Navigating Wedding Costs: To Hack or to Hire for Your Budget Wedding
Wondering whether you should hire a professional or DIY certain elements of your wedding? From DJs to decor, get our take on where you can put in the work to see some savings and where it’s best to find a dedicated vendor.
Wedding planning on a budget is no small task! As a Seattle wedding planner, I’ve seen first-hand how the price of wedding services have skyrocketed the last few years. Staying on budget can be a challenge, but as they say… “out of limitations comes creativity.”
To help you find ways to save, I’m sharing which elements of a wedding are most feasible to “hack”, and which ones you should always hire out.
Before jumping in, let me be clear - hiring professionals is always a good idea if you can swing it. They’ll have experience, materials, staffing, and expertise to deliver services for large events. That’s the price you pay! So I’ll also include some Washington-based wedding vendors who offer great service for very reasonable prices.
DJ - Hack vs Hire
This may be my hottest take and strongest opinion. Always hire a DJ. In fact, we now require our couples to hire a DJ. While it sounds simple enough, a friend managing Spotify playlists doesn’t work as well as you imagine. A dedicated DJ ensures smooth transitions, prevents awkward pauses, and most importantly, they won’t ditch the aux for an open bar!
Recommended DJs:
HeadSmile Productions
DJ Rocryte
Elevate Sound & Entertainment
DJ Kenny Bounce
Baby Van Beezly
Photographer - Hack vs Hire
It probably goes without saying, but hire a professional photographer. You’ll be looking at these photos for the rest of your lives! That said, wedding photographers can range vastly in price. If you’re really looking to save, hire locally to avoid travel costs and find early career photographers for lower rates.
Recommended photographers:
Kelly Robbins Photo + Film
Mikayla Herrick
Malorie Kerouac
Emma Studley
Alexandrae Photo
Marcella R Photography
Alicia Park Photography
Catering - Hack vs Hire
Many venues don’t give you the option of outside catering anyway. But given the choice, I always recommend hiring professionals. Not only is it difficult to prep and cook a meal for dozens / hundreds of guests, but caterers will also take care of serving and clean up. For catering options at different price points, check out Everything You Need to Know About Wedding Catering On a Budget.
Recommended caterers:
Wandering Table Catering
Ravishing Radish
Trails End Catering
Shooby Doo Catering
Cake - Hack vs Hire
A popular alternative to a traditional wedding cakes is a small cake for the cake cutting and then serving guests from a sheet cake. If you have a talented baker friend, you can call in a favor. But unless they’re experienced with weddings, I recommend a couple practice runs and keeping the design very simple.
Recommended bakers:
The Sweet Side
Spilled Butter Desserts
Cake & Crumble
Deep Sea Sugar & Salt
Sift & Gather
Prints and Calligraphy - Hack vs Hire
Between tools like Canva and independent artists on Etsy, you can find a lot of beautiful ready-to-use designs. However, for custom or hand-drawn work, hiring artists can be quite affordable and a beautiful personal touch!
Recommended vendors:
June Press
Olympic Place Prints
Decor and Floral - Hack vs Hire… both!
Florists are some of the most impressive vendors because they’re not only creatively talented, they’re masters at logistics. For budget weddings, I generally recommend sticking with hired florists, then DIY the rest of the decorations like glammed up vases or a homemade arbor.
Recommended florists:
Kylie Hale Floral Design
Natalie Parks Floral & Design
Shelby Bond in Bloom
Florist Cha
Caleb Franklin Design
Budget weddings can be inexpensive without looking or feeling “cheap.” If you’re hiring, always spend the extra time to source and compare quotes from different vendors. And if you’re hacking, enjoy the process and celebrate that YOU (and likely some talented, generous friends) made your big day possible! Check out our Guide To Low Budget, High Quality Weddings for more ways to save!
