You’ve finally found The One – the person you want to spend the rest of your life with. You’re getting married! As you know, weddings can be expensive! That’s why we want to help you. As a special gift to you, we’ve compiled a list of the best ways to save money for a wedding.
In this guide, we’ll talk about:
- Expenses you can cut back on to save money for a wedding
- The best ways to put money aside for the wedding of your dreams
- Ways you can save and make money for your wedding while preparing for your life together
Are you ready to begin your journey together? Here are the 13 best ways to save money for a wedding.
1. Open a new savings or checking account
Before you begin to save money for a wedding, you’re going to need to find a place to safely stash your money where you won’t be tempted to spend it. Visit your local bank and ask to open an account. There are quite a few account types available. A standard checking or savings account will work just fine. But if you like, you can ask about a vacation club, which is a temporary account and usually bears higher interest.
The tips on the list below will take advantage of this separate account. What you need to remember is that the account is only for your wedding expenses! Don’t dip into it for bills or other things that may come up.
- It may be useful for you to open a separate bank account that’s used just for your wedding
- You can use a checking, savings or vacation club account
- Only use this account for wedding expenses!
2. Ask for gifts early
If you’re comfortable with it, you can ask for wedding gifts early. Tell your friends, parents and relatives that you’d rather have their support in financing your wedding than gifts at the actual ceremony. Create a GoFundMe or other collaborative plan and ask your guests if they’d simply contribute to your wedding rather than buying a gift. After all, who needs 13 blenders?
When the monetary gifts start rolling in, be sure you only use that cash for wedding expenses. Deposit these gifts into your wedding account and use the money to pay for officiants, DJs and anything else wedding-related.
- Wedding gifts are often redundant – why not ask for cash instead?
- You can save money for a wedding by forgoing the traditional gifts
- Be sure the money you save is used only for your wedding
3. Pay yourself each paycheck
You’ve grown accustomed to spending your paychecks in one way. For instance, you’ve budgeted for rent, entertainment, utilities and other bills. Take a look at your paychecks and see if there are ways you can save money for a wedding.
Open a savings account at your local bank that will allow you to easily transfer your money. When you get paid, commit to setting aside a percentage of your check and putting it in your savings account. Some employers will actually do this for you automatically. Ask for a direct deposit form that will allow you to allocate a flat amount or a percentage to be deposited into a secondary account.
Once this is done, don’t spend that money! It can be tempting to dive into the savings for incidentals like car repairs, but promise yourself that you won’t touch your savings for anything but wedding expenses.
- Commit to setting aside a percentage of your paycheck each pay period
- Put that money in a separate savings account – some employers will do this for you
- Once the money is in savings, don’t touch it unless it’s for a wedding related expense
4. Stop eating out
For the next few months (or however long it is until your wedding) don’t eat out. Instead, spend the time with your partner learning new recipes and cooking together. Eating in each night is a great way to save money for a wedding.
Eating out is usually more expensive than people may think. Of course, there’s the cost of the meal. But then there’s the wine or drinks, the tip and so on. Even the transportation to get to the restaurant can add up!
Save money for a wedding by opting to eat in instead. You’ll get to spend quality time with your partner and you’ll have much more money than you did! Put the money you would’ve spent on your dinner out into your savings account and use the money to pay for wedding costs.
- Eating out is expensive when you factor in tips, drinks, transportation and more
- Instead of eating out, learn to cook new dishes with your partner
- Put the money you would have spent into your wedding account
5. Rethink your television
How much do you pay each month for cable? For streaming services like Netflix or Hulu? That amount can add up, and that money could be put to use to save money for a wedding instead.
Cable, especially, can be very expensive. Instead of the premium packages with sports and HBO add-ons, can you cut back and just subscribe to a basic service instead? Do you live in an area where you can get reasonable programming with just an antenna? If so, do it! Then, put the money into your wedding account and use it for your wedding expenses.
The same is true for your streaming services. Rather than the commercial-free versions of streaming programs, save a few bucks each month and let the commercials roll. Or, cut back entirely and watch movies on YouTube for free. Of course, your local library has entertainment options, too!
You’re going to be busy over the next few months anyway, so rethink your television and consider whether you really need all those movies and TV shows.
- You can save money for a wedding by cutting back on your home entertainment costs
- Do you really need all those movies and television shows?
- You don’t have to cancel your services completely, but cutting back on the extras can save a lot
6. Move in together
Are you maintaining two separate households? You can save a lot of money by moving in together before the wedding. Save money for a wedding by cutting rent, utilities, and more in half. If you can’t or don’t want to cohabitate for religious, cultural or other reasons, you’ve also got options.
You can find a roommate to move in with, or you could find someone to rent your spare bedroom. Then, agree on a monthly rent, a share of utilities each of you will be responsible for and you can even split the cost of food.
Another option would be to find a college-style apartment arrangement. There are apartment complexes that will rent to four or so separate tenants. Each is responsible only for his or her portion of rent and a share of the utilities like water and cable. Rearranging your living situation is a good way to save money for a wedding.
- You can cut your cost of living in half by moving in together before the wedding
- If you don’t want to live together yet, you can find a roommate
- University towns offer apartment arrangements where you will share with roommates and split costs
7. Skip the bar
We mentioned the cost of eating out in a previous tip. But what about those trips to the bar, pub or club? Let’s face it – paying almost ten dollars for a mixed drink is ridiculous. You can save money for a wedding by skipping the bar and mixing your own drinks.
If you’re feeling very creative, you can choose to make your own beer at home. The startup costs aren’t necessarily cheap, but making your own beer is a fun way to pass the time that you’re not at the bar. Gather a group of friends and get creative. Who knows? You might invent the next popular lager in your area. Who knew orange-flavored beer could taste so good?
- Skip the bar and mix your own drinks at home
- Bars and pubs overcharge for inexpensive drinks
- If you can get the right equipment, making your own beer at home is a fun way to save money for a wedding
8. Sell the stuff you’re not using
This is probably more of a way to make money than to save money for a wedding, but every little bit helps. You and your partner are getting ready to share space if you don’t already. That means you’ll have oodles of duplicates. Do you really need 32 towels and two microwaves? Probably not. It’s time to start letting go of a few things.
Hold a yard sale or post your items on Facebook Marketplace or Craigslist. Then, watch the money start rolling in. Put that money into your wedding savings account and spend it only on wedding-related stuff. You can make hundreds of dollars by consolidating households and getting rid of your unwanted stuff. Be sure to think big – televisions and electronics can sell for a lot.
While you’re at it, you may as well get rid of the clothes you never wear, handbags you never use and so on. Paring down on the “things” you’ve accumulated can help you save money for a wedding and can clear out space for the new stuff, too!
- When you start living with your new spouse, you’ll have a lot of duplicates
- You can make and save money for a wedding by selling the extra things
- Sell the extra big ticket items, but don’t forget about clothes, towels and other things as well
9. Make shopping lists
Whether you’re headed to the mall or the grocery store, you can save money for a wedding by making lists before you go. Commit to only buying what’s on the list, and never go grocery shopping when you’re hungry!
Do your research before you go, too. Be sure to check fliers and circulars for items that are on sale. Coupons are helpful, but they’re not for everyone. Some people just don’t have time to clip coupons. That said, most grocery stores no offer digital coupons that you can simply clip and load to your loyalty card.
When you’re shopping for items that aren’t at the grocery store, be sure to bring your phone along. As you shop, check the price against others online. Amazon, for instance, may have lower prices than your local big box retailer. Be sure you take shipping costs into account.
- Shop smart – make a list before you go and never grocery shop hungry
- Clipping coupons is easier nowadays with digital coupons
- Always bring your phone along so you can price compare
10. Join cash back programs
In almost every country in the world, there are apps that allow you to “earn” money back for buying the things you need anyway. Take advantage of these programs to save money for a wedding. The key is this: don’t “cash out” on your accounts until you’re ready to pay for wedding expenses. Or, have your earnings transferred to your wedding account rather than your normal checking account.
You won’t save a ton of money by using these apps, but the few dollars here and there can certainly add up. You can save as much as a few hundred dollars each month by using cash back apps. Don’t have a cash back service in your area? Rewards programs work, too, by giving you points for every dollar you spend. These points can be redeemed for gift cards or cash.
- As you plan for your wedding, you’ll be spending more money – use cash back apps to help you save
- You won’t earn a lot of money but the savings can add up to a few hundred each month
- Points programs are also available, allowing you to redeem points for cash or gift cards
11. Skip vacation this year
If you’re like most couples, you’re probably planning to take some sort of honeymoon vacation. So why not skip vacation this year and opt to put the savings into your honeymoon or your wedding? Skipping vacation can help you save money for a wedding – sometimes thousands of dollars!
You don’t have to stay home all year. You can still travel, but it’s cheaper to visit local areas than travel abroad or across the country. Check around for vacation specials and packages, and if you must travel do so in the off season. For instance, visit the beach after the prime summer season. Visit the mountains in the spring or fall.
- Your honeymoon is going to be the trip of a lifetime – consider skipping vacay this year and putting the money toward that
- You can still travel, but it’s cheaper to do it locally than to take faraway trips
- Travelling off-season is less expensive than travelling in prime season
12. Quit your bad habits
Are you a heavy drinker? A smoker? Do you chew tobacco? Quit now!
In the United States, the average cost of a pack of cigarettes ranges from $5.50 to $12.85 depending on where you live. In the UK, cigarettes cost on average £10.40. Live in Australia? You’ll be paying as much as $28 for a pack of 25 cigarettes!
Alcohol is another expensive habit. Just one mixed drink can cost as much as $10 in most places. And in many countries, you can get a whole bottle of liquor for that much!
Quit those bad habits and put the money toward your wedding instead. You’ll save money for a wedding and be healthier because of it!
- The bad habits you’ve picked up can really add up
- Quit smoking and save thousands of dollars each year
- Alcohol, too, can be cut back on or avoided altogether to save money for a wedding
13. Cancel your gym membership
How much do you pay each month to use the treadmill at your local health club? Some memberships cost as little as $10 each month, while others cost upwards of $100 or more. That’s $1200 each year you could be using to save money for a wedding.
Fitness is your thing? That’s okay! Try something different for a while. Go for a jog or a run. Buy a secondhand bike. Or just download an app like the Nike Training app to give you ideas of workouts you can do at home.
You definitely want to look good for your wedding, but you don’t need to spend thousands of dollars to do it. You can stay fit and save money for a wedding by skipping the gym and putting that money into your wedding account instead.
- Gym memberships are expensive – you can save money for a wedding by cancelling yours
- You can work out at home and still stay fit
- Take the time to try something different – rock climbing, hiking, running or even rowing will give you a great workout
Conclusion
Congratulations on your decision to get married! Weddings are expensive, and you want only the best for your ceremony. Take a look around you and really consider ways you can save money for a wedding by simply cutting back on expenses you’ve been taking for granted.
