Bride Pop recently published their analysis of the true cost of the average wedding, and the breakdown is extremely illuminating.  Click on the image at the top of this post to enlarge it, or visit the chart over at Bride Pop’s website.

As you can see, the average cost of a wedding ends up with a total akin to something you’d expect to pay for a college degree.  With all the financial frugality we’ve all had to adopt recently, this number can seem daunting and make it feel like you’ll never be able to afford the wedding of your dreams.

Fear not!  This is only a breakdown of the average cost, which means there’s lots of opportunity to cut costs down here and there.  Notice the bottom right part of the pie chart, where it breaks down the cost for favors and gifts.  This is a great place to save some money.

You could use custom water bottle labels to jazz up bottles of water, and then tie ribbons around the necks of the bottles with little tags thanking your guests for coming to your wedding.  Place these on tables near the exits and encourage guests to take them to make the ride home pleasant.  This is an inexpensive and stylish way to cut costs on your favors, and you know your guests will put them to good use!

If you look at the costs for the reception, you’ll notice that you can probably cut down the cost for beverages and bartender by putting open bottles of wine on the reception tables.  Top the bottles off with custom wine labels and you’ve got pretty table decor and beverages all rolled up in one pretty custom package!

If you’d like some more ideas for saving money on your nuptials without sacrificing style, we highly recommend that you start with this article on planning a budget wedding, and then check out The Broke Ass Bride.  The happiest day of your life doesn’t necessarily have to be the most expensive!