Let’s save some money on wedding decorations!
Are you looking for creative tips on how to save money on wedding decorations? We’re actively planning our wedding right now, and as if the venue and catering aren’t enough, decorations sneak up on you. before you know it, you could be looking at $10,000+ in decorations alone.
Well, we don’t think you need to spend that kind of money to have a beautiful wedding. Read on for our tips on how to save on decorations for your wedding.
Cheat Sheet: Wedding Decoration Savings
- Lesson 1: Flowers are expensive
- Lesson 2: Get creative on table decorations
- Lesson 3: Rent plants instead of buying plants
- Lesson 4: Scour secondhand marketplaces
- Lesson 5: Personal photos make great decorations
- Lesson 6: Create your own photo booth
Lesson 1: Flowers are expensive
Holy moly flowers add up really quickly! Basic centerpieces quickly become $100 apiece, and that doesn’t include bouquets, flowers on walls, or any other flowers. We’ve heard some people have spent OVER $15,000 on flowers alone!
We decided not to do flowers at all, and instead, use lights to decorate the room. Not just Christmas lights – using up lights, laser lights, disco lights, and Christmas lights. It adds such a fun party element to your day and you can either reuse or resell the lights after your big day to get your money back.
If you aren’t willing to forego flowers, consider looking at fake flowers for your event. No one will care, let alone notice they are fake, plus, you can resell the fake flowers after your big day to recoup that money. Check out Poshmark, Facebook Marketplace, Craigslist, yard sales, and thrift shops over the year to find as many cheap flowers as possible to help keep your costs down.
Lesson 2: Get creative on table decorations
No one will remember what was on the table at your wedding. If a vendor suggests $500 for table centerpieces, walk yourself out the door because you can do so much better. Check out Pinterest for creative ideas. I’m planning on shopping for interesting glassware pieces at Goodwill to place on all the tables, with floating votives and a fake flower in the water.
I’ve been to weddings that used apples or cookies to decorate the table centerpieces, coupled with strategically placed leaves and fake candles. You can use table games to fill the table to create an interactive experience for your guests.
Lesson 3: Rent plants instead of buying plants
I bet you didn’t know you could rent plants from plant nurseries, did you? Well, surprise! Yes, you can absolutely rent plants instead of making a massive purchase, only to have all those beautiful plants thrown out the next day. Talk about a way more environmentally friendly approach.
You can also check out companies like Bloomerent, that help match you with other events that have purchased flowers for an event the day before your event. You then can purchase flowers at a 40-60% discount!
Lesson 4: Scour secondhand marketplaces
There are literally thousands of weddings happening every weekend, and after that wedding, there are likely thousands of couples trying to sell all the extra decorations that they no longer have a need for. Are you looking for cute chalkboards, fake flowers, cute baskets, romantic lace, etc?
Check out Facebook Marketplace, Craigslist, eBay, and Poshmark to try to swoop up some good deals. As an added bonus, if you buy a collection from a couple, it’s likely already coordinated perfectly.
Lesson 5: Personal photos make great decorations
Want to create your own decorations, and make them personal, at a lower price than giant flower centerpieces? Personal photos make really incredible decorations. One wedding we attended used pictures from all their international trips to name the tables. It was such a clever way to add a personal touch and felt very sweet.
Maybe you have a pet that is near and dear to you but couldn’t attend the wedding. Why not put photos of your pet up as decorations? Another wedding we went to had floating head cut-outs as you would see at sporting events of their dog and everyone absolutely loved them on the dance floor.
Lesson 6: Create your own photo booth
Speaking of photos, create your own photo booth! Get a sparkly background from Amazon, buy a couple of packs of wedding photo booth props, and voila… you have yourself a fully functioning photo booth.
Photobooths can run upwards of $2,000, and if you need a spot to trim, but still want to have fun photos, this is a really easy area to create.
Keep tabs on all of our wedding challenges and learnings as we near our October 2020 wedding at our Getting Married course page.
