How to Plan A Wedding For less Than $5000

How To Plan A Low Budget Wedding for less than $5000

ENGAGEMENT   WEDDING TIMELINE   VENUE   BUDGETING   VENDORS   DRESSES FLOWERS   CAKE

Planning a wedding for less than $5000 or £5000 is possible but you have to set a budget and stick to it and plan ahead to ensure you can still have a wonderful wedding without losing anything on design theme, entertainment or creating memories. Following our budget wedding planning tips to ensure your budget stays under $5000!

The top 6 wedding costs are:

1. Wedding venue
2. Photography/videography
3. Catering per head
4. Attire for yourself and bridal party/groomsmen
5. Flowers and decorations
6. Wedding Dress

6 ways to keep your wedding under $5000!

1. Keep your guest list and bridal/groomsmen party SMALL (75 or less guests)
2. Have a FREE low budget Wedding Reception Venue - Backyard / Garden / Community Hall
3. Have a Pot Luck (guests each bring a food dish), Buffet, Self Catered Reception
4. Be prepared to create DIY decorations, wedding favors, bouquets
5. Compromise on costs of professional photographer and videographers
6. Consider readymade, preloved wedding dress / grooms suit.

What NOT to do to save money and cut wedding costs

1. DO NOT require guests to pay for their own meals (bar and drinks yes, food, dinners, meals, no).
2. DO NOT specify how much your wedding guests should gift you or how much they should contribute to the cost of your wedding.
3. Be cautious when deciding to exclude plus ones and children.

If you cannot afford to fund the food yourself (Pot luck is acceptable), wait a little longer until you have saved the funds, hold a garage sale to raise money, or cut costs in other ways to ensure you can comfortably cover the cost on the day.

The same is true for including a cost on the invitation indicating the amount of the gift, i.e. a minimum cash amount. This is against wedding etiquette! It's one thing to have a gift registry; it's quite another to tell your guests how much they can spend.

Not allowing guests to bring a plus one or children is an obvious way to cut wedding costs, but we know from social media that this can leave a bad taste in many guests' mouths, causing them to cancel their attendance. This could be the most difficult aspect of planning a low-budget wedding for less than $5000.

Step by Step Budget Wedding Planning Guide

1. Set a date
2. Accept the budget.
3. Determine the number of guests.
4. Decide on your Bridal/Groomsmen Party
5. Begin looking for venues.
6. Make a wedding timeline.

Step One - Choose a Date

Planning a low-budget wedding for less than $5000 can be difficult, and organization is the key to success. A detailed printable guide with checklists on low budget wedding planning  is available HERE to assist you. You canprint it out and use it to kick start your wedding planning process.

Many couples plan their wedding two years after their engagement date.

Having a 2-year wedding planning timeline gives you a full year to research themes, color schemes, venues, budget, location, and all the finer points of wedding planning. The real work, however, begins a year before the wedding date, when those ideas are put into action. 

Step two - Agree on a wedding budget.

Who is footing the bill for the wedding?

Gather all those involved if you're splitting costs across families to discuss how this will work. When it comes to paying for weddings, different cultures have different expectations and traditions. My advice is to avoid making assumptions or expectations, and to be open to discussing it with your families.

• Will all wedding funds be given in advance and placed in a wedding savings account/pot?
• Will people instead pay their bills as they come up?
• Will different people be responsible for different costs?
• Are you required to save... can you save enough to pay your bills on time / make deposits?

Main Wedding Expenses

• Wedding Venue/s
• Catering/Bar
• Photographer/Videographer
• Wedding Dress /Groom Suit
• Rings
• Bridal party and Groomsman wear
• Reception Band or DJ/Entertainment
• H​oneymoon
• Hotel bookings
• Transport
• Officiant
• Florist / Decorations
• Cake Maker / Cake
• Hair Stylist and Makeup Artist
• Transportation/Cars
• Invitations/Stationery
• Favors
• Thank you gifts
• Engagement Party/Photos
• Bachelorette Party / Bridal Shower

Step 3 - Determine the number of guests.

Choosing the number of wedding guests will help determine the wedding budget and cost, or vice versa. If you decide on a budget ahead of time, it will determine how many guests you can invite to the ceremony and reception. Your wedding budget and guest list will determine whether you have a large or small wedding, a formal or informal wedding, and will guide you in selecting appropriate venues, among other things. With a budget of less than $5000, you should be able to comfortably accommodate a guest list of 75 or less. When calculated per person, catering can consume a significant portion of your budget!

Will your visitors have plus ones, and what about their children?

Fourth step - Select your Bridal Party and Groomsmen

The greater the number of bridesmaids, flower girls, and groomsmen, the higher the costs for clothing, shoes, hair, makeup, gifts, transportation, hotel accommodations, and flowers. To keep your wedding costs below $5000, consider having a small wedding party. It's possible that a best man, maid of honor, bridesmaid, or flowergirl will suffice.


Choose your bridal party and groomsmen and formally invite them to participate. When the maid of honor, bridesmaids, flower girls, best man, and ring bearers are asked to fulfill their roles, they are sometimes given small personalized gifts. You can save money by doing your own proposal or thank you gifts. There are numerous ideas available online, including YouTube videos, to assist you in coming up with some fantastic ideas.

Step five - Select a wedding venue.

When the wedding date is set, the wedding guest list is decided, and the wedding budget is agreed upon, you can begin looking for wedding ceremony and reception venues. The wedding venue has the potential to be your most expensive wedding expense. 

Consider the following:

When is your event taking place? Will the weather allow for the wedding and reception to be held outside? Having great weather means you can choose an outdoor wedding venue which can can save you money on costly indoor wedding venues. You or a close family member or friend may own a property large enough to host a large outdoor party. With self-catering and guests bringing their own chairs, you can create magic with an outdoor wedding.

Consider your local community halls, library, sports hall, or other large spaces that you could hire for a low cost for your wedding reception if it needs to be indoors. If the weather is variable you will need a contingency plan for any outdoor weddings in case you need to move the event inside.

Read More on how to plan your low budget wedding HERE

• Budget Wedding Venue Ideas
• 2yr Wedding Timeline
• How to save money on Flowers
• How to save money on Wedding Cake
• How to save money on Wedding Dress, Wedding Party Attire
• How to save money on Photography / Videography
• How to save money on Cars
• How to save budget
• How to take great budget engagement Photos
• Low Budget Wedding Invitations for less than $30 £0.30 each!

Wedding planning can be a difficult task, and if you're anything like us, you want to be organized and keep all of your information in one place, which could be a device, wedding app, or wedding planning binder! We love wedding planning binders because they let you cut out images from wedding magazines, add clippings from other sources, and store all of your printed receipts, wedding vendor pamphlets, and business cards! Once completed, the wedding planning binder makes an excellent keepsake for your special day! Keep track of all the gifts you received after the wedding so you can send personalized thank you notes and cards.

With this in mind, we've created a number of themed wedding planning guides, checklists, and dividers to assist you in organizing your wedding planning binder! Every week, we add new themes. Have fun, and please share your wedding planning binders and how you used our printables with us in our Facebook wedding planning group!