Frugal Coupon Living

Hosting a stay at home wedding? Want your own intimate backyard ceremony? These Cheap Wedding ideas give you a visual of frugal ways to save money on a wedding. Get creative with DIY Wedding Decorations on a Budget. Happy planning.

Small weddings are trending, Couples are opting for a more intimate celebration to get quality time with guests and a relaxed atmosphere. We might be in a new year but if 2020 taught us anything it is about the importance of close family and friends, as well as, simplicity.

If you want to create a small intimate wedding, take a look at these Unique & Simple Wedding Ideas on a Budget. When planning a cheap wedding, the biggest advice I can give is to purchase something you can use later. Skip the wedding planner and do it yourself. Chalkboard signs, mirrors, garden lights, etc. All of these items can be incorporated into a couple’s home. Sort of like home styling and wedding styling in one.

Helpful Posts:

Hosting a Stay at Home Wedding, these posts can help transform an inexpensive backyard wedding.

• Midsummer Night Lights
• Cheap Backyard Landscaping Ideas
• Upcycled Christmas Lights

How can I make my at home wedding special?

A wedding can cost the average couple $27,000. Couples looking to tie the knot on a budget face a difficult challenge.  One of the biggest savings can be with the wedding venue. By moving a wedding venue from a hall you rent to a backyard venue, Here’s a guide to getting married at home without breaking the bank.

Pull off an at home wedding on a budget with these fun ideas…

Use Items You Have.

The best use of low-budget DIY Backyard wedding decorations is uing what’s around. Walk through your house and take a look at items you have like candles, faux plants, picture frames, etc. Also, ask family and friends if they have items. If you don’t have it and you can use it in your home later, consider a small purchase.

Use Lighting.

The lighting can set the ambiance. Have the actually ceremony during sunset (or if you dare, sunrise.) Set up the backyard with lighting that illuminates signs, trees, bushes, and other things. A small investment in landscape lighting can be an investment in backyard landscaping you can keep for a long time.

Collect Vintage.

What about having an eclectic collection of vintage silverware and plates? Nothing has to match that is what gives it the personal touch. Visit thrift stores, Goodwill, or shop Facebook marketplace for fun plates, dishes, and cutlery.  This might be a great opportunity to collect from your mother your grandmother’s priceless china!

Give a Gift of Ride Shares

Grab a few valets to help with street parking. You can even get UBER codes and help your guests get home safely after the party. Simply put a QR code by the driveway that guests can scan on the way out. That QR code can lead to an Uber Wedding Voucher for your guests. That leads to controlled parking, stress-free driving, and safe driving after a round of drinks.

Get Creative with Entertainment

A lot of couples say that don’t save on entertainment and they provide their guests with a good time. In fact, within one week after their reception, 78% of Brides say they would have made the entertainment their highest priority! Save on wedding entertainment by hiring a band or only a few hours. Get through the ceremony, and the dinner, and then let the entertainment arrive. Before the band comes, you can play these fun Wedding Games for ice breakers and to connect your guests and an intimate backyard venue.

Hire Outside Help.

Get creative with people you know or people your friends and family might know. Perhaps someone is looking to earn some extra cash on the weekend. Use extra help to help transition guests, clean up, or act as a day-of-wedding planner.

While we talk about at-home wedding ideas on a budget, there are plenty of other ways to save on a wedding with a $1,000 or $5,000 budget. Take a look at these cute but fun, super simple wedding ideas on a budget.

Simple Wedding Ideas on a Budget

On average, couples themselves pay for 49% of the wedding costs, though older Gen X adults (81%) shoulder a greater percentage of costs. Once you are footing a lot of the bill for your wedding, you begin to desire to save.

If you are ready to save money on the wedding cost then take a look at these simple at home wedding ideas on a budget. Take these at-home wedding tips and use them at a smaller and more affordable wedding venue too! Wedding planning can be fun.

Backyard Wedding Tip

Instead of spending money on the venue, host a stay at home wedding. If you are looking for outdoor wedding ideas on a budget, this one is a winner. The money saved on the venue can go toward your own inexpensive backyard landscaping ideas for a garden wedding. Feel free to splurge a little and get the garden & yard you like. Two birds, one stone.

Dollar Tree Wedding Supplies

Everyone’s favorite place to start with cheap wedding accessories is the Dollar Tree. Take these Dollar Store Wedding ideas for DIY Wedding Decorations on a Budget. Dollar Tree wedding ideas include such items as vases, mason jars, paper lanterns, frames, and more. | Clark Condensed

DIY Lighting

Chandeliers are pricy. For a smaller wedding, take a look at this DIY Hula hoop chandelier lighting made with upcycled Christmas Lights. This makes a cute lighting idea for a wedding tent, porch or under a tree. | Sarah with an H (As seen in our Upcycled Christmas Lights Post.)

Low-Cost Outdoor Lights

Candles set such a beautiful atmosphere but lights can safely do the same. Set the ambiance with lights. This is a very easy tutorial on how to string lights from natural elements like tree limbs using galvanized buckets and concrete. It would make an adorable edge to an aisle or even the dance floor.  (As seen in our Backyard Movie Ideas) | Ida klipper och klistrar (in English)

Wedding Welcome Sign Mirror

This is a current trend. Upcycle a mirror into a Wedding Letter Board. Not only do you get a cute & cheap welcome to our wedding sign, but you also get a mirror you get to keep reminding you of the special day. | Ruffled Blog

Wedding Wishes

This small wedding idea is cute. The people who will wish you the best are those guest you hold dear and near. If they made it to your small backyard wedding, they likely have the sweetest words to say. In light of that, ask your guests to make a sweet wish for your marriage. Plant the tree or bush in your yard after the wedding. The power of positive thinking. | Source

Wedding Hand Sanitizer Favors

Wedding favors are given out at 69% of weddings. If you are hosting a post-pandemic wedding. Spread love and not germs with this Hand Sanitizer Wedding Favors. In sickness and in health. | Larissa Catherine Photography

Wedding Mask for Guests

In a wedding my husband and I attended, they gave out masks at the buffet line. These wedding face mask bags are another idea for mask storage when people are on their feet. | Buy Online

Wedding Centerpieces Greenery

Save on flowers and go cut greenery. You can use recycled mason jars or vases (hit the Goodwill or a thrift store. Even borrow from friends!) Natural elements make beautiful cheap wedding centerpieces. If you lack greenery, buy some Eucalyptus Garland. You can add little touches of green to the place cards too. | Boho Weddings

Wedding Remembrance Ideas

Looking for memorial ideas for loved ones who have passed? Create a memorial family tree with picture frames on the lawn. | Grey Likes Weddings (Similar family tree photo frames seen in our family reunion ideas. You can also add our empty chair poem.)

Wedding Polaroid Guest Book

Fewer guests allow you to focus on guests like family members and really close friends. Create a wedding photo display. This framed photo display is perfect for guests to add photos, like a polaroid photo guest book for weddings. Additionally, you could display photos of the happy couple leading to the wedding day. I love these photo string lights with clips. | June Bug Weddings

Photo Display at Wedding

Additionally, this makes beautiful and cheap wedding décor. Use wooden crates to create a beautiful wedding display of the couples. One cheap wedding idea is also displaying wedding photos of the couples parents and grandparents. | Elegant Wedding Invites

Wedding Blanket Sign and Station

A smaller guests lists means everyone can get warm and cozy. Collect blankets from friends or grab really cheap flannel blanks from Kohl’s. This snuggle up display is perfect if a backyard wedding has a dip in temperatures. They are perfect for a lounge area and are a great accompaniment to warm cocktails! | Buckinghams

Chalkboard Wedding Sign

Lead your guest to the ceremony with this chalkboard arrow wedding sign from Wayfair. You could also point to the food truck – yum!

Cheap Wedding Tip: If the wedding message doesn’t easily wipe off, buy chalk paint. Paint over the the sign and add your own message later. It is a purchase for your wedding you can keep forever.

String Lights for Wedding

Outdoor Curtain Lights will transform a boring space into a magical venue. This would make a beautiful backdrop for the musicians and entertainment. Enjoy it later as garden lights for your house. | Source

Cake with Natural Flowers

Keep your wedding cake simple, it might even be one your can create yourself. Opting for just one tier means you can go all out on decorations without it breaking the bank! Hosting an outdoor wedding, you can even add in outdoor elements. To pass out have cupcakes for dessert that match the bride and groom’s cake. | A WPA Bakery, Jeffrey C. Gleason Photography and Ruffled

Wooden Pallet Sign for Wedding

Ready for a simple wedding reception idea? Use a upcycled wood pallet to write out the timeline of events for the wedding reception. This lets the groomsmen, bridesmaids and wedding guests know where to be. Include times for the wedding ceremony, cocktail hour, dinner and/or dancing. Alternatively, you can do something similar to this but have the menu listed or a selection of available alcohol drinks. | Boho Weddings

Bourbon Wedding Tradition

Have you heard of Bury the Bourbon wedding tradition? To ward off rain, exactly a month before the wedding date, bury a full bottle of bourbon upside down at the venue. One activity to include as a small intimate wedding is uncovering the bourbon and sharing a shot with the wedding party. (This was our wedding rehearsal.)

Sparkler Wedding Exit Idea

Of course there is no better way to send off a couple then with Sparklers – right? Take a look at these cute Wedding Sparklers Printables. | Evermine

City Hall Wedding Photo

Instead of taking it in your backyard with a smaller guest list, head to City Hall to say your vows! City Hall weddings are becoming more and more mainstream because let’s face it, weddings and the lengthy planning can be very stressful and in many cases – incredibly expensive. How adorable is this Courthouse wedding outfit? After the courthouse wedding, you can then have your at home wedding reception on a budget. | Melanie Duerkopp

Wedding Venue + Honeymoon

Want those amazing photos. You can incorporate a small getaway with your gorgeous wedding dress. And if you are not too far from the West, have your very own Desert elopement for your big day. You have to pay nothing for the wedding venue of a destination wedding. It’s a destination venue turned into a honeymoon. Invest in a beautiful bouquet of flowers, the dress, the suit, and the photographer! How beautiful is this Red Rock wedding? | Meg Amorette Photography

Has this answered all your questions about…

How to have an inexpensive backyard wedding?

In summary, bring together these tips for both at home and at a special venue…

• Use decor you have or can use later in your home
• Add personal touches
• Hire outside help
• Gift rideshares with Uber vouchers for weddings
• Add lighting
• Find friends and family who can help
• Shorten the length of your entertainment
• Bring in fun wedding games

Most importantly celebrate you. There will be nothing like washing dishes outside your kitchen sink and looking out your backyard window to remember the epically important big day.

Having an at home wedding is affordable. The venue provides daily mental photographic of such a special and important day.

Don’t forget these Bachelorette Party Ideas before the wedding! Pin to Pinterest.

Going to a wedding? Look at this low cost wedding gift, Hand Stamped Spoon Tutorial with free printable! Pin to Pinterest.

Save on the DJ and wedding entertainment with these budget-friendly wedding reception games. These games are tried and loved by all the guests. So funny and fun. Use in a backyard wedding, at a venue, or for a wedding shower. Pin to Pinterest.

This post has been updated. It was originally published Feb 7, 2021.

WHAT’S TRENDING? Looking for a few engaging activities? Grab Minute to Win it Games – Traditional, Holiday, Group, and more! Use these fun activities in the office, classroom, or at your next birthday party.