We all know that the cost of a wedding is astronomical- in fact, the average UK wedding comes in at over £30,000. Mind blowing when you consider that the cost of a deposit on a home can often cost much less than this. There is no reason to be going into debt for your wedding day- if you make a few savings here and there, you can be sure that your guests will be none the wiser!
Bridesmaid dresses
Gone are the days where the ‘done thing’ is to get custom bridesmaid dresses made by a seamstress, or even buying bridesmaid dresses from a bridal store. Head online to brands like ASOS, Next or Monsoon and find some beautiful dresses for your bridesmaids for less than £60 each.
Photos
You can save a ton on your wedding photos by using a service like Wedding Photo Swap where you can pool guests’ photos in one handy app. Rather than hiring a few photographers to get every angle of the wedding, you can invite guests to share their photos within this app instead.
You can invite your guests to use the app at the same time as you send out wedding invitations via email, or could print out the details and send this in the post, or even have the information printed out and placed on the tables at the reception.
As your guests upload their photos to the app, you get a live timeline of uploads which you can smile and look back on after the big day.
Wedding cake
No one ever seems to eat the traditional 3 tier fruit cake often served at weddings- so why not ask some of your guests to bring a sweet treat and create a dessert table instead? You could have anything from cupcakes, to biscuits, to a cheesecake on offer.
You’ll save yourself some money on the traditional wedding cake, and your guests will have lots of different options that everyone can continue to nibble on throughout the evening.
Favours
Does anyone ever really use the wedding favours? Opt for something simple like a tube of sweets or a fortune teller fish which will give your guests a little entertainment!
Alternatively, you could always DIY something like a jam, chutney, or a little bottle of gin for your guests to take away with them. And if you don’t fancy the hard work? Just forget about the wedding favours!
Make-up
As soon as you mention the words ‘bridal’ or ‘wedding’ to a make up artist the price will automatically increase dramatically. Do you have a friend who is handy with a make up brush? Or could you do your own make up with the help of some YouTube videos? Taking the time to buy some fancy make up bits instead of splashing out on a make up artist will still make you feel extra special on the day, and you’ll be able to use the products for months to come after the big day!
