These are all gathered from my personal experience; some I managed to get myself and others I skipped over but still want to share with you in case you are interested.
Bridal Expo Freebies
Definitely take the time to hit up a bridal expo while you're engaged. They are usually fairly cheap to enter and you will leave with your weight in freebies. Some things that we picked up free (besides the packets of information about each vendor were:
- Tons of free reusable bags (super handy now that our town has a plastic bag ban!)
- Free food- many of the catering places were giving out free samples which was great!
- Sunscreen
- Chapstick
- Pens
- Spatula
- Shampoo and Conditioner Samples
- Flashlight
- Magnets
- Notepads
To see our experience at a bridal expo you can click here where I share pictures of our experience that day.
Dentist
When I told my dentist that I was getting married she actually offered to polish my teeth for free the week before the wedding! I ended up not taking advantage of this because the week of the wedding was so crazy but this was something super nice and unexpected. I'm not sure if all dentists do this but it's certainly worth checking out.
Photographer
One freebie to look out for is something free with your day of photography. When we booked our photographer Ella Grace Photography we received a free one hour engagement session with our purchase of an eight hour wedding day package. Usually photographers will offer the engagement session free or offer free prints after the wedding. Definitely consider these freebies when picking a photographer!
Cake Tastings
While our cake tasting ended up costing us money I know there are many bakeries that offer free tastings. This is a great way to get a ton of free desserts!
Catering
Speaking of food if your caterer is anything like ours after you complete your tasting at the caterer they will box up all your leftovers for you to take home! They ended up making a ton of food so I was thrilled when they packaged it up for us to save on some grocery money for that week. If you are in the Rhode Island area we used Blackstone Catering and had an amazing experience.
Registry Freebies
There are a ton of places you can make a wedding registry and sometimes it can be hard to choose your few favorites. Consider these freebies when making your decision.
Crate and Barrel~ When you register at Crate and Barrel (even if you start your registry online) make sure you head to the store to get your freebie! They are currently giving out a set of stemless wine glasses to anyone that creates a registry with them. If I'm being honest that's probably the biggest reason I chose to register with them. However, there are a ton of other freebies if you put certain things on your registry and your friends and family purchase them for you. The only issue with these freebies is you have to qualify for them but it is nice to have the option!
Amazon~ Amazon is another place where you are eligible for bonus free gifts with certain purchases. Also, after the wedding Amazon will send you a 10% off coupon to help you complete your registry! We loved creating a registry on Amazon since it was so easy to do from home and there is such a wide array of gifts.
Bed, Bath and Beyond~ I personally didn't register here but I know many people who did. There are a ton of items you can earn as free bonus gifts.
Target~ This one is a little trickier... I chose not to register at Target because I had friends who struggled with the registry and their items disappearing from it. However, Target does offer quite a few free bonus gifts with certain purchases and you receive a 15% off coupon when your wedding is over to help you buy anything else you might need! If you love Target this is certainly a place to check out but make sure you proceed with caution and know it might be a bit of a challenge.
JcPenney's~ Pretty much the same as others, free gifts when you register for and receive certain items off your registry. Also a 10% off coupon after your wedding!
One registry we used is unfortunately closing this month- Kohls was a great place to register since we would receive Kohls cash back after the wedding, but unfortunately we had a ton of issues with things not coming off the registry once people had purchased them. Kohls is closing their registry program this month which means I can no longer recommend it to you but hopefully some people were able to take advantage previously!
Magazines and Catalogs
There are a TON of free magazines and catalogs you can get while engaged. If you are searching for ideas this is a great way to get some inspiration. As I'm writing this the two I have found for free are: Bridal Guide and New England Bride but definitely check in your area to see if there are others you can have sent to you!
Officiant
When you have a friend be your officiant, you just saved yourself at least $100! My friend Brittni officiated our wedding and while we did give her a little something for her services she definitely didn't ask anything of us! Having a friend officiate your wedding is a way to save money and make it more personal. I found that our wedding had personal stories that we didn't even need to tell Brittni because she already knew everything about us!
Wedding Invitation Samples/ Save The Date Samples
If you are unsure what you want exactly for your wedding invitations getting a ton of free samples is a great way to get started! Some places that offer free samples are:
I had quite a few wedding invitation samples sent to me and it was a great way to check out different qualities.
Free Wedding Venue
Our venue wasn't free, but it was certainly quite a bit cheaper since we chose to have it on town property rather then a private facility. If you or a family or friend has land that you can host your wedding on definitely jump on it! This is a great way to save a ton of money for your wedding.
Wedding Planning Apps
Definitely check out The Knot wedding app and WeddingWire. I used both of these apps when planning for our big day, They not only include checklists of what to complete when but also have discussion boards so you can ask for opinions from other brides.
Wedding Printables
There are a ton of free wedding printables out there. I specifically searched on Pinterest to find a ton. Whether you are making your own favors and need stickers or want to create a beautiful program for your ceremony there are a ton of free printables out there to choose from.
Contests/Giveaways
These are changing constantly but there are always contests and giveaways available to enter. Just use caution when entering contests because after entering a free honeymoon contest we constantly received calls about buying a timeshare.... *insert rolling eye emoji here* So make sure wherever you are entering contests is a reputable place by doing a quick google search.
I hope this helped you get a few freebies while enjoying your engagement! Enjoy planning your wedding and if you learn of any freebies that aren't included in this post make sure to share them with me! I am always looking for ways to save money and get some free items along the way.
Have a great day loves!
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