I don’t think I’ve ever heard the phrase uttered “I want to spend so much money on my wedding that I’m paying it off for 10 years!”. Nor have I ever heard “I want to have the cheapest wedding I’ve ever seen!” For the most part, everyone aims for having an affordable wedding. They want it to be something classy without being overly expensive. Even though you’re pinching pennies to have a wedding, it doesn’t mean that you have to be known as the “cheap bride” or the “cheap groom” who had the “cheap” wedding that was so ridiculously “cheap”.

There are some things that are totally worth spending the money on at your wedding and not going cheap on, check out the list here. However, there are also some things that you don’t need to spend a boatload of dough on for them to look good. That’s the key though, the things that you’re buying should look good. For example, if you don’t hire a caterer and have a family member or friend do the cooking, that’s affordable. Giving everyone plastic silverware and insisting that they put it into a bin so that it can be washed and reused; that can be seen as cheap.

If you decide that you’re going to not hire a DJ and spin your own tunes at your wedding, that’s an affordable move. If you put the radio station on and leave it on all day, that can be seen as cheap. They make Spotify, Pandora, and iTunes playlists for that.

When it comes to wedding favors, you can find very inexpensive options. You don’t have to have the high end, personalized favors. This is one of the parts of a wedding where it really is the thought that counts and as long as you offer something to your guests, you’re good. The cheap wedding will have no favors at all. That’s not an option if you don’t want to be seen as cheap.

Cheap weddings are not okay. They show in their details or lack thereof that you put hardly any thought into the day. Affordable weddings are to be admired. You pinched pennies where you could and splurged when you needed to. Aim for affordable.