[USER]

I’m getting married on October 9th. Any ideas on saving money on the wedding? And how to save money on gift baskets for out of town guests.

“I’m looking for creative ideas to save money on my wedding.

Specifically, I’m wondering about ways to cut costs without sacrificing quality when it comes to guest gift baskets.

I want the baskets to feel thoughtful and personalized, but I’m open to more affordable options or DIY solutions.

Does anyone have tips or suggestions for budget-friendly ideas that still leave a great impression on guests?

I’d love to hear any recommendations on where to find inexpensive yet meaningful items, or how to make the baskets feel special without overspending.”

[Cheryl]

How many guests? And how many “favors” would you need?
Maybe you could bake a large (4-5″ wide) sugar or chocolate chip cookie and decorate/write on it with thin piped icing –like your last name and the date.

Then wrap them and put at place settings as favors.

And cookies freeze well, so you could work on these a month ahead of time.

[Lori]

Skip the gift baskets for guests. Do thank you notes for the gifts brought for you two.

[Marsha]

Don’t give gift baskets to out of town guests. No one is expecting one anyway.

[Alexis]

Avoid the gift baskets. Have a friend initiate, another friend BBQ and avoid the expensive flowers. We bought a crap ton of chicken from Costco, marinated it and had a friend cook.

Invite only those close to you.

I allowed people to weed themselves out by inviting them to an engagement party.

If they didn’t show for that, they weren’t invited to the wedding.

[Penny]

I don’t understand why out of town guests need a gift basket.

[Rachel]

I’ve only been to one wedding that had a gift basket and those people had MONEY. Don’t do gift baskets. You can put a cute little favor at everyone’s seat at the reception if you want (although, honestly, most wedding favors are a waste of money.

How long am I going to hold on to a random item just bc it has your name on it?) and hand out bubbles pre-ceremony (or whatever you’re using to celebrate right after the recessional).

[Michele]

If you want to give something to out of town guests, get a small gift bag at the dollar store, put a couple of waters, a snack like apples, chips or popcorn, granola bar, chocolate, whatever you thing they’ll like best.

It’s nice to have a few things in the room.

I wouldn’t do favours unless you do a baked good as suggested, or a small craft item you make, unless there is something special to your area that you want to share.

I agree with spending the money on food.

Your snack table idea could be fun towards the end of the night.

[Gia]

Instead of doing a wedding cake do cupcakes and form a table in the shape of a heart!!!

You can do many flavors too. They could be frozen and frosted the day before.

Something different!

[Rachel]

Contact your local convention and visitors bureau. They may provide free welcome bags or packets for your visiting guests at their hotel.

This can be an incredible resource for those not familiar with your area, and give them ideas on what to do when they arrive and have time before and/or after the wedding festivities.

[Sandy]

I’ve never gotten a gift basket as a wedding gift. I’ve gotten bubbles and even a color coordinated ornament.

A gift for members of the wedding party such as a bracelet for the ladies, cigars(?) for the guys.

Concentrate on the food, venue and music (if you plan on dancing especially).

Since I don’t know where you live or what kind of weather I won’t recommend a venue.

[Sparkle]

if anyone you invite to your special day judges you on food, decor, etc, you don’t need them.

People who truly care about you are happy to come and enjoy your wedding and have something to eat.

[Michelle]

Save money by deciding on your vision for your big day. It helps you to narrow down what you do need and what you don’t need. Set priorities.

Our priorities were food, entertainment and photography. That’s where we spent the bulk of our money.

We did not spend a lot of money on the cake or flowers or trinkets that people would throw away.

Actually we didn’t have trinkets at all.

[Jennifer]

most frugal idea I ever heard was a surprise wedding at Thanksgiving dinner–seriously. I liked my very small wedding but that’s $20k I’ll never see again

[Lois]

I have prepared many gift baskets! You will need to make 2 stops… only!

1) Your local airport has a visitor’s center with maps, tourist suggestions and a yearly published “ Where to go” magazine.

Tell them what you need and why and they will give them to you.

2) Dollar Store
Here, you can get plain handled bags, 3+ for 1.25
Go to the stationary area where you can get stick on jewels, stick on flowers, stick on ANYTHING! Grab what appeals to you, your color theme etc…

You and a friend can have wine and spend a couple hours decorating!

-Suggestions for what to put in the bag:
2 bottles of water
Cookie packages
Pretzels
Hard candy
Mints
Some chocolates (usually they have small Dove Bars)

If you want to make it really nice, buy the little satin bags and put a few candies in each one or just throw them in the bag.

Small bag of nuts
Small pringles can
A fun pen
Small pad of paper

You can literally spend 5 or 6 dollars on each gift bag but no more than 10!

Gift tags to identify the recipient. The hotel will hand them out for you.

Easy peasy! Have fun! And it is gracious to have gift bags for guests traveling for the big day!

[Annette]

It was a very long time ago, (1977), but doing your own flowers can be so very thrifty. My bridesmaids carried one rose, which we bought the day before from a farmers market vendor.

Did get fern and baby’s breath from a florist beforehand.

Tied with long ribbons, they were beautiful. My flowers were attached to my Mom’s white prayerbook, so that could not be thrown.

Had fresh flowers in a small glass on top of cake, so that was the throwaway bouquet.

October 8, love an early Fall wedding.

[Lisa]

Gift baskets not needed. Never heard of this. A lot of it will be wasted.

[Samantha]

My husband and I eloped, I bought my dress from a clearance rack at Kohl’s and we bought a small maybe $20 cake from meijer that he and I enjoyed after eloping.

A year later we had a cookout, all together it cost maybe $150-200 for the food and everyone to attend.

For us it was all about being together and not doing anything crazy for anyone else but ourselves.

It’s your day, no one else’s so don’t go crazy if you don’t want to, your presence and that they are all involved in such a beautiful thing should be more than enough.

[Ashley]

Skip the baskets. Heck, we forgot our favors too, and the wedding went on. Don’t feel obligated to do some things and it end up just being not used by the guests.

If you feel the need to do something, maybe a sweet hand written card thanking them for coming.

[Sharon]

Well when I got married 52 years ago we gave out tiny pieces of our wedding cake a delicious cake with a tiny ribbon & paper on it with our names & date of wedding.

We had about 150 people. People loved it.

[ReShawn]

No gift baskets. Why are you giving them gifts?
Have a potluck for the dinner
Only have one of each for the wedding party
Get dress at consignment and shoes
Or rent
Make your own bouquet, I did
Get as much help from friends and family

[Tracy]

Just do some edible table favors…nice chocolates or something. Out of town guests don’t need or expect a gift basket.

And, as cute as they are, trinkety table favors, especially personalized to bride and groom, are not something people want or keep.

Give something consumable like great snacks,or even a candle, or something else practical and consumable that goes with the theme of your day.

[Anita]

I’m going to a funeral next week and everyone was asked to bring a cake with them. I think it’s a fab idea. Could work for a wedding too.

[Summer]

Check your local Buy Nothing groups. I frequently see people giving away wedding decorations/favors because they have no use for them after the wedding day.

[Pamela]

One of the best weddings we attended. They got married at the edge of the woods. Potluck with certain people and friends asked to bring a specific dish to feed an approximate number of people.

They had a couple of different flavors of homemade sheet cakes to cut.

[Corinne]

2 daughters got married 5 months apart. Both had out of town guests. One did a welcome bag water and something local to the areas they are from another didn’t do anything.

Both weddings were great I thi k you can skip the welcome but if you do keep it small

[Eleanor]

We got married 2 years ago and made or thrifted as much as possible. Check marketplace for wedding decor. Gift bags are completely unnecessary.

As far as wedding favors, unless it’s edible skip it.

We made flavored popcorn and smores.

What the guests didn’t take home became snacks for our honeymoon.

[Author]

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