176: 22 Wedding Budget Ideas That Don't Discount Your Style Or Values

Money is almost always a touchy topic in weddings, but in the current economic climate there's definitely an added feeling of pressure and expectations.

Making sure you have a wedding budget and are tracking expenses in a way that you are both happy with is crucial to a great wedding for sure, but even more so to the health and longevity of your marriage.

So if you're planning the most epic party of your life, but feeling the budget blues, I got you. Because in this episode, I'm gonna give you the insider tips and tricks you need to have your cake and eat it too (pun intended). 

Today I'm going to share: 

• info about your wedding budget and how it's not a fixed number that you set when you get engaged, and never think about again, 
• how you can prioritize where you're going to spend your hard-earned money while still sticking by your values, 
• the answer to the age-old question of DIY/amateur versus hiring a professional vendor, and
• 22 creative ways to make your dollar stretch further. 

RESOURCES

EP22:These 3 Important First Steps in Your Wedding Planning Change Everything

EP25: 5 smart things to do when you buy a pre-loved wedding dress + Felicia's experience with StillWhite

EP26: The Wedding Tax is Absolutely Real and Here's How You Can Avoid It

Send Unbridely a 90-second audio message on Speakpipe: https://www.speakpipe.com/unbridelypodcast

*The Unbridely Podcast is sponsored by its listeners. When you purchase products or services through links on our website or via the podcast, we may earn an affiliate commission.*

------

This episode of the Unbridely Modern Wedding Planning Podcast is brought to you by Unbridely’s ebook How To Write Wedding Vows That Don’t Suck 

https://unbridely.com/shop/htwwvtds

This is for YOU if you want to write the unique and heartfelt wedding vows your fiancé deserves, but don't know where to start. 🤔

AND want to get it done in 20 minutes or less. 💪

Grab your instant pdf download of the Unbridely ebook 'How To Write Wedding Vows That Don't Suck' for just $27 now! 🧡

https://unbridely.com/shop/htwwvtds

-----

Unbridely acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the Land we record this podcast on, the Kaurna People. We pay our respects to their Elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Have you noticed how lately it feels like the money conversations you're having with your fiancee seem bigger and heavier than they used to be? Right now, it feels like nearly every second couple I speak with is in the thick of tricky budget chats with their partner. Whether that means comparing quotes from vendors line by line with a magnifying glass, rethinking their must-haves, and trying to make the maths math without losing the joy of what you're creating together. And because you're only doing this once, please take it from me. As someone who's worked exclusively in weddings for almost 18 years, this feeling and weight of money talks seems even more intense now than it did a couple of years ago. But I don't want to rain on your parade. I want to help. So in this episode, I'm bringing back a super practical conversation from 2023 where we dive into building a wedding budget that you can actually live with, how to save smart instead of cutting corners, and how to make confident decisions that feel aligned with your values and not just your bank balance. The specifics you'll hear are from that moment in time, so some of the figures might not apply in 2026. But the overarching sentiment and advice still absolutely applies, and that is, in a nutshell, prioritize what matters to you both, ignore outdated rules, and protect your relationship from money stress while you plan. And this is a big one. As always, this is general information only and not personal financial advice. So chat with a qualified professional before making any big money decisions around your wedding, especially related to wedding debt, and we'll go into that. And because prices and packages change over time and in different locations, you can treat any numbers as examples or as starting points. So if you're deep in budget talks, or maybe even more worryingly, putting them off because they feel overwhelming, this episode is here to give you confidence, language, tools, and different options. So your planning can feel more grounded, more intentional, and much lighter again. Let's get stuck into it. Unbridly is a community of pro-wedding vendors who believe in freedom and integrity in weddings, giving you options, solutions, tips and tricks to create the experience and memories that you and your fiance really want and deserve. Because we believe that weddings are a team sport. With how-tos, stories and interviews with recently married couples, we find out what went right and what they'd change if they could go back and do it all over again. I'm Camille and welcome to the Unbridly Podcast. Spending guilt is not just reserved for those packages that arrive from your late-night online shopping adventures. And for your wedding, there are higher stakes involved too. Wedding budgeting, saving where you can, being thrifty, whatever you want to call it, it's important to how you feel in the process of your wedding planning. And let's face it, that's generally somewhere between six to twelve to eighteen months of your life. It's also going to affect your wedding day and how you feel on the day. Those little twinges of guilt, you know, when that package arrives at your front door. If you're not truly happy with the purchasing decisions and the booking decisions that you've made for your wedding day, those little pangs of guilt will hit you throughout the day and beyond as well. So I know having these discussions can be uncomfortable, they can be tough and frequently emotional, but definitely in a long-term relationship, essential to work out what you both want and how you're going to get there together. Now the big bonuses of saving your money, as in not spending them on things that you don't value, is you've got more of your hard-earned dosh that can go towards other things. And I'm looking at you, honeymoon and home deposit. You also may be able to stretch your dollar further and add special touches to your wedding day that you might not have otherwise been able to afford. You may get to have your wedding sooner. You might be able to bring it forward and not have to wait a year or two years until you can afford it. And you may be able to fit onto your guest list those couple of guests that you really feel bad about not being able to invite at your current budget. The downsides of trying to save a buck come down to that idea of the false economy. So in project management, there's a triangle. Stick with me here. It's called the Iron Triangle, or sometimes it's referred as pick two. So if you imagine a 2D triangle, like you know, just the outline of a triangle, one side is labeled time or speed, one side is labeled cost or price, and the third is labeled quality. Now the theory is that you can pick two of these attributes when you book a service or buy a product, but you can never have all three. As in something that's cheaper may have issues with quality or may take more of your time. So if you think, you know, something like assembling IKEA furniture, it takes your time, takes your frustration. So while DIY can help to reduce your monetary costs and outlays in the short term, there's invisible costs of your valuable time and noticeable and sometimes regretful reduction in quality, which may add up to a false economy in the long run. This is why I'll always advocate for a smart allocation of your budget ahead of cost cutting by buying cheap products or hiring cut-price wedding vendors. Smart allocation of budget, of course, means you value it. So the stuff you really like, you drop your money on, and the stuff that you don't give a shit about, you don't. If you're like a lot of my listeners, you're probably also looking for ways to save money without sacrificing your sense of style or your big three non-negotiable expenses or your personal values. Being eco-friendly, for example, shopping local or inclusive are not just catchphrases or marketing slogans. You want to be able to carry these through into these decisions with your wedding as well. So the first thing you're going to be doing is setting your budget. So before you start planning your wedding, you need to determine the money. And it needs to be based in reality first. You should start by working out how much money you've got coming in, what's your income, how much have you saved, how much are you willing to spend on your wedding. You should also work out what aspects of the wedding are most important to you and allocate the majority budget to those. You're not going to be spending an equal amount on everything. And you also don't need to adhere to these arbitrary percentage breakdowns of quite frequently weddings that happened 20 to 30 years ago or weddings that are costed on a completely different scale to what you're doing. So one great tool you can use to help you stick to your budget is using a wedding budget calculator. These are widely available online and can help you keep track of what you're spending. You can set your budget in these and they'll break down how much you can afford to spend on each aspect of your wedding. But as I said, what I find is that they are fundamentally flawed because each category, let's say venue, catering, dress, photographer, DJ, etc., assumes a percentage breakdown that A might not be accurate for where you're having your wedding. So think country town in the middle of Australia versus destination wedding in Bali versus upscale wedding in New York. The different locations of these weddings will have a different associated market cost. And B, it doesn't take into account what kind of celebration you're having. In this example, renting fancy cutlery and napkins, linens is not required for your festival vibe, food truck wedding. And C, it doesn't take into account your values. If you, my friend, want to drop$15,000 on your wedding dress, but serve your guests pizza in a field, that's your fucking prerogative. Something as simple as a spreadsheet where you can put in the specific products and services that you want and allocate your budget across those categories makes so much sense. The next step is prioritizing those expenses. Some expenses are more important than others, and guess who gets to choose that? You do. So you should focus your budget on these areas. So for example, if you care more about having excellent food and drinks, you should allocate more of your budget to catering. But if you're more interested in having beautiful flowers, fresh flowers everywhere, you want to allocate more of your budget to decor. Another way to save money on your wedding, at least by, you know, when you talk to your relatives, uh, your auntie will come up with this solution. Sometimes parents do. Sometimes well-meaning friends is by doing things yourself. Because the theory is that there's a large markup or wedding tax applied to products and services that come from wedding vendors. And for more on this, please go back, listen to episode 26 called The Wedding Tax is Absolutely Real and Here's How You Can Avoid It. Yeah, there's a lot more information about the wedding tax in there. But when we're talking about DIY or amateurs versus hiring wedding professionals, I have so many thoughts on this, and it may well be an entire topic and podcast episode all of its own with my personal DIY wedding efforts, successes and failures aside, I would seriously advise you to consider the consequences of taking on large, complex or important DIY projects for your wedding with a healthy helping of caution. While it might be tempting to DIY certain aspects of your wedding to save money, it's important to consider the false economy of doing so. While it might seem cheaper at first glance, the costs can quickly add up and the quality of the end result may not be quite what you hoped for. When it comes to certain aspects of your wedding, like catering photography and floral arrangements, it's best to leave it to the professionals. These wedding suppliers have had years of experience and expertise in their respective fields and they know how to execute your vision flawlessly. This saves you time. Believe it or not, it saves you money and it also takes stress off your shoulders. Additionally, by hiring these professionals, you'll have peace of mind on your big day, knowing that everything is taken care of. You won't have to worry about unexpected issues arising or last-minute mishaps, as your vendors will have a plan in place to handle any situation that may arise. While hiring professionals may seem like a larger upfront cost, it can actually save you money in the long run by preventing costly mistakes and ensuring that everything runs smoothly. There's also this domino effect in a wedding where if one supplier is running late, it can knock on to the next supplier. And if you don't have professionals who have experience in this and who can solve problems on the fly, that's when your wedding and especially your timeline can become very crunchy. So before you decide to DIY aspects of your wedding, be sure to weigh up the costs and consider the benefits of hiring a professional. If you do decide to hire professionals, wedding vendors who do it week in, week out, you can still save money by being strategic. For example, some wedding vendors change their prices every year. And if you book before a certain date, before that price rise comes into effect, then essentially you're booking them for their lower rate on your date. And then finally, let's discuss some creative ways to save money on your wedding. Here are a few ideas. So having your wedding during the off season, so wherever you're living, generally spring, summer weddings when it's warmer, when you can get outdoors, when people may have more time off, or on a weekday as opposed to a Friday, Saturday, Sunday, may mean that certain vendors have lower package prices in place. You could consider an all-inclusive venue that includes your catering, your bar, and your decorations. This can save you time in sourcing and paying for and coordinating all the individual aspects of your wedding, but also can save you time. You could buy your dress during a sample sale, or you could buy a pre-owned dress. In episode 25, five smart things to do when you buy a pre-loved wedding dress. I chat with Felicia about her experience with still white. That may be an option for you. You still haven't written your vows yet, have you? Let me help. In around 20 minutes or so, you can easily write personalized wedding vows, unlike anything you've heard before, that will make your fiance feel like the most loved, understood, and appreciated person on the planet. The how to write wedding vows that don't suck. Instant download. Walks you through a step-by-step format for your vows and how to find the right words and phrases to describe your feelings and your fiance, how to write that crucial first draft and create your final wedding vows masterpiece. So if you don't know how or even where to start, if you've been googling your little heart out, or if you've been calling them wedding vows, A-E-I-O-U, this ebook is for you. Included in there are also some bonus secrets for getting the most out of your wedding ceremony. So make sure you download your copy right now and get right your wedding vows crossed off your to-do list today. The link is in the show notes. You could make the choice to serve buffet style or family style as in plated and placed in the center of tables reception food instead of plated meals. You could just have a smaller wedding. One of the quickest ways to cut down your expenses is to literally reduce your wedding guest list, or even consider a micro wedding, which is more like 20-30 people, or a loping. Just you and your fiance, your witnesses, and your officiant or celebrant. You could have a look at a non-traditional venue. If you consider having your wedding at a unique location like a public park, a museum, or even a family member's backyard if it's big enough, these non-traditional venues can be more affordable than traditional wedding venues, and they often come with more flexibility for personalization. But in that case, you also have to consider the things that you need to bring in. So if you've got a backyard wedding, for example, this can also mean having to bring in everything that would normally be in a restaurant. So you need to consider your food preparation areas, cooking, refrigeration, toilets, tables, chairs. So yeah, that could also come down on the side of false economy. You need to be careful, you need to consider all of those expenses. You could serve a signature cocktail instead of having a full bar. Instead of having three, four, five, six different spirits, you could have a signature cocktail plus your beer, wine, and soft drinks. This will save you money on the cost of alcohol and also simplify your bar service. You can go paperless. You can consider sending electronic invitations, so emails and messages and notifications instead of traditional paper invitations. This can save you money on printing, postage, and other related costs, and is also potentially more environmentally friendly. You can DIY your decorations. It depends on your propensity for being creative and how much you actually enjoy that. Because there is no joy in deciding that you and your friends and family are going to get to your wedding venue the day before, spend the entire day putting things up, and spend your wedding day then completely exhausted and looking around at the things that you didn't get to. That is the definition of a false economy. But if you are creative, you little Martha Stewart, not in jail, but you know, with that need to express yourself creatively, you can DIY your wedding decor. You could create centrepieces for reception tables. You could have a go at floral arrangements, although, God, I'd love to tell you about mine, but we don't have time just now. I did my own bouquets and in short, disaster. Honestly, if that's your calling, knock yourself out, save the dough, but know that your time and your lack of experience in doing these things is going to be the true cost. You can rent or hire instead of buy. So you could hire items like your chairs, your linen, your tableware, your furniture, all those sorts of things rather than buying them outright. Now, this can save you money on the upfront cost of purchasing, but also on the storage and maintenance, delivery, taking away, you've got to really consider who's going to store these for the next 12 months, who's going to deliver them, set them up, who's going to pack them up at the end of the night, take them away, store them again, and then I'm guessing you might want to sell them. So if you're choosing to buy these sorts of items and you plan to resell them later, you are committing a fuckload of time and mental energy to this. What is that worth to you? I love the idea of choosing a wedding venue that's already beautiful, that has outdoor options if the weather's fine, indoor options if it's not, and you'd be happy with either or. This is going to save you money on decorations. If the space is already beautiful, pleasing, it's in the style of the wedding that you're trying to create, it's a canvas that makes creating your wedding so much easier. Having a more casual wedding may mean that you, as the couple getting married andor your guests, may be able to wear things that are already in your wardrobe. This is way more sustainable than buying a single outfit that gets worn once. Choosing to have your ceremony and your reception in the same place means less travel. You're not hiring those wedding cars, you're not having to fly to get to somewhere. It's going to reduce your carbon footprint, it's going to be more eco-friendly, it's going to reduce your costs, and it's going to reduce your time in travel. You literally get more time with your guests. And I'm hoping, because you know, I've helped you with building your guest list, I'm hoping you actually fucking like them and you want to spend time with them. And to that point, keep your guest list small. Honestly, if you wouldn't go out tonight and buy them dinner, I don't want to see them on your guest list. I'll be very disappointed in you. But also, no plus ones. If you haven't met this person, why the fuck do they have an invitation to one of the most expensive celebrations you'll ever put on? No plus ones. Forget about it. You could opt for a morning-afternoon celebration rather than an afternoon-evening one. The thinking of this is sometimes venues will charge a lesser fee if you're not there for the night. It means getting in and getting out is easier. But here's the kicker. People eat and drink less during the day than they do at night. So that can be super handy. So you could do lunch instead of dinner. You could skip your wedding party. Skip it. If you don't have specific people wearing allocated taffeta dresses in the same color and having to wear the same shoes and having to have their hair put up a certain way, it means you save money, you save time, and you save your wedding party from the humiliation. They don't want to stand up the front with you. They don't. They really don't. But they want to support you and be by your side. So have them with you on the morning of rituals, celebrations, going out dress shopping, having your hen's night, whatever it might be, but don't make them wear the same clothes and don't make them stand up the front with you. It's going to reduce your costs, your stress, and you might actually be able to keep your friendships intact as well. Another often overlooked but incredibly simple way to save everything. Save your money, save your time, save your sanity, uh, actually still keep your job, still sleep at night, still have a great relationship with your fiance is to hire a wedding plan. Planner. Not all wedding planners are created equal, I understand. And everyone has a horror story, an urban myth story about the wedding planner who, you know, didn't have a clue, rocked up late, didn't care, was a bit laid back, laxadaisical, who didn't actually know what they're doing. And this comes down to due diligence in finding someone who is experienced and recommended and insured. But the idea is their years of experience are now your years of experience. So if they have built great relationships with wedding vendors and they can call them at a moment's notice or they can solve problems that come up, if they really care about what they do, it's going to save you. It's going to absolutely save you in more ways than one. You want to avoid the trends and you want to go classic. So it's the whole supply and demand situation. If everyone wants a white arched ceremony ABBA, for example, there are only so many white arched ceremony ABABAs available where you live or you know close enough to be delivered on any given Saturday. So once all of those are booked out, you are going to be paying a premium to get that, to get it from elsewhere, to pay the extra for delivery, whatever it may take, or someone to make it for you. That's when costs can really slip out of control. And especially if you're making these purchasing, hiring, renting decisions late. If you are going to have a wedding party, you could ask your bridesmaids to wear something they already own in a colour scheme that you choose. They could complement each other, but there is no need to go out and get a brand new outfit. You could hire a suit for sure, but the caveat there is I've seen a lot of hired suits. So you need to beware of the poorly fitting, the not dry cleaned or mended ones, you know, the buttons are missing. I remember one groomsman he put his hand into the pocket of his suit jacket and there was a used tissue in there and it wasn't his.