Hi everyone i am new to here but am looking for any advice from anyone that is willing to give me it. I am currently trying to plan a cheap wedding. When we got engaged i said that i wanted a big wedding with all the trimings but the fact is we cant afford that and i just want to marry the man of my dreams. So i have made it my goal to get enough money to gether to at least show my fiancee that i am serious about doing it cheaper. Im trying to find any useful hints and tips. Any help or advice would be very much appreciated.
Thanks :)
CommentAuthorMrs Davro
Try making a lot of stuff yourself. Have just a ceremony and buffet instead of a meal and buffet. Try the high street and websites selling preloved items.
CommentAuthorInDreamland
Hi kelly. Congratulations on your engagement and welcome to the site!
You can still have your big wedding on a budget.
First thing you need to do is to actually decide on your number of guests and your budget. Then whether you're having a religious or civil ceremony.
To save money be flexible with your date. Many of the popular big grand venues will do amazing all inclusive package deals for either late booking weddings and mid week off peak weddings so be sure to look them out.
For the dress, either off the peg high street or fantastic sample sales is the way to go.
Maybe instead of a drinks reception with canapes, followed by the big formal 3 course sit down meal followed by evening reception, you could have a later ceremony say at 2:30pm or 3pm, then go straight into photos and then big buffet like a hog roast which is far cheaper and then serve up the cake for desert.
Good luck!
xx
Married the love of my life on Saturday 11th May 2013 xxx
Had our dream perfect honeymoon in Hawaii!
CommentAuthorkirsty
Hi, I too am planning a cheap wedding. We are going to a registry office then we are having our reception at a village hall, if you search all halls in your area you should find one that has some nice views around it for photo opportunities. Then you can decorate it how you want and within budget. We are getting the caterers to do a bbq (which is a cheaper option by far) and the package weve got is very good. We are then doing cheese and biscuits in the evening which again will keep cost down (diy) £150 to cater 100 ppl. Im doing a sweet buffet as favours. My dress I have just bought in the sale section, alot of bridal shops are getting rid of old stock so now is a good time to look. My shoes and accessories will prob be bought of the bay of e. member of family doing photography, someone buying our cake. Our wedding budget is £3500. It can be done you just have to comprimise and shop around x
CommentAuthorTotallyLovedUp
hi congratulations and welcome to UKBride!
i will probably repeat whats already been said, but there are so many ways of cutting costs. Flowers. You ca have a beautiful centrepiece if you decide on a sit down meal without using flowers at all. Vases with fake flowers, pebbles or floating candles are good alternatives. you can also buy heart and butterfly as well as other shaped candlesticks. you can gt them rom the high street and are so so sooo much cheaper tan vases filled with flowers etc.
make your own bouquets. You would be surprised how easy they are to make and there are loads of tutorials on the tube of you to help you, and you can do them with silk, foam or real flowers. I would suggest fake ones as you can re do them until yougt them how you want.
*bay is fab for bargains. if you want a specific wedding dress, look on there or sites like it. you will get the dress of your dreams but for the fraction of the price!
as for venues, you may find off peak (not summer months which are usually from may until september) a lot cheaper and mid week weddings are also cheaper than weekend weddings. Get as much as possible from your venue. Some venues provide chair covers, sashes, table line and cutlery/crockery etc as well as a tastmaster inclusive in the price. some dont ad the added cost of these is phenomenal, so check on these before putting down a deposit!
if you want a sit down meal rather than a buffet, opt for a later wedding time and eat later and try for a 2 course meal rather than 3. itwill save a small fortune!! you could always have a small buffet later or serve cake for your dessert or later in the evening.
drinks.dont feel you have to spend a fortune on alcahol. at our wedding we will provide the first drink and a drink for the toast only. Also, a lot of places charge corkage so keep with their own wines, or you will be paying what yo could pay per person and then a whole bottle of wine on top.
Make as much as you can, you can get so may of the materials you need from the bay of e and sometimes the whole thing cheaper than buying the materials to make them, but be shopping savvy. the bay isnt alwas the cheapest...shop around!
beg and borrow!! are you wantng weddng cars? is there a friend or family member with a nice car or that runs a business?? same s floriss, dresmakers etc etc. most people will ofer a friend r family discount so bear it in mind!
guest numbers. sometimes cutting your guests down by as little as 1 could save a fortune. some venues will make you hire a bigger room which costs more if you go over a certain amount of people. if you wanted 51 guests and the room only seated 50 (includng youselves) then you would have to hire the bigger room!
if i can think of anything else i will dd it later x
Hi there. Congrats. Hunt around the hotels. I love in Blackpool and a lot of the hotels on the prom do budget packages for £1500, which includes wedding breakfast and eve reception fo 50 and 100 people. It's when you want to add civil ceremony and DJ, they add money on. So be aware of thatBut including them, one of the places I looked at was £2000. Think they also had complimentary bridal suite included and some of the other things like some stationary, etc. Like others have daid day and time of year is key to prices.
Met August 2003
Started planning 2012
Getting married 29th June 2014
CommentAuthorSparklez
I'm in the same boat hun, have been looking for a venue for what feels like forever.. I'm not wanting anything extravagant just somewhere with nice gardens and not too far from home! Am going to bookmark to keep an eye on all the great tips you guys give out :D x
You don't marry someone you can live with -
You marry the person you cannot live without..
CommentAuthorRaggedyAnne
I am a DIY fanatic.....make whatever you possibly can, cut your guest list to the bare bones, If you want a buffet in a village hall, work out the cost of the food and then the cost of renting the hall, added together you might find that the buffet option is more expensive than booking a room in a hotel for your guests to have a sit down meal. Hotels dont usually charge for the room, if you are only having meals there. its only when you are having the ceremony there that they charge for the marriage room.
I can resist anything but temptation
CommentAuthorHeather
We are having a cold buffet( after we get married) at our venue which isn't costing us anything as it is our local miners welfare club.(we live in a small village so not many people go in and the room is lovely just the right size for about 80/100 guests. then have a disco reception with another cold buffet in the evening. The buffets together have cost 560.00, the disco 130.00 and i have made all the table decos and stuff to make it look nice. The church is 469.00 and our vintage car is 350.00 then everything else is clothes,dress and hair etc. Good luck in your planning the bay of e have some good bargains
CommentAuthorLauraJo87
First things first, draw up a realistic budget. Write a list of all the things you need to consider (the budget planner tool on here is really useful) and put a rough guess of how much you think each thing will cost. If you look online you should be able to find enough information to make a reasonable estimate. Next, think about anyone who would be willing to help. Assuming you are comfortable with asking, maybe a parent could pay for the cake or DJ as a wedding gift? Or is there anybody who can do hair or makeup on the day? Bear in mind that if someone has been asked to help, they will probably expect to be invited, too! Finally, think about the aspects of the day that are more important. Would you be willing to sacrifice a live band so that you could have the right dress, for example? Would you rather have a small do with more spent on the catering etc or a big do done 'cheap and cheerful'? Very few brides are in the position to have everything they ever wanted, but with a bit of extra work there is always a way round things. Some of the best weddings I have been to have been for under five grand, so spendinig loads of money in no way guarantees The perfect day....
My Beating Heart Belongs To You
30 August 2013
The First Day Of My Happily Ever After
CommentAuthor1st-time
Firstly congratulations :)
When you say cheap do you have any idea of your budget?
Think about what you want and what your willing to sacrifice or do without. Ask friends for help - you'll be suprised at what talents people have Venues - Local Village halls or even some schools hire out grounds / halls at low cost prices depends how many you thinking of inviting. Registry or Church? - look at off peak times as cheaper, mid week is cheaper than weekends. Food - Full on 3 course is expensive - buffets / hog roasts / bbq's cheaper - or as 1 of my friends did - rope family / friends in to self catering:) Professional Photographers cost heaps but seek out a local university or college who have students studying to be photographers, they're cheap because they need portfolio material. DIY - make, make and make some more - invites, save the date cards, place names, favours can all be done cheapily and esily b your own hands.
We're doing our under £5K - so have made quite a few things / got things in sales/ off auctions sites / clearance lines its amazing what you can do when you pu your mind to it. :)
Good luck, you can do anything you set your mind too.
CommentAuthorOssie12
Group on seriously we got our venue for £2500 with 60 guests for a 3 course sit down meal! Should have been £8000. Also get married on a week day get lots of other things cheaper too. x
CommentAuthorKellyN29
i'm learning how to do DIY invites, same theme throughout to keep the costs down lol keep finding more things I can stamp and I'm having such fun. China wedding dress, church wedding, generous dad paying for sit down meal, BBQ on the beach on the night, friends car to get me there -I'm determined to have my big day within budget :) photos are the only thing I'm spending lots on
