If you’re in the process of wedding planning and you’re looking to save the most amount of money for the wedding, Carole and I have some secrets that you should know about.

They are often overlooked, misunderstood and can save you BIG if you are open minded.

Here in the Roanoke, Virginia region, and especially when we travel for a wedding, we see this too many times, couples blow the budget, it’s just a matter of education and knowing how best to plan the wedding.

Let’s get started!

Catering Buffet vs. Plated Dinner

We will start with the most expensive line item on your wedding planning list and no it’s not the wedding photos or venue, it’s the food, catering, cakes and the booze. We have a couple of secrets here and the first is common knowledge, the guest list.

The MORE guests you’ll have, the MORE it will cost in food and drinks.

Avg Catering, Cake and Booze Costs

Avg is based on Wedding Wire Cost National Avg

On average, for every 100 guests you have at the wedding, you’re going to spend roughly $14,000! Take a look at this graph. (based on the national average of $38,500 wedding)

When you combine all the costs for a wedding reception that last 8 hours long, it becomes very expensive!

Sure, there are always ways to make it cheaper, but the real question you need to ask yourself, how many guests do we truly need at the wedding day?

Just remember, the more guest you have, the more it will cost you.

Plated Dinner is Cheaper than Buffet

Another common misconstruction is that when it comes to food, buffet is cheaper and the way to go. Actually, it’s the other way around and give me a minute and I’ll explain.

Say you had 100 guests at the reception.

For a buffet, you have to make enough food for the guests to get as much of a select item, like mashed potatoes or mac and cheese, then you have to take into account for those that want seconds and the like too.

So, you have to budget for that and it costs more money.

A plated dinner on the other hand is more specific and thus cheaper.

Why?

Because you know exactly how much protein to purchase, sides and the like too. If you’re having 100 guests, then you’ll purchase 105-108 plated dinners (for vendors added guests).

More times than none, you can typically save a bit of money by offering a plated dinner, even if you have a dinner line and it’s served by the catering company.

Another money saving trick is to buy cupcakes or if you insist on a full size cake, only have the baker make the top layer as real to cut into and use Styrofoam for the bottom layers.

Then, have them make sheet cake versions of the same wedding cake. Typically, you can save a few bucks by doing that.

When it comes to the alcohol, we suggest that you buy enough for the reception and 85% of your wedding guests.

Purchasing beer in bulk is usually a bit cheaper than wine or spirits but having a calculator to help figure that out is also a great way to know exactly how much you need to spend.

Carole and I developed a tool to help with that.

Wedding Venue Secrets

When it comes to venues, this is and should be your second most expensive cost for the wedding. If you don’t know what you should be spending, first check out out wedding budget tool.

Carole and I have two tips for venues where you can save the most amount of money, the first being to have your wedding on an off-peak day, Monday through Thursday. Rates for venues are typically cheaper during these days and thats because venues are businesses and need as much money to keep themselves going.

By offering a deep discount during the weekday, the venue will be able to book the week and make money, including the weekend.

In fact, we took the liberty of searching for a few venues and found that many off them offer up to a 50% discount when you have the wedding during the week. Some venues don’t offer a weekday discount but it doesn’t hurt to ask.

Another area for discounts is if the venue has a an off-season rate. Basically, if you’re region of the US has a winter, chances are, the venue may offer an off-season discount.

Again, vendors and venues NEED as much capital they can get, after all they’re a business, if they can book during off-peak days and off-peak seasons, it’s a win for you, because you get a deep discount and it’s a win for the wedding vendor booking that extra gig.

One final secret about wedding venues, those that are venues only are usually going to give you the better deal than those that are something else first, then a wedding venue second.

Think about it like this, say you found a winery that you want to get married at, well, the winery might not have the capacity to stay open while you’re having the wedding and would need to charge more in order to close the doors for the day.

Additionally, they may not have the ability to put on a wedding the same way a dedicated venue would.

A bridal suite, a place for the men to get ready, a place for the DJ to setup with enough power, an indoor location in case of rain (or tent), place for the catering to prep, these are all things to take into consideration.

Full-Time Vs Part-Time

This is something that took me about 15 years to finally learn. When I was a full-time videographer, I was seeking to make as much money as I could and part of my strategy was to charge lots of money for my services.

When I married Carole and went part-time, money sort of took a back step in some regards, as the focus became more about having fun with films (and Carole’s images) than it did to run a full-time company.

Part time wedding vendors don’t have to charge as much as full-time vendors do, because it’s not their livelihood.

Additionally, because part time vendors don’t carry as many clients, you often times get better personal service, better rates and a better overall experience too.

Listen, I used to be full-time and I loved what I did, but now that I have a full time job, filming on a handful of weekends a year is much more pleasing to me, less stressful and I can charge less and still make some money int he process.

My suggestion is to seek out vendors that operate part time if you’re looking to save some additional money, chances are you’ll be able to get similar services at better rates.