A YOUNG couple has slashed the cost of their big day, spending only $5,400 by following a few simple tricks.
The bride opted to buy a gorgeous gown online for just $245, as well as four other cost-conscious choices that cut roughly $26,000 from their wedding budget.
Amy and Richard, a young couple from England, managed to save tens of thousands of dollars with a budget wedding[/caption]
One of the ways the couple saved a big chunk of change was by purchasing a wedding dress online for under $300[/caption]
Amy and Richard opted against traditional wedding catering[/caption]
Amy, a 35-year-old legal administrator, and Richard, a 31-year-old in hotel contract auditing, officially tied the knot last October at a church in Leeds, a major city in West Yorkshire, England.
The couple always knew they wanted to have a beautiful wedding without breaking the bank.
“We’re not super big earners, and were wanting to buy a house together in the next year and put as much money as possible towards a deposit,” they explained to Bridebook, a top wedding planning app.
One of the biggest ways the Leeds couple stretched their dollars was by scoring a beautiful wedding dress from ASOS for roughly $245 – a move that Amy encouraged future brides-to-be to consider.
“I would definitely say to look online for a wedding dress!” she told Bridebook.
“I ordered a few different dresses online to try on with friends, so I still had that ‘say yes to the dress’ moment, but on a fraction of the budget.”
“I ended up going with a dress from ASOS, and most people were shocked when I told them the price; they thought it was a lot more expensive.”
By securing her bridal gown from the British online fashion retailer, Amy managed to save nearly $1,800 when compared to the average wedding dress cost of around $2,000.
STACKING UP THE SAVINGS
Beyond saving a wad of cash on her white dress, Amy and Richard took advantage of quirky inclusions and DIY tricks to throw a beautiful yet affordable celebration for approximately $5,400 total.
Their big day came in at much less than the average total cost of a wedding in the UK, $28,000, or the US, $31,300 – saving the Leeds couple over $20,000.
With the couple hosting their wedding reception at a budget-friendly local village hall, similar to a community center in the US, the biggest portion of their spending ended up being on the food.
Rather than opt for traditional wedding catering, which hovers around $7,000, Amy and Richard opted to hire a burger van and a cocktail van – both “massive hits” on their big day, they told Bridebook.
The catering costs ended up being around $1,200, saving them thousands of dollars without sacrificing the fun.
The couple was also able to slash a good chunk of change from their wedding costs because Amy’s sister, Laura, made their nuptial cake as a wedding present – a kind gesture that gifted Amy and Richard an elegant three-tier cake and savings of up to $700 or so.
The couple also took advantage of the flexibility that DIY décor offers in terms of both affordability and uniqueness to help stretch their dollars further, DIY-ing their wedding invites using Vistaprint as well as making the flower bouquets and centerpieces themselves.
Breaking it down: Amy and Richard’s wedding costs
Here is the cost breakdown for some of their biggest expenses.
Wedding dress:
- Paid: ~ $245
- Average cost: ~ $2,000
- Saved: ~ $1,755
Catering:
- Paid: ~ $1,200
- Average cost: ~ $7,000
- Saved: ~ $5,800
Wedding cake:
- Paid: ~ $0
- Average cost: ~ $700
- Saved: ~ $700
Total:
- Paid: ~ $5,400
- Average cost: ~ $31,300
- Saved: ~ $25,900
Not only did doing the floral arrangement themselves save them a pretty penny – with wedding flowers ranging anywhere from $500 to $3,500 or more – but also added a personal touch to their big day.
“I’d say the most fun challenge was creating the bouquets. It was nice to have that creative control and really shape how I wanted them to be,” Amy told Bridebook.
WATCH YOUR WALLET
The hands-on approach that Amy and Richard took is something more brides and grooms are embracing to help save money as inflation, staffing shortages, supply chain issues, and other factors bump up the price of weddings.
The U.S. Sun spoke with Hamish Shephard, founder and CEO of Bridebook, on the top three areas where wedding couples tend to overspend unnecessarily and how they can cut back.
1. Venue
The first is the venue, which consistently ranks as the largest or one of the top wedding expenses, said Shephard, a leading voice in the wedding industry and a qualified wedding planner.
“We’ve seen that lower-spending couples are planning more strategically with their budget this year by being flexible with the wedding date,” he said, advising couples to choose off-peak months such as January or February, or weekdays like Mondays and Tuesdays, to help save 50% to 70% on venue cost.
2. Extras for guests
One of the biggest hidden costs in wedding planning comes from the extras that scale with the guest lists, according to Shephard, such as wedding favors, welcome bags, guest transport, and extra décor that results from a bigger guest list.
“Couples should focus the budget on what actually matters to their guests,” said the expert, advising brides and grooms to limit optional extras to a few simple, meaningful touches, avoiding added costs that don’t necessarily enhance the guest experience that much.
By the numbers
A survey of 741 engaged brides and grooms revealed the following wedding stats:
- 73% of couples said keeping costs within their budget was their top concern
- 46% said economic factors like inflation were a major concern
- 34% were concerned about the rising costs of goods that could impact weddings
- 15% were concerned about price changes due to tariffs
- 58% had not seen tariffs impact their weddings yet
- 36% said they were making changes to their plans due to economic stress
Source: USA Today / The Knot
3. Wedding stationery
“When there’s everything from save-the-dates and invitations to programs and place cards to consider, couples can feel overwhelmed when it comes to choosing their wedding stationery and overspend,” said Shephard.
With custom stationery potentially running couples up to thousands of dollars, the expert wedding planner suggested instead going with DIY or online invitations through wedding websites like Bridebook, or even streamlining designs with templates to reduce costs.
An increasing number of couples, like Amy and Richard, are opting to host DIY and budget weddings, which Shephard said reflects a long-term cultural shift in how couples view weddings.
Not only do these kinds of ceremonies help couples to save money, but also personalize their big day and make it more meaningful.
“We’re seeing a shift in how weddings are celebrated, and for some couples, a lower-cost wedding is also about meaning and intention, alongside saving,” said Shephard.
“Gen-Z are now 34% of engaged couples, so it’s not surprising that we are seeing a lean towards personalization, sustainability, and financial responsibility as they are driving the trend.”
As you ideate your big day, see which state is the most expensive to host a wedding – plus the cheapest month to get hitched.
Plus, read up on how Taylor Swift’s engagement sparked deals by marriage companies for $50 off a special service to help protect your money.
Amy’s sister made the couple their wedding cake as a gift, saving them hundreds of dollars[/caption]
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