Planning a Wedding in 2025? Here’s 13 Ways to Save on Your Big Day

If you’re planning a wedding in 2025, you’re probably wondering how much it will cost — and how you’re going to afford it. 

On average, couples in the U.S. spent $33,000 on their wedding ceremony and reception in 2024, according to a survey by The Knot. 

However, not everyone has over $30,000 to spend on their wedding — especially in this economy.

The truth is, there are plenty of easy ways to save money on a wedding in 2025. You’ll need to be open minded, creative and willing to compromise on a few things. But with a little planning, you can throw a memorable wedding for much less than the national average. 

Here’s how to get started.

13 Ways to Save Money on a Wedding in 2025

There are literally more than a dozen ways to save money on a wedding. 

Getting crafty with decorations and flowers is one way to cut costs. So is bypassing an open bar and calling on friends with a knack for baking, photography and other talents. 

Here are some extra-smart, money-saving tips to help you stay within your budget.

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1. Figure Out Your Wedding Budget

The first item on your wedding to-do list is creating a budget for your big day. 

Your wedding budget is your financial roadmap. Think of it as a set of guardrails to prevent you from spending more than you want. A budget can also help you avoid starting your marriage off saddled with debt.

There are lots of websites and apps to help you create a budget, including Wedding Wire’s wedding budget tracker and The Knot’s wedding budget planner.

Your budget should include sections for estimated costs and the prices you actually pay. Make note of when you make the initial deposits and when final payments are due.

Here are some big categories to keep in mind:

• Reception venue 
• Food and alcohol 
• Invitations and stamps
• Wedding dress
• Groom’s attire
• Hair and makeup
• Flowers
• Photographer and/or videographer
• Transportation
• Wedding cake
• Reception band or DJ
• Favors
• Ceremony site
• Officiant
• Wedding bands

Not sure how much to budget for each category? WeddingWire’s Cost Guide lets you search by city or zip code for the average costs for everything from the photographer to the wedding cake.

2. Find a Value-Packed Venue

Finding a place to host your wedding is one of the first (and most expensive) things on your wedding checklist. 

Couples spent an average of $12,200 on their wedding venue in 2024, according to a survey by The Knot. If you had the average wedding budget of $33,000, that would make the average venue cost almost 37% of your entire wedding budget.

You could turn to a cost-effective wedding venue, like: 

• A friend’s backyard (or your own backyard)
• Public landmarks
• A beach
• Local state parks
• Botanical gardens
• Colleges and universities
• Restaurants and breweries 
• Farms and ranches
• Churches and meeting halls

A backyard wedding may sound like a great way to avoid a pricey rental fee. But you’ll be on the hook for all the things many venues provide, like chairs, tables, linens, tents, silverware and an altar. You may need to rent portable bathrooms for your guests and figure out where everyone will park, too. 

The inclusions of these “extras” might be why dedicated venue spaces appear so expensive at first glance. According to The Knot’s survey, 73% of respondents said their venue included rentals, 41% included catering in the price and 37% of them included alcohol.

All this means is that the venue with the best value or bang for your buck may indeed be your friend’s backyard. But depending on the size of your guest list and the extras you’re bringing in, it ultimately may be cheaper to book a venue. 

You’ll want to do the math on both options to see which makes the most sense for your circumstances.

3. Consider an Intimate Micro-Wedding

Micro-weddings became all the rage in 2021 and 2022 as couples slimmed down guest lists amid pandemic precautions. 

But an intimate micro-wedding – which is usually defined by a guest list of 50 people or less – is still a great way to save money in 2025. In fact, trimming your guest list is the single most effective way to lower your wedding expenses. You won’t only be saving on venue space. You’ll also save money on food, alcohol, table settings, decorations and favors. 

How much does a micro-wedding cost? Think around $1,500 for some light food, drinks and wedding attire for a party in someone’s home or backyard.

However, every detail you add to your micro-wedding jacks up the cost. Even a small-scale wedding with catered food, alcohol and flowers at a rented venue can easily cost $10,000.

4. Buy Your Wedding Dress Secondhand and Save Hundreds

You’re only going to wear it once — so why pay a fortune for your dress?

Get thrifty by exploring used wedding dresses online. You can find dresses in your area on Facebook Marketplace and Craigslist. There are also several websites exclusively dedicated to buying and selling used wedding dresses. 

Here are eight we found:

• Stillwhite
• PreownedWeddingDresses.com
• Once Wed
• BravoBride
• Loved Twice Bridal
• Borrowing Magnolia
• Poshmark
• Tradesy

Most of these sites let you filter results by dress size, type, designer and cost. You’re guaranteed to discover something beautiful for way less than a new designer label wedding dress from your local boutique. 

Before you buy a pre-owned wedding dress, make sure you understand the return policy (if there is one) and find out who pays for shipping. Also keep in mind you will likely need to pay to get the dress altered after it arrives.

5. Skip the Officiant

Skip clergy or justice of the peace fees by having a friend officiate your wedding ceremony. Becoming ordained is simple and doesn’t take much time, but be sure your officiant is complying with local laws and regulations. This hack can work in most of the country, though there are some counties in Virginia that will fight you on it. 

While getting married by your pal is an option, some states take it a step further and allow you to eliminate the officiant altogether. This process is called self-uniting marriage. If you go this route, your friend won’t even have to invest the money to get ordained. You and your partner just exchange vows and marry yourselves.

6. Keep Invitations Simple or Go Digital

Let’s be real: 99% of wedding invitations eventually get tossed in the trash. 

That’s literally throwing money away. 

If you’re trying to save, you could go with bare-bones physical invitations or take the entire process online. 

Wedding websites like Joy, Paperless Post or Greenvelope give you access to a wide range of tools, including RSVP, plus-one tracking and photo sharing. You can even send out survey questions to collect meal preferences. 

If you’re set on mailing out physical invitations, keep it simple. Like super simple.  Walmart.com offers a huge selection of cheap custom wedding invitations starting at $7.89 for 8. That comes out to just under $50 for a guest list of 50 people. Likewise, you can get 25 wedding invitations from Staples.com for $32.99. 

You can skip save-the-date cards and reply envelopes by sending your guests online to RSVP instead. 

Services like The Knot and Zola let you create a free wedding website where you can list accommodation options, directions, RSVP and a link to your registry.

Include your wedding website on your invitation or an accompanying note, and you’ll be able to save upwards of $100 or more.

7. Call On Your Talented Friends

Don’t be afraid to utilize your resources to save a bundle on your wedding.

DJs, photographers, bakers, florists and hair stylists all come with their own fee.

Ask friends and family if they can contribute their talent to your big day instead of a gift.

8. Create a DIY Photo Booth

You can capture fun, informal photos of friends and family without renting a photo booth. Set up a simple backdrop and provide some fun props. Guests can use their phones or personal cameras and snap away. 

Have them share under your wedding hashtag on a social media site like Facebook. Then, after the event you can grab all the shots and put them into a photo book using a site like Shutterfly.

9. Buy Decor From Other Brides

There’s plenty of listings for decor and other wedding-related items on sites like Facebook Marketplace, OfferUp and Craigslist. You can often find once-used linens and decor at prices that beat the cost of renting.

You can snag items at a fraction of the cost, including candles, centerpieces, altars, garlands, signs, lighting, chalkboards and table runners.

10. Choose a Wedding Cake Alternative

Instead of a fancy traditional wedding cake — which The Knot says ran couples an average of $540 in 2024 — consider an assortment of cupcakes or a series of pies. 

In Pittsburgh, cookie tables are a popular wedding tradition that can save you money, and it’s one you can implement no matter where you live. Or you could order six dozen donuts for about $90. 

These options will be much less expensive than a traditional cake.

11. Opt for a buffet-style dinner

Rather than asking your guests whether they want the steak, chicken or vegetarian option on their RSVP card, consider choosing a buffet or going family-style instead. Buffets can save you anywhere between 30% to 40% per plate. While family-style isn’t quite as cheap, it can still save you some cash over having each dish custom-made for each guest in the kitchen.

TIP: You will still want to ask your guests about food allergies or dietary requirements. It’s worth spending a little more on a susceptible guest when the alternative is accidentally sending someone into anaphylactic shock.

12. Rethink an Open Bar

To save money on a wedding, consider sticking to beer and wine only at the reception. Kegs of beer at a wedding can keep costs low.

You can also do a combination of an open bar and a cash bar. Guests enjoy free drinks during the first two hours of the reception, after which they pay their own way. Drink coupons and tokens are another option.

Determined to have an open bar for the entire reception? There are still ways to keep alcohol costs down, such as only offering house-brand liquor and banning shots.

13. Be Smart About Tipping Your Vendors

Weddings come with many easily overlooked costs — like tipping your vendors. Knowing who to tip and how much to tip is essential if you’re trying to save money.

First, you don’t need to tip everyone. Many vendors nowadays have gratuities or a service fee already built into the cost. Check your invoice before you inadvertently double up.

You may also be able to offer something else in lieu of a tip. You can show your appreciation with a thank you card, a small gift, a stellar online review or a gift basket.

Still, tipping is important — and the right thing to do — in certain situations. Parking attendants, hair and makeup stylists, reception staff and the band or DJ depend on tips.

Rachel Christian is a Certified Educator in Personal Finance and a former senior writer for The Penny Hoarder. Brynne Conroy contributed to this report.