Skip to content
Miami: 305-261-2001 | Coral Gables: 305-445-1313

How to Plan a Wedding on a Budget (And Stick to It!)

Bride and Groom holding each other smiling

When considering places to have a wedding, cost can either make or break the venue. With 2.4 million weddings taking place every year, it can seem like all the good party venues are taken, especially if you started planning your wedding a little later than recommended. This is a day you’re going to remember for the rest of your life, and it’s important to get the premier wedding experience you deserve. With that in mind, here are four ways to stick to a wedding budget.

1. Plan Early
If you want a short engagement, you might want to reconsider: you’ll get the most bang for your buck if you find wedding venues a year early. In fact, the majority of brides book their weddings seven to 12 months in advance; trying to find a venue at the last minute might leave you with fewer options or a pricier payment. Also, don’t forget to take the time of year into account: summer weddings are the most popular, with June leading the parade. Looking at venues in the fall will not only offer beautiful autumnal foliage, but it might increase your list of places to have a wedding.

2. Have Your Wedding Outside
Outdoor weddings are slowly becoming more popular — almost 35% of weddings nowadays take place in the sunshine. Not only will this give you a unique wedding venue, it’ll save you some pocket change too! You can use that extra dough on pulling out all the stops for your big day, including elaborate decorations or stellar entertainment. Pair the ceremony with the reception and you’ll save on the cost of transportation too. Who wants to travel to five different places to have a wedding? Keeping it simple will slice your budget and keep your guests happy. This type of venue will also accommodate a lot more people: the average wedding consisted of 136 people in 2014. If a guest comes later on, they can simply join the party and you don’t need to worry about fitting in another plate of food at the reception.

3. Look at All Inclusive Event Packages
The last thing you want to do is stress about each finite detail on your big day — why not let the venue take care of it? Many banquet halls and beautiful ballrooms, especially in destination locations like Miami, offer all inclusive wedding packages, taking care of everything from entertainment to food to transportation on your big day. Ditching the tradition of hemming and hawing over every detail will allow you to focus on the important parts of your wedding: namely, celebrating with your friends and family.

4. Ditch the DJ
All inclusive event packages may already come with a DJ or a live form of entertainment. But if you don’t have one yet, using an music player and a pair of good speakers is more than enough to get the job done. In an elegant wedding venue, your guests will be too busy taking in the ambience to focus too much on the entertainment. Music is music and you can have a lot of fun crafting a fun, personalized playlist for your special day.

Finding places to have a wedding is often the most stressful part of the whole process. During this exciting time, looking at all inclusive weddings can provide a one-stop solution to the centuries-old issues behind wedding planning. Not only that, it will give you one of the best wedding venues in Miami while keeping your budget in check.