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A FEW inexpensive tips helped one bride create her dream day without breaking the bank.
She agreed to a number of favorable exchange proposals, and even guests preferred one of her cheaper ideas.
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1. LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION
Reddit user Thinking Sparkle shared her tips for throwing an amazing wedding for under $10,000.
Her suggestions for spending less money start with finding the right location.
“Find a low-cost location where you’re not tied to certain vendors, like a park,” she said.
“We had it in a backyard, which probably saved some money, but not much because we had to rent a tent, tables, chairs, linens and a toilet trailer,” she added.
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To save even more, she now realized that hosting an event in a public park or restaurant — or another place that already had most basic amenities — was the best option.
2. GO OUTSIDE
She doesn’t want you to go into debt for decoration, something you can avoid if you organize your event outside.
“Less likely to have to cancel due to a Covid surge, and less decoration needed,” she said.
“Decoration is not what people remember,” she added.
3. FOOD ON THE GO
According to the bride on a budget, you can forget about the favors altogether and focus on “yummy” food instead.
She also recommended having a food truck instead of hiring a regular caterer.
4. CLOTHING FOR LESS
And don’t let going over budget on your dress hold you back.
Instead, you can opt for ‘a Lulu dress or something like that’.
Lulu’s offers affordable alternatives to designer dresses, with creations starting at around $118.
Her next suggestion might just be music to your ears if you’re looking to save money.
5. PLAY IT WELL
“A playlist instead of a DJ or band,” she said.
It may not be a popular idea, but she doesn’t regret it.
“People say you shouldn’t do this because the DJs dictate the energy level and the timing, but my wedding wasn’t about dancing, it was outside on the grass,” she said.
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“Instead we organised activities (bubbles, Jenga, forest walks, marshmallows) and people loved it,” she added.
She shared the steps she took to put together the playlist.
“If you use Spotify, practice with your playlist first,” she said.
“I discovered that shuffle mode can repeat songs, and the iPad version of Spotify wants to shuffle by default, so I had our MC start the playlist by playing the first song, with shuffle turned off,” she added.
To ensure the evening went smoothly, she had a friend practice with the sound system during the rehearsal dinner.
“People complimented us on how well everything went and how we stuck to the schedule, but that was also thanks to our day coordinator,” she said.
6. Still be drunk
To stay within your budget, you also had to be careful not to spend too much money on drinks.
“We had coolers of beer and wine instead of a full bar and a bartender,” she said.
“We had to lug a lot of alcohol. We rented 3,120-liter coolers and had to have someone do the ice on the day. So it wasn’t the easiest choice, but it worked out well,” she said.
“We have found a coordinator for the day itself and I am very happy with that,” she added.
7. DIY, BABY
The bride said that doing things yourself can be great, but on the day itself you shouldn’t doubt the possibility of failure.
“Favour DIY projects that you can do well in advance,” she said.
“The day before/on the day itself you are busy and delegating can work, but your friends and family are not wedding planners so it is risky.
“We have found a day coordinator and I am very happy with that.”
8. KEEP YOUR (WEDDING CAKE) LAYERS
She also saved money because she didn’t have to cut into the wedding cake.
Guests were very impressed with the frugal exchange.
“I had donuts instead of cake. I bought an acrylic tiered cupcake holder to put them on so we could still have a layered thing, and we each fed each other a donut,” she said.
“People loved it. I got several comments about how they liked it better than cake. And it was cheaper than cake,” she added.
If you decide to copy her cake substitutes, she has one warning: they go stale quickly.
To avoid any problems, she had a friend pick up the donuts on the day of the wedding, while the coordinator continually restocked them.
ECONOMICAL FANS
Others were impressed by her tricks.
“My fiancé and I often alternate between a ceremony where we mostly dance and a reception that takes place in the garden, where we socialize and wear dresses,” one user said.
“The idea that we can just make a Spotify playlist of our favorites is a great pitch for a backyard-style hangout! Awesome,” they added.
“Your wedding is exactly what I’m working for! Glad to hear our ideas aren’t too much and that it’s totally doable,” another Redditor agreed.
