Wedding Forum - I feel like my wedding isnt going to be...

As long as its what you want, it'll be beautiful!
If someone else's has had more money thrown at it, it doesn't prove anything, it doesn't mean sh*t.
I have more respect for you than your friend - you're working hard for your money and you'll perhaps appreciate it more when you're spending it, rather than frittering away daddy's money which is easy come easy go. I suspect doing it your way will give you a firm footing for the rest of your lives together - work hard as a team for what you want & not expecting hand outs or bail outs when things get tough.
I don't pretend my parents haven't made a contribution, but I never expected them to, and I'm spending it very wisely as I appreciate how lucky I am for them to do it.
I suspect your friend has got swept up in the whole wedding industry thing whereby suppliers try to tell you that your wedding won't be perfect without (a horse drawn carriage, printed napkins with your initials, hand made confetti made from newspapers of the days you were born etc etc etc!!!) but they're just trying to sell their wares. People won't know the difference between artisan cupcakes & smart price ones you've decorated yourself. People won't care either. The people you're inviting to your wedding just want to see you & hubby happy!! If they're expecting anything else, then tough!

think .....do you want people to remember you wedding for how much money you spent or how much love you show ?

D.I.Y is definitely the way forward.. Although my wedding budget is around £11,000, most of that is just for the venue as we both have very large families. I'm doing what I can to cut that down to put the money towards something else.. My mother in law to be is making my dress, cousin is doing the bag pipes, I'm doing my own favours, roped my friends into doing hair and make-up, bought my wedding jewellery off of groupon, bridesmaids shoes from Primark etc.. Money isn't what makes your wedding day extravagant it's the love between you and your partner and spending it with those who are special to you :) x

Whoah, Barbie, there's no offence meant in my comment hun, for those with bigger budgets or for people also getting assistance from their parents. What I put was in response to Laura's original post.
if I had a friend marrying on a lower budget than me then there's no way I'd be making a big deal about how much I'm spending & making my friend feel inferior for it. Everyone can have a lovely day - big budget or small.
Nothing barbed or nasty intended.

Any wedding can look beautiful, no matter what the budget it. I decided that we'd make our invites and spent over £30 on the materials and stamps (plus 4 hours making them) and a lot of people have said how much they love them and how professional they looked, if we ordered them from a company they would have been around £100. Our flower package (all the bouquets, buttonholes and cake topper) cost £170 which is far cheaper fake then if they were real, which would have been £600-£1,000. Our cake is a massive saver too, only paying for the ingredients for my MIL to make. We are only suiting up the groom and best man which is another save. Lastly my auntie is making five bridesmaid and flower girl dresses, the cost of material in total make the dresses far cheaper then if we bought them. With all those saves my wedding now costs £7,000 in total, instead of well over £10,000. Also, don't be afraid to ask for help, without both our parents' help we'd really struggle.

It can be done!

It will be a wonderful wedding whatever you spend ..... why ?

BECAUSE YOU AND HUBBY WILL BE THERE