Tips for Wedding Planning on a Budget

*A candid shot post-ceremony at Lemon Gem Kitchen Goods*

This post is a bit of a digression from the travel theme, but after having conversations with lots of people about this topic, I thought there might be some interest in how Chad and I managed to have exactly the kind of wedding we wanted with a budget of less than $10,000. (For reference, the average wedding in the US costs about $35,000. Average.). The biggest thing: set your budget early and stick to it! Look at your bank accounts and monthly expenses and determine what's reasonable. There is no reason you should go into debt to host a wedding. Beyond that, here are my top 5 tips:

1. Have talented friends who are willing to help you.

Our wedding would not have happened without a lot of help from a lot of people. I can't stress this enough. We have amazing friends and we were reminded of how lucky we are because of how willing people were to pitch in. From baking cookies for our dessert table (a beloved Pittsburgh tradition) and hand-lettering signs to playing guitar at our ceremony, setting up lighting, being amazing DJs, and shooting a beautiful video, our friends were integral to our event's success. Bottom line: If you need help, ask for it. Your people will come through.

1a. If you have to pay for it, pay your friends.

In addition to having friends who did us amazing favors, we also had friends we hired as vendors. Me and my bridal party got dolled up thanks to a talented friend and my bouquets were created by another.

2. Know your priorities.

If you're trying to stick to a budget, it's important to know where you aren't willing to cut corners – because you're going to be cutting a lot of corners. A wedding is going to cost money, so figure out where that money can have the biggest impact. For me, my biggest priority was photography. I knew exactly which wedding photographer I wanted to hire and which photobooth I wanted at the reception. But even here, I prioritized what mattered. I may have wanted the fanciest packages, but I didn't need them.

3. Be willing to think outside the box.

If we had hosted our wedding at a traditional event venue, we would have spent nearly our entire budget on just that expense. Between the rental fee (I was typically seeing costs of at least $2,000 in St. Louis), the set bar package, and the preferred caterers, we wouldn't have had any money left. By booking an untraditional space, we had more flexibility and we were able to do the DIY wedding we had in mind. We not only saved on the rental costs, but stocking the bar ourselves (with Stag beer and Trader Joe's boxed wine) saved us a ton of money. We also heard from several guests that we had the best wedding food they'd ever had. We went with local favorite Salt + Smoke, but barbecue (and other buffet-style food) is always a good bet to serve lots of people for a reasonable price.

4. Focus on what will make you happy.

Don't waste your time and energy doing things just because you think you're supposed to. Planning a wedding is incredibly stressful no matter how chill you try to make it, so you might as well enjoy it. For example, we scrapped the wedding cake in favor of pies because 1. I love pies and 2. it's much more affordable. Other things we crossed off the list: a save the date, invitation reply cards, a bridal shower, a rehearsal dinner, wedding planner, party favors, wedding shoes and other bridal accessories, a groom's cake...

5. For those looking to wear a dress, buy it used.

I fell in love with a $1,550 BHLDN dress that I could never afford. Once I realized I wasn't going to find something I liked nearly as much, I started scouring used wedding dress websites. I miraculously found someone selling the dress of my dreams in my size – for 60% off retail. The previous owner had even had it hemmed enough that the length fit. Truly meant to be. I found mine on preownedweddingdresses.com, but there's also Stillwhite, Tradesy, Nearly Newly Wed, and probably others I didn't come across in my searches. The dress I ended up with was still over my budget, but not unreasonably so. And I loved it so much I knew I wouldn't regret the extra cost.

And a bonus tip regardless of your budget: Be flexible.

We ended up booking a venue for our ceremony the day before the wedding. The temperature was in the mid-90s and our planned destination was an outdoor space in direct sunlight – it wasn't going to work. Making that decision was hard, but it was also necessary. Instead of sticking to the plan and suffering along with our nearest and dearest, we figured out an alternative and it ended up being even better than our original plan. Things will go wrong, unexpected challenges will pop up, and you will be very stressed out. If you can keep the big picture in mind and roll with the punches, your wedding will be better for it.

Granted, a DIY wedding is not for everyone, but it worked for us. Somewhere in the middle of our six-hour setup at the reception site I realized, oh yeah, most people don't do this. Or maybe I realized that as I was driving myself and my bridesmaids to the ceremony. Either way, I couldn't have asked for a better celebration or a wedding that felt more true to who we are as a couple.