23 Wedding Ideas on a Budget
Planning your big day can be both inspiring and stressful. While Pinterest and Instagram offer tons of wedding ideas, those ceremonies and receptions can get really expensive, really fast.
So, if you’re committed to tying the knot while celebrating in a budget-friendly way, we’ve got you covered. We’ve compiled a list of ideas for your special day with your financial health in mind — you can have a wonderfully unique wedding without breaking the bank!
23 wedding ideas on a budget:
- Opt for a backyard wedding
- Embrace a DIY ethos
- Skip the wedding planner
- Stick with a small guest list
- Design it yourself
- Keep wedding invitations digital
- String lights and greenery
- Bake your own cake
- Hire a food truck
- Serve-yourself open bar
- Rent a portable dance floor
- Buy your flowers in bulk
- Forget the destination wedding
- Rock all night with a great playlist
- Enlist a friend for wedding photos
- Rent your linens, tents, and tables
- Skip matching bridesmaid dresses
- Find a cheap wedding venue
- Wear a recycled wedding dress
- Cupcakes to the rescue
- A friendly officiant
- Head to city hall
- Consider a mid-week ceremony
Want to know more? Read on! 👇
Best budget wedding ideas
While planning a wedding might feel a bit daunting, you can think outside the box and follow these tips to keep it affordable. Remember, your wedding should be a reflection of your personality — you can fully express yourself and stick to a cheap wedding by doing the planning and execution yourself.
Let’s get started!
1. Opt for a backyard wedding
There are few things greater than being outside on a perfect sunny day, but getting married in the great outdoors can be a pretty magical experience. If you or your loved ones have a large outdoor space, consider using this as your wedding venue. You can also opt for a national (or state) park, as well!
2. Embrace the DIY wedding ethos
Do it yourself — learn it, live it, love it. By being a DIY champion, you can save big bucks when implementing your own budget wedding ideas, and also add your own personal touch to nearly everything. Wedding planning doesn’t need to be expensive, and by committing to do it yourself, you can keep that extra money in your pocket (or stash it in the honeymoon fund)!
3. Skip the wedding planner
Did you know that the average cost of a wedding planner is around $2,000 for a hometown wedding? By taking control of your own wedding plan, you can save big. Write out a checklist with your partner for the ceremony, cocktail hour, and wedding reception, and fill in the blanks by talking to friends and family. Planning the wedding yourself is a surefire way to keep it budget-friendly.
4. Stick to a small guest list
There’s no disputing it — it’s great to have friends. However, should you invite all of your followers on Instagram to your wedding, you’re in for a hefty bill. Instead, opt for a smaller number of guests — an intimate gathering of just your closest friends and family. By keeping your guest list short, you can save on table and chair rentals, food and drink costs, and venue fees, and, ultimately, enjoy a small wedding with a relatively small bill.
5. Design it yourself
Weddings are generally pretty beautiful, right? The flowers, the lights, the colors — this could be a great time to flex your creative muscle by designing your wedding themes yourself. Think about building your own wedding arch, designing your own floral bouquets (mason jars make great vases), and creating an overall theme from ceremony to reception.
6. Keep wedding invitations digital
When it comes to inviting your guests and gathering your RSVPs, opt to keep things digital. Not only can designers, card stock, and print shop fees add up, but the ease of doing things digitally can make your life much easier. There are plenty of services online that can help you design and send your invites — all you need to do is compile email addresses for your guest list!
7. String lights and greenery
Create the vibe with string lights and greenery for a relaxed and chill atmosphere, perfect for an outdoor ceremony and reception. The best part? Both types of wedding decor are very affordable! Depending on how big your space is, you can plan to use anywhere from 50–100ft of string lights, and if you’re outdoors, you can take advantage of the natural greenery for a cozy, relaxed vibe. Greenery can also make for great centerpieces! If you need to use artificial greenery, consider opting for a faux ivy wall — you can repurpose it your home after the reception for a cool, cozy vibe.
8. Bake your own wedding cake
We’re all extremely familiar with the quadruple-decker wedding cake with the married people on top, but let’s break with tradition for a minute — especially to save money. Instead, consider baking your own cake (or tapping a friend with a penchant for baking). A homemade cake can serve as a sentimental reminder of your intimate wedding and keep things within your budget.
9. Hire a food truck
Traditionally, we think of caterers serving your choice of grilled salmon or prime rib, but let’s embrace modernity for a minute, shall we? Zany taco truck with killer al pastor? Do it. BBQ truck that smokes brisket over post oak for 15 hours? Yes please. Food trucks can cost substantially less than traditional caterers and provide a new, fun take on traditional wedding fare — and keep your wedding guests happy!
10. Serve-yourself open bar
If you and your guests are looking forward to celebrating with libations, consider bypassing a bar staff and setting up a serve-yourself open bar. Stock up on drinks from Costco or Sam’s Club, where you can get better prices than paying liquor store markup. For beer, trying tapping a friend who works in the industry — they may be able to grab you several cases directly from the distributor. Set up a station for drinks and get on with the festivities!
11. Rent a portable dance floor
What’s a wedding without dancing? Whether you’re slow dancing as a married couple for the first time or cutting the rug to “The Electric Slide,” you’ll need a dance floor. Reach out to rental companies in the area where the reception is being held and make sure to get quotes from multiple companies. You can also skip the dance floor and boogie in the grass — a definite way to have a budget-friendly wedding.
12. Buy your wedding flowers in bulk
Wholesale flowers are your best bet for keeping your wedding beautiful and cost-effective. Look for bulk or wholesale flower sales in your area — you can often bypass the mark-up a florist will charge, all while making your own, custom bouquets that are unique to your wedding!
13. Forget the destination wedding
Perhaps this is a no-brainer, but it definitely bears addressing — destination weddings are expensive for everyone. Sure, getting married on a beach in Bali as the waves crash behind you is the stuff dreams are made of, but it’s pretty darn pricey. Instead, opt for a locale that won’t cost you (or your guests) an arm and a leg to get to.
14. Rock all night with a great playlist
Wedding bands are pretty cool, in theory. But instead of shelling out big money to hear half-way decent Michael MacDonald covers, opt to use your own music streaming app instead! Whether you subscribe to Spotify, Apple Music, or any other service, you can curate your own playlist tailored to your tastes and skip the wedding band prices — and the dreaded “Mambo No. 5” cover.
15. Enlist a friend for wedding photos
With the advent of new technology, photography has never been more accessible. Chances are you have a friend with a decent Canon and some experience editing. This is a great opportunity to bypass spending hundreds on a professional photographer. Instead, tap a friend who enjoys shooting as a hobby to document your special day!
16. Rent your linens, tents, and tables
In the course of planning your wedding and reception, it’s almost guaranteed you’ll have to rent something. In order to keep things within your budget, it’s important to decide exactly what is a rental necessity and what you can provide yourself. Tables, chairs, linens, and tents are all great options for a rental, but things like decor, table runners, and other wedding day decor can be provided.
17. Skip matching bridesmaid dresses
Matching bridesmaid dresses can be costly — stick with your affordable wedding plan and bypass identical attire. Instead, you can decide on a color for your wedding party. Have your bridesmaids, groomsmen, or other members of the wedding party pick up a dress, suit, or other formal attire that corresponds to the motif. This encourages individuality and makes things easier on everyone’s checkbook!
18. Find a cheap wedding venue
While country clubs, vineyards, and private beaches all serve as excellent wedding venues, they don’t exactly come with a dainty price tag. In fact, according to a 2022 survey, Americans spent $11,200 on average for their wedding venues. Instead, opting for a cheap wedding venue can save you on costs and keep your wedding ceremony within your budget. Along with national parks and backyards, you can look at farms or other green spaces in your area. For an indoor wedding, consider a family or friend’s home.
19. Wear a recycled dress
The growing environmental crisis stemming from textile waste has been well documented, and, unfortunately, it doesn’t seem to be stopping any time soon. A great way to remove yourself from the cycle is by finding a second hand wedding dress. See if anyone in your family has one they’ve been saving, or check in at your local thrift or consignment stores.
20. Cupcakes to the rescue
In keeping with our themes of modern weddings, consider serving cupcakes to your wedding guests. Your friends and family members will be just as happy without a traditional wedding cake, and cupcakes are much more friendly to your wedding budget! Serve a variety — everyone loves cupcakes! You can even get creative with cute little cake toppers for your cupcakes!
21. A friendly officiant
Every wedding needs an officiant — but hiring that person can be costly! Instead, enlist a close friend or familiar member (preferably one without stage fright!) and have them become an ordained officiant in the state where you’re to be married. Having a friend officiate brings a sense of relaxation and closeness that the three of you can share, as well!
22. Head to city hall
If you want to skip the big ceremony and keep it very low-key (and cheap), consider heading to get married at your municipality’s city hall. This process differs a little bit everywhere, but the best move is to make an appointment to sign for a marriage license, and then get in touch with your municipal court probate to schedule the ceremony. You may bring a few guests, exchange vows, and get married in a flash — all without spending more than $200 altogether.
23. Consider a mid-week ceremony
Weekend premiums at wedding venues (especially during the high season) are definitely something that can tap your budget pretty quick. Instead, consider having your ceremony in the middle of the week to avoid paying big-time. You may find vendor fees and availability to be cheaper and more flexible, too.
Quicken has made the material on this blog available for informational purposes only. Use of this website constitutes agreement to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Quicken does not offer advisory or brokerage services, does not recommend the purchase or sale of any particular securities or other investments, and does not offer tax advice. For any such advice, please consult a professional.
