How to Have a Cheap Wedding | UKbride

In the wake of not one, but two elaborate Royal Weddings so far this year, one church minister has decided it's high time to show that you don't have to spend in excess of £50,000 to enjoy your dream wedding day.

Reverend David Newton has set out to prove that a budgeting bride-to-be can get married for as little as £100, by sacrificing sizable spends on your wedding dress, wedding rings, wedding photographer and of course, the all-important wedding venue.

"When I said that I could organise a great wedding day for £100 I received two reactions," the Yorkshire clergyman said. "Most people said it was not possible, but others began to tell me stories about how they had been married on a very low budget."

Whilst the penny-pinching priest has published a range of money saving tips in order for couples to achieve a cheap wedding, one spend that cost-cutting couples will not be able to avoid are the legal requirements of getting hitched.

"There is a minimum cost for the legal fee to the government for the Marriage Licence — you can get this from your local registry office for £67," he says.

Church or Registry Office ceremonies can often cost up to £500, but the minister advises an affordable alternative; "Baptist churches will host a wedding for little more than the cost of the licence." As the majority of weddings are hosted by Anglican churches, the small friendly congregations of Baptist or Pentecostal Churches jump at the chance to hold a wedding, as it's considered a real treat for them.

In addition, expending minimal money on material goods is essential if couples plan to tie the knot for under £100.

"Rings don't have to be new or gold," Reverend Newton said. Car boot sales, flea markets, and second hand shops are amongst his alternative suggestions.

Ebay and Oxfam are both part of his proposal for pursuing for a cheap wedding dress. Furthermore, he urges budgeting brides-to-be to borrow a wedding dress off married friends or family members.

Instead of hiring a wedding photographer, the minister advocates asking guests to bring their own cameras to record the day, and to share their snaps online. The cost of this? "Not a penny piece," he says.