What You Should Spend Money on For Your Wedding

If you’re currently planning a wedding, chances are your big day is shaping up to be one of, if not the most expensive day of your life. And rightly so considering it’s one of your big life events and one of the only occasions where you get to bring all your favourite people together in one room and basically just have a really, really great time!

But we know not all weddings are equal and nor are wedding budgets. You might have been saving for years and aren’t prepared to settle for second best, or maybe the act of marriage is more important to you than the wedding itself so you’re scaling the festivities back. Either way it’s at the start of the wedding planning process where you’ll need to work out your priorities, as individuals and as a couple, and nail down your wedding budget.

This article isn’t about what you categorically should or should not spend your money on, only you know what’s right for your wedding day. But speaking from experience, we’ve listed some of the things that we would suggest not scrimping on and consider investing a little more money in. Remember, your suppliers are the experts – you’re paying for their time, knowledge and experience, not simply the finished product!

Wedding Photographer

It goes without saying that once the confetti has settled and your guests have returned home, one of the only things you’ll have to remember about your incredible day is your wedding images. They are an investment, an heirloom and a tangible memory of your special day. You’re not just paying for someone to point and shoot (no, your uncle John isn’t going to be good enough!), you’re investing in someone who knows where to be when, who captures the most beautiful candid moments between guests, who can manipulate light to create awesome images and who will not miss a beat. Maybe you can’t afford the industry’s finest but don’t settle for a budget option either. Do your research, stalk them on Instagram and set up a Zoom call – you’re going to be spending a lot of time with them so you need to make sure you click.

Wedding Catering

You don’t have to serve Michelin-star quality food at your wedding for it to be a memorable and enjoyable experience for all, but it does have to be tasty, served hot and in front of your guests within good time. An experienced, quality catering company will know this and will focus on the logistics as much as on the food itself. If you did need to be a bit savvy with your budget you could always consider skipping the starter and go big with the canapes, or why not serve your wedding cake as dessert?

Wedding Planner / Coordinator

A good wedding planner is worth their weight in gold! The wedmin when planning a wedding can easily get out of hand and very quickly feel like a full time job, especially if it’s not something you’ve done before. If this is the case it’s definitely worthwhile investing in a professional and letting them take it off your hands. This way you can actually enjoy the run up to your wedding instead of stressing out over unanswered supplier emails or chasing up your guest’s RSVPs. If your budget can’t stretch to a full wedding planner from the off, why not simply hire a coordinator to help you bring it all together towards the end and coordinate the day itself. They’ll take charge of timings, organising suppliers and most importantly make sure that you settle in and have the best day of your life.

Wedding Venue

Now, we’re not saying you should be spending thousands upon thousands on your wedding venue (unless you can afford to then go for it!), all we’re saying is hire the best venue you can afford, that suits your day. You might simply want a blank canvas barn with a cool rustic aesthetic that you can decorate and put your mark on – perfect. But if you’re considering a venue because it’s local or it’s a good deal but it has an awful carpet / a marquee that’s seen better days / no outside space etc then we would urge you to reconsider. Don’t fight against your gut instinct, if you need to start spending more money to change XYZ in order to make it work then it’s probably not the one for you.

There are lots of other ways to save money on your wedding but not settling for budget vendors will ensure the foundations of your day are solid. Go ahead and make your own table plan but just please make sure you have an expert photographer to capture it!