Budget Blow!

Course you can do a wedding on £1500! Keep it small, keep it relaxed. Not easy, but with some comprimises it's achivable.

Where are you based? What kind of thing would you like?

There are some brides on here that are doing weddings to that kind of budget, Give us some info on what you'd like - what you think you could do without, and number of guests, and I'm sure the lovely girls on here can give you lots of advice!

I am the tyical fairy tale bride! I want it all lol

I was picturing this big weddingm with all my family and friends there in this beautiful castle or grand hotel...

Looks more like a registry office and a pub now... Not like there is anything wrong with that, just not what I expected.

I already decided on budget items. I am making our own invitations, favours, cake, getting my dress and the bridesmaid dresses of ebay...

But I would love to hear some more bargain ideas!

Don't get yourself down. I'm in the same boat and I have put my wedding off for another year. My year is now 2015 and I'll still be struggling to afford it then!!!!

Make sure join the budget and Crafty and Budget Brides thread and if there's anything specific you're looking for, start a new thread. You can have a wedding for £1500.

Maybe start by getting your numbers sorted as to who you have to have for what bit. Could you find a restaurant with a function space attached? Maybe have your registry office ceremony (some are lovely inside) have a dinner with just the wedding party and then an evening reception.

I met somebody recent who planned to just that but then her bridesmaid, who knew it was a budget thing, invited a few more friends provided they paid for themselves. She had a lovely day.

Something else you can do for yourself if your venue has a P.A. is the D.J.ing. I had friends who did that and the dance floor was never empty. Ask your friends for their suggestions when you the invites and you can do the same. Sign up for the seven day free trial of Spotify premium on your smart phone or laptop and build your playlist in advance. (The Android app even has the option of fading between tracks there is no silence). We're having a band for a couple of hours and do that for the rest ofthe night.

I'm having a late afternoon wedding to cut out the need for a wedding breakfast, we'll go straight into the evening meal which will be a buffet and carvery. I've got a student taking the photos (I've seen her work) my friends are doing hair and make up, dresses from eBay and Preloved. Music will be provided by iPod, as others have suggested, with someone in charge to make sure that it works. Just keep hunting out the bargains and chip away at the rest!

?Firstly congratulations on being engaged and don't worry!! I know when we started planning our wedding last march(we will have been engaged 18 months by the wedding) we didnt really have a full idea of the costs, especially for what we wanted. We decided to open a savings account and put a set amount away each month, and then anything we could afford extra at the end of the month. One thing I would say, is dont make yourself broke for the Wedding. It can be lovely and beautiful even if you have a tight budget. Try to enlist the help of relatives and friends and ask for recommendations. Ask online for ideas, and even if you have a small venue such as a restaurant for example it can be dressed up to look gorgeous. You dont need expensive florists flowers, vases can be cheap from iKEA and you can get bunches of flowers from supermarkets and arrange yourselves. Good luck and dont be afraid to bargain on prices with venues/suppliers, they usually expect that any way xx

?Firstly congratulations on being engaged and don't worry!! I know when we started planning our wedding last march(we will have been engaged 18 months by the wedding) we didnt really have a full idea of the costs, especially for what we wanted. We decided to open a savings account and put a set amount away each month, and then anything we could afford extra at the end of the month. One thing I would say, is dont make yourself broke for the Wedding. It can be lovely and beautiful even if you have a tight budget. Try to enlist the help of relatives and friends and ask for recommendations. Ask online for ideas, and even if you have a small venue such as a restaurant for example it can be dressed up to look gorgeous. You dont need expensive florists flowers, vases can be cheap from iKEA and you can get bunches of flowers from supermarkets and arrange yourselves. Good luck and dont be afraid to bargain on prices with venues/suppliers, they usually expect that any way xx

Gretna Green do some very cheap packages https://www.weddingsatgretnagreen.com/?gclid=CMbTyL_U2bQCFcjKtAodxCcAhA

The way I am looking at it is money s tight everywhere so make the best of it.

I dreamed of an outside wedding with lots of guests with a massive dress but I have gone with a more realistic scenario and booked the registry office for ourselves and very close family but I should have enough for the big dress.

I'm a budget bride :-) worked in hotels so dont want to marry in one and cant wait to (& dont want to splurge on a big manor house) as lovely as that would be!

We've booked a beautiful reg office for £154 (friday), lots of registry offices have lovely listed buildings with grounds for photos. I've booked a local hall (built in 2000 so is modern and light/airy), its costing £360 for access night prior, all of wedding day and until 11am following morning but you could book one for 1 day only. Then a hog roast is only £600-650 and fed up to 100 guests if you have buns and sauces with no extras like salads. You could have it very casual and not have to worry about everybody being seated to eat (i saw that happen on dont tell the bride once when the groom spent all the money and couldnt afford a sit down meal but the weather was lovely and everybody stood around relaxed, chatty and eating a pork bun ?).

you can make decorations (bunting out of bedsheets as i was inspired by on here earlier), you can rope in family members to make things like cupcakes then have yourselves a cake table full of yummy home made cakes rather than a fancy £600 cake which no one eats anyway :-) If someone has a nice car get them to drive you

my dress was £300 from Monsoon, you can get some lovely 2nd hand dresses on 'sellmyweddingdress.co.uk', you can pick up £1500 dress for a few hundred.

Our bar was £80 to hire then people just buy their own drinks which i dont think is unacceptable (we're providing table wine) but you dont have to

You can also find flower 'warehouses' where florists go (as long as you dont need a trader card to purchase from them) then you could arrange your own flowers or someone suggested to me asking a floristry course at a local college if they'd prepare my flowers in their classes?

just some food for thought, dont get yourself down about money,just think how happy you'll be on the day and afterwards you'll be married to the man you love :-)

Erin x

Our budget is £2.5k and the majority of that is on the reception. We didn't choose the cheapest package the hotel did but we are well within our budget and are still having a three course sit down meal. The photos are by a student photographer from the local uni, the dress from EBay and the cake from Waitrose

Don't discount village halls... some are gorgeous, you just need to seek them out!

This was my friends's on the cheap village hall wedding reception...

Awwww Thanks everyone!!!

You are making me feel so much better about all this! I cannot wait now!