Five No-Brainer Ways To A More Affordable Wedding

I meet with couples every day who have a tight budget and big dreams. There are a million ways to save money while still having a gorgeous event! Here are my five favourite EASY tricks to save money without compromising your vision!

Simple ways to save money

1. Ebates! Ebates is a free service you can use to earn cash back from thousands of online merchants. It's as easy as opening ebates in your browser, searching for your merchant and clicking "shop now!"  You'll get a cheque or PayPal deposit from ebates quarterly. I promise it's not a scam, I've gotten many cheques from them! Bonus, you can provide your friends with your referral code and get even more $$! If you're shopping online for anything, just use ebates and the cash back adds up fast. Feel free to use my referral code to get an extra $5 cash back! https://www.ebates.ca/referrer?referrerid=luviMlnL%2Bxg%3D%0D%0A
2. Cash back cards. While I don't condone going into debt for a wedding, a cash back credit card is a great way to earn money back on what you're spending. If you are paying off the balance at the end of the month so you don't rack up interest charges, why not get cash back on every purchase?! There are tons of different rewards cards available depending on what is important to you. AirMiles or Aeroplan are awesome if you want to travel, but good old-fashioned cash back is like getting a discount on everything you buy!
3. Buying VS Renting. In some cases, you can buy decor for a marginal amount more than renting it, and re-sell it afterwards, to get most of your money back. In other cases, you may be able to rent something you had planned on buying and save the headache of paying for shipping. Do your research! Or, hire a wedding planner who has this knowledge and can do the research on your behalf! Don't jump right in either way, be sure to weigh out your options. Keep in mind if you are renting from your decorator, their fee likely includes set up and tear down, which may cost extra if you are having the decorator use your decor. Be thorough in your research before you click buy or sign on the dotted line. 
4. Join local wedding buy/sell groups. Most cities have Facebook and Varagesale pages for buying and selling wedding items! It's important again to do your research and make sure you know what you're buying, but you can find some great deals on lightly used wedding decor. On the flip side, after your wedding you can sell everything you don't need to make back a little bit of money for the honeymoon! These groups are also often a great place to find new and up and coming vendors who are offering their services at introductory pricing if you are on a tight budget. 
5. Sign up for newsletters & Follow your preferred vendors on social media. So many awesome wedding vendors have frequent sales, you just need to buy strategically. I know those emails may be annoying, but you can unsubscribe after the wedding, or create a free email account just for your wedding and use that address for all of the wedding related newsletters! Start early so if a great sale comes along you can take advantage. You never know when your invitations will go on for 60% off or that cake topper you've been eying will be an Instagram giveaway!

Of course my #1 money saving tip will always be to hire a professional to help you create and manage your budget, but if you're unsure about a planner, start with these tricks! 😊

Happy planning!

Until next time, 

xo KLF