A Brooklyn Wedding

There’s no doubt that weddings are expensive. Especially one in the New York City area. Instead of DIYing or cutting costs on the important things like your photographer, here are eight of the biggest ways to save money. As an all-inclusive wedding venue we know there are smart ways to spend money on your wedding and dumb ways save money. We want you to have the best experience on your wedding day. Here are our favorite ways to save money without compromising on your overall experience.

Affordable Wedding Tips

1. Consumption based bar- Most venues have a price for an open bar. Open bar pricing is where the venue charges an astronomical amount for drinks per person to make sure that their costs are covered and they made their margin on the bar. However, what this means is usually the people who have a few drinks are charged the same as those who are very heavy drinkers. After years in the industry it actually doesn’t all even out in the end. An open bar price is always more than the average per person cost based on actual consumption.
2. No transportation needs- If you live in the city you know Ubers and Taxi’s are getting more expensive than ever with additional taxes etc. Having to provide transportation to the ceremony space, to the reception space and back to hotels is an expense most people don’t think of until the very end of their wedding planning. We highly recommend choosing a venue with plenty of hotels within walking distance and being able to have the ceremony and reception in the same place.
3. Limited Décor or flowers- Choose a venue that has done the aesthetic work for you. They know how to permanently decorate the space so you don’t have to work to fill it with thousands of dollars of florals or rented backdrops, etc.
4. Off season wedding – You can find huge cost savings picking a shoulder season or off-season wedding. Honestly you guests will thank you when they don’t have every weekend in June filled up with weddings. At an indoor venue it’s easier to choose off-season dates without the hindrance of weather on your mind.
5. Friday or Sunday wedding- This is a great option if you truly have to have a peak season wedding date. Many people now work remotely, so it’s easier for traveling guests to attend a Friday or Sunday wedding. If most of your guests are from the area this can be an excellent option for cost savings without inconveniencing your guests.
6. Skip the champagne toast- A champagne toast does not add any extra sentimentality to your day. Everyone can raise their glass no matter what’s in it. We have opened countless bottles of champagne only to have every glass left on the table with nothing except a sip taken out of them. Believe it or not that sip costs you hundreds of dollars.
7. Pick a venue w lots included (chairs, tables, linens, etc.)- Similar to transportation having to rent things for you wedding can add un-necessary costs. Not only on the rental items themselves, but on astronomical delivery fees that will really catch you off guard.
8. Cut guests- You’ve probably heard it here before, but we are big fans of the intimate wedding and even bigger fans of a Micro Wedding. The quickest way to save money is truly just cut guests. Micro Weddings at Deity still have all the elements of a full wedding just at a smaller guest count to save you tens of thousands of dollars.