40k budget!!

We're organising a wedding with a budget within 6 months. When I first started looking at everything I totally panicked. However, with 2 months to go, everything is booked and we are well in budget. My best piece of advice is to shop around, be patient, compromise (you'll change you're mind a hundred times anyway) and haggle like crazy. Lots of suppliers will try and push into a corner so you feel the pressure and panic buy, try to remember weddings is an extremely competitive industry and suppliers know you'll have a choice of other people to go.

The other piece of advice I can offer from experience is make sure you prioritise. We knew catering would be our biggest cost and we didn't want to skimp so we booked that first which determined the rest of the budget safe in the knowledge that the most important thing onus was all sorted

ps, Im also a massive fan of spreadsheets as suggested by lots of other people on here!

Hope it all goes well, good luck!

The best advice I received about budgeting, and continually had to remind myself of throughout planning, and which applies to you whether your budget is £500 or £500,000 ..... Don't look at your budget as a target, it's a limit. Aim to come in under - perhaps think about what you might like to spend the leftovers on afterwards (we didn't have space for a honeymoon and so aimed to try and leave some money left over at the end so that we could try and have a little holiday) so that a certain chunk of your budget is contingency.

I think this is the main issue with the OP: "i am worried that the rest of the budget (20k) wont be enough for the rest of the stuff needed for a wedding"

20K is more than enough for what is "needed" for a wedding. People manage on far far less. It's about what you want - and there is nothing wrong with wanting a fancy wedding if it's within your means, you just have to work out which stuff you really really want. £40K is peanuts compared to what the super rich spend on their weddings - it's all relative!

Alisha B is generally unncessarily rude and harsh to everyone so I wouldn't take her comments personally.

But in Crumpsall you can buy a house for that!

Let's bring back hitched of old. When it was fun.

if the op has £40k to spend on a wedding good luck to her. Posts like this always end up with people being touchy because they are doing thier whole wedding on £25 and a borrowed ring and don't see why people need to spend more 'as long as you and your h end up married at the end of the day that's all thats important' well yes that is the point but there's no denying it's an important day to celebrate with your nearest abd dearest. If that costs you £40k and you can afford it then why wouldn't you want to spend it?

the asking of budget advice isn't just for those who don't have two pennies to rub together

I agree. I personally dont think i would spend even 1/4 of that amount on a wedding venue if a budget wasn't an issues but I resisted the urge to make a sarcastic comment out of jealously because I don't have the option.

Haha, maybe! I guess I wouldn't know, I've never been to North Manchester at all. I've lived here 16yrs, eight of those in south Manc and eight in the city centre - and I'm definitely not ready to move out of the centre yet. But it reinforces the point again about budget being all relative!

I agree with Mini above, we all have different priority's/budgets etc I have been to weddings of all budgets from 2k to 80k but all that matters is the both of you.

Good to see you back Mini ....

budget bashing should be frowned upon whether it's a mega budget or a tiny budget ... I can only imagine the fall out if I commented rudely about some people's tiny budgets!

Totally agree. There was a touch of crassness about the original post here, which is what got my back up (although I refrained from posting), but since then the OP has come good.

Personally I don't think I could bring myself to spend 40k on a single day, but I sure as heck could have a lot of fun dreaming about what I would do if I could! So I hope you will stick around and share your planning with us.

To the OP, you've had some great advice re budgets. Mine would be treat your budget as a limit, not a target. Expensive does not always mean 'better' so make sure you get quality and value for your money. Work out what you consider to be essential for your day and make sure those fit into your budget before you look at the optional extras.

I have to say im with these ladies, im more interested in seeing your pictures and what your able to create with the money you have to spend, I love looking at the lavish kind of weddings, im also keen to find out who the mystery celeb is!! ?

Budget smudget, if you have the money go for it!! i do think 20K for everything else weddingy is plenty, spreadsheets as other ladies have mentioned have been our best friend throughout all our planning, so another vote for spreadsheets!! Never thought id hear myself say that ?

❤️

If I'd had the cash I could easily have spent much more money!

As loads of others have already said, budget spreadsheets are the best way to keep track of spending.

I don't think it's likely to be anyone as high profile as Andy Murray if the budget is *only* ? £40k - there are plenty of sporting people we might never have heard of who would be on a decent wage!

I've heard he's got a reputation for being quite frugal (read: tight), hence my guess. I suspect it's a footballer in one of the lower divisions.

Budget shouldn't determine how beautiful the photos will be? every wedding should shine through no matter how much it cost.

I've read through this whole thread and have come up with the following:

1) Ali_G, your post was quite funny, but once again us 'OMs' are not allowed to have any fun or say anything amusing without being called mean.

2) The OP is a very fortunate young lady.

This!

Ali G also gave me a giggle, she prob said what the non-fluffies on here thought. Given it seems that a lot of people come on here to swap tips on how to get good deals and other little tips I would have thought it was pretty obvious most people on here don't have a £40K budget and so posts like that so would get some people thinking it's a fake post or just someone bragging.

Completely agree. Although I didn't see anyone calling Ali G or any of the other OMs mean, IMO on this thread the meanness came from another Hitcher and theres no need for it. I do miss some of the bluntness and humour that was around when i first started though.

We're up to 30k so far for 70 days guests and 110 evening guests. We've a chunk to sort still and money really doesn't mean a great wedding. If I'm honest, I think my wedding is going to be quite boring! Whereas my friends was £3,500 and it was the best day ever!!

I'd give anything to have the atmosphere she had, but it's highly doubtful as 80% of our guests are coppers haha.

Also, it depends on your location. Or venue is eating £18-£20k of our budget (we've yet to pay the last instalment as we need to confirm numbers, pick the menus etc).

I'm so glad I read to the end of this post. To me 40K seems like a lot of money to spend... but if you've got it, why not use it for what you want? It's no one elses money at the end of the day!! I reckon 20K is definitely enough for the rest of the day, as a lot of other have said prioritise what is important and spend your money there. For us that was the food and photography and we were less bothered about cars and cake (although.. obviously I don't think our cars would cost the same as feeding 120 guests)

I was beginning to panic reading through with people saying the average wedding budget is £5k and £10K is extortionate!! Our budget is £12k and we've had to make sacrficies and savvy decisions (and saving for our honeymoon for our 1 year anniversary). In fact, there's an article that says the average cost is £20k (as others have said): http://www.immediate.co.uk/news/brand/you-your-wedding-survey-reveals-the-average-cost-of-a-wedding-is-over-20500/

I like Hitched and I think there is room for a laugh, but lets all get keep the claws away, yea? Wedding planning can be stressful enough!

Good luck OP, can't wait to see your plans develop!

You could probably get everything you want for £40k but thats depending on what you want and how expensive your taste is...you could always hire a wedding planner...they do all the work for you (i think)

Ghost post. do wonder how she's getting on though!

If its your parents money and they're happy with it that way fine, as long as you don't expect them to stump up for a deposit for your house too unless they're seriously rich.

If it your *own* money? I could splash out 40K on a party if I wanted to, but I have different priorities for my savings/investments, like our future security.

A bit of common sense please.

Why has someone nudged under the bridge and revived what appears to be an ancient post anyway?

Omg i just realised how old this post was! x

Woah, Ok. Sorry! Didn't meant to nudge under the bridge.. tbh, I was just browsing and didn't pay attention to the date on the post when I found it and wanted to reply, no drama intended!

At the end of the day, each to their own..

As you were!

I was wondering why this post had resurfaced. Given the hard time she got, I highly doubt the OP will be back.

Actually she has been Saw a post where she was asking about a dress xx

White wedding...keep em coming i like reading things like this! xxx

Haha. Thanks, keep your eyes peels for what I unearth next :p #HitchedForumImpaired

Ah, I missed that. Well, I'm glad she wasn't put off.

Hey girls and guys I'm still here and still planning and still spending 40k x

Good for you Toyaht, Enjoy!