After countless hours of planning and emotional stakes running high, it’s no secret that organising a wedding can be challenging. With the amount of thought that goes into making your special day the most memorable day of your life, also comes the strain of sticking to a budget. Between endless decisions and what feels like a metre long to-do-list; here are some of our favourite hacks so that you can have your champagne wedding on a chardonnay budget.

Hack 1: Fake the cake

Whether it’s covered in fondant or a naked cake, there are so many beautiful cake options to choose from. But with all of the detail and time put into your decadent dessert, extensive costs can follow. If your invite list is becoming rather long, instead of getting a large tiered display cake, choose a smaller ‘stage’ cake for photos instead. Then opt for a simple sheet cake to cover all servings that can be left in the kitchen. This will let you have your dream cake in photos, while still catering for large portions required.

Hack 2: Long white drapes go a long way

Long white drapes are a great way to embellish a space and create a dramatic effect. Speak with your venue about the decorations on offer to see if they have any decorating packages which will save you time and effort. Otherwise, look at buying material from a local fabric store, instead of buying custom made drapes to border the trees or wedding arch. Not a lot of work is required and the end product is so worth it.

Hack 3: Light it up

Illuminate your walk down the aisle to give your entrance a whimsical elegance. Our tip is to use battery powered candles placed in paper bags, perfect for a garden wedding. This is also a safer option instead of wax candles so that you can turn them on and not worry about them blowing out or eventually burning the bag.

Hack 4: Wine bottles for vases

The centre pieces for your tables set the scene and ambience of your wedding. For a vintage or rustic style wedding use old wine bottles (with the label removed) covered in gold or silver paint as vases for your flower arrangements. You can also place taper candles in the bottles, instead of candelabras. Mason jars or thrift shop vases work well too.

Hack 5: Forget florists

Instead of spending thousands of dollars on floral arrangements, make the most of your golden vases and organise to pick up market flowers the day before the wedding. Market flowers are always freshly picked and allow you to buy large quantities at a better price.

Hack 6: Consider alternative days

Saturday may be every other couple’s dream day to get married, so consider tying the knot on a Friday or Sunday instead. You’ll find venues, photographers and hire availability much better on any other day, but Saturday, with much lower costs involved too.

Hack 7: Reconsider the favours

Whilst still a gorgeous tradition, there are so many other creative (and useful) options rather than sugar coated almonds. A delightful favour idea is honey or jam in mini jars, with each guest’s name on it. A simple, yet thoughtful idea.

Hack 8: Don’t invite just to be polite

This may seem obvious, but only invite as many people as you can afford. Do the math first, looking at cost per person and work backwards from there towards how many people you should invite. Reducing your guest list by even just 20 people can help keep costs down dramatically. Another thing to consider is the reality of a big wedding. Often when weddings becomes too big, you may find yourself spending the entire time ‘meeting and greeting’ people rather than really enjoying the day, so keep this in mind too.

Mitch Pohl Photography

Hack 8: Honeymoon away

As soon as you begin Googling the term ‘honeymoon’, the cost of what otherwise would be a normal holiday has just doubled. Honeymoon packages often are more expensive and not great value, so when both researching, and booking your honeymoon, make sure you do your research on ‘honeymoon packages’.