If you’re dreaming of the perfect rustic wedding, but are like most brides and on a budget, use these tips to help you plan and stick to your budget. Some wedding budgets are big, some are small, either way you’ll be able to create your ideal rustic wedding while keeping that budget in mind!  

Planning your dreamy rustic nuptials in the backyard? Check out our post on planning a wedding during COVID19 and how to plan a backyard wedding.

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Location

Venue is often the most expensive item on the wedding planning list and can really shape the atmosphere of your big day. Are you hoping for an intimate ceremony, or just want to enjoy a nice outside space? A backyard wedding, park, garden, or other public green space may be the perfect spot. For bigger weddings this may even be a great way to save on venue costs. Find a spot you can use for free or minimal cost, rent a tent and create your space!

Rustic weddings don’t have to rely on the space, you can create the feeling with the right decor. So if you’re working on a smaller budget, a free (or almost free) space like a backyard or park as your venue will leave more room in the budget to deck it out with rustic decor! Add barrels, greenery, iron accents, lanterns, and eclectic table decor for a truly rustic-chic feel.

Decorations

As we previously mentioned, decor can really make the space when it comes to rustic weddings. It can also be as simple or intricate as you want! We love this idea from Creations by FC. With an eye-catching monogram, string lights and candles that make the space feel intimate, and a mixture of wood, greenery and metals, it’s equal parts glam and rustic.

Keep it simple with rustic barrels, picture frames, flowers, and lanterns that lead up to a beautiful greenery covered arch in your outdoor ceremony space.

Greenery, flowers and lights hanging above the head table really makes it pop, while keeping the a large space feeling cozy. Swap a table cloth for a table runner and cover it with greenery and candles, leaving part of the wooden table exposed for an elegant yet rustic look!

Guest List

One of the easiest ways to save money when planning a wedding is to reduce the guest list. The smaller your list, the less you have to spend on invitations, food, drinks, and table and chair rentals. By keeping the per-person cost lower, you’ll keep your overall costs lower. If you’re working with a limited budget, invite only the most important people in your life, and/or try to find a venue with a lower cost-per-head if they’re charging you based on attendance.

DIY vs Using the Professionals

A lot of brides think that DIY-ing everything at their wedding will save them money, but unfortunately there are some things you should just leave to the professionals! Here’s our take on where to DIY and where to outsource your efforts:

Decor: DIY

If you don’t want rent decor, the easiest way to save on cost is to make it yourself. Find inspiration on Pinterest for simple, budget friendly centerpiece ideas, dessert table decor, and ideas on how to decorate your ceremony and reception space cost-effectively. Not having a wedding planner do this for you is going to help save some money (sometimes even quite a bit depending on your area).

Food: Usually Professionals

You want to enjoy your wedding day, and let your family enjoy it as well. Cooking your own food can be a way to reduce expense, but you’ll want to consider the enjoyment cost of feeding a crowd, rather than enjoying your reception or morning of your wedding. Exception: if you’re having a very small wedding or a small-ish backyard wedding where it’s not inconvenient to feed 10 – 30 people. Beyond that, you may want to hire a caterer.

Drinks: Either

It’s awesome to have a bartender and staff that will re-fill your glass, but you can easily have your own set up if you have a small wedding in your backyard or in a similar setting. If you’re having the event at an actual venue, they’ll likely require a bartender, whether it’s their own or a company you hire yourself, for legal purposes.

In those cases, many venues (though not all) will let you bring in your own alcohol. To save money and still offer a free fully-open or partially-open bar to your guests, find one that does and bulk-buy your desired libations at a local liquor store or wholesale club like Costco, for bartenders to pour from. Because bartenders can only serve what you provide rather than access an almost-limitless supply, this leaves no surprises when you get the bill. Or you can always do a cash bar for part of or for the whole night.

Hair & Makeup: DIY

This is an easy place to save money if you’re worried about budget. Hair and makeup for you and your leading ladies can be really pricing depending on where your venue is – sometimes even running up to $500 and beyond! Unless you’re not confident in your makeup skills or want a really intricate updo, this is an easy place to save money and do it yourself.

Rentals: Professionals

It may be cheaper to purchase plastic chairs rather than rent the venue’s wood ones, but what are you going to do with 50+ plastic chairs after your wedding day? Think about where you can cut costs, but consider all your options and rent where it makes the most sense. This can also apply to decor – if you’re having a large wedding, it may be easier to just rent centerpieces from an event coordinator or local event shop. There are even places online where brides rent out their decor or sell old wedding decor to each other!

Details

The true charm in a rustic wedding is in the details. Incorporate rustic details where your guests wouldn’t expect but fit your theme perfectly! This adorable cupcake stand made out of crates is so cute, and is perfect for any dessert or snack table at a rustic wedding.  You can find it on Etsy here.

This wood slice cake stand is also such a gorgeous, rustic way to show off your wedding cake. It’s subtle but really enhances the rustic-feel of the space. It’s all about those details that tie it all together!

Carry those rustic details all the way to your guest’s table assignments with wood place cards that hold guest names and table numbers. It’s such a cute way to help guests find their seats.

Timing

Time of day and day of the week make a major impact on the cost of your venue and vendors. Choosing a day like Sunday or even a weekday, is going to majorly cut costs. However, you’ll want to consider the inconvenience it poses on guests, especially ones from out of town. To make sure people don’t have to take off work or use vacation days, you may want to think about a weekend wedding with morning ceremony & early afternoon reception.

There’s also a wedding “off season” which means a winter wedding is going to be a lot less expensive than any other time of year. Summer and spring are typically the most expensive, but if you’re not crazy about the idea of a winter wedding, you may be able to find a deal on an early spring date.