Birmingham/Essex Wedding..

Hello and Welcome ?

I can't really help, but you sound just like me 2 years ago. We live a few miles from Brum and my husbands family are from Colchester Essex.

We chose to get married in Essex, but we just opted for a Holiday Inn as then my family could stay in the hotel too.

Hi!

I feel like I always recommend my venue! I'm from Bromsgrove, just south of Brum. We're getting married at Avoncroft Museum. You can have the ceremony and the reception there, whether in the (amazing) hall or by hiring a marquee on the lawn. The prices are very reasonable, and they actually offer an afternoon tea package, complete with vintage crockery and bunting.

Of course hiring a hall would be cheaper, but it would be more DIY. Getting caterers, hiring tables, chairs, china, cutlery, glasses etc can all add up too.

I think that you might find Essex abit more expensive than Brum, going from what people have written on here. Good luck!

Hey

We live in Brum, and our reception is at Rowheath Pavilion, Bournville.

The lovely thing is you can do everything yourself - we are doing our own afternoon tea for less then £300 including crockery... if you want the links, give me a shout

Rubyfirecracker, that would be great if you don't mind?

indiefluff will have a look at that one too!

Thanks both :-)

It looks beautiful :-)

Did you see the offer groupon had on for a midlands venue. Let me try and find it x

http://m.groupon.co.uk/deals/birmingham/stonehouse-court-hotel/13042383?nlp=&CID=UK_CRM_1_0_0_322&a=10

Any good? You can always ask if afternoon tea is an option.

Oh wow looks like cool - i'll contact them :-) x x x

Sorry it's taken me ages to get back to you! I've been run ragged this past couple of weeks at work, and havent long got back in from work just now (hence the late night - mind still in work mode!).

OK so, just some ideas:

We're getting married at West Brom reg office (sandwell suite) which fits 85 guests and is decorated like a vintage french boudoir thingy. You can have your own music and readings and the people there are just lush. We originally booked Brum which is £50 but its a quick 15min no frills ceremony and no option to 'add on'. Sandwell costs about £300 and it really is lovely - an old stately home. https://www.sandwell.gov.uk/info/200167/births_marriages_deaths/2089/sandwell_register_office

You can also get married cheaply in many of Brum's gorgeous museums, go to http://www.bmag.org.uk/weddings for more info.

Our reception venue is Rowheath Pavilion in Bournville. Its in a lush public park, looks like a 1960s village hall and you can basically do anything you want there DIY. Hire only includes bar staff, plain tables and chairs and room hire, you need to do everything else yourself. https://www.rowheathpavilion.co.uk/ This costs £750 from 9am - midnight. Only issue is all your stuff has to be out by midnight and last orders are at 11pm. I know some people like their party to last longer, but we figure anyone who wants to carry on can do so in Brum which is only 6 miles or so away! We're looking forward to getting into bed with a bottle of bubbly ASAP!

When looking around, we also found a lovely place in Stetchford called the Poachers Pocket which is very cheap too and there are other budget ideas here http://www.cheap-wedding-success.co.uk/wedding-venues-in-the-west-midlands.html

Our crockery and table runner (gingham) and centrepieces hire are from https://www.vintagevenuestyling.co.uk/ who did us a cracking deal on all that, and have been super lovely to deal with this far.

Our afternoon tea will me made by me and OHs mum - scones, cupcakes, homemade jam and clotted cream. Made in advance and frozen. We're getting some friends teenage kids to fill the teapots and put away the crocks after for a bit of cash (child labour can be a good thing - haha!)

Our evening caterers are Castlemoor Farm hog roast who breed their own outdoor-reared pigs and offer a fantastic deal £500 for 200 servings. This is by far the best local deal, and Mark the farmer is absolutely lush http://www.castlemoorfarm.co.uk/hogroast.html

Alongside this my caterer friends are making salads and stuff for sides, a kids buffet and OHs mum making veggie quiches - all for nowt.

All the decor we are doing ourselves - see the Crafty/ Budget brides thread for inspiration/ ideas!

As our reception is 11 miles from our ceremony venue we are hiring a double decker bus to transport everyone for £250 which is a great deal http://www.birmingham-tours.co.uk/bus-tours.html but my bro is paying for this as a pressie to us.

My dress is from Vivien of Holloway, and my entire outfit comes in at less than £250. SiL paying for my bolero and shoes.

We're not having hire suits and actually, almost all the men have said *thank god, they're not v flattering* and are delighted to be able to choose their own clothes.

Bouquets and buttonholes will be made by me, no flowers. Table flowers - Morrisons £50 the day before and my SiL will arrange them in vintage jugs on the day.

Pudding - asking friends we know are ace bakers to knock up batches of their best recipes. Borrowing cakeplates and using my own.

Table linen - I work with disabled children and one of my kid's mums is loaning me all of it for free, and some photo frames for table numbers. She is very reasonable to hire from though and a lovely lovely lady http://www.eventz.me.uk/ I think she does chair covers and sashes for £1 a chair including set-up!

Invites designed at weddingchicks.com and printed as freebies from vistaprint. So far have 20 day invites, 20 eve invites, 20 thankyou cards, 25 save the date magnets and a 'here comes the bride' banner all for £18 inc p&p.

Our friend who is a budding amateur photographer is doing all our snaps as a wedding pressie.

My friend is making our wedding cake for free.

My advice is pull in as many favours as you can. If you would like to see my budget sheet/ breakdown then give me a shout and I can email it to you.

£5k is a positive luxury compared to ours, so as long as you are creative and think outside the box, then you can have a field day

All the best!

Oh my god, that looks amaaaaaaazing!

Ours won't be nearly as lush as yours, being all homemade (wonky scones anyone?)!

Sounds absolutely perfect, my idea of heaven!

Wow!! That's so much fab info.. thanks so much.. will have a good look through all this :-)

My SIL got married at springfield marquee a few years ago. Lovely grounds & fantastic photo opportunities. They had caterers come in, but to save costs, you could have friends/family help out. I have no idea of the prices to hire the marquee venue though & dont think you can have the ceremony on site.

http://springfieldweddingvenue.co.uk/

I heard great reviews about the food & views from this venue, but havent been there myself. Its in Clacton-on-sea:

https://www.suryahotels.co.uk/kingscliff-hotel/

Hello,

Just thought i'd let you know that I have now booked Avoncroft for my wedding! Thanks so much for the advice.. i went and saw it after you mentioned it and fell in love with the place :-)

x x x

It does look amazing there! Got a wedding there this year and I can't wait x

We're getting married in Essex (although we live in London). We're also on a tight budget and we found an amazing value package at the Kursaal in Southend:

http://www.kursaalfunctions.com/weddings/

Not everyone's cup of tea as there are no outdoor areas but we love the old art deco building and seaside location.