Wedding Forum - Need inspiration...

I don't have any suggestions as I am not familiar with where you live, but all I would say is don't be afraid to haggle on prices. Let the venues know up front what your budget is and exactly what you're looking for and see if they can work around you and offer you some sort of deal. Also, have you thought of going to any wedding fairs? You may be able to get discount by booking a venue at a fair x

I used a website where you can search for wedding venues within the different counties. It was pretty pain-staking and took a while but it helped me get a handle on what was available in the area.

Some I ruled out straight away based on distance or looks. Any that were within a reasonable distance and that I liked the look of, I then looked into in more detail. Then, I emailed those that ticked our boxes (eg we had certain criteria like we didn't want any other weddings taking place on the same day) to ask for prices; some had package prices so sent those through, others didn't so I just sent an email with the standard things (canapes and welcome drinks; 3 course wedding breakfast with 1/2 bottle of wine and champagne for the toast; evening buffet) and a rough idea of our numbers.

As I said it was pretty laborious, but it paid off and we visited about a dozen venues and found our dream venue.

If you're on a tight budget, I'd suggest looking at places like pubs (there are some really nice ones out there) and village halls (you'd then obv need to get your own caterers in). I'm not far from you and it's an expensive area; you may struggle to get what you want for the numbers you want at a more conventional venue.

Fingers crossed you find 'the one' soon. Definitely don't be afraid to haggle - you've nothing to lose x

Re. fireworks.. our DJ also offers fireworks are gave us the below quotes:

4 Min Display = £375.00
6 Min Display = £499.00
8 Min Display = £624.00

Have you considered a village hall? We are having our reception at the village hall where our church is located. We are looking into hiring an indoor marquee to transform the space and hiring caterers for a hot buffet, then a hog roast in the evening. It still adds up cost wise, but you can tweak what you want, decorate yourself, haggle with caterers, consider offering a paid bar, etc. Sports halls and cricket / rugby / football clubs often hire out function rooms, some only charge bar staff costs and can recommend or provide caterers if that's easier than finding your own.

Fingers crossed for the venues, hope one of them is 'the one' x

Fingers crossed for you :-)