Your wedding is a momentous, wonderful (and possibly once-in-a-lifetime) occasion, so we tend go overboard making sure every little thing is going to be perfect and that everyone is happy. That awesome day, though, will really be a blip in your many years of life as a married couple—and the things you (and your wedding guests) will remember most probably won’t be the things you worried about the most.
So whether your budget is $100 or $100,000, concentrate on the things you’ll remember most, and don’t stress about (and save more money on) the rest.
Looking back, I think the best decision my partner and I made was the venue: It was affordable enough to accommodate our closest friends and family, a wedding planner came with the deal, and the food was top notch. The experience with our loved ones was, after all, the main thing.
We definitely could’ve cut corners or bargain shopped for the flowers, limo, invitations, tux rentals, and all those other little things to save, because they just weren’t that memorable. (Yes, even though they’re in the photos.) You can save thousands on your wedding budget just by negotiating, shopping around, DIYing, and prioritizing only what matters most to you.