There’s no sugar coating it, a wedding is hell to organise on the practical side of things.And when you take that and chuck in another state as your backdrops means costs fly off the handle very quickly. While destination or out-of-state weddings are incredibly romantic and will make a lasting impression, the cost can sometimes be prohibitive. Whether it be travel, accomodation or even vendor costs; there are so many things which can turn into a big budget for your wedding autoreleasepool.
With a little forethought and some considered decisions, however, your out-of-state wedding may well not break the bank or have to comprise taste. We have compiled some out-of-state wedding tips to save you money and still give you a day that is both memorable and wallet-warming.
Establish a realistic budget and prioritise.
The first step in planning any wedding, especially a destination-style one, is establishing expectations and building it off of the most realistic number possible. Be ready to adapt out of state weddings often have additional costs that you may not think of till they come up.
Know the total you can afford: Your top budget consideration should be how much money is truly at your disposal to allocate for everything from travel, hotels and vendors. And always make sure to leave a safety net for those unplanned spendings.
Decide in advance which wedding elements are most important to you (venue, food, photography etc) and spend a bit more on those. 6 It will help you identify areas to save and spend.
Select an Off Season or Weekday
When you get married will have a lot to do with how much it costs. Weddings: High wedding season (usually late spring through early fall) and Saturday evenings are traditionally the priciest times for an event. If you want to save some wedding budget then opt for the off season or go for a week day.
Limited Season: Opt for having a non-in-state wedding during the winter or early spring where there are fewer weddings taking place, while also choosing off-peak times for other vendors including venues networks.
Weekday Weddings: Opting for a Monday through Thursday wedding can drastically lower the price of your venue rental, vendor services and possibly even hotel stays if guests are able to book at reduced room rates.
Choose a Destination with Cheaper Travelling Costs
I know it can be easier to choose a venue based on the popularity and beauty of its location BUT costs will quickly get out of hand for you and your guests via travel. A good first step is selecting a venue in an easy-to-reach and cheaper for guests location.
Pick a major city or regional centre: Go for a venue that is easily reachable by direct flights — this can reduce the cost of travel. Excellent pricing and the best option are airports in Las Vegas, New Orleans, Chicago, Austin, and Find Lower-cost Accommodations: There are some places that have more budget-friendly lodging options, whether it is because the destination has many hotel chains or fewer luxury resorts. Think about places that can house your guests for a reasonable rate, even when others are paying top dollar to travel during that time.
Throwing a Nontraditional, Intimate Wedding
The same goes for guests; the greater number of guests, the more your wedding will cost. While planning a destination wedding in another state could make it harder for some to attend (ahem, travel expenses) — and that can actually be beneficial when looking at your bottom line.
Pair guest lists down: Ensure catering, accommodations and venue size costs remain controlled by only inviting immediate family members and closest friends. Naturally, a more intimate and meaningful celebration can be produced when you set up down to utilise average 50 wedding guest list ideas.
Elope/Opt for a Micro Wedding: If you would rather have an intimate experience, then this could be your sign to consider eloping or having a micro wedding. Intimate weddings are focused on fewer vendors and also have the budget bonus of being lower in cost than large events.
Leverage Local Vendors
Use Local VendorsOne of the best ways to save on an out-of-state wedding is by hiring local vendors. Flying out vendors from your point of origin can become expensive with travel and accommodation-related expenses. Neighbourhood cafe owners will often cut you a deal since they are close by, and it takes the stress out of logistics because they know where everything is.
Search for florists, photographers, DJs and caterers in your area — Check out wedding websites/blogs or social media accounts to see if any local vendors in the city you will be getting married are highly rated. Local venues might have preferred vendor lists, which sometimes include discounted rates for in-house services.
Bundled packages Many venues offer complete wedding day packages that include catering, flowers, the photographer and music. If you book an all-inclusive venue, this price can be negotiated to suit your budget. Share on Just confirm that the respective vendors are worth it and what items they are adding to in the first place so you could cut some cost off from there as well.
Get a genuinely licensed wedding venue officiant
Avoid the additional expense of hiring an officiant for your ceremony, and use a venue’s in-house Minister to save money. This can save you a lot of time, and also money by hiring the wrong type of chairs as many destination wedding venues including resorts or all-inclusive places have it included in their package.
Package Deals: Some venues have wedding packages that might include an officiant, ceremony set-up and even some decor which will in turn reduce the number of vendors you’ll need to hire.
Easy planning: Another advantage is this makes the whole wedding process easier since there will be someone who has already worked with the venue and knows how everything functions on a day to marry you.
Simplify Your Wedding Decor
Wedding decor is one of the fastest ways we could think to cut costs on your wedding day. Also, you no longer have to spend a load on decor since some out-of-state weddings offer breathtaking natural backgrounds from beaches and vineyards to mountains and lakes.
Use the natural beauty of your venue: If you are lucky enough to get married on a beach or in an exotic location, chances are it will hardly require any extra decor. Consider centering your wedding around the natural landscape. whether it be beachfront, garden lounges or dramatic landscapes.
Handmade Decorations: You can also include DIY touches, so Buy handmade or low priced buy elements that you are able to move easily. For a very sizable reduction in expense: making personalised centrepieces or designing the invites yourself.
8 Rent Instead of Buy: Some decor items, like chairs or linens or chandeliers, can be too expensive to buy at all. I think a lot of rental services offer lovely decor for much cheaper than you could purchase yourselves.
Affordable Group Hotels
If you have a wedding out of state, odds are that there will be numerous guests from far and wide. Look at group travel and accommodation deals so that you can save on transportation and housing costs, which really helps to ensure more people are able to come.
Group Flights Discount: Let a travel agent or wedding planner group the flights for all of your guests at discounted prices. Sometimes when an airline has to reserve a certain number of seats together, they will discount the rates.
Group Hotel Rates: Work with hotels near where you are getting married to get a group rate. Most hotels will offer deals on block room rates and either throw in a comped or discounted rate for the couple as well.
Give An Idea About How To Get There: You intend to save time and money for your guests, so let them know the availability of budget hotels nearby where they can stay or modes of public transportation that could take tourists from airport/train station/bus stop till their hotel/venue etc. This way is not required;accustomed arrangements are easier made by travellers in a new city/country like Taxis Available (And Affordable)?
Keep the Extras on a Tight Range and Focus on Necessities
Even though it is tempting to go all out and do lavish wedding “extras,” such as gourmet favours, a photo booth or fireworks. Those will balloon costs. Keep yourself on track and concentrate on only those fundamental elements that are going to make your day memorable, if not then ditch the add-ons as it will be a burden for you.
Cut Down on the Wedding Favours: While wedding favours can be very nice, they quite often are additional expenses that your guests will forget about. Offer to give the same type of thing, only something cost-effective and do-it-yourself like personalised fans or small mementos.
Select a Cheap Cake Alternative: Wedding cakes can eat up a large chunk of your budget, but you could save some money by purchasing bare minimum small size cake or consider dessert bar or cupcakes instead
Conclusion
Destination weddings can be a daunting task especially when planning out of state but with these money saving tips, you may just get the wedding experience without all that stress! With a little bit of planning and some cutting you can still pull off the wedding of your dreams without breaking the bank.
As well of course your wedding is to celebrate you two and make memories, not cost a fortune. It just takes a bit of planning and some imagination to throw the destination wedding you´ve always wanted at cheaper costs.
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