·

Nashville Bride Guide on The Rachel Cruze Show: Sharing Money Saving Wedding Tips

We have had a BIG secret brewing for quite some time, and now we can finally reveal it! Did you see Nashville Bride Guide on The Rachel Cruze Show? That was us! If you are not familiar with Rachel Cruze, she shares some amazing money saving tips on her podcast and Youtube channel. When we got the call that she was interested in working with us on her wedding episode, we were ecstatic! Plus, we were able to feature floral designs from Sarah Lizabeth and rentals from Liberty Party Rental! We could not have done it without their help! Check out our tips along with the show clip below!

Here’s what we had to say!

Get Inspiration

Many couples look on Pinterest or wedding blogs like mine to get wedding decor inspiration. Which is great – you should start looking and pinning and saving images of styles you like – this will help you get a better idea of what you like and what you don’t like. However, many of these images are very whimsical and very “fantasy wedding” and were created as a mock table or styled shoot with only 1-2 styled tables and no real wedding budget tied to it. And there’s no way anyone knows what it would actually cost per guest to get that exact look. But I’m here to help break it all down for you and show you how you can achieve a higher end look on a budget. 

So we have two tables here – one that is a very high budget – a table that you might see on Pinterest… and the other that achieves a similar look but for WAY less. Now, you might be able to tell which is which, (point out which table is which) but will your guests really see the difference? No. 

Now if you have your heart totally set on this setup and want it for your wedding, a great option is to have this look as your sweetheart or head table and this look for your guest tables. It’s still achieving that.

Guest Count

The best way to cut down on costs for your wedding is through your guest count. Think about it, every guest you invite to your wedding incurs a cost – a full meal, a favor, a place setting, a chair, a drink, etc. You’ll want to do some math and break down how much money you want to spend on each guest. And let me tell you, it adds up quickly! 

So let’s break down the cost of these two tables and place settings per guest. Can you guess how much this place setting costs per person vs. this one?

Photography via The Rachel Cruze Show

Money Saving Tips on Linen

Now let’s talk about this gorgeous high end table scape – a Pinterest dream! Don’t you love this velvet linen? We are seeing this beautiful velvet linen all over the internet – such a hot trend. But how much does it cost? Each linen itself can range from $45-$57. Now imagine having a full room of tables with these linens on them – it would probably cost about $500 of your wedding budget just on linens! However moving over to this table, these are basic poly linens. The cool part is that no matter what color you want on your tables, it costs the same – white costs the same as this beautiful mauve color. Do you think your guests are really going to remember that your linens are velvet or poly under the dim light in your reception venue? Probably not. And this material – polyester linen costs just $14-$18 per linen. So that’s $150 total. We’re already saving $350 on this wedding! 

Florals: Sarah Lizabeth, Rentals: Liberty Party Rental

Money Saving Tips on Chairs

Chairs are another great way to save on your wedding. These beautiful chiavari chairs are so popular at weddings – they cost $8.50/chair here in Nashville but some higher end upholstered chairs can go up to almost $20/chair. So for your 100 person wedding, it will cost you $850 to have one of these chairs for each guest. If your budget is only $10k, that is like 1/10 of your budget spent only on chairs! These classic resin or wood folding chairs are padded and still pretty comfortable for your guests. They are $2.90 per chair and you can get them in the same color. So $290 vs. $850 – you’re saving $600 on your wedding chairs! 

Money Saving Tips on Place Settings

Ok, so for each place setting – every single piece of this has a price. And when you go to your rental showroom to see which place settings you like, there are so many price points and options! For instance, this fork is .45 and this one is .60. If you want real silver, then it can go up to .85 per piece. However, not everyone is going to have a proper salad at their wedding – you could have a buffet where everything goes on the dinner plate. Or you could even use plasticware for your wine and bar drinks and also for your cake. This will save you a TON! 

Each place setting on this budget table is $5.55

Each place setting on this luxury table is $11.40

Saving $5.85 per person 

Money Saving Tips on Floral Arrangements

As far as the centerpieces go, to save on those – it’s important to ask your florist what florals are in season vs. out of season. If a flower is out of season, it’s going to cost significantly more to get it imported here for your wedding. Keeping the size small and with florals that are more affordable and in season will be key to saving on florals. Thinking about containers is key too! I’ve been to weddings where you can do these centerpieces on every other table – it actually gives your reception look a little more dimension and a better aesthetic in my opinion! 

Total amounts per person on each table: 

Luxury Table per person: $24.40

Budget Table per person: $9.85

Wow – we had such an incredible experience on the show! Thank you so much to Rachel Cruze and her team. We had a blast working together to give you all some guidance when it comes to money and your wedding! Yes, you can have a nice wedding on a budget!

Also, be sure to check out the podcast version of the episode with even more money saving tips from Nashville Bride Guide on The Rachel Cruze Show!

Credits

Featured below and not a part of the Nashville Bride Guide Directory? Click here to get started.