. We were living the resort life on a comping trip budget. Our package included it all - flights, transportation to and from the airport, a week long resort stay and daily breakfast (And this was not your average continental breakfast. It was legit). They even layed us upon arrival. We seriously got it all. We also saved even more by booking our trip out of California and buying our own plane tickets to California separately. Don’t be afraid to play with dates and the numbers. It took some playing with dates and numbers to get a package that fit in our very tight budget. But I’m here to tell you, it’s possible.
I had so much fun sharing all these tips with you. Believer it or not I have many more in store so stayed tuned! Before I officially sign off, I do want to remind you of one really important thing and that is this - This is your big day. It’s not your moms, your mother in laws, your best friends or even your neighbor who lives down the road. This big day belongs only to you and your fiancé. It’s your celebration. If there’s a traditional thing that feels completely draining than you can choose to opt out. You have permission to say no to whatever it is even if someone doesn’t get it. Yes, you can say no. And at some point, you’re going to have to set that boundary so it’s better to do it sooner than later. I hope you feel encouraged and excited about the next steps in your wedding planning. Until next time