How I Made BIG SAVINGS On My Wedding with Facebook Marketplace by Amy Riley

Introducing our New Star Member Feature!!

Our couples over at The Low Budget Wedding Group are planning their weddings with the added challenge of making magic happen with a low budget.

With the help of real-life brides2be, planning their weddings right now we'll show you how you can spend less and still have a lovely wedding. It is possible, our brides are showing you how every day!

We're recognising outstanding group member contributions with features on this site to the benefit of all. Today it is the turn of STAR group member Amy Riley who has generously granted permission for her group tips to be added here.

Thank you Amy, these are great insights!

All members featured will have their very own custom badge (see above) to proudly display on their social media pages, sites along with a link back to their business or personal FB page.

How to make amazing wedding savings with Facebook Marketplace by Amy Riley

"Hey Ladies! I know a lot of us are really struggling to have an inexpensive wedding so I thought I'd share a few tips that helped me cut some costs and find vendors that were in my lower budget. Of course these may not work for everyone, but it's worth a shot right?

1) Find a local wedding vendor group

I'm part of a couple here in Charlotte and when I was looking for a venue I posted in the group everything I was looking for in a venue. The look I wanted, my venue budget I needed to stay under, number of guests, I wanted to do my own alcohol, food, etc.

I was contacted by several vendors who were willing to work with me and I was able to get a venue for less than half of what was quoted on the website! Some owners WILL work with you if they can!

2) Food - Find some local food trucks or Mom and Pop caterers. 

Here in Charlotte local food trucks don't charge as much per head and you can score some amazing food! Most larger caterers wanted $30-$60 a head and I got an amazing caterer for $10 a head buffet style!

3) Photographer/DJ/Bartender

I put a post on the wedding fb group with my budget, number of hours, what I was hoping to get for my budget, etc. I was contacted by some amazing, talented individuals who were normally way more expensive who were willing to work within my budget. I found great people for awesome prices.

4) Flowers

I sourced my own flowers from Michael's, Joanns, Amazon, and FB Marketplace from other brides. I was able to get amazing quality artificial flowers that look real! The best part is I can sell them after the wedding and recoup some of what I spent!

5) Dress

I know most ladies want that "Bridal Experience", but as we all know most dresses are super expensive in the store. I've seen a lot of your post about dresses you tried on and fell in love, but couldn't afford it. Don't put yourself through that agony of trying on a dress that is out of budget bc all the other dresses may not live up to that one and you will feel like you are settling in the end. 

It breaks my heart for you ladies that you found your dress but it's not in the budget. I found my dress on FB marketplace BRAND NEW. It was literally my dream dress come to life. I got it for literally a fraction of what it would have cost brand new. 

A lot of brides buy a dress and then change their mind and buy a new one (must be nice, right? Lol). If you can get over having that bridal experience you could find a dress worn once or even not at all for super cheap!

I also found Amazon has super cheap dresses although it is crapshoot if the quality is really there. I've seen $2000-$3000 dresses for under $750 or even cheaper on FB marketplace.

6) Decor

Most of my decor I got off FB marketplace from brides who had already had their wedding. Not only did I get some already made decor to save me time later, I was even able to talk 'em down a bit by buying more from them. I also scoured the craft stores for clearance wedding stuff and found some amazing deals on a ton of stuff.

Make sure you set a hard budget for each piece of the wedding. Venue budget, cake budget, food budget, decor budget, flower budget, dress budget, etc. The Knot website/App or Wedding Wire App is a great tool to break down each piece so you can see what may or may not be realistic for your area. 

7) Invitations

It can help you figure out what areas are super important and which ones aren't. I got my invitations on clearance for $5 for 25 count. I'm just gonna print them myself and the other inserts I made myself on Word with cardstock and printed myself to save money.

All in all the local wedding groups and just simply being upfront and honest about my needs were the reason I got the vendors I got within or under my budget. 

I love helping people and I fully believe that every bride deserves the wedding of her dreams no matter her budget. I hope by sharing some of what I have learned over the past 5.5 months I have been planning my own wedding can be helpful to you ladies in having your dream wedding!"

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