As your wedding day approaches, the challenge of making sure every small aspect of your big day is everything you ever dreamt it would be, commences—but at a rather heavy expense. This year, it was reported that the average cost that couples now spend on a wedding in the UK is £16,005, up from an average cost of £15,171 in 2019. With this said, it’s no secret that weddings are expensive, so finding some effective cost cutting ways that benefit your budget is something that every couple should bear in mind.
Despite current COVID-19 restrictions stating that wedding guests in the UK are limited to a total number of 30 people, these guidelines will change later in the year. It is anticipated, following from Boris Johnson’s roadmap to opening the country back up, that weddings will be on with no social distancing restrictions from 21st June. It’s reported the average number of guests invited to a wedding in the UK stands at 82-day guests, and 103 evening ones, totalling to a great number of people to pay for.
So, for those planning their wedding post-lockdown, learning some DIY tips and tricks to help you reduce spending on everything from invites, to table décor, to drinks – and several more – is something your budget will greatly appreciate.
Here, our wedding cost calculator compares the price of DIY’ing your wedding assets as opposed to buying them, to show just how much money you can save on your big day!
Save the date and invite cards
First things first, you’ll need to tell your guests well in advance of your wedding what date you plan on hosting it, to make sure they aren’t double booked. Then, actual wedding invitations will need to be designed and sent to those that made it onto the guest list. Already, the start-up costs are beginning to add up.
Since the total price of the invite process is mainly determined by how many guests you plan on inviting, we compared the cost of buying invites against making them yourself, taking into account the varying number of people you have attending.
As you can see, saving on your wedding budget can start right at the beginning of the process by simply investing some extra time into a DIY job!
Cupcakes and Treats
It’s often assumed cupcakes are a wedding day staple that must be skilfully baked and designed by an expert pâtissier – but this isn’t necessarily the case. Your big day can be whatever you want it to be, so if cupcakes aren’t a necessity to you, then don’t blow your budget on them!
Instead of utilising the wedding cupcake staple, supply your guests with some DIY organza tied pouches full of treats instead. Not only is this an effective way to save money, but it also incorporates a contemporary surprise to your wedding desserts.
To show the true extent of how much money you can save by doing this, our calculator has compared the two alternatives against the variances in guests you may have attending.
Spirits vs Cocktails
Probably one of the most thought-of aspects to any wedding is the drinks menu. It’s no secret that buying drinks at a bar is expensive, so supplying them for all your wedding guests is a thought that leaves a rather large lump in your throat.
However, there are some effective ways to relieve the hefty cost of providing alcoholic drinks to your guests. As shown by the wedding cost calculator below, it compares the price of supplying miniature spirit drinks against miniature cocktail drinks to guests. Again, taking into account the variances in the total number of guests you might have.
Place Cards
Not only do place cards inform guests about where they will be sat for the ceremony, they also add an extra edition to your table décor too, so it’s important that these blend in well with your theme. Whether you’ve chosen to host your wedding on a tropical beach somewhere, or a picturesque wedding venue in the Lake District, you know better than anyone what décor will best suit your desired style.
With this said, why rely on someone else to design your place cards? By DIY’ing your cards, not only do you save money, but you also have full flexibility to add your own personalised twist to them too. Although place cards seem only a minor contribution to your big day, depending on if you buy or DIY them, you could save greatly on the extra costs that keep on adding up.
To show the true extent of this, our wedding cost calculator has done the maths for you.
Wreaths
Speaking of table décor, adding wreaths to your centrepieces can be the extra edition needed to bring the whole display together. Therefore, learning some DIY techniques to cut costs on these décor staples is definitely worth your while.
There are an abundance of videos online that can demonstrate exactly how to DIY your wedding table wreaths, but there are also some gorgeous self-made alternatives you might want to consider too. As shown by the wedding cost calculator, choosing to DIY your wedding wreaths could see you save a substantial amount of your budget.
Of course, weddings costs aren’t entirely avoidable. However, there are some cost-cutting techniques you can learn to help relieve some of the financial burden that is attached to your big day- and it all starts with some DIY work. Perhaps our wedding cost calculator above will be your first step towards a cheaper wedding ceremony.
