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When Christi and her finance began to plan their May wedding, they knew they’d have to do things differently. They didn’t have a huge budget, like the national average wedding price tag of $27,800, and they were shouldering much of the costs themselves.
So they faced a challenge: “How do we put on the wedding of our dreams at a low cost?”
The result: A beautiful and sneakily frugal wedding.
Christi shares a few ways they saved some dough and made their wedding unique and special.
“Monday was one third of the price.”
Christi and her beau got married on a Monday. Not your typical wedding day, but she saved a boatload of cash by choosing an off-day. Her chosen venue was a lush, green park in Berkeley, California, which would’ve cost $3,000 to reserve on a Sunday—way out of her price range. For Monday, the venue was just $700 to reserve for the ceremony as well as the indoor-outdoor reception.
“To some extent, it was a DIY wedding.”
Christi avoided the high cost of flowers, a cake, and centerpieces by enlisting the help of some friends. “We have such talented friends,” she said, and they were more than willing to gift their services to make Christi’s big day special. Instead of cake, a friend and hobbyist baker made an assortment of homemade pies and ice creams, and paired different flavors together, like strawberry pie with lavender ice cream. Another friend, looking to explore her crafty side, provided and arranged the flowers.
The bachelor party was a DIY party, too. Instead of jetting off to Vegas for a big trip, the groom and his pals had a barbeque and spent the day brewing beer to be served at the wedding.
“We found a photographer that was just starting out.”
Christi’s original choice of photographer was way out of her price range, but she wanted someone with a similar style. The too-pricey photographer referred the bride to a photographer who needed to build her portfolio, and she quoted Christi a more budget-friendly price. The photographs were exceptional, and no one was the wiser—until now!—that the photographer hadn’t had years of experience.
“I stalked Ebay!”
When she found a great “send-off” dress at BCBG, Christi knew she couldn’t swing the $400 price tag for the second dress she would wear on her wedding day. She watched Ebay for several days before finally spotting the designer dress, and she snagged it for $150, including shipping. As for her wedding dress? She’s planning on selling it! And she didn’t spend a dime on shoes to wear with her wedding dress; she wore comfortable wedges that she has had for years.
Bottom Line: Christi’s wedding was a rare one: It looked expensive, without breaking the bank. If you’re planning a wedding, you might not have a gaggle of talented friends with extra time to arrange flowers. But think of ways you too can be creative in your wedding plans.
All images courtesy of Molly Bird Bush.
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