Cheap months to get married
If you are on a very tight budget and are looking for the cheapest months to get married so you can save on wedding costs, you have come to the right place.
Weddings are expensive.
And when most couples get engaged and start the wedding planning, they have no clue how much a wedding costs.
Expecting your parents to contribute and pay for the wedding is great if they can afford it.
But I wouldn’t recommend asking or expecting them to pay.
If they offer to pay for the wedding, then that is great.
You also want them to help only if there are no strings attached.
The money should be offered for you towards the wedding, not for them to have a say or control where you spend the money.
This is usually the harder part.
If no one is contributing to your wedding, you need to make it work somehow.
The first step is to create a realistic wedding budget.
As I mentioned earlier, weddings are expensive.
You can have a $10,000 wedding budget if you significantly reduce your guest list and are flexible with many of the wedding planning.
The best way to cut costs is to look at the wedding guest list, your wedding budget and everything else that comes with planning a wedding.
Grab this quick wedding budget checklist such as this one that will help you determine if you can afford a wedding even if you decide to move your date to the cheapest month. I truly recommend our Ultimate Wedding Budget bundle for creating a detailed wedding budget.
It’s designed to meet all your wedding planning needs and ensure you cover all your wedding expenses, leaving little to no surprises.
Making a budget will help ensure you can afford the wedding of your dreams and also help you avoid spending more than you planned.
A few things you should do to cut wedding costs:
- Reduce your wedding guest list
- Skip wedding gift favours
- Don’t buy gifts for parents
- Skip boutonnieres and corsages
- Avoid price main meals – check out our wedding food on a budget
- Use your regular wine for toasting – no need for champaign
- Pay signature wedding drinks only
- Skip floral centrepieces
- Serve wedding cake as dessert
- Select in-season flowers
These are just a few things you can do to cut costs, especially if you are planning a budget wedding.
I have a complete list of over 50 unnecessary wedding expenses you can skip to serious money.
Read this post to learn more ways to plan a wedding reception on a budget.
Another major thing to consider is getting married during the off-season months.
What’s the best season to get married on a budget?
So what are the off-season wedding months, and why is this important?
Summer is considered the peak wedding season.
Everyone I know gets married during the busy, popular months.
June, July, and August are extremely peak wedding season months.
You want to avoid these months because everyone is fighting for the limited wedding dates that come with getting married in summer.
Instead, you want to research and find the least expensive time of the year to get married in your area.
My summer months might be busy, but it might be less busy for you, depending on your location.
To save money, you want to go for an off-season wedding month.
Off-season weddings are becoming more and more popular for several different reasons.
I want to discuss:
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What are off-season wedding months, and why to consider it
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I want to look at when is the cheapest month to get married
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And when the cheapest time to get married to save
Once you figure out all of this and find an affordable wedding venue to work with your budget, you can proceed with your wedding plans.
Stay away from flashy and popular wedding trends.
We want to ensure that your dream wedding comes true on a budget that works for you!
Starting with when we think you should get married to save money.
You want to choose the least expensive month to get married to stay on budget.
So when are the most affordable months of the year to get married?
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The cheapest month for a wedding
If you are a couple on a budget looking for the most affordable time of year to get married, you need to look at the wedding season overall.
We already expressed that the busy months, usually late spring, summer and even fall, should be avoided if you want to save money.
Late spring, April/ May, is also considered a peak wedding season because the weather is starting to brighten up.
June, August, September and even October are busy.
Particularly June and September as it tends not to be too hot!
As a wedding planner, every Saturday during these months was booked up with weddings, including Fridays.
I mean, who doesn’t want to get married during summer?
The weather is great, people want to be outdoors and witnessing two special people getting married is just the icing on the cake.
So when is the cheapest month to get married?
I believe that the cheapest months to get married is during the off-season.
Most wedding vendors, including wedding venues, will work with your wedding budget and might already have reduced rates if you peak-off season months, typically in winter.
Planning a winter wedding has become popular over the years as you can save a lot of money.
This doesn’t apply all the time.
Holidays typically cost a lot more regardless of what season you choose to get married.
If you decide to plan a destination wedding on a small budget, I suggest you skip popular locations.
The least expensive time of year to get married is:
- January
- March
- April
- November
This is best for saving money as most wedding venues don’t typically have a lot of bookings during these months.
To make money, they would typically want to fill these dates.
This is where you can save money and even negotiate with both venues and other wedding vendors.
Even though December and February are considered the cheapest months to get married, don’t forget these months have major holidays that can easily increase your wedding rates.
You have the first two weeks in December to get married before the big holidays kick in.
And even then, most venues book office parties, family parties and other holiday-inspired events.
This means dates are in demand, and prices might be slightly higher.
December / January, you have New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day; these days can also be costly.
It’s the same with February; Valentine’s day and Valentine-themed weddings are popular.
Even though I have given you the cheapest months to get married, stay away from holidays and long weekends.
The Cheapest Day Of The Week For Weddings
We have talked about the cheapest months to get married.
Now let’s talk about the cheapest days to get married.
I have planned over 700 weddings.
Most were busy summer weddings.
But I have also planned many budget-friendly weddings.
If you want to plan a budget wedding, I suggest being flexible with the days you choose to get married.
So what day is the cheapest to get married?
I suggest opting for weekday and Sunday weddings to save on your wedding reception and vendors.
These are typically less expensive.
As you know, Saturday is a very popular day to get married and the most expensive.
This is followed very closely by Friday weddings.
If you are set on a weekend wedding, the cheapest days to get married would be Fridays or Sundays as they are less expensive than Saturday.
For bigger savings, the cheapest day of the week for weddings would be Monday-Thursday as long as it is not a long weekend.
The best time to have a wedding would be Thursday.
It’s not a weekend, so you can still save money, but your guests might be able to get away with booking time off and making it a long weekend for themselves.
Here are a few advantages of getting married during the weekday:
- You will save money – at least 40% than what you would have pair
- You get to pick your top wedding vendors at fraction of the price
- You can keep it intimate, which saves you even more money
- You can have your dream wedding at a good price
What is the cheapest time to get married?
Your wedding vendors, such as the photographers, florists, and glam team, will most likely be available for your date if you opt to go with a month or day during the off-season.
There is also the possibility of negotiating and getting a big discount.
That’s why I recommend winter weddings for couples on a budget.
Don’t be afraid to ask for further discounts.
One way of comfortably doing this is to get married during the day.
The cheapest time to get married is in the morning.
Consider having a:
- Brunch wedding
- Lunch wedding
- Late afternoon wedding
These options not only can save you money on the wedding reception.
But you can also save money on your wedding food as you are not serving heavy, expensive items.
Wedding food makes up about 40% of your overall wedding budget.
Finding ways to cut those costs will help you afford your dream wedding.
Now that you have the cheapest months to get married, the perfect day of the week and a great time to get married, combine all of this to save even more money.
With all of this, you can have a beautiful wedding for $10,000, depending on where you live, your guest list and the style of wedding you want.
Be sure to grab these wedding saving trackers to help you save for your dream wedding.
Now That You Have A List Of The Most Affordable Months of the Year to Get Married…
Knowing that you can choose a winter wedding date, use this to your advantage and negotiate with your wedding suppliers.
Expect to spend less money for a winter wedding.
When do you plan to get married?
Choosing an off-season wedding is not bad.
You will save plenty of money and can use that to fund other aspects of your new life together as newlyweds.
Your guests are also most likely to RSVP (although I recommend keeping your numbers to the small side to save even more) because most people don’t have big plans during the winter.
Before you choose the cheapest month to get married, ensure that this is what you want.
Pick a special day.
Yes, saving some money is ideal and is the goal, but you want to make sure your day is special and picture yourself celebrating your wedding anniversary on this day.
What do you think are the cheapest months to get married?
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Read:
- Tips for choosing a wedding venue
- 12 Month wedding planning checklist
- 10 Wedding expenses to consider
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