Everyone knows that weddings can be expensive, but they only cost a lot if you let them. If you want to, you can get married for hardly any money at all. However, most people want to have something akin to the weddings they're familiar with. There's a big white dress, a fancy venue, a meal, and plenty of guests. Even if you do want all the frills, you can still save money. In fact, there are some things you can do for free or almost nothing. If you're looking for ways to make big savings on your wedding, here's how you can do it.

Food

Catering is very expensive, and it's terrible when someone drops out of the wedding last minute. You've paid for plates that no one is going to eat and wasted your money. If you want to save on food at the reception, don't bother with catering. Instead, ask your friends and family to bring a dish with them. It might be less formal, but it's a fun thing to do for a relaxed wedding. Everyone will enjoy showing off their favorite thing to eat, and you can have a whole buffet for free. You might want to request a different dish on each invitation. Split them into two and ask half of your guests to bring savories and half to bring desserts.

Wedding Stationery

Designing and printing invites and other stationery can cost a lot, especially with the right designer. If you want to save, you can get free wedding invite templates to help you out. You'll still need to print your invites, but it can be a lot cheaper to do at home. And even if you need to take them to a print shop, you'll still save money. If you do decide to buy your invites, you can find sites that will send you free samples. You might not get everything free, but it will help you out.



Robert Kintner

Use Decorations from Home

If you've got a stylish home, you might find some beautiful things around the house to use in the wedding. For example, you might have some candle holders you want to put on tables. You don't have to find matching objects or even choose things that are meant for decoration. If you've got some empty glass jars, you could paint them and put candles inside. You can create an eclectic and varied setup for a fun effect.

Find Natural Decor

Another way to find decorations for free is to look outside, although you have to be careful. If you want to look for branches, stones, flowers or other materials, you have to choose where to do it carefully. It's best to stick to your own backyard or land, instead of walking through forests or along beaches. It can be damaging to the environment to take things away from their natural habitat, and can even be illegal in some cases. But if you have somewhere to ethically pick up some beautiful items, you can use them in your wedding.

You don't need to pay anything for some aspects of your wedding. If you want to save money, think outside of the box to do things for free.