DIY and the bay will become your best friend!

£1000 is pretty tight; mainly because the cost of getting married will eat into that quite substantially (where I am it costs £245 for a wedding for 50 in the registry office and the fee for giving notice). However, my tips for saving would be:

Have a small, intimate wedding; reducing the guest list will save money.

If anyone has a big house/garden, look at hosting it there, thus saving on hire fees (you can pick up large marquee-style tents for around £70 in the sale if you look around). Or, look at village halls and church halls, as these tend to be cheap, and also look at pubs/golf clubs/cricket clubs: many will offer free venue hire, and often extra such as a free buffet and DJ, provided a certain amount is spent at the bar, thus saving a fortune.

If you go with a house party/village hall, consider the following for catering: check out IceLand/M&S etc; they have a great range of party food at not exorbitant prices. Or, do a 'pot luck' buffet, and ask guests to bring a dish for the buffet in lieu of a gift. Likewise, you could provide sparkling wine for the toast (check out supermarket deals where if you buy 6 you save 25%; can save a fortune) and soft drinks/water, and ask guests to bring what they drink alcohol-wise instead of getting you a gift.

DIY as much as you can; paper pom-poms are super effective and cheap to make, as is bunting. Making your own stationery will also save a fortune, or, consider online invites for the internet-savvy.

Pull in favours. If someone you know is good with camera, ask them if they can take photos (or, check out local universities or colleges; a student may do your day for free/travel expenses; the same goes for bands); if someone you know makes awesome cakes, see if they can make a cake/cupcakes for you as a gift/if you provide the ingredients. See if you can get students to play/DJ, or, play music through an iPod. Etc.

Don't have a bridal party; this will save on outfits as well as bouquets. If you really want bridesmaids, ask them to wear something they all have (eg a black dress), and either do without flowers, or go for something cheap and cheerful. Likewise with your bouquet, set a budget (£30 should get you a decent one), and speak to a florist about what they can do in that budget.

Check out the high street and charity shops for your dress, as well as sites online, or a sample sale. H2B could wear a suit or trousers he already owns, or rent one.

Do away with cars, or see if someone you know who has a nice car will act as chauffeur, and decorate the car with ribbons.

HTH!

Thanks for all your comments they have been helpful much appreciated xx

I got a few good websites got my veil for £3.54!! and my gorgous dress for £140 including shipping and it being custom made. Add me as a freind and I'll start posting you sites! Whatever you need we are here to help you find it. (Oh and welcome to the site!) x

thank you Amy hun :) xx

It can be done on a budget and one of the best things you can do is try doing some of it D.I.Y yourself and Barbies advice is brill hun if you can cut out what isnt essential it can save you a fortune so far my D.i.y budget has got me all this

Replica dress £200 original over 1k
D.I.Y crystal shoes £25 originals $1300
D.I.Y veil £7.50 original £145
Jon richard jewellery £9 (from bay of e and charity shop) original £ 40+
Table cloths £2 each (paper) cloth £7+ to hire
D.I.Y invites (designed myself printed as a favour from printers but would of been printed at home) £0 to buy elsewhere £80+
garter £1 (bay of e)
tiara £30 (fell in love with it) you can purchase cheaper on bay of e starting from 99p
make your own table centrepieces wether they be mix and match jars will lights and gel balls etc search charity shops and car boots, bay of e is a god send for a lot of things. If you want sweet trees I have a thread on here how to make your own and some other threads on how to make things hun so help cut cost xx