For many newly engaged couples, the thought of planning a wedding can be downright stressful, especially when it comes to managing and staying on point with your wedding budget. 60% of couples say that sticking to their wedding budget is very important to them. We want to help you make the most of your wedding planning funds, so today we’re sharing ways you can use technology to make wedding planning easier and more budget-friendly.
1. Book Your Wedding Venue Using Airbnb
We all know Airbnb as the site that lets you find a place to stay in someone’s home instead of booking a hotel. There are all kinds of venues on Airbnb, and some of the homes are big enough for part or all of your wedding. Just make a list of what’s important to you (must haves) in a venue, and start searching. Prices are often cheaper than traditional wedding venues.
2. Get Your Wedding Guests Involved
While you’re planning the details of your big day, your guests are planning the details of how to attend your big day. They need to book flights, RSVP, find a place to stay and make it to your wedding from who knows where. Make it easy for them to do all of this, and it will save you tons of money (hint hint, we just had to let you know that wedOcracy helps you get your guests on board).
3. STOP Sending Paper Save The Dates
We know they’re really pretty, but have you ever added up the cost of printing them and mailing them? Don’t forget to add something like 100+ stamps and envelopes! If you can bear to part with the idea of sending out paper invitations, ditch the stamp-licking duty and send out online invitations. You’ll get your RSVPs back quicker and not have to chase people down threatening to disinvite them. If you still insist on printing invitations, check out our wedding tips below for more ways tech can help you save money.
4. Communicate Online
It’s 2015, and there are so many online tools out there to make wedding planning easier. One of the benefits of social wedding planning is keeping all communication online. You’ll no longer need to track down your binder or notebook and worry when you lose that important piece of paper with all your vendor information.
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5. Connect Your Guests To Each Other
Paper RSVPs are pretty, but they don’t connect your guests to each other. Not everyone has a hired wedding planner, but sometimes your friends and family are your planners, or at least your helpers. If you don’t have the money for a traditional planner (or just don’t want one), connect your guests with each other and make it easier to assign tasks to them, ease communication between friends and family and make collaboration easy and simple.
6. Google Search Is Your Friend
During your wedding, google your heart out. From unique wedding venues to the best wedding planning websites and apps, Google is your close friend during wedding planning. There are a bajillion wedding product search engines, and even an AirBnB for wedding venues.
7. Buy A Recycled Wedding Dress
This isn’t for everyone, but if it’s something to consider especially if you want to have a eco-friendly wedding. Reused wedding dresses are more than 50% cheaper than new dresses, and you’ll be helping out the planet too.
8. Find Wedding Planning Inspiration on Pinterest
We love Pinterest. Just pin, share and plan! Enough said – we know you already know about it.
9. Keep Everyone in the Loop
Use social wedding planning tools like messaging, blogging and email notifications. This helps keep everyone informed and saves you the trouble (and postage) with those RSVPs. Using this together with tip #5 will insure that nobody is in the dark about who’s in the wedding party, where they need to be, and when they need to be there.
10. Book a First Time Wedding Venue
Google unique and interesting places that may not be thought of as wedding venues. A small park? A city courtyard that you always walk by and wonder what it’s used for. Take a stab at it and go for the unique. These venues are usually more budget friendly.
If they bite, they’ll be willing to do what they can to make things work for you. They will want to become known as a wedding venue and you’ll help put them on the map. It’s win-win.
Conclusion: Using technology to help you plan your wedding not only streamlines the process, it also helps you save on your wedding. From finding (and booking) unique wedding venues to connecting your guests online, there’s almost nothing you can’t do from your desktop computer or mobile device. We hope this helps. We pretty much did all of the above for our own wedding and it was a breeze (yes, strange but true). Questions about any of these? Leave a comment or hit us up on Twitter, Facebook or Google+