9 ways you’re making your wedding look cheap, according to a luxury planner

“Your wedding is the one time to actually do a real invitation with proper etiquette,” Ritchie said.

Ritchie said a paper invitation can help set the tone for your wedding, making it seem special compared to other events in your life.

“It’s not like we live in an era where you’re getting a dinner invitation via paper,” she added. “Everything is virtual.”

Ritchie said a paper invitation can also show your guests that you’ve thought about their presence at your wedding.

“You took the time to be thoughtful, put it in the mail, et cetera,” Ritchie said.

Ritchie said prioritizing transportation for your guests, such as buses, vans, or cars, is important, even if it’s not the most glamorous aspect of the big day.

“When you don’t provide transportation to your guests, it really feels like you have not thought about them whatsoever,” Ritchie said.

“If the wedding is at the hotel and everyone can stay at the hotel, great,” she said. “But if your wedding is at a vineyard and you’re planning on everybody drinking for six hours and then driving back on windy roads and there’s no Uber, how are they supposed to get there and get back safely?”

Ritchie said forgoing transportation can make your guests feel like an afterthought. They may not have as much fun if they’re worrying about how they’ll get back, or they may even leave your nuptials earlier than they would have otherwise, which is the last thing you’d want for your wedding day.

“It feels very cheap when people forget that part of the puzzle, and it’s not fun, but it’s necessary,” she added.

Although DIY projects and decor may save you a bit of money, Ritchie said they don’t typically translate into a luxurious look for your wedding day.

“Things that look cheap are things that are generic,” Ritchie said. “Something bought on the clearance rack at Michaels or Hobby Lobby does not translate to a thoughtful, well-done event.”

“Though you might have saved money, it looks cheap because it is cheap,” she added.

Instead, Ritchie recommends renting decor “from professionals who can curate and create something much better and well thought-out.”

She said it’s better to rent a few items with a luxury look rather than spend the same money on more lower-end pieces.

Your wedding can have a luxury feel regardless of the dress code, but Ritchie said it’s important that the wedding party and immediate family of the couple are the most dressed-up people at the event.

“If you’re saying that you want black tie and for your guests to show up in their finest attire, but your bridesmaids are wearing minidresses, that does not go together,” Ritchie said.

Plus, your guests may feel uncomfortable or frustrated if they spent money on a ball gown or a tuxedo and the wedding party is in more casual attire, which isn’t conducive to a fun vibe at the event.

“You’re setting the tone for everybody else,” Ritchie said.

Flowers can be one of the most expensive parts of weddings, so many couples have begun using their arrangements for multiple purposes in recent years. Specifically, it’s been trendy to turn bridesmaids’ bouquets into reception centerpieces.

Although Ritchie likes the idea of repurposing those bouquets later in the event, she said they don’t look right as centerpieces.

“The scale of what a bouquet shape and size is compared to a 5- or 6-foot round table does not match,” Ritchie said. “If you’re really looking to cut something here, that’s not the place to do it by repurposing. The height, shape, and scale are just a no.”

Ritchie said you can also save money on flowers by not having bouquets for your bridesmaids at all.

“Have them walk down the aisle with the groomsmen if you’re really strapped for cash,” she suggested. By skipping the bouquets for bridesmaids altogether, you can spend that money on reception flowers instead.

It may seem simpler to skip a seating chart, but Ritchie said it’s essential to make your reception feel elevated and your guests feel attended to.

“Guests want to know where they’re going,” Ritchie said. “They want to know what’s happening next. They want an assigned seat. They want to feel loved.”

Plus, having no seating chart can lead to chaos. Ritchie said what typically happens when guests enter a reception without assigned seating is that they “cow pile into this room, and then it’s a mad dash to find a seat with somebody you know.”

Ritchie said it’s best to create a seating chart, even though it can be time-consuming.

“The thoughtfulness of creating a home base for that guest for the night that’s theirs really sends the right message,” Ritchie said.

Although buffets are popular at weddings, Ritchie said they can often seem “less thoughtful” than a seated dinner and can have “cafeteria vibes.”

“You’ve asked everyone to come in their finest attire to your special day, and then you want them to go through a line with a plate for mashed potatoes and strips of steak,” she added. “They just don’t really go hand in hand.”

“I think there’s a time and place for a buffet, like a barbecue or something more casual. On your wedding day, being a little bit more thoughtful about the experience and the scope of what’s happening is really important,” Ritchie said. “A buffet gets messy and disgusting within minutes of it being touched. So visually, it’s also unappealing.”

Ritchie also said buffets aren’t the ideal way to cut costs for your wedding because they can sometimes be more expensive than a plated meal. You may have to pay for more waitstaff if you serve a plated dinner, but the food will be more costly at a buffet.

Open bars can be costly, but Ritchie said making your guests pay cash for alcoholic drinks at your wedding is “awful.”

“You don’t want to put your guests out that are already making their way to your wedding on their own dime,” she said, adding that it’s better to have an open bar in some capacity even if you can’t shell out for top-shelf liquor.

“Maybe you can’t have a full open bar with liquor, beer, wine, a champagne tower, and specialty cocktails, but do not go the cash-bar route,” she said. “Maybe you find a middle ground where it’s just beer and wine.”

“People will be completely fine with that,” she added. “You don’t need to stretch and strain in places that aren’t comfortable.”

Ritchie said the guest experience should be high on your priority list for your wedding. For many couples, that may mean inviting fewer people than anticipated.

“If you are more budget-conscious, we encourage you to get your head count down to must-haves,” Ritchie said. “More people always equals more money and more problems, like Biggie Smalls said.”

Ritchie said wedding planners know that cutting a guest list can feel difficult for couples with large families or big groups of friends, but a smaller guest list is one of the best ways to decrease the cost of your wedding, as the budget comes down to cost per head.

“It doesn’t really matter if you’re just doing a barbecue buffet or if you’re doing a plated meal; if you have more guests, that line item is exponentially multiplied by those guests,” she said.