How To Spend Like Scrooge And Party Like Beyoncé This Wedding Season

But unfortunately, wedding season tends to come with a pretty serious price tag. And as more and more of your friends get married, it's time to get smarter about how to celebrate so you don't end up swimming in debt and singlehood. 

In most cities, ridesharing services like Uber and Lyft are significantly cheaper than taxis and more convenient for getting around after the ceremony or reception. 

Cost: $9-$17 

Savings: $4 - $10 

Avoid Hertz, Avis and Enterprise in favor of smaller companies like Sixt or Payless which have lower overall fees for better deals on rentals. 

Also do your best to avoid renting at the airport itself because these locations often charge up to $10 more per day than non-airport locations of the same companies. 

Cost: Sample rental in Chicago Enterprise $55, Payless $37

Savings: $18

Car rental is jumping on the ride-sharing bandwagon with apps like Turo and GetAround with base prices as low as $5/hour. 

Of course, the sooner you book your tickets before you actually fly, the cheaper they will be. There is also a strong argument to be made that the first half of the week—especially Tuesday evenings—is the best time of the week to book flights online. 

Pro tip: Also be sure to always clear your cache between visits to a booking site to avoid sneaky price hikes linked to your browsing history. 

Cost/Savings: Varies 

Just because the couple recommends a hotel it doesn't mean that it's actually the best deal for guests (though before rejecting their suggestion, be sure they haven't made a discount deal with the hotel), maybe their recommendation is close to the reception location, but do a quick search of the area nearby and you could easily find a better deal. 

Cost/Savings: Varies 

Sure, room service is nice, but so is cooking whatever you want in your own apartment. Airbnb also offers the option of reserving a shared room, private one or an entire house/apartment depending on what you want. 

Price: A quick search in my neighborhood in Chicago a night at the Hyatt is $359 while the most expensive Airbnb was $209. 

Savings: $150

Pair up with some of your single friends to split the cost of a your room and have more fun getting ready together anyway! 

Cost: The price of a room cut in half 

Savings: at least 50%

I'm not nearly at Katherine Heigel's 27 bridesmaids dresses, but I do have 2 fairly tulle-heavy dresses that could pretty easily become wearable again with a few changes. Give yourself enough time before a wedding to bring it to a tailor and see what they can do! 

Cost: Prices for simple changes (like length) can be as low as $15 while more substantial changes could run more in the $50 range (but making use of an otherwise unwearable dress you already paid for is a pretty big win!) 

Savings: Cost of a new party dress, ~$100 - alterations = ~$50 

Rent the Runway is the greatest resource you forgot about. They have tons of beautiful designer dresses (with a great and very helpful customer review system) that you can keep for the weekend and mail back easily and never re-wear to a wedding! 

Cost: $30 - $100, depending on designer 

Savings: With retail prices from $200 - $800, RTR is a steal

Another often untapped resource are all your other friends getting invited to more and more weddings every summer. Hold a "Dress Swap" party with a few girlfriends and get a whole new wardrobe for a wedding or two! 

Cost: Free

Savings: 100%

Buy a nice pair of nude shoes you can wear with any dress to every wedding. Your call on wedges, flats or heels, but invest wisely!

Cost: ~$40

Savings: Varies 

The Black Tux is the men's version of Rent the Runway and offers suit (and tux) rentals for an entire week starting at $95. And since there are tons of ways to wear the same suit, you can make great use of it for all pre and post-wedding events. 

Cost: $95 - $130 

Savings: Suits retail at $1,200 on average saving you about $1,000

Sure, this doesn't quite apply to everything, but some items (like wine or champagne) you can safely buy in bulk for any wedding-related occasion (bridal shower, bachelorette party, wedding day etc.) 

Cost: ~$100

Savings: Varies

There is no shame in splitting the cost of a dish set or a fancy blender with a group of friends! 

Cost: Varies

Savings: At least 50% 

Just because an item is listed from one store doesn't mean you have to buy it there. Use sites like Pricegrabber to find the exact same items cheaper from other retailers. There's also always Amazon. 

Cost: Varies

Savings: A quick search found a lovely 16-piece Lenox dish set for $20 cheaper than retailer price

As soon as you get the invitation or information about a couple's wedding website, hit up the registry to select the perfect (and reasonably priced) gift before all you're left with is the grill and napkin rings. 

Cost/Savings: Varies 

Check with your phone provider, bank, employer or other organization to see if they have rewards programs where you can redeem points for normal activities into actual monetary savings! 

Cost: $54 for this silverware set 

Savings: $16

Couples are often too busy to even eat at their own receptions considering all the dancing, greeting guests and crowd-induced kissing. They're sure to appreciate (and remember) a pizza and some celebratory champagne sent to their hotel room after all the celebrating is done!

Cost: ~$35 for pizza and champagne 

Savings: Potentially much more expensive registry gift 

*Often this can be done at no extra cost and a lot of extra convenience 

Now that's a wedding price estimate I'm on board with.