Cheap Wedding Ideas That Don’t Actually Feel Cheap

Guest Contributor

Carlita Sari

March 18, 2026

A cheap wedding and a bad wedding are not the same thing. Some of the most joyful, memorable weddings cost very little money, and some of the most expensive weddings feel like a corporate conference with flowers. The difference is rarely the budget. It’s how couples choose to spend it. If you’re planning a wedding without a huge budget, your goal probably isn’t to make everything as cheap as possible. It’s to spend money where it matters and skip the things nobody really notices anyway. Here are some genuinely cheap wedding ideas that still feel thoughtful, fun and completely intentional.

Tiny Gretna Green Wedding with a Jellycat Bouquet

Kat

I Love You Thirteen

March 11, 2026

Laura and Jordon married in the original marriage room at Gretna Green with 13 people present, including themselves. The day was intentionally small. The couple got ready together and walked from our hotel to the venue hand in hand. They also walked to the anvil together. "Jordon struggles with anxiety at times so being with me helped reduce a lot of nerves for him", Laura wrote. "We also only had 13 people including ourselves at the wedding and then wedding meal with no big evening do. We wanted the wedding to reflect our love and not put on a show.

Love at the Lake: Seventies Inspired Festival Wedding

Kat

2Jupiter

March 3, 2026

Avalon and Matt met at the final Sasquatch! Music Festival in 2018. So, when they started planning a wedding for 300 guests on a $20k budget, they built it inspired by their love of music, the 70s and festivals.

Headbanging & Handfasting: A Viking Inspired Barn Wedding

Kat

Wilder

February 25, 2026

Lucy and Mark leaned into a loose Viking influence for their barn wedding. They wanted the day to be chilled but also a little bit of them.

Timeless Elegance Meets the Addams Family

Kat

Ieva Marija

February 19, 2026

With the groom being colour blind, and black the only colour he can confidently recognise, Belinda and Harvey used that as their starting point. Together, they built a monochrome wedding inspired by black and white Audrey Hepburn films and the desire to reshape classic wedding traditions into something with a little more edge.

Sea of Love: Intimate, Fun & Kitsch Sure Thing Chapel Wedding

Kat

Lauren Driscoll

February 10, 2026

Maggie and Kyle got married at Sure Thing Chapel in Las Vegas with Cat Power’s cover of Sea of Love playing as the bride walked down the aisle. “After choosing Sure Thing Chapel as the venue, we wanted to play off the colours and fun vibe", Maggie told us. "I had envisioned the colour scheme of black, red and light blue. We wanted to keep it intimate, fun, and kitschy.”

Glitter, Guinness & Grandma’s Bingo: London Wedding at a Working Men’s Club

Kat

Nell Mallia

February 9, 2026

Zoe and George wanted a good old-fashioned knees up. Their ceremony took place at Hackney Town Hall , a building they pass most weekends, followed by a reception at The Mildmay Club, a working men’s club George belongs to and that feels frozen in the 1970s.

Surprise Fantasy Fairytale Wedding Where the Bride Arrived on a Horse

Kat

Anne den Haan

February 5, 2026

Chris and Chamilda didn't aim for something perfectly polished for their wedding. They were married outdoors while it rained and almost everything they did was a surprise for their guests...and each other! Chamilda decided to arrive by horse and Chris dressed in a Caucasus-inspired ceremonial outfit.

Til Death & Wedding Day Tattoos at Their Grandparents’ House

Kat

Bettie Koer

January 28, 2026

Some weddings start with an aisle. Amelia and Bryson’s started with death. They got married at Amelia’s grandparents’ house, a family home built in 1900 and kept exactly as it is. “It was so important for me to keep everything at my grandparents house, as it’s my favourite place in the world", Amelia told us.

Dawn of the Wed: Gothic Horror Washington State Park Wedding

Kat

Spruce and Sage

December 11, 2025

Katelyn and Spencer planned their wedding a $5000 budget, a state park barn location, and a strong desire to have a day which felt just the right level of spooky. The bride has been reading Rock n Roll Bride since she was 14 (!!) so as soon as they got engaged she had plenty of ideas.

The Real Cost of Weddings in 2026

Kat

Jamie Y

December 9, 2025

Getting engaged is the most exciting time. What’s less exciting is when you actually start planning the wedding and realise you might need to remortgage your house to pay for the damn thing. It’s no secret that weddings are expensive. No matter the size or style, they’re a luxury - and luxuries always come with a hefty price tag. It’s not that there are vendors lurking in the shadows waiting to rip you off. It’s just that this shit is expensive. It just is.

Heart-Shaped Everything, Hellvis & a Heatwave

Kat

Life in Vegas

November 12, 2025

Garrett and Delaney’s Vegas wedding was just about having a weekend away with their families that felt easy and personal. They’d fallen for Sure Thing Chapel the moment they saw it and built everything else around that - hearts, pink, and whatever made them smile.

Spooky Romantic Park Elopement with an 1990s Vintage Dress

Kat

Photo by Jess Glass

November 5, 2025

Caridad and Frank chose a park in Bayonne, New Jersey as their wedding location because it felt like neutral ground. A place where they can just be without an audience. They didn’t want spectacle, or a big wedding. They wanted to make it official, take some photos, go home with their kids and eat dinner.

Tiny Wedding, Big Love: An Intimate Castle Elopement with a Dip in the Sea

Kat

Bailey and Mitchell

November 3, 2025

Kerri and Katie knew they didn’t want a spectacle for their wedding. No themes, no overwhelming itinerary, no audience of distant cousins and plus-ones. Just them, two witnesses, and the Northumberland coastline stretched out behind the walls of Bamburgh Castle. They live by the sea, so choosing a venue that sat above the shoreline was less about grandeur and more about feeling like home. “We knew we wanted a small intimate ceremony with our best friends and minimal details to worry about so we could have the focus of the day be us and our love for each other”, they said.

A Freecycled, Eco-Friendly, Totally DIY Polytunnel Wedding in Ireland

Kat

Zoë Holman

October 28, 2025

There's nothing we love more than a wedding that feels like a true extension of the couple getting married. One that represents who they are and what they stand for. That's exactly what Zoë and Jack did. They built their wedding from the ground up. Literally.

Til We Are Ghosts: A Black & Red Horror Lovers’ Wedding

Kat

Wilder

October 27, 2025

Jade and Simon’s took over Cultplex in Manchester for their wedding ceremony, turning the stage in front of the big screen into their altar. As the bride is polyamorous, this wasn't about tradition or legality - in fact the ceremony was not actually legally binding - all they cared about was creating something that felt collaborative and real. The bride's other partners were also involved in the day, acting as their officiant and doing readings. With a budget of just £3,000, they pulled off a wedding that was totally DIY.

Crafty & Colourful Cornish Wedding

Kat

Sofie Michelle

October 24, 2025

Marie and Doug wanted a wedding that made sense for their lives, not one that fit into anyone else’s idea of what a wedding should look like. They both have ADHD and found the process of planning a wedding overwhelming, so instead of trying to fit themselves into a mould that didn’t work, they built a day entirely around their needs, energy levels and comfort.

Taylor Swift Meets Gothic Summer Wedding

Kat

I Love You Thirteen

October 10, 2025

Ruby and Rebecca’s wedding was a perfect collision of dark romance and pop-star sparkle. They tied the knot at their local town hall before heading to the Stock Exchange Bar in Haven, for a reception that felt equal parts gothic soirée and Taylor Swift fever dream. “We wanted to incorporate Ruby’s love of everything gothic and my love of Taylor Swift,” Rebecca said. “We kept the colours and theming dark but the welcome signs and mirrorballs everywhere were themed for Taylor.”

From Registry Office to Rave: An Alternative Bristol Wedding at Wake the Tiger

Kat

Melanie Chitty

October 6, 2025

Could Jack and Cece be the happiest, most expressive couple we've ever published? Quite possibly. We dare you to look through their wedding photos and not smile from ear to ear! The vison behind their Bristol wedding was just the coolest too - registry office ceremony, a cider bar for grazing boards and drinks then heading to Wake the Tiger, the UK’s largest immersive art experience!

Fox Fest: Sequins, Nachos, and a Drum & Bass Set

Kat

Seattle to London

October 3, 2025