I Was Invited To 5 Weddings This Year—Here’s How I’m Attending Them On A Budget

This year, I was invited to five weddings, four bachelorette parties, and asked to be a bridesmaid twice. Now, hear me out. I love celebrating my friends and having a fun time, especially quality girl time, and it’s also such an honor to be asked to be a bridesmaid! It makes me so happy to be there for a close friend or sister and witness her elated commitment to the love of her life! I identify with the movie 27 Dresses in that way.

And I do love traveling. I’ve built up a reputation as someone who travels frequently and basically lives the summer out of a suitcase. However, practically speaking, the wedding industry does not make it easy for anyone who doesn’t have unlimited cash flow.

Evie's product selections are curated by the editorial team. If you buy something through our links, we may earn an affiliate commission, at no cost to you. We only recommend products we genuinely love.

Pricing

Wedding season requires a budget, or you'll wind up celebrating your wallet dry! It’s not just buying a dress – the average cost of being a bridesmaid is $1,200! I know a girl who has spent over $12,000 in the last four years being a bridesmaid 10 times (and that’s only the times she said yes), including Maid of Honor twice. At first, that sounds absolutely crazy, but if you think of roundtrip flights, accommodations, food and gifts for bachelorettes, bridal showers, and the weddings themselves, plus the bridesmaid dresses, shoes, and possibly paying for getting makeup and hair done, then you start realizing that this girl who budgeted $1,000 for each wedding ($1,200 for when MOH) actually did a solid job. Each wedding may not have seemed expensive individually, but it all adds up!

When you’re a bridesmaid, you don’t have to be shy about the fact that you’re trying to be wise with your money; it shows you’re a responsible adult and being mindful of your spending according to your means. And I guarantee you, most, if not all, of the other bridesmaids, are thinking of the same topic. Because I’ve been able to save up flight points, my wedding trips have not been over-the-top expensive. Sometimes the bride will pay for something for her bridesmaids, and I’ve been able to stay with friends and family, which helps with accommodations.

As we embark on the peak of wedding season, I'm sharing an estimated breakdown of how I’m budgeting in order to attend my friends’ weddings while still having fun! 

Traveling

For flying, I am a big fan of airline credit cards and flight points, and I fly the majority of my trips for free! I tell all my friends to get them for good reason. You’ll spend the money anyway, so you might as well get travel points back for free trips! I use my travel credit card to buy everything, and I pay it off with my bank account like I would with any other card. Buying the flights is always cheapest when you can buy way ahead of time for the best deal.

Personally, I use Southwest Chase and Delta Amex cards. I’ve used the Southwest card for about five years now, and I love it! It gives me points back for money I spend on any regular purchases, double points for every dollar spent on Southwest flights and affiliated hotels (although I rarely use it for hotels, it has come in handy). Besides the bonus points package awarded to new members after signing up, it gives you 3,000 bonus points on the anniversary of your signup and 20,000 bonus points every time you share the link with someone who signs up with it.

I also love using Southwest because it gives you two free checked bags plus free cancellation, and the customer service has always been extremely helpful. I use my Southwest card for everything and share the link a few times a year, so I usually book around four or five free flights every year using just my accumulated flight points on Southwest, which I use for domestic flights in the U.S. I recently acquired the Amex Gold Card, and I’m saving my Delta points for international travel. 

Bachelorette Party

Some brides choose to keep it simple and do a bachelorette day the week of the wedding, while some choose to use the excuse for a much-needed vacation and plan a weekend trip. If the bachelorette trip is realistically within your budget and you decide to go, try to shop your closet rather than the 'New Arrivals' tab at Revolve and pack clothes you already have! Buying an entirely new wardrobe with statement pieces you know will look good on social media is tempting (I get it), but with some strategic mixing and matching and styling expertise, you can make even the most basic of your wardrobe staples feel exciting again.

As for the less-glitzy aspects, some things for a bachelorette trip just have to be split evenly, like Airbnb accommodations, carpool parking, groceries, etc. But there are ways to opt to spend less. For instance, if there’s a vote between several Airbnb options, don’t feel bad voting on the cheapest (I did, as did other bridesmaids). Besides, we’re there for the quality time, not for house décor inspo! When we go out to eat, I skip ordering drinks and appetizers and stick with cheaper entrees. Drinking plenty of water helps keep you hydrated and curbs cravings so it’s easier to say no to certain foods. Then you have more to spend on certain activities (girl math, duh). 

Activities

Speaking of which! Activities for wedding events vary depending on whether you make a vacation out of it, and whether it’s destination or local. One bachelorette was in the Florida Panhandle, so we did beach time and sightseeing with a couple of dress-up occasions for eating out. Our main outdoor activity, besides the beach, was renting cruiser bikes for several hours. This came to only $25 each for the whole day, and biking together was a blast! A few guests opted out and joined us later, which worked perfectly. So, if you’re not feeling a certain activity on a trip – whether for cash, energy levels, or safety reasons – it’s completely acceptable to kindly choose to be excused.

My next bachelorette will be near a lake, so we’ll probably do more outdoorsy activities than touristy, and most Airbnb lake houses come with items like kayaks and bikes to use. The wedding I’ll be a bridesmaid for in October is in Tennessee, so some of us might spend time hiking, which will be cheap since I already have hiking boots and athletic wear. My final bridesmaid wedding will be in Miami, and I plan to stay with a relative in the area and carpool with other bridesmaids (split gas), besides an occasional Uber when necessary. The bachelorette day will be a beach day the week of the wedding, which will be free except for paying for parking (probably $20 total). We may eat out before or after, plus bring drinks and snacks to the beach, so I plan to keep the following budget tips in mind.

Food Budgeting 

If you’re traveling for a bachelorette, bridal shower, or wedding, there are easy ways to pass on spending extra bucks! For example, my first bachelorette this year was a weekend beach trip with a party of seven. We ate out a couple of times, grabbed lunch at local food trucks once, and cooked brunch and dinner in twice. Here are some tips I’ve been using for myself:

• For the trip down, bring airport snacks instead of buying over-priced airport food! I always pack jerky sticks and a protein bar and eat a high-protein breakfast before my flight. For road trips, I bring healthy snacks and grab Chipotle or an acai bowl for lunch.

• Don’t eat out every meal; try to limit to once per day. For a wedding in June, there was a three-hour window between the ceremony and the reception, so friends and I got salad bowls for lunch. I skipped extra add-ons and drank water instead of ordering juice or a soft drink. Doing this saved $12 that meal.

• When going out to eat, just stick with ordering an entrée, especially if you go to a classy place that might be pricier than your average diner or café. For a brunch, for example, I skipped the extras and ordered a high-protein breakfast sandwich for $24, saving $30 (cocktails are $12-18 and appetizers are often $15-20).

• Opt for ordering the simpler item, such as chicken instead of steak or salmon. 

• If you do order an appetizer, split it. At a bachelorette dinner, I split a $16 salad with another bridesmaid, then ordered a scallops entrée. The fish was light protein, the salad helped fill me up, and I saved $8.

• For other meals, grab easy groceries. At a bachelorette trip, the other girls and I shopped local groceries for cooking in then split the cost, which ended up pretty inexpensive. Food like eggs, chicken, fajita veggies, sweet potatoes, and seasonal fruit all feed a lot at a low individual cost. Buying groceries over eating out cuts food prices in half most of the time – we probably saved around $100 each.

• Bring what you have to a bachelorette stay so you buy less and save hassle. Some bridesmaids who drove brought spices and olive oil for cooking, coffee, tea, and alcohol they had on hand. This saved us an estimated $40. 

• Skip buying extra drinks and booze (or save a cocktail for the main special event, like for a toast at a dinner or a scheduled mimosa brunch). For each bachelorette/wedding trip, I budget myself to one chai tea latte (I don’t drink coffee) and two cocktails (or cheaper mocktails). This will save you $30-50 per trip.

• Skip buying lots of snacks and desserts and save your treats for a couple of occasions when the calories are worth it. Over a whole weekend, I bought two ice cream scoops and a sorbet for $7 each, always after walking outside. Passing on buying snacks and restaurant desserts probably saved me $50 just for one weekend (desserts can be around $10-15 each). 

Outfit Ideas

When needed, shop the sales! I bought one of my wedding-guest dresses from a boutique on Amazon because I needed fast delivery, and some boutiques like Prettygarden on Amazon actually have great options! Being a bridesmaid twice, I’ve spent $116 from Birdy Grey and $118 at Azazie for dresses. Considering the average bridesmaid dress cost is $130, I’d say I'm doing pretty well! For the two pairs of shoes, I’ll buy coordinating heels – I plan to spend less than $50 on each pair.

For bachelorette trips, I wear outfits I already have. When I raided my wardrobe in July, I found some cute dresses I bought at TJMaxx for less than $20 each, a Zara dress I got on sale for $16, my favorite linen pants from Amazon paired with a white top, and a $18 on clearance pink lace maxi dress from Francesca’s for our restaurant dinner (bridesmaids in pink and bride in white). For trip shoes and accessories, I highly recommend getting a few neutrals to match with different outfits. I always stick with three main pairs of shoes: flip-flops, white sneakers, and a pair of nicer slip-ons or sandals for going out. I did buy one pair of beachy Toms that were on sale at TJMaxx for $16, but I didn’t even wear them on my first bachelorette trip, which just proves my point of keeping to basic staples.

This whole summer of wedding events, I’ve used my white espadrille sandals on sale from Shoe Carnival or cream-colored flats from Target. I pair those with my gold necklace and bangles (I’m a gold girl) and cream-colored handbag – all from Target – because they match everything. And I always wear the classic small or mid-sized gold hoop earrings. I’ll switch to black heels and purse for the weddings in October and December. TJMaxx, here I come!

Beauty Hacks

Instead of getting $20-40 gel manicures, buy press-ons! Lately, I’ve been using the Kiss brand French press-on nails from Target or Walgreens for only $9 for a 3-set. This will have saved me $150-200 this year, and I regularly get compliments on them! Press-on are pretty, quick, easy and work perfectly for when I don’t paint my nails. And if you prep your nails first and do short press-ons, they stay on longer. 

As a bridesmaid, there’s often an option to have your hair and makeup done, but if you’re skilled with either or both, just do your own or work it out with another bridesmaid to help each other. I usually accept bridesmaid help for hair and makeup and swap helping with the curling iron. Personally, my hair doesn’t stay curled very easily, and I often have to sleep in curlers and then touch it up with the curling iron and hair spray later, so I plan to buy this heatless curler to sleep in before my next two weddings!

If I need to restock my makeup, I’ll get MILK or Ilia, and I love the Burt’s Bees $6 lip gloss. I prefer natural, clean beauty products, so I’ll shop sales or buy the $25-30 sticks and use sparingly to last a while. Good skincare means better natural beauty and less need for makeup anyway! 

Gifts

For wedding gifts, it’s obviously customary to get something off the registry. But if you can’t afford something bigger, buy a smaller item and combine it with something else you can give. If you’re a crafty or artsy person and can make pretty and useful things – pottery, candles, art, gift baskets, or whatnot – use your talent to contribute to the newlyweds’ home! Just search Pinterest for ideas, and Michael’s has a bazillion crafty options for things like art plaques and coasters to decorate. I like to make a customized charcuterie board for gifts (though I realize most gals don’t have access to woodworking tools) because every home should have a charcuterie board! Then I combine the board with a low-price item on the registry.

Some lingerie items can cost up to $100-200, but you don’t have to spend that much. For a bachelorette trip’s lingerie shower, I bought the bride this beautiful, delicate lingerie set from Auri on sale for $35. And the bride liked it so much I plan on keeping that as my go-to for future bachelorette gifts! You can also add useful yet inexpensive spa products to make a fun gift bag, like a homemade face mask mix in a cute mason jar, a moisturizer, a pretty $5 candle from TJMaxx, and a $10 jade roller from Amazon.

You can’t always make every wedding, especially those that are destinations, and that’s okay. Life happens. But for those you are able to attend, you don’t have to drain your finances in order to properly celebrate your friends. No need to bring attention to it or talk about it more than necessary, but you can be on a budget and still have a good time! 

Support our cause and help women reclaim their femininity by subscribing today.