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How To Save On Your Edinburgh Destination Wedding

Getting married is one of the best things that’s ever happened to you, and planning your wedding is a large part of the excitement. Sure, it can get draining sometimes – choosing the right wedding dress is even more stressful than finding the right sorority dress for rush week – but all in all, you can’t wait for your big day. But out of everything you’re planning, from the venue to the wedding band, what you’re most excited about is going to Edinburgh! You’re a lover of Scottish culture (and probably Harry Potter, too), and you can’t wait for your wedding to take place there.

But something you’ve been worrying about is money. After all, it’s expensive to travel across the Atlantic, and that covered with the costs of your wedding can be quite expensive. Luckily, there are some great ways you can save on your destination wedding in Edinburgh – and here’s how.

1. Fly with a discount airline

In the past, flying across the Atlantic was insanely expensive. It was a trip of a lifetime, and many Americans couldn’t even afford to go at all. But it’s 2018 now, and many discount airlines are flying to Europe at super-low rates. Take WOW Air, for example. They have plenty of routes from major US cities to London and Edinburgh – and there’s a short stopover in Reykjavik, too. Of course, you aren’t going to get fancy perks like wifi and in-flight entertainment on these planes. If you take a look at their websites, you’ll see that these flights usually cost starting at $149 one way. It’s a steal!

If you prefer to use a fancier airline, however, there are ways you can do this. Use an app like Hopper or Skyscanner to track the price of your desired flight, and wait until it’s low enough that it’s affordable. Don’t forget to also subscribe to flight newsletters like TravelZoo and Momondo, which you can personalize with your desired destinations. Whatever you choose to do, we recommend you talk to your family and friends who are going: you need to keep their financial situation in mind when you’re researching.

2. Be smart about accommodations

Edinburgh is a beautiful city, but one of the things that makes it an expensive place to stay is that it’s a small city. They have an estimated population of 489,000, and the currency is the pound, which means that hotels are going to be expensive. Especially if you’re booking in the summer season, when the Fringe Festival is going on and the sun doesn’t set until almost midnight, you might even not be able to find accommodations at all.

In the first place, book as far in advance as possible. Because weddings take a while, you’ll probably have about a year to make your plans. If you’re inviting lots of people, you might even be able to get a discount from a hotel: after all, you’re booking lots of rooms, so it’s worth it for them to give your guests a discount. Additionally, take a look at alternative accommodations such as Airbnb, where you can live like a local and pay less than an average hotel.

3. Save on transportation

Edinburgh is full of things to do. It’s got castles, and volcanic mountains, and tiny winding streets that seem to interweave with each other. Just a half hour’s walk from the center, you can stand by the sea, and if you go a little farther, there’s the Portobello Promenade, where you can walk along the water. But even though there is so much to do, there’s an added plus to this small city: everything is walking distance! So there’s no need to spend a lot on public transportation and taxis.

It’s already cheap to move around, with a single adult ticket costing 1 pound 70 cents, and a day ticket costing 4. So if you need to take a bus back after a long day of climbing up Arthur’s Seat, that’s fine! And if you want to take a train down to London or another city in the UK, those rates are reasonable, too.

4. Save on tourist activities

Finally, there’s a lot you can save on when it comes to tourist activities. According to The Telegraph, free sites include the National Museum of Scotland, Arthur’s Seat, The Scottish Parliament, Dunbar’s Close, Stockbridge, the Royal Botanic Garden, St Giles’ Cathedral, St Mary’s Cathedral, Greyfriars, the Scottish National Gallery, the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, the Water of Leith Walkway, Calton Hill, and more.

With 2 million visitors at the castle in 2017 alone, it’s exciting to take advantage of all these opportunities.

These are some of the best strategies for saving on your Edinburgh wedding. What other strategies are you using to save money on your wedding?

If you have any questions, please ask below!