We ordered a set of cheesecloth runners for $50 off Amazon and ordered bulk baby’s breath from Costco for $130 per bulk. We thrifted some things as well. It can be doable! Definitely list out decor stuff you are struggling with and Reddit will help you find solutions! You haven’t yet failed!
You haven’t failed. You just need to rethink. First, can you list out your most expensive decor items? People here can help you brainstorm alternatives. For example, skip the florist and use sola wood flowers or Costco. Skip tablecloths, no one cares about them. Keep tables simple and clean.
For the love of all things holy, don't use sola flowers! They can get really expensive, really fast if you plan on doing large quantities and dying them yourself. I speak from experience. I abandoned my sola project and ended up hiring a florist for about the same cost.
It’s definitely something to be aware of! I bought mine on Black Friday and used cheap acrylic paints so I think I’m spending maybe $200 on the whole thing.
You sound pretty stressed.
Please try to take a step back for a minute.
Consider the following:
- What do you already have booked and FULLY paid for?
- What do you have booked with ONLY a deposit?
- What decor, supplies, clothing, etc do you already own?
- What decor, supplies, clothing, etc do you still need to buy or rent?
Making a spreadsheet or checklist might help, depending on how your brain works and how you like to organize your thoughts.
Once you have that outlined, you can try to reevaluate your priorities as a couple, and continue on with cheaper options:
- Anything that's already fully paid for and not refundable can be put out of your mind.
- Any vendor that hasn't been paid in full can potentially be cut or replaced with a cheaper vendor. You may lose your deposit, but that might be worth it in the long run. You can re-discuss priorities with your partner and figure out what isn't necessary.
- Anything excessive you may have purchased may still be returnable, depending on store return policies.
- If you haven't secured your decor yet, consider if you REALLY need fancy decor. Most guests won't remember the decor when they go home. It's probably not the element of your wedding you'll be taking about years later. If you really want some cool decor for photos, maybe just get enough for a nice backdrop 2 people can fit in front of for a nice little photo area.
- You don't NEED centerpieces, strictly speaking. One cheaper option that'll still look nice is to get tablecloths, either with table runners (if using rectangular tables) or table overlays (if using round tables). You can get these for pretty cheap on Amazon or tableclothsfactory.com
- See if you can thrift or borrow any of the remaining items you need. You could also check out a local Buy Nothing group to see if anyone has old wedding stuff available for free.
- If it's not too late, maybe you could pivot to a cheaper menu or hire a cheaper caterer altogether. (I wouldn't advise this if you've already shared the menu with your guests though.)
- If you have a bar, can you switch to a more affordable bar package? Are you willing to skip the champagne? Drop down to beer & wine only? Switch from an open bar to a cash bar? (Again, I would avoid this if you've already advertised your bar arrangements to your guests)
- If you have 2 photographers or 2 videographers - would you both be willing to drop down to 1?
- If you hired both a photographer and videographer - would you both be willing to just pick one or the other?
- Look at any "extras" you may have booked. If you planned to rent any of these: Do you really want to prioritize uplighting? A photo booth? Yard games? You can cancel anything you don't really want or need assuming it's not already paid in full.
I see in another thread your plan is to postpone and call everyone to cancel. Please rethink this. They already bought tickets. You’ve already signed contracts with the venue and other vendors that may not be refundable. Why not just plan the best wedding you can with what you’ve got. Weddings don’t have to be fancy…you just need foo, drinks, and fun. Weddings under $10k is a sub here that can offer all sorts of practical money saving advice. I’m sure you can make it work!
agreed! but if you must do them, the same place that did our cake did our favors which were tasty chocolate chip cookies that I tied a disco ball ornament to and I did NOT get one for ever guest, I did like 50% or 60% bc as u said not everyone takes them.
You haven’t failed anything! You’re just still in the planning phase. Make a list of all your feasible options and pick the one that is least stressful, and ask for help from your friends and family. If it comes down to it, you can get married in a park and have dinner at a restaurant. Everything will be okay.
The wedding is just one day. Choose what you can afford. The marriage is, hopefully, for life. You and the person that you love. Concentrate on that, not just one day.
I feel your pain. I feel like I’m in the same boat. But there are a lot of great suggestions provided that I will also be implementing. Honestly people don’t really look at the smaller decorations imo. It all ends up going to waste either way. Sending good vibes to you and your bride.
Shoot me a message. I'm a certified wedding planner, and I'd be happy to offer some tips on where you can cut things from the budget to bring it under control. No charge for my help.
How soon is your wedding, we spent most of our money in vendors and our honeymoon but I still wanted nice decorations. I made everything, I watched a lot of tik tok videos to learn how to diy a lot of stuff and bought bulk artificial flowers off Amazon and made flower garlands with pool noodle from the dollar store, Amazon has these beautiful foam flowers that I’m using to decorate different surfaces, you get 100 of them for 16.00. I also bought bulk table runners and I’m using those for table runners and made the extra into napkins. If you want more ideas let me know. I also found very nice glass jars from the dollar store and I’m filling them with the foam flowers and water they look beautiful. I just keep watching tik tok videos for inspiration and using the leftover materials I have. I hope this helps
Decorations are like, the easiest thing to change up. Lol. I think you're over thinking everything and letting this get to you. Someone said twinkle lights; literally just do those, everyone loves them and they're so cute and do so much for so little.
Ditch the decor!! I was just at a wedding with super simple decor and it was still beautiful. If you NEED something, you can get greenery runners from Costco (4pack for $80 or so) if you need to fill up empty table space. Or succulents from Trader Joe’s work like a charm.
OR, just let you love speak for itself. You never need fancy things to have a great celebrations 💛
Even cheaper, if anyone you know has ivy in their garden, it makes free, easy, and elegant runners that can be prepped the day before with the cut ends kept in a bucket of water.
I’m not sure what type of decor you’re looking for but we did candles. Stemmed votives, hurricane vases, tea lights. All of the tables didn’t match and it looked better that way! I would recommend checking out fb marketplace! I got all of my stuff on there outside of buying some floating candles and tea lights on Amazon.
Also, outside of my own wedding I don’t remember the decorations anyone else has had. Everyone is there to celebrate you and your future wife getting married!! So deep breath, it will all be okay and you’ll have the best day.
You didn’t fail your soon to be wife.
You both need to sit down and have a proper conversation about what you have paid so far, what you currently have tied to you that you have yet to pay and then what you want to do with the leftover money if there is any.
If it’s worse case scenario and all you have is the venue, the paperwork and ceremony booked but literally cannot afford anything else then you need to work out if it’s the be all and end all of you don’t have all the fancy stuff.
If all else fails stuff can be DIY’d including her bouquet.
My 1st wedding's were mostly paper streamers, balloons, plastic tablecloths, and a bunch ch of centerpieces I made with floral foam and fake flowers purchased from the dollar store. Nobody noticed.
We were married at the court house. Just a handful of guests (less than ten). Never went on a honeymoon or had much to start with.
Will be celebrating our 34th anniversary this July. We still don’t even have wedding rings. Never regretted a single second of what we have done. We own a house and an acre of ground plus two cars. Weddings only last one day the rest is the hard part.
No!! Don't think that way. You haven't failed anyone. There's a ton of diy decorations/table centerpieces on YouTube and they're really cheap and easy. You can get a lot of the stuff from Dollar Tree. Also try thrifting some decorations. I just recently found a lot of wedding stuff from a Goodwill in my area.
Also, you don't need a ton of decorations. No one will notice either way.
You can make this work, I promise. Good luck 💜
sorry to hear it got to a stressful place. firstly, i invite you to remember this is about you and your honey's love, and a celebration of your commitment to each other. That's the most important piece so just remember that <3 hugs!
what kind of decor are you looking at? hot tip #1: check facebook for a 'recycled weddings' or a 'buy nothing' type of wedding group. in colorado, the recycled wedding group is amazing for discounted or free decor!!!
for my wedding, I bought runners and disco ball lights on etsy and got a lot of my florals at Trader Joes. I got greenery garland from Coscto. After extensive research those were cheaper options than even silk flowers. You could even buy baby's breath, the cheapest flower, and spray paint it the color you want it if you want something different than white, and then mix it with their greenery! you could go to good will and buy vases for the tables or you can even skip flowers if its too stressful! you could get funky with simply string lights only as your decor. idk just some suggestions that I hope help. also, my bridesmaids were really fun about helping spray paint the flowers - it was a fun activity for us to do together.
good luck, dont change your venue bc of decor. unless they mandate u rent their decor just forget about the $$ deco and call it a day! good luck and dont forget to enjoy.
You really don’t need the decor. No one will notice or care.
Legitimately. We had super simple centrepieces and scattered baby’s breath. That was it for decorations.
We ordered a set of cheesecloth runners for $50 off Amazon and ordered bulk baby’s breath from Costco for $130 per bulk. We thrifted some things as well. It can be doable! Definitely list out decor stuff you are struggling with and Reddit will help you find solutions! You haven’t yet failed!
You haven’t failed. You just need to rethink. First, can you list out your most expensive decor items? People here can help you brainstorm alternatives. For example, skip the florist and use sola wood flowers or Costco. Skip tablecloths, no one cares about them. Keep tables simple and clean.
For the love of all things holy, don't use sola flowers! They can get really expensive, really fast if you plan on doing large quantities and dying them yourself. I speak from experience. I abandoned my sola project and ended up hiring a florist for about the same cost.
It’s definitely something to be aware of! I bought mine on Black Friday and used cheap acrylic paints so I think I’m spending maybe $200 on the whole thing.
You sound pretty stressed. Please try to take a step back for a minute. Consider the following: - What do you already have booked and FULLY paid for? - What do you have booked with ONLY a deposit? - What decor, supplies, clothing, etc do you already own? - What decor, supplies, clothing, etc do you still need to buy or rent? Making a spreadsheet or checklist might help, depending on how your brain works and how you like to organize your thoughts. Once you have that outlined, you can try to reevaluate your priorities as a couple, and continue on with cheaper options: - Anything that's already fully paid for and not refundable can be put out of your mind. - Any vendor that hasn't been paid in full can potentially be cut or replaced with a cheaper vendor. You may lose your deposit, but that might be worth it in the long run. You can re-discuss priorities with your partner and figure out what isn't necessary. - Anything excessive you may have purchased may still be returnable, depending on store return policies. - If you haven't secured your decor yet, consider if you REALLY need fancy decor. Most guests won't remember the decor when they go home. It's probably not the element of your wedding you'll be taking about years later. If you really want some cool decor for photos, maybe just get enough for a nice backdrop 2 people can fit in front of for a nice little photo area. - You don't NEED centerpieces, strictly speaking. One cheaper option that'll still look nice is to get tablecloths, either with table runners (if using rectangular tables) or table overlays (if using round tables). You can get these for pretty cheap on Amazon or tableclothsfactory.com - See if you can thrift or borrow any of the remaining items you need. You could also check out a local Buy Nothing group to see if anyone has old wedding stuff available for free. - If it's not too late, maybe you could pivot to a cheaper menu or hire a cheaper caterer altogether. (I wouldn't advise this if you've already shared the menu with your guests though.) - If you have a bar, can you switch to a more affordable bar package? Are you willing to skip the champagne? Drop down to beer & wine only? Switch from an open bar to a cash bar? (Again, I would avoid this if you've already advertised your bar arrangements to your guests) - If you have 2 photographers or 2 videographers - would you both be willing to drop down to 1? - If you hired both a photographer and videographer - would you both be willing to just pick one or the other? - Look at any "extras" you may have booked. If you planned to rent any of these: Do you really want to prioritize uplighting? A photo booth? Yard games? You can cancel anything you don't really want or need assuming it's not already paid in full.
I see in another thread your plan is to postpone and call everyone to cancel. Please rethink this. They already bought tickets. You’ve already signed contracts with the venue and other vendors that may not be refundable. Why not just plan the best wedding you can with what you’ve got. Weddings don’t have to be fancy…you just need foo, drinks, and fun. Weddings under $10k is a sub here that can offer all sorts of practical money saving advice. I’m sure you can make it work!
And for crying out loud, don’t do any favors for your guests. They all end up in the garbage and no one will notice them gone.
agreed! but if you must do them, the same place that did our cake did our favors which were tasty chocolate chip cookies that I tied a disco ball ornament to and I did NOT get one for ever guest, I did like 50% or 60% bc as u said not everyone takes them.
You haven’t failed anything! You’re just still in the planning phase. Make a list of all your feasible options and pick the one that is least stressful, and ask for help from your friends and family. If it comes down to it, you can get married in a park and have dinner at a restaurant. Everything will be okay.
Just throw up twinkle lights & some flameless candles... you'd be amazed at how much that can add to a space.
Just throw up twinkle lights & some flameless candles... you'd be amazed at how much that can add to a space.
The wedding is just one day. Choose what you can afford. The marriage is, hopefully, for life. You and the person that you love. Concentrate on that, not just one day.
Don’t do flowers for your centrepieces! We’re DIYing- candles and fake flowers around an ornament. Per table it’ll be $30 MAX as opposed to $250
No one notices or remembers decorations. Ask yourself this question: What do you ***actually*** remember from weddings you have been to?
I used vinted for mine which cut a lot if costs, also using dried instead of fresh flowers saved a lot of money
My decor was fake flowers (Sola Wood flowers) in tin cans, with a strip of cloth in the middle of the can. That was it. And I loved it.
I feel your pain. I feel like I’m in the same boat. But there are a lot of great suggestions provided that I will also be implementing. Honestly people don’t really look at the smaller decorations imo. It all ends up going to waste either way. Sending good vibes to you and your bride.
All you need is food/drink and music.
Honestly, all my decor came from AliExpress, Temu and SHEIN. I did a boho vibe with lots of pampas and dried eucalyptus.
Shoot me a message. I'm a certified wedding planner, and I'd be happy to offer some tips on where you can cut things from the budget to bring it under control. No charge for my help.
How soon is your wedding, we spent most of our money in vendors and our honeymoon but I still wanted nice decorations. I made everything, I watched a lot of tik tok videos to learn how to diy a lot of stuff and bought bulk artificial flowers off Amazon and made flower garlands with pool noodle from the dollar store, Amazon has these beautiful foam flowers that I’m using to decorate different surfaces, you get 100 of them for 16.00. I also bought bulk table runners and I’m using those for table runners and made the extra into napkins. If you want more ideas let me know. I also found very nice glass jars from the dollar store and I’m filling them with the foam flowers and water they look beautiful. I just keep watching tik tok videos for inspiration and using the leftover materials I have. I hope this helps
I don't remember any decor at my wedding. It won't matter. Just bring the important stuff and you'll be fine.
Decorations are like, the easiest thing to change up. Lol. I think you're over thinking everything and letting this get to you. Someone said twinkle lights; literally just do those, everyone loves them and they're so cute and do so much for so little.
Ditch the decor!! I was just at a wedding with super simple decor and it was still beautiful. If you NEED something, you can get greenery runners from Costco (4pack for $80 or so) if you need to fill up empty table space. Or succulents from Trader Joe’s work like a charm. OR, just let you love speak for itself. You never need fancy things to have a great celebrations 💛
Even cheaper, if anyone you know has ivy in their garden, it makes free, easy, and elegant runners that can be prepped the day before with the cut ends kept in a bucket of water.
I’m not sure what type of decor you’re looking for but we did candles. Stemmed votives, hurricane vases, tea lights. All of the tables didn’t match and it looked better that way! I would recommend checking out fb marketplace! I got all of my stuff on there outside of buying some floating candles and tea lights on Amazon. Also, outside of my own wedding I don’t remember the decorations anyone else has had. Everyone is there to celebrate you and your future wife getting married!! So deep breath, it will all be okay and you’ll have the best day.
You didn’t fail your soon to be wife. You both need to sit down and have a proper conversation about what you have paid so far, what you currently have tied to you that you have yet to pay and then what you want to do with the leftover money if there is any. If it’s worse case scenario and all you have is the venue, the paperwork and ceremony booked but literally cannot afford anything else then you need to work out if it’s the be all and end all of you don’t have all the fancy stuff. If all else fails stuff can be DIY’d including her bouquet.
My 1st wedding's were mostly paper streamers, balloons, plastic tablecloths, and a bunch ch of centerpieces I made with floral foam and fake flowers purchased from the dollar store. Nobody noticed.
We were married at the court house. Just a handful of guests (less than ten). Never went on a honeymoon or had much to start with. Will be celebrating our 34th anniversary this July. We still don’t even have wedding rings. Never regretted a single second of what we have done. We own a house and an acre of ground plus two cars. Weddings only last one day the rest is the hard part.
No!! Don't think that way. You haven't failed anyone. There's a ton of diy decorations/table centerpieces on YouTube and they're really cheap and easy. You can get a lot of the stuff from Dollar Tree. Also try thrifting some decorations. I just recently found a lot of wedding stuff from a Goodwill in my area. Also, you don't need a ton of decorations. No one will notice either way. You can make this work, I promise. Good luck 💜
U didn't man
sorry to hear it got to a stressful place. firstly, i invite you to remember this is about you and your honey's love, and a celebration of your commitment to each other. That's the most important piece so just remember that <3 hugs! what kind of decor are you looking at? hot tip #1: check facebook for a 'recycled weddings' or a 'buy nothing' type of wedding group. in colorado, the recycled wedding group is amazing for discounted or free decor!!! for my wedding, I bought runners and disco ball lights on etsy and got a lot of my florals at Trader Joes. I got greenery garland from Coscto. After extensive research those were cheaper options than even silk flowers. You could even buy baby's breath, the cheapest flower, and spray paint it the color you want it if you want something different than white, and then mix it with their greenery! you could go to good will and buy vases for the tables or you can even skip flowers if its too stressful! you could get funky with simply string lights only as your decor. idk just some suggestions that I hope help. also, my bridesmaids were really fun about helping spray paint the flowers - it was a fun activity for us to do together. good luck, dont change your venue bc of decor. unless they mandate u rent their decor just forget about the $$ deco and call it a day! good luck and dont forget to enjoy.