Wedding Budget Saving Ideas with Jessica Bishop – E140

Introduction

Welcome everybody to the Wedding Songs podcast. I am Matt Campbell. Have you ever struggled with your budget? Well, today I have Jessica Bishop from the Budget Savvy Bride, she’s the co host of The Bouquet Toss Podcast. She’s also the author of Budget Savvy Wedding Planner and Organizer. Welcome to the show. Jessica.

Jessica Bishop Introduction

Hey, Matt. Thanks so much for having me.

Most Impactful Ways to Save Money on a Wedding

Matt: Oh, yeah, you’re the expert. So I’m excited on this. Why don’t you just share as a icebreaker? What is your favorite wedding story?

Jessica: Oh, gosh, that’s such a fun question. I don’t know that there’s like one particular story that stands out to me. Out, but if I had to say anything, like the most memorable wedding that I’ve attended, I guess would be the recent wedding of my podcast co host, Sari. She got married in March earlier this year, and it was a really cool experience for me, attending the wedding of, you know, someone I’ve worked with for many years. Who’s really been, a huge help in things for Budget Savvy Bride, and I got to see the results of Her, learning so much on the job and like from my advice and things like that. So that was really rewarding and, just really cool to be there to celebrate with her. That’s cool. Just being at weddings. It’s funny because we’re behind the scenes. It’s not like we’re going to every wedding, every single weekend. I love that, being able to attend a friend’s wedding it was a really cool experience and it’s interesting too, because I’m not, I’m technically not a vendor. I don’t work weddings. I don’t serve clients in that way or plan on the day of. And it’s been many, many years since I’ve, I’ve worked on like the more vendor side of the industry, but, I got to kind of play both sides. I was like a guest, but I was also there to like help out. So I. Did some set up and, and decoration stuff, on the day of, to help her out. So it was the best of both worlds for me. That’s awesome.

Instead of taking my word for it, why don’t you introduce yourself to listeners? Sure. , I’m Jessica Bishop. I’m the founder of the Budget Savvy Bride, which I started over 16 years ago. Now, back when I was planning my own wedding, in 2008, and. Really, I was in a place where, I was looking at these beautiful luxury weddings featured in magazines, like the knot and, brides magazine and just thinking, how can I have something that looks really nice, but within my budget, because I was very freshly out of college. I was working in entry level job and I was like, how am I going to. Make this happen. This sort of wedding dream happened on a feasible budget for myself. And so that’s really how the budget’s heavy bride started. And then over the last 16 years, it’s really expanded. What started sort of as like a personal journal of my wedding planning journey now is a resource that helps couples all across the country and even internationally with our advice and resources, and has so much. Spun off, I guess you could say into our podcast, the bouquet toss and, a best selling wedding planning book, the budget savvy wedding planner and organizer, which is very exciting. We have a second edition and expanded edition coming out, in 2025. So it’s been really, really exciting. That’s, that’s fantastic. Cause I know every time I go into Amazon and I go to wedding planners, you’re always top three. So yeah, congratulations on that. That’s awesome. Thank you so much. I’m super proud of it. And I think the most rewarding thing to me is hearing from couples, who’ve said how much it’s been helpful to them and just like really clarifying what matters to them, what’s important to them.

Most Impactful Ways to Save Money on a Wedding

Matt: …and using that as a guideline, As they’re planning their wedding. That’s a great transition because we’re going to be talking about saving money on your wedding what is the most impactful ways couples can save money on their wedding without sacrificing quality or experience?

Jessica: Well, I would say it’s the best way, but not necessarily the easiest way. and that would be, getting really intentional about keeping your guest list trimmed. every additional person, you add to your guest list is going to add costs across the board. It’s, another invitation, another place setting, another chair at a table. Every 8 to 10 guests is another table with another linen and centerpiece, and so these costs really do add up for each additional guest. You add to your guest list. so, like I said, it’s the best way, but not necessarily the easiest way because obviously there’s emotions involved. There’s relationships you have to manage and things like that. But. That is the best way to cut costs across the board.

Guest List and Cost

Matt: Speaking of that, have you seen a decrease since COVID in the number of people attending weddings?

Jessica: I mean, I personally have, and there will be other people in the industry who will have seen things differently. But I think that probably has to do with the fact that their clientele is different than mine.and so, yeah, in, in what we are seeing at Budget Savvy Bride and the weddings that we are. Publishing and featuring from couples who have planned, weddings that they consider savvy and affordable. we are seeing, smaller guest counts and, more intimate celebrations. And I think that’s amazing because no matter what budget you’re working with, the smaller your guest list, the better experience you can treat that group of people too. And so, it’s just really something to keep in mind. And, and yeah, I think it’s a trend that will, continue to see. I agree. I’m seeing the same as well. Of course, you’re going to have your your luxury, but I think they’re not the norm.

Common Mistakes Couples Make When Saving Money

Matt: What are couples most common mistakes when trying to save money and how to avoid them?

Jessica: The most common mistakes? Well, I think the biggest thing is not really sitting down and getting a clear idea of what you can actually afford, what you can realistically spend Or even save over the course of your engagement in order to pay for the wedding in the 1st place. and it does take some honest conversations, sitting down and really looking at your finances, looking at your savings, together, and also contextualizing where the wedding fits into your other life and financial goals, because your married life starts after the wedding. That’s not the culmination. Right. And so you have to be thinking about all the things that are to come after that, like whether you want to buy a house or, expand your family, or maybe take a month long honeymoon or a sabbatical or start a business or, all these different things. and so really taking care to. Think about where does the wedding and what we’re going to spend on that fit into our bigger picture goals. I’m 100 percent on board on this. I, I saw an article on the news the other day in Vegas at the average price of a home in Vegas is $480,000. And it’s like, if you’re going to spend $20,000 on a wedding, I think that’s really important. Where does that fit into your, your life goals. Lot of the stats that we’re seeing about, the average cost of weddings. I think the Knot the most recent report was saying, around 30 or maybe over $30,000, for a typical wedding in the U.S. That is a significant chunk, if not a portion, of a down payment for a house. and so you really have to weigh this out and, and think about where does that fit into your bigger picture goals and, and think about the ROI of, of what you’re spending. I agree. So how should couples prioritize their budget to ensure they spend wisely and what matters most to them?

How Couples Should Prioritize Their Budget

Jessica: So I think, it goes back to sitting down and having those really honest conversations with each other. you guys are getting married, you’re joining your lives together. You should probably have a good idea of, your shared values and priorities, but if not, it’s a great time to do that. I actually have a, for a little shameless plug, there’s a great exercise in my book, the budget savvy wedding planner and organizer that helps you kind of talk through those questions with each other to figure out what areas of the wedding really matter the most to you. Is it the food? Is it the entertainment? Is it, the flowers? Is it, what you’re going to wear or is it, that you really do want to have a big guest list and you want to include a huge group of people because you have this sort of hearty, epic. Dance party on the dance floor vibe in mind in your in your dream wedding. and so, really just sitting down and discussing, like, what are your top priorities? Seeing if you and your partner align on those things and and making compromises. I always joke that the wedding planning process is probably 1 of the First times you and your partner have tackled a group project together. And so, you have to talk about these things, the priorities, the budget, the vision, and how you’re going to execute that together. and so that can help you then decide. Those top priority things are going to be probably the areas that you’re going to allocate the majority, or the larger chunks of your budget too. So, it’s a really helpful exercise and it just makes sure that you guys are planning an event that aligns with you and that feels like it represents the 2 of you and your love story and is what you actually want. I would say too that one of the first things that couples book are typically the venue or the wedding planner because the planner can help you save money. But, hearing what you’re having to say, I’m thinking the very first thing you need to decide is how many people are going to be at your wedding because that’s really going to determine everything from there. Yeah, definitely. And, it can be tough because there’s so much about the wedding industry that feels, I would say there’s a lack of transparency around costs and a lot of different aspects of the wedding industry and, that can make it hard to do research, and figure out, what is normal for your area.

Transparency in Vendor Costs

[Continued from previous response]

Matt: There are some good tools out there. I think, the wedding report, has some stats that you can view, publicly, even as a consumer. so you can get sort of an idea of what the average costs are in your particular area of the country, because it really varies too, you know, depending on what area of the country you’re in.

Jessica: Well, I was just going to add to that, that yeah. Yeah. A lot of couples today really want that transparency and want to see at least a range on the vendor’s site of what the costs are and it’s really a drawback if nothing is on there so that’s just a tip for the for the wedding vendors to at least have some sort of range and then plus the people that you do have a small budget and you’re a DJ and you’re charging $6,000, then you’re not going to waste your time or their time.

Matt: Exactly. It’s something that I’ve harped on a lot over the years is advocating for more price transparency. It is doing. Everyone a disservice by not making these, numbers a bit more public because it does waste time. it also can be, a little embarrassing for a couple to reach out to a vendor, thinking oh, I love the look of this, vendors services or their portfolio or whatever, only to find out they’re way out of the price range. And it’s not a matter of convincing that couple of. Your value as a vendor, if they realistically cannot afford you, and that just creates an awkward, embarrassing situation for the couple. And I hear so much about, in the industry vendors talking about couples ghosting after doing inquiry inquiries or meetings. And I just think if everything was a bit more transparent. We wouldn’t have those issues as often. That’s my, that’s my soapbox.

DIY Projects

Jessica: No, that’s good. So what types of DIY projects are worth the efforts and which ones end up costing more time than expected? It really depends on your personal skill set. And time availability in terms of, resources, but, some things that I think are safe to do is anything that can be prepped months in advance, so that you have things done ahead of time. You’re not. Hot gluing things frantically at 3 a.m. The morning of your wedding or trying to print your own wedding programs, into the wee hours of the morning. Like I literally, that was where I was when I was planning my wedding back, 16 years ago, cause I truly was on the tightest of tight budgets and I did everything possible myself. And that was where I was at that point in my life. I don’t have any regrets about that. I feel like I was able to achieve something that I was proud of at the time, with the resources I had on hand, including craft skills, but, what I do things differently now, probably, but I’m in a different place in life and everything. But I do think, there can be a lot of cost savings if you are able and willing and have the time to, to DIY, I wouldn’t necessarily recommend doing something like your own catering or things. Like that, but if you wanted to do a dessert table instead of a cake, and you wanted to make those things, the week of the wedding, things like that are easy to accomplish. if you truly are looking to cut back, and are able to still provide some sort of similar, end result to what you would get if you worked with a professional. So, yeah, I think you just kind of have to take it case by case. When we got married, we actually made our own invitations. We printed out this newsletter announcement and then I got these cardboard tubes and then we stuck him in there and then mailed the tube. So like you’re saying if you have the time to do all that. That’s great. But if it’s a month before the wedding and you’re trying to get these things done, you’re trying to make your centerpieces with the glue.

Matt: Oh my gosh. Yeah. It’s always a trade off of time and money, right? If you have the time and don’t necessarily have as much money to spend, if you plan ahead and do things, slowly time, you can save money and still have a really nice impact. But if you’re short on time and you’d rather just spend the money and have a professional do it for you, that’s also great. Great tips.

Finding Budget-Friendly Vendors

Matt: So how can couples find budget friendly vendors without compromising on quality?

Jessica: Oh, that’s a good question. You know, this is something that we’ve been trying to solve at budget savvy bride. I think some of the mainstream platforms for vendors to market and advertiser services are very cost prohibitive, especially for vendors who are maybe new to the industry or. Want to keep their pricing accessible to as many couples as possible. And so we’ve really aimed to like bridge that gap by creating our own vendor directory. we called it the savvy wedding guide. And, one of the things, to the cost transparency points is we are encouraging our vendors to provide at least basic starting prices, on their profile, because we do. Do you know how much couples value that and want that and can get that transparency ahead of time to avoid those sort of awkward exchanges? and so that’s a core piece of what we’ve built into our platform and we’re trying to grow it. So check out, our site, if you’re a vendor and interested in advertising your business, I can give a discount code for your listeners, because we would just love to have a place to elevate more vendors and get them in front of the couples who are looking for their products and services, but may not be advertising on some of those larger, more expensive platforms.

Matt: I love the idea of the directory and I, I’m just going to throw out there too, that social media has been such a, inspiration for many couples, you know, who knows what’s going to happen with TikTok. I have my own thoughts. I’m so sad. I don’t know when this episode is going to come out, but I don’t know what life looks like after TikTok. It’s very sad. Proposition, so that’s why I think that a lot of businesses are going to have to make sure that they’re focusing on Instagram and YouTube, because that’s where everybody is going to go back to. just using, the shorts and the reels, and instead of just the post, businesses are gonna have to figure it out.

Jessica: It’s so true. And social media is a great place to find vendors, even just going to Instagram and searching the hashtags, for like Nashville wedding photographer or Vegas wedding planner, that can be a really great place to start. And I also really love personal recommendations. If you’ve been to a wedding and of a friend or a family member, and you really loved what you saw or experienced, asking them who they worked with. it’s always a great, a great place to start to getting that personal endorsement of a vendor.

Matt: I agree. Word of mouth should be every business is the number one source for business.

Recent Trends in Wedding Planning

Jessica: Absolutely.

Matt: Are there any recent trends that you’re seeing in wedding planning that make it easier for couples to save money?

Jessica: Oh, that’s a good question. I think, One thing that I have really enjoyed is seeing some of these almost like done for you kind of weddings popping up, micro weddings or, really intimate, elopement services. There’s definitely ones popping up in different, cities and regions all across the U.S. But then there’s also some that are more national. Like simply eloped. I don’t know if you’ve heard of them, but they, it’s almost like a one stop shop where they have the photographer, the planner, a florist, and you can book a package right with them and check out on their website if you’re going for an intimate sort of vibe. And, and that doesn’t have to just be the two of you. It could also include, a number of other guests. So stuff like that, I think is really cool and innovative and, You know, just makes it really stress free for the couple, because I think the biggest thing that couples encounter when they enter this process of like, what is it to plan a wedding is you’re just hammered with decision after decision after decision that you have to make. And so anything that kind of. Removes that decision fatigue, I think, is really attractive, especially to, the younger generations who, do not want to talk to people on the phone. They want to just, click, click, click, order by. So, I think we’re going to see more of that as we move into the future, too.

Matt: I’m surprised that hasn’t caught on before now because we got married 22 years ago and we did everything ourselves. We had a appetizer wedding reception, did everything ourselves. And after everything was over, because we’re in the wedding capital world, We kind of priced what we got versus an all inclusive, everything done for you that exists here. And it was pretty much about the same price. So we were like, why did we go through all of this work when we could exactly what you’re saying, had it done for you walk in and yeah. So, yeah, I mean, just. Decision fatigue is so real. So I can imagine it would be a very attractive option for a lot of couples, especially anybody with a high stress job or just like a busy lifestyle. just removing that barrier of all those decisions, I think is great. So just to kind of wind things down a little bit,

Inspiration for Creating Budget Savvy Bride

Matt: what inspired you to create the budget savvy bride and how has your perspective on budget weddings evolved over the years?

Jessica: Definitely I started out of a place of like, kind of desperation myself. I’d only been out of school for maybe about a year and a half, by the time I got engaged and I was working for a company that, produced. Bridal magazines and bridal shows across the Southeast. So I was inundated with all the wedding stuff all the time. It was like part of my job. And then I got engaged. And so I was seeing all of this high end luxury side of the market. And trying to reconcile that in my mind with My very entry level salary, and, meager savings and also, entering into what became the great recession of 2008 2009. so during that time, I actually got laid off from that job and ended up. In even more of a financial pinch and trying to make this wedding happen within this, budget that we had set. And, it was a really big challenge, but I, I was of the mindset at that time that I did want that big guest list. I wanted to have all these people there to celebrate with us. And so I knew I was going to have to make that. Budget that we had set stretch as far as humanly possible. And this is why now I feel very differently. And when I think about, a budget and I think about, prioritizing things, I would almost take the opposite approach. Now I would want something smaller, more intimate. Be able to treat everyone to a nicer experience, maybe take some of the pressure off myself of doing so much myself and be able to bring in professionals to execute things because, you know, I think every couple deserves to feel like the guest of honor on their wedding day, not a vendor themselves. That, that would be my advice, for anyone who’s sort of grappling with these decisions. but at the end of the day, it’s, it’s a personal decision. And at the time when I did it back in 2008, 2009, I was totally happy with my decision. So it’s really about being honest and getting clear on what truly matters to you and your partner and making the best decision for yourselves.

Matt: So, and I’ll just throw in there too. Not to worry about the social media pressures. I read a study from the Knot recently that said the average engagement cost is $3,000. And I was like, wow, it’s becoming such a production, including the ring or not, does not include the ring because they want these productions, then would they want the proposals being recorded? Wow, that blows me away.

Jessica: It’s beautiful to keep it for the memories. I just, I do, I think, agree with you that we’re kind of losing the plot and are we focusing more on the aesthetics of everything than the meaning behind it, you know? How, how am I going to look on social media? That I want to be famous. I mean, your wedding is your chance to have a main character moment and I won’t take that away from any bride or groom, but. I just want everyone to always keep in mind, the true meaning behind the day. So I’m all, there’s always that practical side of me that I just want to be like, just think about your future. Think about the context of all of these decisions and how it impacts your finances. Like just be practical a little bit, fun within reason, the wisdom we have, the older we get.

Matt: Yeah, exactly.

Budget Savvy Bride Today

Matt: So is there something we missed that you want to just share with the listeners?

Jessica: I think, I’ve talked about the book, the podcast, our vendor directory. Another thing I would, I would also love to just recommend checking out is we have a private community at Budget Savvy Bride. It’s the Savvy Weddings planning community. And we have a ton of resources in there that you can download tools. Spreadsheets, printable designs for wedding invitations, programs, all of those things, we’ve made that all accessible within our private community. And so, there’s a low, one time lifetime access, payment to join, but we also are planning some live events and workshops and, webinars and stuff, for the future. So we’re really excited to just connect more with our community because there’s so much. Wisdom to be shared among couples who are going through the same thing at the same time, this wedding planning journey. And so, we just want to create a dedicated space for that, and to serve our audience more one on one.

Matt: I love it because community is definitely the future.

Matt: just to get more specific, where can listeners connect with you and find what you’re promoting?

Jessica: Yeah. thebudgetsavvybride.com is our primary website. We are all over social media at budget savvy bride. our podcast, the bouquet toss, you can get any, anywhere you get your podcasts, my book, you can find on Amazon target, Barnes and Noble, all the places, so yeah, would love to connect and with couples or vendors alike, just have a very strong passion for this industry and love connecting on all sides.

Matt: so one oddball question to close it out. I’m thinking of the movie about Facebook where he’s talking and he’s saying his website is the Facebook and somebody says, get rid of the, why do you have the, so why do you have the budget savvy bride? Why not just drop the.

Jessica: Well, so just budget savvy bride was taken at the time that I registered the domain. I started budget savvy bride on wordpress.com . So it was budget savvy bride dot wordpress.com. And then when I decided to, really go for it and make something of it. budgetsavvybride.com was taken. So I got the budget savvy bride.com. So that was the original URL I went with. And then when I was finally able to get in touch with the guy who owned budget savvy bride without the, the, so I eventually got it, but because of SEO and the way it all works, I just never felt like I should change the URL. So it just. Redirects if you type in budgetsavvybride.com, it’ll redirect to thebudgetsavvybride.com. but that’s really the only reason. And, honestly, we’re, we’re probably going to do the full rebrand at some point to savvy weddings completely, to be more inclusive of couples of all shapes and sizes and genders, and not just brides, and also remove the stigma of, of the word budget. Because one thing that I have harped on so many times over the years is that Budget savvy is not about being cheap. It’s about being wise and smart and intentional with your spending and, prioritizing your spending according to your values.

Conclusion

Matt: All right. Thanks Jessica for being on the show today.

Jessica: Thanks for having me.

Matt: Stay tuned for another episode interviewing about planning your wedding music and your wedding. Thanks for listening and have a great day.