Your wedding day is a huge moment, possibly the biggest moment in your relationship so far and deserves to be celebrated in a big way! But, the last thing you want to do is put your financial future at risk at the start of your marriage, so setting a realistic budget is an important aspect to having a successful wedding day that dosen’t create extra stress for you and your new spouse!

As a wedding photographer I have had the luxury of attending hundreds of weddings and seen some really incredible wedding days with unique tricks to save a little dough! So, because I love helping my own Kate Holt Photography Brides and other brides as they plan their big day, I thought I’d put together a list of tips and tricks to help you out with sticking to your budget and maybe even saving some of that green so you can splurge on your honeymoon!

Money Saving Tip #1

Schedule a "staged exit” rather than paying for your photographer to stay all the way to the end of your reception

Most people agree that photography is one of the highest priorities of their wedding day and thus, a large portion of their budget is allocated to their photographer. Most photographers offer their services based on the amount of hours they will be working at your wedding and a great way to save a little green in this area is having a “staged exit.”

A “staged exit” is where you would gather your wedding party together for whatever type of grand exit you are planning- whether it’s bubbles, sparklers, lights or confetti. Then, with your wedding party gathered together you can line them up and walk through them for your epic “exit” shot. Because this shot can be scheduled earlier in the evening, once you get this shot you can then return to your party and dance all night long while your photographer packs up and heads home, saving you 2-3 hours of coverage cost!

Money Saving Tip #2

Splurge on your Bridal Bouquet and go a bit smaller for your bridesmaid’s bouquets

Your Bridal Bouquet is the one floral piece that will be photographed the most on your wedding day. It will be in many of your bridal portraits, you’ll have it with you as you walk down the aisle during your ceremony, and it usually ends up as the centerpiece for your sweet heart table.

When you are setting your floral budget, if you allocate a bit more to the bridal bouquet of your dreams and then go for something more simple for the bridesmaid’s bouquets you’ll have an amazing center focal point during your wedding party portraits and will have a stand-out element in your bridal portraits, ceremony and reception!

Money Saving Tip #3

Believe it or not, You Don’t Have to Spend Thousands to have an incredible Wedding Dress!

This might be quite a controversial tip for saving money, as the wedding dress is a focal point of your wedding for sure! But, this tip comes from my experience as a Wedding Photographer and being surprised again and again at the cleverness of the Kate Holt Photography Brides I work with who have fabulous dresses which were quite inexpensive!

The amazing thing about wedding dresses is that you only wear them once! What that means for you is that there are SO MANY gorgeous and pristine dresses that you can purchase second hand for a fraction of the price!

I remember on my wedding day, I went to several boutiques and absolutely fell in love with a dress that was just outside my budget. I noted down the designer and style and when I got home I did a quick search online and very quickly found my dress being sold by other brides who had already worn this dress earlier in the year and who were now selling it for a much more reasonable price. And the best thing- I was even able to find one which was already hemmed for my height so I even saved on alterations!

In Portland we are especially lucky to have boutiques who solely offer second hand dresses that you can pick from!

Keep in mind, second-hand shops like Brides for a Cause do not sport the same customer service that you might find at higher-end shops so be sure to bring a good friend or helpful family member to assist you in finding and trying on dresses.

I’ll include some Bridal Portraits of Kate Holt Brides who found their gorgeous dresses for less than $1,000 just to show you that you don’t have to spend a fortune on your dress to look amazing!

Money Saving Tip #4

Save on Simpler Desserts!

When Dom and I got married and were picking out a wedding cake I was pretty shocked at how quickly the price started skyrocketing! We had other areas of our wedding which were more important to us so we opted for a shorter, simple wedding cake for our cake cutting moment and then ordered delicious but less than visually striking sheet cakes to be cut up for our guests.

Another way of saving on desserts is to source your cake from a local bakery and order a larger tiered cake without all the embellishments that usually make a cake “wedding worthy” and instead have your florist take any extra blooms she has and pop them on your cake for stunning floral details which will “wedding up” a more simple cake!

To save a bit on traditional wedding cakes you can also opt for a buttercream frosting instead of the more traditional, and more expensive fondant topping. Buttercream also tastes way better than fondant so it’s win-win!

I’ve also seen couples choose more non-traditional desserts which not only reflects their personalities, but also tended to be a bit easier on the budget. So, get creative and know that you don’t have to spend a fortune on a giant traditional cake if it’s not a top priority for you!

Money Saving Tip #5

Consider alternatives to traditional Buffets and Plated Meals

I once had a couple who ordered several dishes from each of their favorite restaurants and coordinated their delivery for just when the reception began. They had brought a set of nicer serving ware and had close family and friends help them with taking the food out of the to-go containers and arranging them in the nice serving ware for their guests. This was much less expensive than having caterers serve a buffet-style meal and was also much more personal as their guests got to enjoy a tour through the couple’s favorite restaurants of Portland!

Food Trucks are also becoming more and more popular for weddings! They are surprisingly less expensive than traditional catering, and also so fun for your guests to enjoy!

Another option I’ve seen couples choose is taking advantage of the desire to help from family and friends. One couple I know hired a man to roast a pig and then had several friends and family bring delicious sides. They were able to feed 200 guests for about a third of the cost of traditional catering and the guests were absolutely raving about the food!

Don’t feel boxed in to the traditional in regards to food for your wedding. With a little research and some creativity you can surprise yourself with not only a unique food experience for your guests but help save you some cash as well!

I hope these tips help you in squeezing a bit more out of your wedding budget!

If you are stressing out a bit on making a phenomenal wedding while not spending an arm and a leg, fear not! This worry is from a place of responsibility, so congratulate yourself on having that! Choose what aspects of your wedding are the most important and allocate a larger amount of your budget to those areas while saving money on the parts of your day which are less important to you. You’re going to have a beautiful day and no matter what your budget, you’ll end up married to the love of your life and that is priceless!