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Wedding Budget Tip #12: Ask friends for wedding help

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Need help with wedding tasks and can’t afford a pro? Ask your family and friends to help with your wedding plans and utilize their talents!

Wedding Budget Tip #12: Ask friends for wedding help
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This post is part of a recurring series here on BSB where we share wedding budget tips to help you save money on your wedding! You can access all the wedding budget tips on a single page for your convenience and future reference. This post is all about asking friends to help with your wedding!

Wedding Budget Tip #12: Recruit talented friends and family for help!

Wedding Budget Tip #12:

Ask your family and friends for wedding help and utilize their talents and skills!

If you’ve been reading this blog for any length of time, you probably already know that one thing that ties together many of our budget-savvy real weddings is when a couple has help from talented family members and friends to execute their big day.

We’ve said it many times before. Asking your friends for wedding help is a great way to save money! It also helps to create a real community aspect to your wedding planning.

Friends and family are great resources when planning a wedding.  Through their simple gifts of time and elbow grease (along with a treasure trove of talent), a handful of important people can lighten the load, ease the stress, and help make your wedding visions a reality, all while helping to keep your budget in check.

Utilizing the talents of a loved one in place of hiring a professional wedding vendor can save you a significant amount of cash. You could ask a family friend to bake your wedding cake or your musically talented cousin to play music during your ceremony. No matter what wedding service you swap in a friend for, it’ll add an extra dose of personalization to your day while also saving you money!

How to Get Friends to Help with Your Wedding

First thing’s first — think of all the talented people in your life who could possibly help out with your wedding day needs. Who’s a great baker? Know a graphic designer? Or a photographer? A seamstress? Or someone who loves to craft? Make a list of your loved ones and their talents, and think of who would be stoked to help you on your big day.

Getting your friends or family to help with your wedding doesn’t take much. Pro tip — just ASK! One member of our bride community, Stephanie, used this tactic when planning her wedding. She actually posted a call for wedding help on Facebook, of all places, which was met with much excitement and offers from family and friends. You never know unless you ask, right?

Looking to add some supporting members to your DIT brigade, but unsure of the best way to utilize their time and talent? Just pop the question! Something along the lines of “Hey, I’m thinking of doing this. Are you comfortable helping me?” works perfectly. Most people in your life will want to help, but may not know where/how to contribute. Asking a neutral question like this one does wonders to facilitate a conversation about your wedding needs and will *hopefully* open up the door for the other party to discuss what they can/want to do to help.

Things to Keep in Mind When Hiring Friends to Work Your Wedding

When it comes to hiring friends for your wedding (or anyone who serves in place of a traditional hired vendor,) there are definitely a few things you should keep in mind:

  • Make sure the person actually wants to help out. Don’t force anyone to donate their time and talents if they aren’t comfortable or can’t commit.
  • Choose people you trust. You probably already know if a friend is reliable or not, so use your best judgment.
  • Set expectations upfront, and draw up a simple agreement/contract if you feel it’s necessary.
  • Don’t expect them to work for free. Be willing to pay them if they will let you. Even if they don’t ask for payment, make sure to give them a nice gift to say thanks!
  • Know the quality of the work that they are offering. Make sure it’s up to your standards for your day. Just because it might be cheap or free doesn’t mean it will fit within your wedding vision.

Make sure your wedding helpers feel appreciated

Most importantly, make sure that your wedding team feels appreciated. A simple, genuine thank you works wonders, but if you can carve out a little time to spend with your favorite people, what a bonus! You could also consider gifting them something small and meaningful as a token of your gratitude. If pennies are extra tight, a heartfelt and meaningful note can count for a lot! And of course, be willing to return the favor should the opportunity arise!

Should you hire friends to do work for your wedding?

Overall, we recommend using friends and family for wedding help when possible, if they’re willing! As long as you take the time to set expectations upfront, everyone should come away happy and still be friends in the end.

So consider asking family and friends to get involved in your wedding. Not only will it help your bottom line, but it can also bring you closer and give you even more reason to celebrate!

P.S. If extra help from your friends and family is not an option, there are tons of viable alternatives out there…you just have to keep searching, and never be afraid to ask questions! We’ve seen brides score ceremony musicians on Craiglist for $100/hr, makeup artists and DJs on Yelp (both came highly recommended and at approximately 50% less than the better-known vendors in the area), and a cake baker on Thumbtack who will bakes beautiful, full-sized cupcakes for $2.00/each. Never hurts to try!

So tell us: are you asking your family and friends to help with your wedding tasks? If so, how are you using their talents? Join us in the community to talk about it!

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Wedding Budget Tip #12: Recruit talented friends and family for help!
Wedding Budget Tip #12: Recruit talented friends and family for help!

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