Think you can plan a wedding on a budget? It’s sometimes harder than you may think and there’s always last minute costs that weren’t factored in. Its easier than you think to stretch a budget and it’s hard to do that without giving up things that you love. So we thought we’d bring you 50 quick ways to be able to save a £500 at your wedding….and all of those £500’s add up, it is half a grand after all…..

Grab a cuppa and take note, especially of number 17 🙂

1. Go Digital – Embrace the 21st century and opt for digital invites or use websites like fiverr or zazzle to create something bespoke and print at home.

2. Schedule the Day – Avoid long gaps in the day, not a lot happens in these pauses and all of the suppliers will need paying through that time and your guests may need feeding something extra too. Canapés cost!

3. RSVP smarter – Get your guests to RSVP via text or email instead of including reply cards with your invites. You’ll also be more likely to get responses.

4. Haggle, Haggle, Haggle – Always ask the question – offer to leave video testimonials for all the vendors you use and promote them for them.

5. Use Printables – There’s tons of wedding sites with printables for stationary. All of the signs from ‘ pick a seat not a side’ and the days timeline can be customised and printed for free at home.

6. Print Big rather than many – Popping one big poster frame by the entrance saves costs than printing programmes individually. Chalkboards and Calligraphed Mirrors are budget friendly and modern.

7.DIY a photo booth or ask your photographer what they can come up with – You could buy a digital printable camera and double it up as a guest book too where guest can leave a note next to their snap

8.Negotiate on your menu – there’s usually room for manoeuvre with a menu and downgrading just one meal choice can save you mega bucks! Once you’ve negotiated there, haggle down again by asking them to throw in a few children’s meals in for free.

9. Sign up for deals and wedding website – Scoop up deals by subscribing to supplier newsletters and follow them all on social media. Comment on their posts and build up a rapor as early as you can. It’s never too early to start building up a positive relationship.

10. Don’t over-do favors – Half the amount of favors by only doing one per couple, just make sure it’s worth sharing -like champagne or fizz!

11. Consider a themed buffet menu instead of a sit down dinner – Pasta stations or a Hog Roast can work out cheaper per head than a sit down dinner.

12. Double Use your flowers – Have your florist create your bouquets with the thought in mind that you will use them or centrepieces or to decorate the cake table too

13. Go short and tall – having your florist create short and tall arrangements. Smaller centrepieces are more cost effective and then the tall ones can fill in gaps and create drama.

14. Less is More – less is certainly more when it comes to decor and it looks more elegant too. Think single centrepieces or lots of ivy broken up with a few candles.

15. DIY – Invest in a training course or two and you may just be able to pull off parts of your wedding and make it look like you hired a professional. Don’t take on massive jobs though that will make you stressed on the build up to the day and enlist the help of some of your friends.

16. Switch Peonies for Carnations – they are like 1/5th of the price and they bulk up centrepieces a treat.

17. Pick up your wedding dress for less – Pop on over to us and save up to £2000 on your dream dress – www.houseofoliver.co.uk

18. Look outside the box when it comes to your suppliers. Musicians can be a costly way to create an atmosphere but university bands and local music teachers would perform for a fraction of the cost

19. Ask your venue if you can bring your own alcohol and pay the corkage

20. Skip a big cake and serve single tier cakes instead. You can even have dummy layers if you want to create height.

21. If you’re not bothered about a cake consider having a donut tower or a selection of cakes

22. Replace a dessert table with a sweet cart. You can buy sweets in bulk at a wholesalers and if you sign up to wholesalers early you can shop about for the best deal. Double these up as favors.

23. Arrange for poured service at your sit down dinner rather than paying for bottles of wine to each tables. The average wedding guests drinks about half a bottle of wine, if you arrange for it to be poured you’ll cut down on waste, big time!

24. Be honest – if you have a budget, tell people. Your supplier can’t help if you don’t let them. They’ll be able to present options you can afford and you then don’t have to worry about falling in love with things you can’t afford.

25. Borrow a car – do you know someone who would like the job of being chauffeur for the morning. The average spend on wedding cars is close to £600 for a few hours. Cut this cost completely by asking a relative with a nice car to take you from your ceremony to the after party.

26. Watch out for hidden costs – taking your registrar out from the registry office to a hotel can inflate the price by up to 5 x. Read through contracts and ask your suppliers to explain anything you aren’t sure of.

27. Thank you Gifts – a hand written, thoughtful note and a bottle of wine will be more than enough to thank those people who contributed to your day. Or give away the bridal party bouquets as gifts.

28. Look into hiring a student – do your research and go and speak with local colleges. Ask a reputable student to do your bridal make up or be a photographer. They will most likely go the extra mile to help build a client base for a fraction of what a professional would charge. Just make sure you do a trial and you like their work.

29. Make a video invite or save the date – grab a camera and have some fun! And completely free

30. Skip the flowers and opt for candles – chic, elegant and they create gorgeous mood photos.

31. Have an afternoon wedding – if you are flexible on timings you can cut meals down to just the one and cut all the waiting around timing too.

32. Pick a less popular wedding date or time – savings of up to a third can be made for having your wedding out of season. Typical wedding season runs from June-September so save big on your venue, photographer and caterers by picking a less popular season to marry in. If you are not suspicious go for a Friday 13th – a date venues typically struggle to book.

33. Cut the number in your bridal party – the average spend on a bridesmaids dress is around £200 and suit rental sits at around £100. Now the average dress at House of Oliver is £80 and suit hire is £85 but it’s simple maths, the less in your party the less the spend. Ask your party to chip in with the price of items or get their own shoes. Every penny does count.

34. Consider the high street for your accessories – the high street have cottoned on to the fact a modern bride wants a piece of jewellery that reflects her personality and the options are endless. Some bridal shops will throw in accessories too – the average spend of which is around £400.

35. Consider asking guests to contribute things to the wedding, do you know someone who would bring a few desserts, a budding videographer who would film your first dance, a talented artist who could design your stationary or someone who makes lovely cakes? Utilise your family and friends skills and ask them to be involved as their present to you.

Do you have any other ideas on how to save £500 on your wedding? If so we would love the hear all about them.

House of Oliver is an off the peg bridal shop based in Ilkeston, Derbyshire specialising in high quality, beautiful designer bridal wear without the designer price tag. With dresses from an 8-22 and 2 floors of savings of up to 85% off RRP, we have bridesmaids dresses and suit hire too.

To make an appointment please call 07709544939 or book in here