Here are some simple and creative ways to save money while planning your wedding day!

Invitations:

Create a newsletter with short articles about you and your soon to be spouse. It's something a little different, and it's a super personal way to invite guests to your big day. There are a ton of free downloadable templates online and, of course, Pinterest has a variety of examples.

The great thing about creating your own invites is that you can make them as personal as you want. For our newsletter wedding invitation, my husband wrote short articles with little bits of trivia about us, including a story about how we met.

Programs:

Design your own wedding program by printing the ceremony schedule, details about your bridal party and family on scrapbook paper. Then fold each piece paper to create your own program.

It was important to me to spread the word about the amazing vendors that we worked with for our wedding. Our programs were the perfect way to let our guests know who contributed to our day, as well as say a special thank you to our family and friends.

Centerpieces:

Up-cycling jars and vases is one of the easiest ways to save a little money while adding a ton of vintage flair to your special day. You can ask friends to help collect the jars and vases with you. Once you peel off the labels (I like to use Goo-Gone), you’ll have a variety of clean jars and bottles to use for your centerpieces.

Another great thing about up-cycling jars is that you do not have to use a ton of flowers to fill them. Keeping it simple is the perfect way to go.

Bridal Party Flowers:

Handmade paper flower bouquets & boutonnieres using different colored scrapbook paper (Recollections from Michaels is my favorite to use). You could also use paper flowers for your centerpieces.

To make my bridal bouquet extra special, a dear friend of mine, and one of my bridesmaids, created paper flowers from copied notes and cards my husband had given me over the years. You could also rely on your bridesmaids to help with the making of the handmade paper flower bouquets and boutonnieres. There are a ton of tutorials online.

Escort Cards:

Depending on your style and what you are comfortable with, you could forgo escort cards altogether to save a little money. However, I wanted to make sure that certain guests got to sit next to each other, so I handmade our escort cards. Using Michael's Recollections scrapbook paper I cut and folded each card. I then wrote our guests names and added a paper punched heart.

Backstory:

My mom had an event and wedding decorating business for many years. I had basically been planning my wedding since I was a kid. However, even with all of my preparations and connections I still ran into a couple of bumps along the road.

Planning a wedding on a budget takes time and a willingness to ask for help. No matter where you are at in your wedding plans try to remain open to different options. DIY wedding ideas can present themselves everywhere. And the more personal you make your wedding, the better!