Wedding season is almost here and while you will find plenty of articles on how to cut the costs of your own wedding, there isn’t much information out there on attending one. There is no doubt expenses involved in going to a wedding, especially a destination one, and affording it can be quite a stretch when you think of travel, lodging, formal clothing (or even semi-formal) and gifts for the bride and groom. Here are some tips to saving money if you have been invited to a wedding this summer!
How to Cut the Cost of Attending a Wedding
Start planning as soon as you get the invite. Most people send out their invites within 3-4 months of the date. This gives you time to get all your affairs in order for the special day. Don’t put off the date until last minute. Start planning right away so you are not faced with a bundle of expenses 1 month before the wedding.
Start looking for clothing to wear early before the wedding season demands start clearing the supply. Also, there is no rule that says you have to buy a new outfit for every member of your family for each wedding you attend. Have an outfit on hand for all the weddings you will be going to and just change up the looks with accessories. You can also buy your clothing used. No one will know the difference.
Book any flights and hotel rooms right away. The further away you book them, the better deals you can get and you won’t be stuck in a less than optimal circumstance like long layovers or a less than stellar hotel. The travel discount sites like Travelocity, Expedia, and Orbitz offer great deals on airfare if you are flexible with layovers. You can also find deals for summer getaways this time of year that may help with some of the costs. To save even more, try splitting the costs with someone else attending the wedding. You may be able to get a suite at a hotel room with a couple rooms and lots of cots for less than a single room each. Here are more ways to save money on a hotel and 10 ways to save on airfare.
Daily Deal Sites Can Help You Save on Travel. The daily deal sites often include deals on travel. You can also subscribe to email notifications about deals in cities you are planning on traveling to. Here are some of the daily deals sites where you can find travel deals:
For gifts, offer to split the cost with another attendee. You could go in with a few families for a larger item as well. Another way to save on gifts is to be on the lookout on daily deal sites or Amazon where you can get good deals on housewares and other items that are appropriate. You could also hand make a gift.
Decline some things. While it may seem rude to say no to attending several pre-wedding get-togethers, sometimes it is necessary in order to save your wallet. Let the bride and groom know you care by sending a card for the occasion, but don’t feel like you need to be in attendance for all of the festivities in order to avoid seeming rude. Reasonable people understand if all you can do is attend the wedding and maybe one of the pre-wedding parties.
Don’t attend every wedding you get an invite to. While this can come across as rude advice, it really isn’t. If someone is an acquaintance, send a card thanking them for the invite, but don’t feel like you have to spend a lot of time of money on attending. Often times, people invite everyone they know in order to avoid hurting anyone’s feels and making them feel left out, but know that reasonably, not everyone can or will attend.
Use points on your credit cards or store reward cards to save on travel expenses or gifts as soon as you find out a wedding is being planned. If you plan it right, you might even be able to get them for free or nearly free.
If you are really tapped for money on a gift, offer your expertise. If you are a great baker, seamstress or photographer, offer to do some of that for the wedding and take that expense away from the couple as your gift.
What are some ways you have saved on being a wedding guest? Do you have any weddings to attend this year? I would love to hear about them in the comments!
Amee @ MadameDeals says
Thanks for this! I need these tips, I have 4 weddings to attend this year.