How to Plan the Perfect Themed Wedding on a Small Budget in 10 Steps

Good morning, lovely dreamers and welcome to a new series here on the DoB blog! Today we’re starting something very interesting - the wedding series. 

Why? It’s simple.

Having the wedding of your dreams when your wallet doesn’t agree with your ideas does not have to be the end of the world. Here are our favourite tips and tricks for a budget wedding that will definitely be remembered by everyone for years to come. 

As some of you may know, Andy and I have been together for more than 10 years - and engaged for the last 7. Last October, after postponing our wedding for more than 6 times for various reasons, we decided to kill some money and some brain cells and finally get married.

And let me tell you, it was crazy!

A medieval fortress, rock music, great food and only the people that matter dressed like they were from some lost fantasy stories… These are the ingredients for our perfect wedding.

But we didn’t go completely insane with our spending for the wedding day. Our focus was mainly on who was there and on enjoying ourselves (all of us, not just the bride and groom!). 

Planning the wedding was a long and exhausting process, but of course, we documented everything so we could share what we learned with you, lovely dreamers. So you can make yours even better than we did! 

Related:

How to Plan Your Dream Wedding as a Budget Bride

A Comprehensive Guide to DIY Wedding Photography: Capturing Your Big Day Yourself

But enough with the chit-chatting. Let’s get to it! Because it’s a long one today!

Small Budget Themed Wedding Tips: 10 Insights From A Bride&Groom Who Spent Less Than 6,000$

1. Figure out your total spending limit

Although we spent under 6k on our wedding, our total budget was somewhere around 9k - just so we had a little on the side in case of an emergency. 

Make a list of all the areas that are important to you for your wedding (venue, catering, flowers and decor, attire, photo/video, day wedding, night wedding, a certain theme or number of guests etc) and do some window shopping for some prices where you live, or where you wish to have your wedding - if you’re thinking of getting married away from home.

2. Who is paying for this wedding?

Are you and your partner paying for this wedding? Is someone in either of your families pitching in (moms for example)? Whatever it might be, we only beg you two things: 

1. don’t bill your guests as some of the already famous Reddit brides tried to
2. and please make sure that the money you spend for your wedding is not over what you can afford right now. There’s no need to go into debt for the next decade because you want your wedding to be newsworthy. It’s not about that.

Although, fun fact: In Transylvania and the rest of Romania guests usually give money to the couple as a gift. And that sum is calculated to cover their portion of the expenses, plus a little extra for the bride and groom. And here's the chest we collected it in!  

But remember: Your wedding should be about celebrating love, and the bond between you and your partner - not an expensive show for the world or the money you might get from your guests.  

3. Be aware of your budget eaters

The biggest pit for your wedding budget is your guest list. Everyone can tell you that - even the experts. Don’t believe me, ask the wedding planner Jamie Wolfer. That list can influence everything else about your wedding: where you hold it, what you’re serving and even how you dress. 

Another huge money eater will be your theme. Figuring out what your wedding day will look like, feel like and be like will definitely hit your budget, but there are ways around that (more in the next point).

Influenced by your theme will also be your wedding attire. Keep in mind that buying a wedding dress can be EXPENSIVE as hell depending on where you buy it from, who designed it, the fabrics used in making it and how much time you have till your wedding day (rush orders come with extra costs! If they even have rush orders). 

Buying on sale, or even renting your dress is a real option for a budget bride. And no one has to know! The same goes for your groom’s attire. A suit can get as expensive as a dress, and you have to ask yourself: is it worth it? Is it us? Do we really want this for our wedding?

My wedding dress was the first big, white dress I ever tried on. And I only found it because where we live now we have Wedding Fairs destined to help couples find everything they need for their wedding. And the wedding dresses are an important part of these shows (and they have HUGE discounts - I got mine at 50% off or more). And my husband’s attire was partially made by me and my mum, so we only had to pay for some of the elements, a few fabrics and accessories!  

Last and not least, there are the services like photography&video, catering, and paying personnel to serve or aid you (hair, make-up etc). All these people will need to be paid for their time and work - and it usually does not come cheap.

For example, a small team of one photographer and one videographer will cost you at least 1000$ IF they are either a new team on the market or willing to work cheaper, for a small day wedding, with no extra work like over-editing photos.  The hair and make-up for the bride, again, can be from 500$ and up. Ouch! 

So make sure to have a list of your priorities!

4. Choose your theme wisely

As we’ve said before, your theme will eat through your budget like crazy, IF you don’t do it right.  Make sure to choose something that really resonates with you, your partner and would make you feel happy on the day of your wedding.

Some “classic” budget wedding ideas include:

• Rustic Wedding: Host your wedding in a rustic venue such as a barn, park or backyard. Use natural decorations such as wildflowers, burlap table runners and wood accents. Serve BBQ or other casual food and consider using wooden or mismatched chairs for a unique touch.
• Beach Wedding: A beach wedding is a great way to keep costs down while still creating a memorable experience. Host your wedding on a public beach or rent a beach house for the ceremony and reception. Use beach-inspired decorations such as seashells, sand dollars and driftwood.
• Vintage Wedding: Host your wedding in a vintage-inspired venue such as an old mansion or estate. Use vintage decors such as lace table runners, antique vases, and mismatched china. Serve a classic menu with dishes such as chicken pot pie or beef stroganoff.
• Garden Wedding: Host your wedding in a garden or park with lush greenery and colourful flowers. Use natural decorations such as flower arrangements, potted plants, and hanging vines. Serve a fresh and seasonal menu with dishes such as grilled vegetables and fruit salad.

Remember: prioritize what matters most to you as a couple and allocate your budget accordingly. With some creativity and planning, you can have a beautiful wedding without breaking the bank.

5. Cut the crap!

Do you really need that big wedding, with 1000 flower arrangements, 10 photographers, a Michelin star menu and whatever else you might think would impress others? Who are you getting married for? the eyes of the world or love?

I might be old-fashioned this way, but I am a firm believer that we should only be allowed to marry for love and that LOVE should be the overall theme of the wedding. How you “dress” it is your choice, but you should keep the focus on what matters on that day. Love. 

For us, we wanted to have fun with only the people we love: our closest family and our besties. We chose to have a medieval fantasy-themed wedding, because we’re passionate about gaming, LARP-ing, fantasy games, books and movies, and we know this would be super fun for our friends and family as well. We wanted a more relaxed wedding, perfect for the Halloween weekend! 

And we got married in Oradea’s Fortress on a Friday, simply because on Fridays our hometown organises Civil Unions at the Fortress, for cheap: it only costs like 25$ to get married. For 10 minutes of talk, the “I do” and signing of the papers. 

If we wanted a Saturday or Sunday wedding it would have been 10 times that. If we wanted to get married on any other day, or anywhere else, the cost for a Civil Union starts at 500$ and it goes up! Here - in Eastern Europe, in a small country.

Do not want to even imagine how expensive this is anywhere else in the world. And the ceremony would have been exactly the same. 10 minutes, “I do”, sign the papers. Done.

And we didn’t even have to decorate the spot we got married in as it fits perfectly with our theme, so 0$ spent there! Our wedding venue was a small restaurant right there in the fortress, so we didn’t have to stress with moving the guests from one spot to the next, or other costs there.

Plus the restaurant had everything we needed from tables, chairs, wonderful servers and most importantly DELICIOUS food. So we didn’t have to think about other costs.

For decorations, keeping up with the theme, we had the actual restaurant in the Fortress looking like the perfect blend of medieval and modern from the get-go, Andy and I 3D printed a few Halloween pumpkins, and my grandmother brought me some interesting Fall flowers from her neighbour's garden (free of charge) that were the perfect burgundy for our theme.

We also used the flowers I received from our guests (because I was the bride and apparently that's a thing here) as extra decor around the restaurant. 

The lesson here is to keep it simple and easy. Look for ways to use and reuse anything you already have available to you. 

6. DIY or Buy?

Cut costs by doing things yourself such as making your own invitations, centrepieces and favours. If you choose to host your wedding in a backyard or park then use simple decorations such as string lights and lanterns.

You might even be as bold as I was and DIY your own wedding photography! Why not? Special mention here: Yes, I did my own wedding photography BUT there are 3 important things to note here:

• I was not alone. My brother-in-law and one of my best friends in this whole world were my other 2 photographers, even if one of them has NO experience and the other was just starting in the photo field. They helped with capturing the most important moments of the day, from getting ready to the ceremony to the party. We even snuck in a fast bride&groom session.
• I am an artist-photographer since I was 16. I know what I am doing, I know my camera, what I have to do and what I want to achieve. So I was able to ask for what I needed even when I wasn’t there on location (for my groom getting ready for example).
• We borrowed an Instax from one of our besties. This created a fun distraction for the guests and a great album filled with instant memories for us!

We also created our own Save the Dates, Invitations, Wedding Schedule and Wedding menus and we kept almost all of them only digital. We helped in saving the planet and keeping costs low all in one go.

Another thing we did ourselves were the wedding favours (partially). We bought the bottles for the alcohol that we gave to our guests as gifts, we 3D printed decorative pumpkins and the bags needed. The only thing we didn't DIY were the cakes we wanted to give.

Figure out what things you can do to keep your costs low. Think of anything from decor to attire. You, for example, might be a super-talented seamstress without even realising it. Put that to good use and only buy where you know it’s cost-effective and worth it.     

7. Don’t employ a wedding planner

This might sound insane to many of you right now, but it’s true. And even some wedding planners tell you this. If you can’t afford one, don’t have one. Use the free resources they put out for budget brides, but don’t employ them.

A huge helper for me, even though I’m not living in the US and she is speaking mainly for the US brides, was Jamie Wolfer. 

This amazing human being saved me so much time trying to figure out silly details about wedding planning, like when and how to talk to vendors, or what our guests would really care about when it came to attending the wedding. She really helped us get to the wonderful day that we did, and she doesn’t even realise it! 

And all I did was watch her videos and use some of the free tools she has available for brides to be. Oh, and the Digital Wedding Planner Template from Google Sheets. Whoever created this, deserves a medal!

8. Tap into your resources

If you have great friends or family that can help you with anything related to your wedding for a smaller fee or even free of charge, now it’s time to ask for their help.

But please! Don’t act entitled and spoiled. If they refuse, thank them for their time, and don’t be mean or vindictive afterwards. Also, I am solely speaking here about the closest of the close to you and your groom. 

Remember My Big Fat Greek Wedding? Someone did the flowers, someone the hair and make-up, someone cooked. Everybody chipped in and they all had a wonderful time doing it. How do you think they kept the costs low on a huge wedding like that?

9. Get inspiration from the right places

While watching “Say Yes to the Dress” might be entertaining, the fact that a single bride can spend 50k-100k on one wedding dress for me is absolutely insane. Shows like “Curvy Brides Boutique” for example are more down to Earth and uplifting, because they never focus on the price tag but on the happiness of the bride. 

No matter where you get your ideas from, surround yourself with content that is helpful and appropriate to you. Don’t ever put yourself down for not wanting or having the financial means to spend incredible amounts of money for one day in your life. 

Pinterest, YouTube and TikTok are filled with great ideas for budget-friendly weddings, so you’ll definitely find your inspiration. 

10. Focus on what matters! 

At the end of the day, all you have to do to stick to a small budget is to focus on what really matters to you and your groom on your wedding day: love, good food, great music and your closest people sharing in the happiness with you.

Everything else is just extra.

P.S. My cape? Me and my mom made it! My husband's tunic? Me and my mom made it, 12 hours before the wedding. If I can do it, with NO sewing experience, anyone can.

Aaaaaaaand that’s all for today, lovely dreamers! We hope you enjoyed this long list of ideas on how to plan a themed wedding on a small budget, and if you did, please make sure to share it, pin it, and tweet it! 

QOTD: What’s your must-have for your wedding?