How to finance wedding purchases if you’re a bridesmaid or groomsmen

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As exciting as weddings can be, they are a major life expense — both for the couple tying the knot and the guests who are involved in the wedding party.

Many wedding party events, like bachelor and bachelorette parties, can err on the expensive side especially when wedding party members are traveling for the events. According to SoFi, the typical bridesmaid spends about $1,200 to $1,800 on their role in the wedding party, while a groomsman spends about $450.

With costs across the board on the rise, being a part of a friend or family member's big day is more expensive than ever. If you're in a wedding party and feeling a little on edge about the expenses, here's what you can do to save up and put a little money back in your pocket.

Go into wedding season with a solid budget and a plan ahead of time. "Map out expenses in advance, so that you can see how much you will need to save, or where you may need to compromise," says Liz Ewing, the CFO at Marcus by Goldman Sachs.

The earlier you start planning, the more time you'll have to save up. Of course, much of this will fall onto the engaged couple to decide on their wedding party festivities and notify their wedding party in a timely manner. But once you find out the plans for the bachelor or bachelorette party, attire, bridal shower and any pre-wedding events, you should create a budget for the costs and start saving.

Instead of saving your money in a traditional savings account, you can consider putting your money in a high-yield savings account. These accounts — like the Ally Bank Online Savings Account and the Synchrony Bank High-Yield Savings account — pay you higher amounts of interest compared to traditional savings accounts. You likely won't earn hundreds of dollars per month, but at least it could help your balance grow just a little quicker.

Another option is to save your money in a high-yield CD account. It's similar to a savings account except it holds your money for a specified period of time and allows you to earn typically higher amounts of interest. If you have less than a year to save for wedding party expenses, you might consider a CD account from Ally Bank, which offers account time frames from three months to five years.

Once you map out your expenses and create a plan for paying for them, you should try to stick to that plan. This, of course, is easier said than done.

"When confronted with higher prices and rising expenses, you might be tempted to go over your budget to overcome the setback," Ewing says. "Rather than deviating from your financial plan, however, it can be beneficial to explore alternative courses of action."

You might be wondering how many "alternatives" for wedding costs could possibly exist for members of the wedding party. But Ewing suggests, for instance, renting your dress or tuxedo instead of buying it, or doing your own hair and makeup instead of paying to have it professionally done. Other alternatives will depend on the plans for the wedding and wedding-related activities.

Paying for travel for a destination wedding, whether it's within the U.S. or outside of the U.S. can make wedding festivities feel more expensive. But according to Ewing, it can be worth it to think about using credit card rewards points to bring down travel costs. Depending on how many points you've racked up and the costs of your flight and hotel, you could potentially wind up having these costs completely covered by your points. You could even consider opening up a new credit card for the welcome bonus alone, as these bonus points could be worth enough to fully fund your wedding travels.

Select named the American Express® Gold Card as the best travel credit card. The Amex Gold card lets eligible new cardholders earn as high as 100,000 Membership Rewards® Points after you spend $8,000 in eligible purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership*. The card does have a $325 annual fee (see rates and fees), but the card's other perks — like up to $120 in dining credit ($10 in statement credits per month) at participating restaurants, up to $120 in Uber credit ($10 per month; An Amex Card must be selected as the payment method for your Uber or Uber Eats transaction to redeem the Amex Uber Cash benefit. To receive this benefit, you must have downloaded the latest version of the Uber App and your eligible American Express Gold Card must be a method of payment in your Uber account. The Amex Benefit may only be used in the United States. Point caps and terms apply)— can offset that fee. Amex points can be transferred to over a dozen airline and hotel partners, including Delta and Marriott, which can be used for free travel to destinations around the world.

And if you'd rather consider a card with no annual fee, you might check out the Discover it® Miles. Cardholders can earn an unlimited 1.5X miles for every dollar spent on purchases. But for higher spenders, Discover offers a welcome bonus that's hard to beat: It will do a mile-for-mile match of all Miles earned the first year (for new card members in their first year only). If you rack up 35,000 miles within the first 12 months, Discover will match you with 35,000 miles. That's a total of 70,000 miles you can redeem for $700 of travel.

Just keep in mind that the rewards points on credit cards are most useful when you're able to pay off your balance in-full each month so you can avoid paying interest on your balance. Any interest you pay will most likely negate value of the rewards you earn.

If you're still having trouble financing the wedding expenses, it could be worth looking into a credit card with a 0% intro APR period to pay for these costs. With this kind of credit card, you won't owe interest on your balance for the specified introductory period, usually from 12 to 20 months. This way you can pay off those wedding costs over time without having to pay any interest charges during the introductory period. However, this shouldn't be seen as an excuse to overspend — make sure you have a robust plan to pay down your balance.

The Chase Freedom Flex® card has a 0% intro APR period of 15 months (after, 18.24% - 27.74% variable). It also has a pretty sweet welcome offer: You can receive a $200 Bonus after you spend $500 on purchases in your first 3 months from account opening.

While you may be excited to participate in your close friend's or family member's wedding, it's hard to forget how expensive these events can be. Saving money ahead of time and finding ways to have more affordable alternatives for activities can help alleviate some of that financial pressure. And if you have some credit card rewards points that have just been sitting around, you can use those to pay for your flight for a destination wedding or bachelor/bachelorette party.

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For rates and fees of the American Express® Gold Card, click here.

For rates and fees of the Discover it® Miles, click here.  

Information about the Synchrony Bank High Yield Savings Account has been collected independently by CNBC and has not been reviewed or provided by the bank prior to publication.

*The American Express® Gold Card Welcome Offer: To view your personalized offer, you must first submit an application. If approved, you will: (1) receive your Welcome Offer details, (2) have the option to accept the Card with that offer, (3) be required to spend $8,000 on eligible purchases within the first 6 months of Card Membership, and (4) earn Membership Rewards® points. Welcome offers vary and you may not be eligible for an offer.