Tying the knot in the next few years? Congratulations! Now it’s time to figure out how to save money on your wedding. Keeping the costs down (which can be tricky with the cost of living) doesn’t always mean having to compromise on your perfect, dream day though —  it’s just about being smart. Here are some tips and advice to help you have your big day for a smaller price tag.

The average cost of a wedding can be tens of thousands of pounds. That’s to cover things like the venue, occasionwear, a cake, flowers, and entertainment. Because you will often want the best version of each element of your wedding, it’s easy to see how your costs can quickly skyrocket if you’re not careful with your budget. Let’s look at hints and tips for how to save money on a wedding.

For more information on how to save money for wedding and honeymoon budgets, check out our blog post on saving techniques here.

How much does a wedding cost?

Before we tackle how to save on your wedding, let’s look at how much a standard wedding costs so you can match to your budget and figure out what you need to do to make it work for you. Remember, these are averages so there’s no need to panic if your budget is nowhere near. If you don’t have a budget yet, don’t worry, we’ll talk about that in the next section.

The average cost of a wedding is just over £24,000 when you include the honeymoon, and just under if you take out the ring and the holiday. That includes everything from your venue, to your clothes, the cake, entertainment, your catering options, and flowers. Below we’ll look at how to save money on your wedding by breaking down each of these elements.

Make a wedding budget

Now you know the rough total cost of a wedding, you can match that to your wedding budget. Simply put, your wedding budget is a realistic figure that you can afford to spend on your big day. You might want to have a “money’s no object” kind of event and that’s okay, but it’s important to be mindful about where splashing the cash might leave you and your partner as you step into your new life together.

One of the first things to do is make sure you and your fiancé/e agree on what’s important to you both. That means having a frank and open conversation. Make some lists: what are your non-negotiable elements? What sum can you realistically save up for? Planning a wedding should be fun but there’s no doubt it can be stressful, so have these conversations early, be kind and listen to each other.

Once you’ve decided on a budget and worked out how much you’d like to save for your wedding, think about joining Loqbox to help you reach your finance goals so your focus can be on planning the perfect wedding for you. As you save money with us, your credit score can also get a boost, setting you up for the future with your dearly beloved. 

Improvements to your credit score are not guaranteed.

How to save money on a wedding

To help you to make your wedding budget, and also to give you some ideas for how to save on your wedding, we’ve broken down all the most common main elements of the celebration. This gives you an idea of how much each part normally costs and how you can bring the price in line with your budget without compromising too much on what you actually want.

How to save money on wedding dresses

In the UK, the average cost of a wedding dress comes in at around £1,300 with accessories and alterations on top of that. If one or both of you are planning on wearing a wedding dress, how does that fit with your budget? If you need to shave some off that price but you still want to look and feel like a million pounds, how can you save money on a wedding dress? There are a few options you can consider to reduce the cost.

Some bridal wear shops have sales or discounts. Reach out to boutiques near you to find out if they are holding any such deals in the near future. This can give you great savings if they’re slashing the price of their stock. Alternatively, you can ask whether you are able to buy the sample dresses—that brides-to-be try on—at discounted rates.

High street brands have fantastic wedding ranges which are often more affordably priced. Or you could consider going second-hand with a pre-loved wedding dress at a much more reasonable price. You’ll potentially have to shop around a bit more to find the right dress but you may be able to find a completely unique vintage or high-end gem that might also save you as much as half the average cost.

If you’re not so fussed about wearing a traditional wedding dress, why not get creative with your outfit instead? Go colourful, go sparkly, go wild. Make your mark as you say “I do” with a fierce look that’s just as gorgeous as a classic wedding gown, but doesn’t come with the classic wedding price tag. As long as you’re turning heads, right?

How to save money on a wedding venue

Of course, however you do your wedding, it’s probably going to have to happen somewhere. The venue is a tough element to drop from your list unless you have access to land, a big house, or a barn that somebody you know would let you use for free. If not, you’ll likely pay an average £8,000 on a space to house your big day. That’s a lot! 

Working out how to save money on a wedding venue can be a game-changer for your budget. One of the best ways to bring this price down, without compromising on your dream location, is to book it at a less popular time. Pushing your wedding day off season can literally save you £1,000s. And you can even save by booking midweek rather than over the weekend.

Research the wedding packages of your chosen venues. They often offer all-in or build-it-yourself packages. Building your own wedding can help you save on things like expensive alcohol options but you might find that a full package saves you money. Check the details and see where you can make the best savings.

Alternatively, if you really don’t want to compromise on the day of the week or the time of the year, why not get creative with your wedding venue? Pubs are tailor-made venues to house a lot of people wanting to relax and have a drink. Campsites, woods, and other outdoor areas can provide beautiful, natural backdrops (as long as the weather holds up).

How to save money on wedding catering 

Getting everybody fed and watered is important. It may not be the first thing you think of when you picture your dream day, but it’s pretty critical. Most wedding catering options will be calculated on a per-head basis. This can be as much as £100 per person. Before you reach for your guest list to re-evaluate whether you really need to invite your Mum’s second cousin once removed, what else can you do?

You might be able to make some tweaks to catering packages, such as making the wedding cake the dessert course rather than an additional course. Some caterers will let you use offcuts from the main meal to make your canapés. Or perhaps your guests will enjoy a pizza van or a buffet just as much as a sit-down dinner?

Failing that, maybe that guest list could do with a trim? Before you send out save-the-dates, mind. Reducing your dinner guests by eight could save you as much as £500-800 depending on your catering package. It doesn’t mean you have to cause a rift in the friendship group. You could make the dinner a more intimate event with close friends and family, and invite others along to the evening reception.

How to save money on your wedding beauty

Getting pampered and having a makeover can be a lovely way to start your special day. But going for a DIY approach can save you money on your wedding budget. With the average cost of professional hair and makeup for a wedding being about £600, you might be more comfortable with getting your bridal party together to do each others’ beauty in the morning. 

If you don’t know anybody you’ll feel truly confident leaving your hair and make up with, you could hire a wedding beautician’s assistant. Of course, they may not be as good as their boss, but they could still have had plenty of experience. If you’re not hoping to achieve anything too complicated, why not give them a chance (for an affordable rate you can both be happy with, of course)?

How to save money on a wedding cake

The average wedding cake can be anywhere from £250 for a standard option, to £1,000 for a custom design. But these numbers can be very dependent on lots of factors. Things like the size of your wedding can impact on how large the cake needs to be and therefore how much it will cost. The baker’s skills and expertise can also influence what you pay as well.

You can save on wedding cakes by considering less decoration. Elements like sugar work, piping and toppers often require skills and therefore, more money. You could order a semi-naked cake and make it look stunning (and delicious) in other ways, like using edible flowers from your wedding florist or pretty fruits, rather than pricey sugar flowers. By keeping the design simple, you can keep the costs down.

The other option is to go with super cute wedding cupcakes rather than one big elaborate tiered wedding cake. This can bring your costs down to as much as a few pounds per head for the cake. If you know any great bakers you might be able to get them to make something for you, but remember that’s quite a big ask! 

How to save money on a wedding photographer 

If you have a truly wonderful wedding, you’ll want to relive it for the rest of your life. What better way to do that than with a beautifully shot album of professional photographs? Booking a wedding photographer can cost you anywhere between £800 and £1,000, depending on how much of the day you want them to capture and how experienced they are.

To save on wedding photographers, you’ll likely have to compromise on one of these aspects. Some photographers offer express packages which mean they’re only with you for a couple of hours to get the big shots, rather than documenting the whole day. However, their availability on a Saturday (when they could be taking a full package elsewhere) might be limited.

Other hacks for saving on photography include choosing one photographer, rather than a team, going digital instead of getting professionally printed albums, and choosing local photographers who don’t need to add extra fees for travel. 

Fun tip: If having a photographer at the reception isn’t as much of a big deal to you either, hand out a few disposable film cameras and let your guests record the memories for you.

How to save on wedding flowers

Generally, wedding flower packages come in at the £1,000 mark. It may sound a lot but that normally includes everything from your bridal bouquet, table arrangements, decorative flowers for the venue and button holes. If you’ve got your heart set on having flowers at your wedding, how can you get these costs down to fit them into your budget?

The first thing you can look at is how many flowers you order. One of the aspects that drives up the cost of wedding flowers is the stock. Flowers are expensive, so you can make decent savings by reducing the quantity. Consider where flowers are most important to you. Can you remove them from certain places around the venue without it impacting too much? 

Another way that you can bring down the stock costs for your florists is to choose flowers that are more readily available in the season. If you choose flowers that are abundant and can be sourced locally, you’ll make great savings against those which are out of season and have to come from much further away (or even from overseas).

If flowers are still stretching the limit of your budget after this, you could think about using foliage instead of flowers. Greenery can be very pretty, and it is a great deal less expensive than traditional flowers. Making your venue look beautifully overgrown could be just as stunning as filling it with colourful flowers. Maybe even more so if you can only afford a sparse number of flower arrangements.

How to save money on a wedding reception

Keeping everybody entertained at the wedding reception is more than just putting a card behind the bar! You may need a new venue, a DJ or band, and—you guessed it—a well-stocked bar. If you’re staying in one venue, one of the biggest costs will be your evening entertainment: this can be priced at an average of £800-£1,000.

If you want to save on live music, you could consider getting all your friends to help you make a playlist that you leave running throughout the night. The theme can be songs which remind people of you and your partner, or tunes that you all used to listen to on nights out. Giving the songs a theme can add to the fun that you might miss from not having a band.

If you’ve got your heart set on live music, it might be more affordable to hire a solo artist or a DJ over a full band. Their costs will naturally be less as you’re paying for fewer artists. Other options include hiring a karaoke machine to get some free crowd-sourced entertainment — if you can stand the bad singing voices!

How to save on wedding invitations

One of the best ways to save on your wedding is to get crafty and go DIY wherever you can. One of the ways that you can do this is to make your own wedding invitations. You may still need to spend on the materials to make your own, but with a bit of time and effort you can make something that is more personal and thoughtful for your guests, and lighter on your pocket. Alternatively, save on paper and go digital by sending your invites over email. There are loads of online design platforms which will allow you to create a lovely, personalised invite.

And you can go DIY elsewhere. Save money by making your own table decorations, baking your own cake, maybe even batch-cooking your own dinner. It may seem over the top, but work out the cost of materials and think about how much time it will take, then compare that to the cost of paying for traditional options. You might be surprised how much you can save.

In summary: How to save money on a wedding

When it comes to how to save money at your wedding, the main thing to remember is that you can get a long way by staying well-informed, being open-minded, and using your imagination and creativity. You will often be paying for other people’s expertise, time and skills. So, if you can bring any of those things to the table, you can benefit from savings. 

Do your research when you’re comparing suppliers and get creative with the packages. Always look for where you can make savings. Go DIY whenever you can and use your friends and family. Remember, making memories is more than just buying expensive things. It’s about spending quality time with the people you love.