Selling Side Hustles (That Will Help Fund Your Wedding)

Selling side hustles can really help fund your wedding, if you get creative with them. 

When it comes to your wedding, every extra dollar helps. For some couples, it could be the difference between the wedding of their dreams or one that they are just okay with.  The difficult thing, though, is finding extra money to spend on our weddings.  Yes, many people have jobs and may even have family helping them out, but lots of couples could use a little extra room in their budget.  This is where creating a selling side hustle can come in and help.

Selling side hustles are different from service side hustles.  In a service side hustle, written all about in this recent post, you are using your time in exchange for money.  In a selling side hustle, you are actually selling an item for the extra funds.  While it does require some aspect of your time, you may be able to create a one-time sale to generate lots of money all at once, or you may be able to create a business that generates income over and over.  Either way, exchanging goods for money can be a great way to raise funds for your wedding.

Selling Side Hustles That Will Help Fund Your Wedding

The beautiful thing about selling side hustles is that there are many different ways to obtain, find, or create the items for sale.  Depending on your skills and interests, it may even be a lot of fun.  This post is going to walk you through four common ways to generate income by selling items, so pick and choose the ones that appeal the most to you. 

Garage Sale

Everyone knows what a garage sale is.  Just in case, though, I’ll remind you.  A garage sale is when you gather a bunch of items that you no longer need or want, price them accordingly, and sell them to treasure hunters.  

When it comes to garage sales, you can totally go old school and set up shop in front of your home.  However, there are virtual garage sales now, as well.  To have a virtual garage sale, all you have to is post photos of items that you don’t want anymore, and put them online.  You can use Ebay, NextDoor, Facebook, or Poshmark, among other sites.  The cool thing is that you can also ask your friends and family if they want you to “deal” with their stuff, too, and then you can make a profit when you sell it.  Win, win!

All The Details

How: Get together what you can sell, price it, and put it online if you are going to do this virtually. Have a method for buyers to contact you, and coordinate the sale with them. For in person, choose a date and location, create signs to put around your neighborhood, and post an online notice on your local groups or apps.  On the day of the garage sale, set everything up on tables with signs or tags with prices. 

How Much You Can Make: This depends on how great your stuff is and who is buying it.  With some effort, you can make hundreds of dollars in a weekend, or even more.  

Concerns: With in person garage sales, you will need some help and some space.  They can also be a lot of work to set up and take down.  For virtual, it can be difficult coordinating with others, which is why sites like Poshmark are great at helping you with that.

Benefits: Easy way to get rid of items and make some money. 

Fix Up & Resell Second Hand Items

For this side hustle, you will need to start with a little investment.

Fixing up and reselling second hand items is where you scout out garage sales, inexpensive online finds, or thrift shops, and then spruce up items for resale.  You can focus on little items like frames, candle holders, or collectables, or you can go bigger.  For example, you could update an old table or chair to create a whole new look for it.  If you enjoy the craft side of things, this could be a really fun way to make some extra cash. 

All The Details

How: Look for your “find” and plan out how to make it even better for resale.  Spruce it up, and then post it online for sale on Facebook or NextDoor. 

How Much You Can Make: You may not make a lot of money for smaller items, and you’ll have some up front costs.  For larger items, it all depends.  You may make a profit of $20, or hundreds for the right situation.

Concerns: This can be a time intensive way to make extra money.  You need to find your items, and then spend time making them better.  After that, you have to sell them.  If you’re already really busy with wedding planning, this may not be the right way for you to make extra money. 

Benefits: If you are crafty, this can be a very satisfying way to earn more funds. 

Sell A Craft

Another great selling side hustle is to sell a craft online.

I have friends who have had success selling their goods online at Etsy and Minted.  And to start at these major websites, it’s not a lot of money.  In some cases, you can even set up a “shop” for less than $1.  The great thing about setting up a selling side hustle at a major website is that the traffic is already there.  You’ll just have to make some mock ups of what you sell, a description, and upload some awesome photos.  After that, promote what you have to friends, family, and any other community you belong to. 

You might be wondering what you can create.  Well, the sky is the limit there.  Some popular crafts to sell online include wedding related ones, like decorations.  Or, you could create customized shirts or hair products.  Frames are really fun, or art in general.  Depending on your skills, you could create custom invitations or even just digital graphic art.  If you have a knitting skill, creating baby blankets, hats, and mittens could be easy and fun as well. 

All The Details

How: Determine a craft that you’re good at, that will also have some resale value.  

How Much You Can Make: This depends on what the craft is, how much the materials are, and what the demand is.  For the right items, you can make a good amount.

Concerns: You’ll have to set up a shop online or via word of mouth.  You’ll also have some expenses for materials and have to take time to create the items that are ordered.

Benefits: You may be able to make money doing something that you enjoy, and it can turn into an ongoing business well after the wedding.

Sell What You Used At Your Wedding

This is sort of an after-the-fact selling side hustle for your wedding.

Why don’t you take the items that you used at your wedding, and sell them after the wedding?  The concept is simple.  All you have to do is keep in mind the resale value of anything you create or buy for your wedding as you are planning and preparing.  Items that aren’t too specialized may appeal to other couples.  This may mean avoiding anything that has your names or wedding date on them.  It also means avoiding any unpopular colors when you use wedding décor.

To plan on this, look into items to buy instead of rent.  If you are able to factor in how much money you can get back in sales after the wedding, you may find that buying is even less expensive than renting in some cases.  This could apply to linens, flatware, or frames.  Keep this in mind if you are a DIY type of person as well.  If you created the items for your wedding, definitely consider selling them afterwards.

Clothing and accessories are also great items to resell. This goes for pieces as elaborate as a wedding gown, all the way down to shoes and jewelry.  Many of these items are bought specifically for the wedding, and may not have a lot of sentimental attachment with them.  You can create more space in your home, and make a good amount of money if you sell the right item.  For more details on selling your wedding gown, check out this post.

All The Details

How: When you choose items for your wedding, think about the resale value.  Don’t go for personalized or specialty items if you want to resell it one day.   

How Much You Can Make: For the most part, you won’t be able to recover the entire amount you’ve spent on an item, but you can expect to recover 40% – 75% on most things.

Concerns: This won’t really help you fund your wedding, because everything needs to be sold after the wedding takes place.  Plus, you won’t actually make money, just recover some of your expenses.

Benefits: This is a great way to get rid of some unwanted wedding items, be more sustainable, and help other couples who are getting married and looking to save a little.

CLOSING THOUGHTS

Selling side hustles can be an excellent way to make a little extra money, or recover some of those wedding expenses.  They can be a one time deal, or an ongoing effort, but with some creativity they can be quite lucrative.  Plus, you’ll get a lot of side benefits, such as helping others, creating more space in your home, or perhaps doing a craft that you enjoy.  

More From Hummingbird Wedding Advice:

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Ten Wedding Money Saving Tips (For Any Budget)

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