Many couples want a big wedding. They want the beautiful venue, the photographer, the music, the food, and a room filled with the people they love.
They want the traditional Saturday afternoon wedding but cannot afford the Saturday price tag.
The easiest way to reduce wedding costs without giving up the wedding you want is surprisingly simple
Get married on a Tuesday or Wednesday night.
Saturday is the most popular day for weddings, which also makes it the most expensive. Consider that venues and wedding professionals have to make an entire month’s worth of income in 4-5 Saturdays. Also consider that couples are competing for a limited number of Saturday dates. That is why Saturdays are the most expensive wedding day.
Tuesday and Wednesday are different. Most wedding venues are empty during the middle of the week. The Dudeist Ministers are the exception to the rule because we do many elopements on weeknight. Most photographers, DJs, caterers, florists, and officiants rarely book weddings on those nights. Since they are less likely to earn anything from an open Wednesday, many wedding professionals are willing to offer reduced rates or create smaller weekday packages.
A Wednesday wedding is not traditional, but it is better than spending the first 8 years of your marriage paying off an 8 hour party. (The average wedding in Ohio costs $35,000. If you paid $350 per month to wedding costs, it would take about 8 years to pay off).
Wedding venues make most of their money on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays. A venue that charges its highest rate on Saturday may offer a much lower price on a Tuesday or Wednesday.
Some venues also reduce or waive minimum spending requirements during the week. That can make a major difference if you want a smaller wedding but still want a beautiful location.
You may also have more choices. Instead of selecting from the few Saturday dates that remain available, you may have several weeknight dates to choose from. This can help you book the venue you actually want instead of settling for the venue that happens to be available.
Wedding professionals spend most weekends working. During the week, many photographers, DJs, caterers, bakers, officiants, and other vendors have fewer bookings. Some offer weekday wedding discounts because a smaller payment is better than leaving the date completely empty.
Not every vendor will reduce their price, but it never hurts to ask. Be direct. Tell them you are planning a Tuesday or Wednesday wedding specifically to save money, and ask whether they offer a weekday rate, shorter package, or customized option.
You may also have an easier time hiring experienced wedding professionals. Couples find the best officiants like us are booked 1-2 years in advance. When they plan a last minute wedding they often have to settle for a less experienced or ametuer option because that is all that is available. A professional photographer or DJ who is booked two years in advance on Saturdays may still be available on a Wednesday with only a few months of notice.
One of the fastest ways to increase the cost of a wedding is to add more guests. Every guest needs a chair, a place setting, food, drinks, invitations, and enough room at the venue. Cutting the guest list can save money across nearly every part of the wedding.
A Tuesday or Wednesday wedding naturally limits attendance. Some people will not be able to leave work early. Others will not want to take the next morning off. That may sound like a disadvantage, but it can also make it easier to keep the wedding focused on the people closest to you.
The people who truly want to celebrate with you will make an effort to attend. It also gives you a perfectly reasonable response when someone asks why their cousin’s neighbor’s adult son was not invited.
“The wedding is on a Wednesday.”
Not every wedding needs to continue until midnight. You can hold the ceremony, serve dinner, cut the cake, enjoy a first dance, and still have everyone home at a reasonable hour. A weekday wedding works especially well for couples who want a meaningful celebration without an all-night party.
You can also replace a traditional reception with something simpler, such as:
Cut out the fluff and spend your money on the parts you actually care about.
Restaurants can be an excellent option for a weekday wedding reception. Many restaurants are packed on weekends but much quieter on Tuesday and Wednesday nights. They may be more willing to reserve a private room, create a limited menu, or accommodate a larger group.
A restaurant reception eliminates the need to rent tables, chairs, linens, dishes, glassware, and kitchen equipment.
The food is already there. The staff is already there. The bathrooms are already there. That last one is not romantic, but anyone who has priced portable restrooms knows it deserves to be mentioned.
Hotels are often more expensive during weekends, especially in popular wedding destinations. A weekday wedding may give your guests access to lower hotel rates and better availability. Flights may also be less expensive for guests who can travel outside the busiest weekend periods.
This will depend on the location and time of year, but it is worth checking before choosing a date. You may even be able to negotiate a better hotel room block because the hotel has more available rooms during the week.
Saving money does not mean every part of the wedding has to be cheap. A weekday wedding may allow you to spend more on the things that matter most to you.
You may decide to hire a better photographer, serve better food, invite a few additional people, purchase the dress you really want, or put the remaining money toward a honeymoon or a home.
A wedding should reflect your priorities, not the expectations created by social media and wedding television. Nobody needs to begin a marriage with a mountain of debt because Saturday was considered the normal day to get married.
Send save-the-dates early. A weeknight wedding requires slightly more planning than a Saturday wedding, especially for guests who need to request time off or travel.
Give people as much notice as possible. Include the ceremony time, approximate ending time, hotel information, and any transportation details.
You should also accept that some people will not be able to attend. That does not mean they do not care about you. Jobs, children, travel, health, and family responsibilities can make weekday attendance difficult.
Plan the wedding that works for your budget while giving your guests enough information to make their own decisions.
A Tuesday or Wednesday wedding may allow you to begin your honeymoon immediately afterward. Instead of recovering on Sunday and returning to work on Monday, you can leave Thursday morning and enjoy a long weekend or a longer trip.
You will often find better prices on flights, hotels, rental cars, and attractions when traveling during the week. Even your honeymoon can benefit from avoiding Saturday.
There is nothing magical about getting married on a Saturday. Your vows are not more meaningful because the venue charged you its highest rate. Your marriage will not be stronger because every distant relative was able to attend.|
Quite the opposite actually as we explained in a previous article The Real Cost of “I Do”: What Research Says About Wedding Budgets and Divorce
The best wedding date is not always the most popular one. Sometimes it is simply the date that lets you celebrate your marriage and still afford to be happy with your decisions afterward.
