SAVE COSTS, WITHOUT LOSING THE ‘GRAM LOOK

BY CENTRAL COAST WEDDINGS

As we learnt during the peak of the pandemic, love does not like to be postponed. Therefore, as we reach a slowdown in economy activity during 2023, we must get creative and look at ways not to have to postpone our weddings, but get more budget savvy.

Central Coast Weddings, aka The Guide, have made a super savvy coin saving list on how to cut costs, but still make your wedding day fit for the ‘gram:

Bridal Party

Fun, but necessary? We think not.

Save yourselves hundreds of dollars by making this show just about the two of you. The way it should be. There is no reason why your besties can’t still be a part of your day, by organising your hens/bucks, getting ready with you on the day, etc.

Whether you ask your bridal party to pay for certain elements of the day, or you pay for it all yourselves, there are a lot of costs to save here. The costs add up quickly, including (but not limited to) outfits, jewellery, hair, make up, flower bouquets, buttonholes, gifts, catering (think breakfast/lunch), accommodation, plus more.

Another cost, often forgotten, is styling the bridal table. The bigger the bride tribe, the more the cost. More flowers, more décor. You get the gist! Sweetheart tables are all the rage anyway!

And to top it off there will be no need for any awkward conversations as you announce that you are choosing not to have a bridal party.

DIY Décor

This option is mainly recommended for venues that have flexibility with set up and pack down times, or if you have an army of helpers that won’t mind rallying together to help.

Rather than spending loads of time and money buying décor pieces here and there, having to store them over months and then having to spend endless hours on Marketplace trying to sell the items, all for the buyer to not show up, we recommend hiring your style from an event hire company. You can literally hire everything you need to create your style vision without paying the cost of delivery, labour, pack down, collection, etc.

We highly recommend Everlong Events who stock thousands of items, including hard to source pieces. Everlong Events openly invite couples to visit their warehouse to meet, discuss their style vision and create mock up tablescapes.

Consider mid week and/or winter weddings

Many venues offer discounts for mid week and winter weddings. We know the thought of a mid week wedding is daunting, like, how can you stretch it out over a weekend, or will guests come if it’s during the week. The answer is basically YES, guests will attend, as everyone loves love! If they are special enough to be invited, then you will be special enough for them to take a day off work to attend. In saying this, weddings generally start later in the afternoon, so if the wedding is local, your guests wouldn’t even need to take a full day off work!

We feel a cringe vibe appear as we mention winter weddings… Winter days are such a beautiful time of the year. The sun is usually shining, the rain rarely makes an appearance, the colour tones that feature in the landscapes are a photographers dream and as we mentioned, shop around and you will find a lot of venues (and vendors) drop their prices over winter, as it is a known quiet period. Bring your ceremony forward to an earlier afternoon timeslot to enjoy the warmth and then by the time the cold evening air kicks in, you will be indoors with a belly full of bevvies.

Wedding Website

Direct your guests to a wedding website, rather than spending time and money creating them in print. This option is easy and sustainable and if you want to make updates or add some hype closer to the date, then this is the best option.

Skip The Favours

Seriously, now come on, why spend money on giving each guest a cookie or a stubbie holder, that will be left behind anyway. You will be gifting love, laughter, great food and a substantiable amount of booze, so why add more costs.

Guests really do not care if they get a favour or not. Save your money!

Flowers

Flowers are expensive. And this is no fault of the florist, who drives to the Sydney Flower Market at 2am to pick the best of the best flowers for your day. The flowers they purchase cost a lot of money! Include their experience, time and the installation and it all adds up!

Our tip on being savvy with your flower budget is to re-purpose what you can and where you can. Suggestions and examples on how to do this are:

1. Use a removable option for your ceremony. Plinths and Flower Towers are a great option for your ceremony, as you can later relocate them behind the bridal table/sweetheart table or at the entry of your reception.

Another option is discussing with your florist about whether your flower piece on your arbour can be cut down and repurposed on the bridal table, for example.

2. Bouquets – if you do choose to have a bridal party, ensure that vases are available in and around your reception for the bouquets to be placed as décor. We personally like to bunch up the bouquets on structure like mantels, gift tables, or the side of the drinks bar to form a nice big cluster of flowers.

3. Aisle flowers – relocate these to the reception. Where will depend on the design. If you are using flower clouds on the ground, then these could later form a centrepiece on the guest tables, if they are small posies hanging off the aisle chairs, they could later be placed into vases.

4. Minimalistic is on trend – choose bud vases over large arrangements for your reception. This will save hundreds of dollars.

Remember to discuss with your florist the option to repurpose items. And also take into consideration that if the weather is super hot, that the flowers may not make it through the heat to the reception.

We have sourced a collection of amazingly talented florists in The Guide - Florists

There are many more ways to keep costs down, however, if you are still wanting to reach that Pinterest worthy potential, then get creative and save costs without having to lose the look!

Central Coast Weddings – The Guide

www.centralcoastwedding.com.au