Alex Perkins
Alex Perkins 15 Jan 2019

Marquee/ tipi wedding or traditional venue

I’m really trying to do a wedding on a budget, I originally dreamed of a marquee/ tipi wedding and thought that since I could choose my own catering and get all the alcohol ourselves it would cut down cost, but I’m finding that it’s turning out just as expensive, with the feild, having to hire toilets, generators ect. Has anyone done a DIY wedding and not spent a fortune doing so? Should I just stick to a more typical venue? At least that way id be able to have a wedding coordinator and it would be less hassle.. help please ??

18 Comments
UKbride Administrator
UKbride Administrator 16 Jan 2019

Honestly, we spoke to people we knew to see what was available. We have our local church for the ceremony, and found a small village pub for the reception. As they don't often do weddings they offered us an amazing deal and we have full use of the venue Fri evening / Sat / Sun morning. We're also allowed to put a marquee up outside if we need a little more room. No it won't be the wedding we've dreamed of... But it will be as beautiful and as fun as we make it! :) x

UKbride Administrator
UKbride Administrator 16 Jan 2019

Depends on what you mean by budget. We organised ours ourselves with a church wedding and 'street party' in the village hall down the road. With everything including an open bar and t was about £5.5k. We did a booze cruise with the parents for the wine and then on a holiday in SE Asia got made-to-measure outfits (3-piece tails were about £60 each & bridesmaid dresses were £35). Accept help where you can and keep an eye on selling sites where you can pick up absolute bargains.

Christine Hennessy
Christine Hennessy 16 Jan 2019

Where are you based? I work in events and I’m doing exactly what you’re doing for my reception. But I’ve hired a local cricket club instead of hiring a field. We hire anything you need if you’re close enough!! X

Cheryl Jackson
Cheryl Jackson 16 Jan 2019

Im spending £5k , i found a beautiful venue for £500 can bring in whatever food we want n the bar is nice and cheap so happy to use that, were having a bbq instead of sit down meal at £6.50 per head and then bulking the cold buffet out ourself with slowcookers with chillie, veggie chillie and pulled pork in them for evening bufett were doing pizzas which in total wil b around £500. Were not doing favours as i see them as a waste of money ive never been to a wedding and noticed if we got one or not n if we did no idea what happened to it. A good friend is doing our cake im just paying for costs. We wanted a outdoor wedding bit same as u cost was out of our budget but our venue has a huge field so were having outdoor games/bouncy castles and other fun things out there.
I found lots of ‘villages’ hall tupe venues were best value for money x

Louise Newson
Louise Newson 16 Jan 2019

We're on a budget of 3k, don't look at typical venues as they are well expensive, our reception is in a pub, and for £675 we got private hire of the resteraunt, sit down meal and a buffet in the evening. We can supply our own fiz for arrival, and we're gonna decorate it, will get it all done for less than 1000, every typical wedding reception we looked at was more than that for just venue hire.x

Becca Simpson
Becca Simpson 16 Jan 2019

We’re finding the same thing. Which was a shock! But we have found a village hall with land at the back for our tipis otherwise it would have been another grand

UKbride Administrator
UKbride Administrator 16 Jan 2019

I hired a really lovely social club with a cheap bar for 150 and had a hog roast for 700! I decorated the venue myself too! I saved a fortune x

Charlotte Ward
Charlotte Ward 16 Jan 2019

Were getting married in July, and have friends that have allowed us use of their farm shed for the reception. It allows us to spend a little bit more on food and decorations. Were actually marrying in church aswell.. X

Linda Donohue
Linda Donohue 16 Jan 2019

2k budget for ours. It’s in December so tepees would be a no no. My tip would be only feed and water those you REALLY care about.

Michelle Goldsworthy
Michelle Goldsworthy 16 Jan 2019

Same idea, soooo expensive, I’ve just excepted if this is what it costs I deal with it, I’ve done as much as I can myself, I’ve even bought the decorations because it wasn’t much more than hiring but at least I can sell them after to recoup a little money

UKbride Administrator
UKbride Administrator 17 Jan 2019

Completely outdoor weddings can be expensive when you start looking at all the extras. You may find it better to find a smaller venue that allows you to place tipi's or marquee's. They can then provide much of the fundamental elements like toilets, power, kitchens, seating, tables etc. The venue I chose was an old Manor House and literally all that you got was the Hall hire, seating and tables and a wedding coordinator that helped with the organisation of the day's events. Everything else had to be hired in ourselves (catering, bar hire, entertainment, decorations etc). It sounds a lot of hassle but actually, it allowed us to have what we wanted and be in complete control. No tied in agreements with minimum numbers or restrictions on timings etc. We did what we wanted when we wanted. We managed to stay well within budget by doing everything ourselves.

Also... don't provide the alcohol yourselves. It's a nightmare. Buy too much and your left with loads of booze that you don't want... Buy too little and you'll have some rather disgruntled guests. Bar Hire companies are cheaper and less hassle. Get the right one (ours was called Solid State) and they don't even charge you. They have more variety and you don't have to worry about who will serve your guests drinks etc. Some catering companies will serve your guests drinks but don't be surprised if they charge you extra.

Shop around, get lots of quotes and remember, at the end of the day... it's your special day... so make it what you want.

UKbride Administrator
UKbride Administrator 17 Jan 2019

We are hving the ceremony at the resgistry office. Much cheaper. Then we found a lovely church hall that the coordinator is dressing for us. £340 and no restrictions on catering etc. Do you have a friend/family member that could do the food? One of our friends is doing it as a wedding present which has saved a huge amount. We've also done all the other bits ourselves like sourcing decorations (if you have the time to wait, Wish is a great app for all the little bits and pieces!) and it's coming together at around £1500.

Another tip is to get married on a weekday. A lot of venues have a massively reduced cost to hire them on a weekday!

UKbride Administrator
UKbride Administrator 17 Jan 2019

I stuck to a typical wedding I got bridesmaids dresses/ flowers and centerpiece from eBay I had my dress hand made only cost £350 the Venue was the most expensive at £1800 but I did it under my budget and everyone has said it was the best wedding they went too it wasn't too formal and we got married in a church and had our after do at a local cafe/bar but it looked amazing x

Cheryl Holten
Cheryl Holten 17 Jan 2019

I wanted this too and once I looked in to it I found them same. We have gone for a wedding with a local lovely pub. Now it depends what you call on a budget for a wedding but ours is coming out at about 6k for everything. Our venue do winter weddings for half the price or weekday ones. Another idea is you could look at village halls and do catering yourself. Much less go hire then. No need for toilets or generators xxx

UKbride Administrator
UKbride Administrator 17 Jan 2019

Everything is extra with a DIY wedding. It’s obscene. I am going for a posh pub with a package and adding a few bits myself. Will still be about 12k in total if you count in everything like dresses and rings

Sarah Bloor
Sarah Bloor 17 Jan 2019

We're doing the same. Hopefully getting married in our local church. Then reception in my h2b field as he works on a farm estate so field is free. Having an afternoon tea for wedding breakfast and food etc will be done by family/friends. Friend doing our cake. Having a hog roast in the evening. Hiring of the marquee is turning out to be cheaper to by one then hire

UKbride Administrator
UKbride Administrator 20 Jan 2019

Marquees & tipis usually work out more expensive than a decent venue . More importantly they are much harder to organise - most venues have most of what you need in one place - this iOS the stress levels for you & the work fir friends & family. This usually means more likelihood of fall outs& argument. If you want a great day keep the stress down & remember you are supposed to enjoy the experience. As a final note remember marquee etc means outdoors - great in photo on good days - how often do you see photos of the muddy wash out days ???

Ruth White
Ruth White 24 Jan 2019

We are having ours in our shed, once it’s built. We are supplying a lot
Of the food ourselves and just doing a buffet and likely w hog roast for the evening. We were thinking of hiring a catering company just to take the stress out of it with staff and we were also thinking about costs of glass wear ect so we think it will actually be more financially viable to do it this way.

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