Ways to Save on Your Wedding in Madison, WI

Our last blog outlined the average cost of a 100-person wedding in Madison, Wisconsin. Every little thing adds up, and we understand that some couples may need a few ways to lessen the financial burden of a wedding. 

In this blog, we’ll give a cost-saving version of a wedding in Madison for 100 people, and a few tips for lowering your wedding costs.

Wedding Venue

Wedding venues are often priced by on-season and off-season, and the price can vary by day of the week. For example, a Saturday in June at Barnwood Events costs $6,800, but a Friday in April is $5,500. That is a savings of $1,300. If you have an onsite wedding ceremony at Barnwood, there is an additional $600 for the setup and take down of chairs, arbor and any other decor.

If possible, choose an off-season month, and a day-of-the-week that is lower cost.

Running total: $6,100

Food

To save money on food, we’d recommend a buffet with fewer options, that may run about $20 per person. This would likely include disposable plates and silverware, but delicious food, nonetheless. 

Ordering appetizer trays and dessert from somewhere like Costco or HyVee (if your caterer allows) would be an option to lower costs on dessert, and you could skip the late-night snack.

Running total: $8,200

Beverages

The bar can be a big line item in your wedding budget, and not every couple can cover the costs for their guests to drink all evening. In that case, we’d recommend having a cash bar, so that guests can purchase drinks of their choice. You will likely still have to pay bartender fees to have bartenders on staff for your wedding, but the drink costs will be significantly less.

Running total: $8,800

DJ, Photographer, Videographer

Deciding on a budget for your other wedding vendors can be difficult, so it’s best to prioritize what you want most. If you want Instagram-worthy photos, you may lean toward splurging on a photographer. If keeping the dance floor full and the party moving is your main priority, you might lean toward using more of your budget on a DJ. 

A few ways to reduce costs on DJ, photographer and videographer are: 

• Shorten their working hours. Choose a 6 hour package instead of a 10 hour package. 
• Find a company that bundles photography and videography
• Skip extras like up-lighting and photobooths
• Choose a “up and coming” vendor who may have lower package costs

These vendors may also have reduced prices if booking outside of peak wedding season, so booking them early and off-peak may save you money.

Running total: $13,800

Wedding Florals and Decor

Barnwood Events has a closet of decor that couples can use for free, so a lot of them rely on that as their main source of decor. That’s an easy, environmentally friendly way to save money and still have a gorgeous ceremony and reception. 

Instead of having floral arrangements on every table, couples may get just bouquets and boutonnieres for the wedding party to lower costs.The bouquets can be repurposed around the venue following the ceremony to add that floral element to the reception.

Running total: $14,800

If you book your wedding at Barnwood Events, consider hiring one of our talented coordinators or planners to help guide you through choosing vendors within your budget. We’d love to help make your wedding dream a reality.