My fiance proposed in August 2014 and we have now set a provisional date for Saturday 25th July 2014. At the moment, I am just at a loss, however ukbride has given me a starting point, so that is good.
My question is, has anyone been able to enjoy and pay for their wedding on a pay as you go service. Me and my partner have no savings and unfortunately i have recently lost my job. I should be starting a new job in December and it is therefore my intention to pay for everything as i go along. I also hope to do this on a very tight budget. i dont anticipate getting any help from family members.
Is this something that people have experienced and do you have any suggestions as how to deal with this.
Look forward to hearing from you
CommentAuthorInDreamland
Firstly congratulations and welcome to the site.
If you haven't already check out the brides checklist at the top of the forum.
July 2014 is already gone, did you mean 2015?
Most wedding suppliers will ask for a deposit to secure their services and issue a contract when you actually book them then will expect final full payment approximately 6 to 8 weeks before the big day.
The wedding dress can be paid off in installments I think, I paid for mine outright but most bridal stores again get a deposit when ordering then will expect full payment when you take it away.
There's lots of ideas for budget weddings on here so read and join in x
Married the love of my life on Saturday 11th May 2013 xxx
Had our dream perfect honeymoon in Hawaii!
CommentAuthorMidgetGem89
Congrats.
Alot of places offer payment plans u pay a deposit anything from 10% upwards and aslong as balance paid when they need it like dress is upon it arriving in shop venues food etc usualy a month to 8 weeks before the date
It works very well i find. My dress will be paid this mnth we marry 31st july nxt yr and everything i have is to be paid over time the only thing i have paid in full atm is the reception room hire
My budget id about 2.5k and we have done great so far getting things at good prices Go along to weddin fairs etc us usualy get good deals :-)
Its never a problem bringing up an installment plan with suppliers aslong as final payment is due intime for them to get everything together for u :-)
CommentAuthorGlitterfairy
I got my dress discounted and on a payment plan so that helped out a lot there. Also I sold stuff on the bay to help pay for stuff. Hope your plans go well.
Our wedding day - 6 October 2012
CommentAuthorNaomiC8
Im very sorry, i did mean 2015 ( i guess im just eager lol).
Thank you for your helpful comments...i guess i will have to touch up on my negotiating skills and keep my eye out for some good deals.
Definitely negotiate with suppliers. It may be harder for a Saturday peak season wedding but it's definitely worth trying to get some deals, we managed to get some discounts on a few things for our Saturday May wedding.
It's worth shopping around for your dress, maybe even try "she who cannot be named" for yours and or the bridesmaids dresses. Maybe try makeup artists and photographers who are starting out and looking to build their portfolios rather than expensive established ones. Also DIY is very popular with the ladies on here.
Married the love of my life on Saturday 11th May 2013 xxx
Had our dream perfect honeymoon in Hawaii!
CommentAuthorInDreamland
If you unrestrict your profile members can pop links on your wall which may have great deals.
Married the love of my life on Saturday 11th May 2013 xxx
Had our dream perfect honeymoon in Hawaii!
CommentAuthorNaomiC8
Ooooh that would be very helpful... do you have any idea how i unrestrict my profile... i cant see where to do this...
I am actually re-thinking the date and i am now thinking maybe a Thursday or friday, because this will be much cheaper, considering that i want a summer wedding.
I have actually seen a few photographers who are willing to do free photography for the profile on the treegum, which would be absolutely wonderful, id be wiling to pay a contributory fee.
Thank you again....i will continue to keep my eyes open for deals.
I think once i have the venue sorted, i'll be in a much better position to work out everything else.
CommentAuthorInDreamland
Go to your account page, click on my details and scroll down then select public on the privacy settings.
Married the love of my life on Saturday 11th May 2013 xxx
Had our dream perfect honeymoon in Hawaii!
CommentAuthorInDreamland
Depending on the venue Friday weddings are not much cheaper, Thursdays will give you a better deal and suppliers will too. I find that the venue packages are more generous and much cheaper for a Thursday or even Monday to Wednesday.
Married the love of my life on Saturday 11th May 2013 xxx
Had our dream perfect honeymoon in Hawaii!
CommentAuthorInDreamland
Also consider April and October, we can get nice weather in those months but you'll be paying low season prices.
My sister had an April wedding and it was warm and sunny all day. I had a May wedding which is peak season and it rained part of the day and wasn't very warm! I can recall some lovely weather in October too.
Married the love of my life on Saturday 11th May 2013 xxx
Had our dream perfect honeymoon in Hawaii!
CommentAuthorWhovianbride
Midweek packages are awesome, im getting married Tuesday 28th July 2015 (im sad you changed it from 2014 to 2015 as i was excited for a time travel wedding, with actual time travel) midweek is saving me around £3/4g would be extra £2g just to have it on a saturday at the venue, let alone all the other discounts due to it being midweek.
Met June 2009 on my Birthday,Met again July 2009 and got
together, May 2010 Moved in,Jan 2011 got pregnant,
August 2011 Got our own place, 2011 Had our Baby Girl,
Dec 2011 Got engaged, July 2015 Getting married! Yay!
CommentAuthorVelcro
edited
congratulations and welcome :)
keep an eye on groupon, see what offers they are, also i would consider changing the date, as july is right in the middle of wedding season, so youre likely to get charged more for everything by everyone! though in saying that, there is a lot you can DIY and you can also hire alot of places out for next to nothing/free. village halls, function rooms etc. i believe the holiday inn have decent priced wedding packages too
as for DIY there is loads you can do, flowes, stationary, champagne (google river cottage elder flower champagne recipe) centre pieces, you can get dresses off the internet, preloved, ebay etc, got my bm dresses for 30 quid from a site called lindy bop, getting really popular for bridesmaid dresses, ive seen a few lindy bop bridesmaids now!
you could get married later and save on feeding people the once, you could hire chip vans or hog roasts, buffets instead of sit down meals etc
we got married at 4 and had a hot buffet at about 6:30 then at about 10ish we had bacon butties and wedding cake dished out instead of the traditional sit down meal and buffet, also by not having the sit down meal, you can get into the night do sooner ;)
happy planning! xxx
Wibbly wobbly, timey wimey
*Kelbel* is my wedding twinny!
CommentAuthor*KelBel*
We paid ours bit by bit if that's what you mean? We paid an initial deposit when booking with the balance being due 4-8 weeks before the wedding date but as we were saving once we had some saved we would pay a chunk off things here and there to get them paid off quicker. Having wedding insurance is important though and keeping all payment receipts just in case the company does go bankrupt you have the insurance if you need to get any money back. Xx
Velcro...my wedding day twinny! The Two Kel's!
Got engaged 14/10/12 in Central Park NYC!
Became Mrs Macdonald 13th September 2014
Mummy to 4 girlies and baby blue boy Due 10/05/2016
CommentAuthorNaomiC8
Woo hooo i am now public... thank you Indreamland....
I am now definitely thinking about changing the date, i guess i am just to eager... if the weather for next year was like this year. i could definitely push it back to october with the hope the sun stays out... hmmmm im just not sure..
I think i will have to shop around with the venues and see the difference in the prices and take it from there...
With respect to DIY.... I was seriously considering baking my own wedding cake and additional cupcakes.... i like baking and used to do this for birthdays and stuff.. but never for a wedding... plus i have a very specific requirement for my cake... What do you guys think about that... or am is just taking it too far....loool
CommentAuthorNaomiC8
A Time Travel wedding would be great, at least if anything went wrong we could go back and fix it....
CommentAuthorWhovianbride
There's a few ladies on here who baked there own cake. And a few who have bought there came from say m&s who do a build your own wedding cake and just decorated with ribbon that matches in.
Met June 2009 on my Birthday,Met again July 2009 and got
together, May 2010 Moved in,Jan 2011 got pregnant,
August 2011 Got our own place, 2011 Had our Baby Girl,
Dec 2011 Got engaged, July 2015 Getting married! Yay!
CommentAuthor*KelBel*
Yeah sonya on here got married the day before me and she made her own cake. It looked fantastic xx
Velcro...my wedding day twinny! The Two Kel's!
Got engaged 14/10/12 in Central Park NYC!
Became Mrs Macdonald 13th September 2014
Mummy to 4 girlies and baby blue boy Due 10/05/2016
CommentAuthorCarrieD26
My mum is making my cake, my friend is icing it, then I am going to decorate it.
CommentAuthorNaomiC8
@ CarrieD.... that sounds like a plan... i think i will get my mom to help me aswell. im thinking of taking a simple cake decorating course.... to assist..
CommentAuthorCarrieD26
You local college should have a cake decorating course.
I also am making my own bouquets. I have done bridesmaids ones so far, there is a pic in my albums if you want to have a look.
We are planning to DIY as much as poss, to cut down and spread costs.
CommentAuthorBevS87
Hey Naomi :) congratulations! We're paying for our wedding bit by bit and spreading the cost :) If I have a bit extra money at the end of one month I will pay abit towards something. I've made a spreadsheet to show how much I've paid towards stuff. I'm hoping that by doing that we won't end up forking out any huge amounts in one go! Im making lots of stuff myself too! xx
CommentAuthorBecky1608
Hi Naomi!! We set aside a certain amount of money each month in a separate account and also made a spreadsheet of how much each thing cost, how much we had paid and the balance which really helped us to stay organised! As the other ladies have said, often you can pay a deposit and then you have a deadline of up to 12 weeks before to pay the balance. It's always best to check with each supplier before booking though as they all work in different ways :-) xxx
29/09/2008 - The Day we met
12/11/2008 - When we decided to be more than friends
04/11/2012 - A proposal in Central Park NYC
08/11/2014 - The day we say I do!
CommentAuthorNaomiC8
@Carrie - i love what you have done with the flowers... such a simple elegant design.... i lack creativity so probably would be a shambles if i tried.
But i also like the colour theme that was in your ideas, those colours go together so nicely...
but i think i may attempt something... why not aye....
Hi bev and becky... yes that is what i was planning to do... i think any spare money that we have will be put to whatever we can afford at the time... I have a very small budget and i really do not want to go over it... I think a spreadsheet is a great idea... i will try that...
CommentAuthorCarrieD26
Thank you. I had a massive wobble about my colours and flowers this week, so it's lovely to hear such nice feedback.
definitely give some DIY ago, it's a great feeling when you complete something and it looks just how you wanted it to!