I'm starting to think we should have gone for a cheaper venue - we have put...

Yes, you just need to decide what's a must and what's a want then go from there. We're not having cars and are considering no cake x

Yes, we had our dream venue and it came at a price - had to cut costs everywhere else to be able to achieve the dream but it was so worth it and our day ended up being exactly as we imagined :-) x

Hunni i booked a 5 grand venue and i was STRESSED and couldnt do hakf of what i wanted.... now we have a 300 venue booked with grounds and dj included....i ammmmm soooo much happier look at why yoyr doing it its a cekebration for you and your husband and family no one cares where you book it get a cheao venue and spend on decorations etc thats the best way i always say!!!

Speak to your venue about your concerns. Yield wise they would rather you are happy and pay what you can afford rather than get cold feet and leave them with just a deposit and a date they can't fill x

I felt exactly the same! I stuck with the venue and it was amazing but sometimes I do wish I had had something cheaper as we are going to be paying it off for 2 years so we can't do things we would like for 2 years

We found a lovely venue that wasn't too expensive (compared to others) and provisionally reserved it (no deposit) but by the time we'd sat down and thought about all the other bits it soon seemed like we'd have to take out a mortgage to pay for it all.. so are thinking about a drinks only reception and leaving that evening to go on our minimoon. Fortunately I've never had a 'dream wedding' in my head otherwise I'd probably be quite upset by the cost of everything 😂

We're quite lucky, with our venue we get, ceremony, evening room hire, food for 100, dj, table decorations and drinks. The main room where we are having the ceremony is quite dark, so instead of flowers we are decorating with candles and fairy lights. We shopped around but knew the type of venue we wanted

Lots of the extras are not needed. I'm similar booked a more expensive venue than we had budgeted for but I think the church and or venue is the most important and what you will remember. Maybe there is something you can cut down on or DIY? We have DIYd our save the dates, invites, favours, candy cart etc and it really does add up x

If you love your venue do you really need all the added extras? Talk to the venue as they may be able to do you a deal x

I feel really lucky for our venue. The deposit pays for the room hire, staff hire and bar staff, as well as table linens and decorations for the tables. For the amount of people we have it's not over expensive. We've picked the cheapest option for evening food because after a three course meal around 5pm. I don't think I'll really fancy a full buffet at 7-8pm. Seems pointless paying another £12.50 per person for an evening buffet when 90% of guests have had the main meal. Don't put wine on the tables. Half the time people don't drink it and bottles are left over. I've saved about £100 not paying for wine. Have prosecco instead of champagne. X

Speak to the wedding co ordinator there they might be able to throw you things in or do it cheaper??

My venue was free all I needed to do was to pay for the caterer.

I can relate to you. Me and my partner had no help financially with the wedding and we also paid for our own honeymoon and deposit on our first house. All in 2 years! There was times I was ready give up and spend many nights in tears. But my now husband sat me down and said we only ever plan to get married once and it's our day so just keep focused and start to enjoy it. At the end I look back and feel so proud that all the hard work paid off! We had a fabulous day and everyone enjoyed themselves. Plus I got to marry my soul mate good luck xxx

Didn't you get a full quote before you put a deposit down?

Can you look at doing some of the extras yourself?? Wedding fb pages always have people selling their unwanted wedding items. Double check exactly what is included in your package at the venue and definately shop around for anything else you might need xx

Have you already sent invites? One option would be to do the more expensive wedding with less people. If you cut numbers by even 10% it would make a big difference.

We had this same issue, and eventually cancelled and went somewhere else. We were lucky, as it was more than 12 months before the date so we managed to get our deposit back. If yours is sooner you need to weigh up whether losing the money you've already spent will still be cheaper than sticking with it. There are ways to cut down costs - cheaper drinks receptions/meal options, DIY decor, etc, but it depends how much it all means to you. As special as a wedding day it, it's only the beginning of a marriage. If you end up struggling for that one day, is it worth it?

Me and my fiancé had a beautiful venue which we thought was a bargain at £2,500 in August! Turns out that price was for the scenery, a roof and 100 chairs that venue made us use a list of their suppliers which wasn't explained to us before we paid the deposit. Anyway after months of scrimping we paid the balance in full, then to their cheapest caterers. But it would have cost at least an extra 8-10 grand after that! We cancelled, they refused to refund the balance but the caterers kindly did. With that money we paid for the new wedding (Town Hall) AND the reception! We are so much more relaxed, not financially crippled, and our day is finally about us and our loved ones, not a show that doesn't represent us as a family. Anyway my point is the venue isn't the be all and end all, and all that money we saved will now be spent on our future x

Hi were you told or hinted to about these hidden extras you need to talk to someone at the venue :)

Sorry. I can't relate. We have a fixed price with amazing views. Maybe try and cut costs in other areas to put more towards the venue x

Yes!! Ours is just literally the venue and everything else is extra. I feel like I wish I had never seen it because I fell in love with it but you only get married once (hopefully!) x

We have had this conversation but we just think we are only doing it once! We both fell in love with the venue so nowhere else would compare! There's other things we are going to save money on by doing it ourself!

You can try and cut the cost with photography by looking at amatuer photographers ... ive asked a photography uni student to do mine coz his skills are amazing ... can save you hundreds

I was feeling exactly the same but I did look at loads of other venues and for what we wanted the winning venue had it all so at least I know I won't look back in a few years and say " I wish I'd had this and that' its costing two years of our life but it'll be worth it x

Exactly the same. We have the deposit down and had estimates for everything else. When you actually go to book anything it's way more expensive than estimated. All adds up. I've questioned whether we made a mistake with an expensive venue...

We changed 2 r local bar restaurant n hired the top floor, saved a fortune

My venue isn't cheap but it's the only one we both felt comfy in. My partner has mental health problems and it's only place he has felt relaxed. We have been a few times since booking for food and I took him for a 4x4 experience for his birthday. It's worth the money for me to know he will be happy and relaxed x