20+ Fall Wedding Ideas On A Budget (That Actually Look Expensive)

Indoor Venues

If outdoor weddings aren’t your thing, or if you want to have just the wedding reception indoors, then you will want to explore your local indoor venue options. Some ideas where you can start looking include:

• libraries
• museums
• community hall
• community center
• greenhouse
• barn
• Airbnb
• restaurant
• chapels
• universities

Fall Wedding Decor Ideas on a Budget

Decorations are an important part of your wedding. They create the vibe and can make your venue feel completely unique to your wedding. Whether you want a lot of decorations, or if you want to keep your decor more minimalist, there are a lot of great fall wedding decor ideas that will fit your budget.

When it comes to choosing your decor, you will want to pick a few elements and layer them together for a full, elegant look. Here are some really common decor pieces that are often included in fall weddings.

How to have a cheap fall wedding that doesn’t “look cheap:

No one wants their wedding to look cheaply done! You can absolutely have a budget friendly wedding without it looking like you cut corners on the expense. Consider adding these fall wedding decor ideas that are still on budget:

Harvest Decor

• pumpkins
• apples
• cranberries
• branches
• wood slices
• red, yellow, and orange leaves and flowers
• cornucopia
• pinecones
• haybales

Lights

• lanterns
• string lights
• candles

Wood

• pallet’s
• branches and sticks
• wooden benches
• boxes
• framed pictures
• wooden signs

Glass

• mirrors
• mason jars
• glass trays

Fabric & Ribbons

• cotton fabric
• lace
• burlap
• ribbon

Greenery & Flowers

• sunflowers
• dahlias
• orchids
• pampas grass
• chrysanthemums
• succulents

*There is another section coming up that contains tips and ideas for fall wedding flowers on a budget as well.

DIY Fall Wedding Decor Ideas on a Budget

Burlap Pumpkins – These cute DIY pumpkins would look really cute as part of a centerpiece or on any of the tables at your reception.

Glitter Pumpkins – If your decor style is more glitz and glam, then you will love these DIY glitter pumpkins.

Wishing Tree – A wishing tree can be used in place of a guest book, or in addition to a guest book, and they are really easy to make yourself with some branches or a small tree. For the tags, you can usually find these at your local dollar store or craft store. You can also find tags on Amazon like these ones.

Wood Wedding Arbor – This super cute DIY wedding arbor is really simple to build, and you could easily modify the decorations you are adding.

Floating Candle Centerpieces – A really beautiful budget-friendly centerpiece idea is using floating candles in glass vases. You can decorate your vase with paint like this, or you can decorate them with lace, ribbon, or burlap like this. Then you just fill them with water and add floating candles.

Picture Frame Wedding Numbers For The Tables – You can use small picture frames like these ones in combination with these really pretty number signs for a really simple DIY project.

Lantern Floral Arrangement – Lantern floral arrangements are a really simple DIY project that you can do yourself using supplies from Amazon, your local dollar store, or craft store.

DIY Floral Canopy – If you love the look and style of overhead floral canopies, then you will definitely want to try this dollar store DIY project using a hula hoop.

Floral Photo Hoop – This dollar store DIY project makes a really unique and pretty photo display for your wedding. You can even add photos to both sides so that as it spins around, there are more photos to see.

Fall Wedding Flower Ideas on a Budget

Flowers can be extremely costly and can eat up your budget quickly. So, to help you stay on budget, I’ve compiled the best tips to help you find your flowers on a budget.

One thing you will need to decide is if you will be using real, silk, or other faux flowers. There are ways to save money with either option, so it just depends on your personal preference.

Shop In Season Flowers

If you are getting real flowers, one thing that can really drive up the cost is shopping out of season. Instead, look to the flowers that are in season to save some money.

The flowers that are in season will vary depending on where you live in the world, so I recommend talking to your local flower shop or florist.

Choose Quality Over Quantity

Whether you have decided to go with real or faux flowers, your arrangements will look so much better with quality flowers. That might mean your arrangements are smaller in size, and maybe there are fewer of them. But, you can add in some of the other budget decor ideas mentioned previously in this post to round out your decor.

*Tip – If the arrangements on your tables look small, you can place a small mirror tray underneath them, or add a vase with water and a floating candle to reflect the color and add more light to your arrangement.

Buy Used Flowers

Many people will actually sell their faux flowers when they are done using them for their own wedding, so you can get a lot of flowers at a much lower cost. Plus, they may even already be arranged into bouquets and other arrangements, ready for you to use.

Consider Dried Florals

Dried florals, especially for fall weddings, are something that is really trending right now. You can use dried florals all on their own, or you can use them in combination with real or silk flowers.

Fill In Your Flowers With Greenery & Branches

Flowers are much more costly than things like greenery and branches, so try filling in your flower arrangements with these components. This will add variety and texture, and make your arrangements look more expensive.

Fall Wedding Food Ideas on a Budget

You want to make sure you and your guests are well-fed, but food can get expensive. Particularly if you bring in specialized caterers and depending on the dishes you want to serve. Thankfully, there are ways to save money on food, and I’ve compiled a list of some ideas here for you that will work really well for your fall wedding.

Outsource The Main Meal & DIY The Snacks & Sides

A lot of the food at a wedding can be prepared in advance, including the snacks and sides, so if you want to save yourself some money, make as much food yourself as you can in advance. Keep in mind, that is a lot of food to prepare, so see if any of your family or friends can lend you a hand with this.

Then for the main meal, you can use a caterer or a restaurant to prepare the food for you.

Are you looking for some simple food dishes that you can prepare yourself? Read this blog post which includes 29+ simple but delicious ideas.

Keep The Main Meal Simple

The main meal is what will cost the most, so try and keep it simple. Focus on just one or two protein options for your guests, and then offer a variety of sides. This will ensure there is enough food to fill up your guests while still sticking to a food budget.

Buffet Style Vs. Servers

Buffet style is definitely the budget-friendly option at a wedding as you don’t need to pay for servers. This also allows your guests to pick and choose what they want to eat.

However, if your heart is set on having servers, there are some ways you can save money. You can ask your friends and family if they have any friends that are looking for a little extra money. You can also look for some responsible local University students. While they may not have professional serving experience, this is a great way to still have the experience that comes with having servers while also saving some money.

Add Dessert Stations

Wedding cakes can be costly as well, so instead of buying a massive cake to feed all your guests, consider adding other dessert stations to fill this out. Some ideas include:

• s’mores
• pies
• cookies
• donuts
• ice cream sundae
• chocolate fountain
• cake pops
• cupcakes

I hope this list has given you some ideas and also inspired you to think outside the box on ways you can still have a really beautiful, budget-friendly wedding.

We’d love to hear any budget fall wedding ideas that you have as well! Be sure to share in the comments below!