Budget-friendly Casual Wedding Reception Ideas

On a tight wedding budget? We feel your pain — weddings are expensive! Our best advice is to splurge on a couple of things that mean the most to you (Open bar? Photos?) and find clever ways to save on the rest. Backyard weddings can be an inexpensive, romantic venue for the casual wedding.

To provide you with the best budget-friendly casual wedding reception ideas, we went to the über-popular Broke Ass Bride blog and its featured real couples for amazing, personalized casual wedding reception ideas to spark some thoughts.

The Candy Bar
What you need: glass candy jars, cute personalized labels, large spoons or scoops, favor boxes or bags and all of your favorite candy. This is such a cost-effective alternative to an expensive wedding cake. It also makes for a really colorful and fun decorative table at your wedding reception. Tip: Color-coordinate the wedding candy bar with your wedding colors.

DIY Photo Booth
What you need: A Polaroid camera and some props to use in the photos. Your DIY props can be mustaches on a stick (or a mug!), funny or celebratory signs and some silly hats and wigs. Easy, right?! Tip: Include a photo album and bright markers for guests to insert their pics and write a thoughtful note to the bride and groom.

Taco Bar = Si!
Instead of a formal sit-down dinner, get creative with your favorite foods. For example, maybe your main course is a deliciously fresh taco bar with all the fixings, or maybe there are DIY stations dedicated to scrumptious things like mac ‘n’ cheese, where guests can add in their fave toppings (like bacon or mushrooms). Alternatively, you could go the finger foods route with items like mini burgers and cones filled with fries with dipping sauces. Guests will love it, and you’ll save big time.

Boozy Personalized Favors
Get some mini bottles of champagne and cover the label with an affordable customized one. Check out 123Print’s product label options. Choose from interesting designs where you add your own wording, or you can design your own — including your photo — and upload it for free. It’s a favor that guests will for sure use (and thank you for), and making them mini is a cost-effective tactic!

Save On the Flowers
Pretty flowers are great, but floral arrangements can be one of the biggest expenses of your wedding day. Plus, they go bye-bye when the day is over. For your casual wedding, go for gorgeous paper party décor items like these fantastic pinwheels, and get creative with fabric in the form of wedding streamers. For your bouquet, consider alternative options, like heirloom jewelry—yep, you heard us, jewelry. Grandma and Mom can help with these ‘borrowed’ items. A fabulous, cost-friendly option!

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