10 Budget Tips for Planning Your Dream Wedding

Photo: Our Love is Loud

“Where do I even begin?”

If that thought has ever crossed your mind, or even—
“I don’t want to spend my life’s savings to throw a party” - We see you.

Weddings can involve a lot of vendors and it’s so easy to rack up a tab. We’re not big on shortcuts at Realm, but we are big on foregoing tradition to honor what’s most important to you.

So before we begin, we invite you to open your mind to what your wedding could be rather than operating under the thought of what it should be.

Photo: Our Love is Loud

Tip #1 - Forget the Shoulds

At Realm we think first dances, toasts, cake cutting, etc are all optional, and never a “should.” Hell, in Colorado, you can even skip the officiant and marry yourselves.

If someone ever tells you that you have to do something, consider that a moment to flag the “should” so you can evaluate with your partner if it’s for you or if it’s not.

Including or excluding certain traditions is such a BIG way to personalize the experience of your wedding for you and for your guests. We’re passionate about bucking tradition.

Photo: Rebecca Haley Photography

Tip #2 - Time is Money

Your venue cost is typically based on the time you have the venue reserved for. If you forgo a formal ceremony and cocktail hour, you’re often able to opt for a shorter rental package more suited to a reception only.

This is perfect if you’re planning on eloping and still want a way to celebrate with your people or if you’re simply saying your “I do’s” in nature (we’re looking at your gloriously beautiful Colorado) rather than at a venue.

This will have a trickle down cost savings effect on your other vendor costs as it consolidates a TON of logistics, and overall is less operating time for a number of vendors—specifically catering and bar service.

And ask when venue shopping if there are any rate variations based on time of year and/or day of the week. Realm offers lower rates Sunday-Thursday. You better believe we’ve hosted weddings every day of the week.

Photo: Rachel Grammes

Tip #3 - Opt for an Intimate Guest List

Contrary to popular belief, intimate weddings aren’t for couples who don’t know a lot of people (LOL), they are for couples who are incredibly intentional about who they want to include in their celebration.

There is a closeness that is inherent to a smaller guest count, and we’ve had the pleasure of seeing a handful of 50ish person weddings for the sweetest couples we have ever met.

Intimate weddings are incredibly special gatherings and they have the perk of having a lower overall spend on vendors such as food and beverage which are typically a per person cost.

Photo: Proud Fit Photography

Tip #4 - Find a Venue That’s Beautiful As-Is

Select a venue that is beautiful all on its own. Decor is often finalized later in on the planning process after a number of other variables have already been paid for.

Therefore, your decor spend will scale according to what the remainder of the budget has available, so if you already think your venue is beautiful, you have the flexibility to keep decor minimal if your budget starts to run tighter than expected.

And if you have a healthy amount still left in your budget, you’ll have the ability to play up special touches and personal expression through your decor in a bigger way.

Photo: Kasitimbay Photography

Tip #5 - Food is Spensy

You thought venues, photographers, and rings were expensive—then you started shopping for caterers. That’s right, catering can be so expensive, but we’re here to get you up to speed and offer some advice.

Event Caterers in Colorado are full service—which means they don’t just facilitate food service; they also are in charge of setting up every floor plan variation for you as well. This is important to know so you understand the value of what you’re paying for with your caterer—they are the MVP of your event as far as we’re concerned. Realm’s list of preferred caterers are all full service—another way we set up our clients for the best experience possible.

With that said, consider how you want food to be served—stations can be more cost effective than plated dinners. If you keep the menu short and less elaborate, you can also dial in your catering costs. And heck, food trucks can be a great candidate for keeping costs lower. Not all food trucks are full service event caterers so keep that in mind!

Photo: Our Love is Loud

Tip #6 - Booze Strategy

You can keep your budget dramatically in check by opting for a dry reception with specialty mocktails, kombucha, etc. Sober gatherings are quickly becoming a popular option.

Not down to go dry, but don’t want to break the bank on booze? Start by asking venues what their policies are for buying/serving alcohol as you begin to look. A number of venues have a liquor license and work with specific vendors for bar service because—well, you guessed it—they make a big cut on the alcohol served at your event.

Realm doesn’t have a liquor license, so you’re able to purchase your alcohol from wherever you please, it just has to be served by a vendor with Liquor Liability (a key insurance credential). This is a huge element of flexibility for our clients and helps with cost savings so choose your venue wisely.

Photo: Iva Dostal Photography

Tip #7 - Dessert Differently

Want something sweet, but that’s low fuss? Pick up an order of cupcakes, doughnuts, or heck, Whole Foods’ Chantilly Cake for a sugar feature that keeps costs low without having to cut out that “something sweet.” You could even have a small signature cake for cutting and then focus on smaller individual desserts for your guests.

If you opt for small individual desserts, we suggest coordinating with your planner to find a cute way to display them during your party. And if you’re not a sugar fan, skip it all together. Hell, you could do something—dare we say it—SALTY instead.

Photo: Brumley & Wells

Tip #8 - Rentals Add Up Fast

Rental costs can get out of hand in a hot minute. Realm’s specialty lounge pieces as well as our tables and chairs for 50 are INCLUDED with every booking. That’s thousands of dollars of built-in value at your fingertips.

Our capacity is of course higher than 50 (110 for seated dinners, 130 for cocktail style), so our clients with more robust guest counts often incorporate rentals.

Often, our larger weddings forgo dedicated seats for everyone for a more informal cocktail style reception with waves of dinner service via a food truck. This changes the energy of the reception by incorporating mingling, movement, higher energy and you guessed it—dancing. Typically this works best for guest counts around 100 that end up with about 75 seats from utilizing our lounges, built-in banquette, window bar and of course, tables and chairs.

The other thing you NEED to know about rentals is that delivery fees can be crazy high. Ask your rental rep early on for all the options for deliveries, then coordinate with your venue to review rental delivery & pickup timeframes so you can strategize this often unexpected cost.

Photo: Realm

Tip #9 - Compost is Cool

Rental dining sets that include plates, flatware, specialty glassware and linens is a luxurious way to level up your table aesthetics, but as it’s a luxury, it can come at a pretty penny. If this expense is feeling like a stretch, we have a suggestion.

By opting for compostable dining sets rather than higher dollar rentals, you can keep costs way down while also minimizing your carbon footprint by having a compostable single use option. Thankfully, compostable dining sets are continuing to get cuter and cuter. And if you’re struggling with leaving behind the vibey rentals behind, you could still incorporate a specialty glassware option for beverages without opting for the cost of a full dining set.

Photo: Meraki Photo Co

Tip #10 - Invest in a Planner

At Realm and most other venues, planners are required for your wedding. That’s because we all want the actual best for you and a good planner is WORTH THEIR WEIGHT IN SOLID GOLD BABY.

Yes the aesthetics and details matter, but at the end of the day, enjoying the experience of your day becomes possible with the right planner— #1 because they’ve helped set up your day for success before the day even comes and #2 they’re troubleshooting all the unexpected things that come up that day while you’re blissfully unaware of anything having one awry. Yay. We love that. And you will too.

Photo: Bridget Burnett Photography

And that’s a wrap!

We hope those 10 tips spark your curiosity for how you could plan your day so that your budget honors what is most important to you and your partner.