Getting married on a small budget

Hi,

Congratulations on your engagement! I too am in a similar situation.

So my plans are registry office wedding for only immediate family and then an evening buffet for 130 guests.

A friend of mine recently got married in a registry office in coventry, the difference was it was a beautiful building, more like a stately home. She then had the reception at a barn over-looking a river. Everyone had a buffet and then either pitched a tent or stayed in the b n b. She did it all for £1500.

It can be done if you shop around.

Also try selecting different meals for the 3 courses, or just do two. Something simple. Carvery followed by profiteroles. Also try hobbycraft for cheap favours and DIY invites.

Good luck

Hello and welcome to hitched ?

Have you considered a village hall as a venue? They are normally very reasonable to hire and you can put your own stamp on them and use your own caterers for a relaxed reception ;-) You could have a BBQ or a Hog Roast and make your own decorations, bunting, etc.

Hiya, we're having a very small wedding with only a £3000 - £4000 budget. We've booked a local registry office and a lovely gastro pub down the road which has a room in the garden for functions. Only planning on 40 in the day, 70 for the evening. The venue are putting on a BBQ buffet and we're going to buy some alcohol. The room is lovely not planning on decorating too much as we don't feel it needs it. I'm making pearl bouquets for myself and my bridesmaids. The wedding dress I've ordered is £200 and the bridesmaids dresses are £30 each. Our cakes are going to be ordered from waitrose, they sell 12 plain white cupcakes for £9 and a plain white cake for £19 (I think) so we'll be adding our own toppers etc.

What is a 'small' budget?

without that we cant help, to some a small budget is £500 to others its £5000

their is a couple in Scotland recently got married for nothing more than the £76 legal fees, they where self suffiant hippy upcyclers though and new someone who could do the ceremony (and Scotland allows you to marry anywhere saving on venue hire... lucky scots)

Hi, we are getting married on a small budget too. Our wedding is costing around £2000 to £2500 but no more. My dress I was really lucky with, it was originally £1250 but with lots of sighs and almost tears the lady in the shop let me have it for £500! So I would definitely shop around and haggle. Our church fees are £500, OH's suit is about £250, we aren't having a photographer unless we can afford it last minute, we are having a 3 course meal for 30 people at a really nice pub for £250 and the rest will be on clothes for the kids, make up, hair etc. It can be done it just depends where you go and what you want x

Congratulations and happy planning. I too am a budget bride . I have managed to cut a few costs here and there...

1) having a close family friend with a nice black Freelander be my chauffeur for the day

2) bought my perfect dress off the rail..saved me £500

3) getting married in the hospital chapel. Our local registrar wanted above £300 to marry us on a Saturday. The chapel asks for a donation..the amount is your choice. It might be a good idea to check out your options. Humanist weddings can take place in your back garden, the park, a beach etc...

4) my bridesmaid dresses come from a high street shop.

5) I made my own table decorations out of freecycled jars and food colouring.

6) we are having a set menu at our reception...less choice for people but also a small set price per head. Or do you really need to feed everyone? Maybe you could have a meal in a local restaurant just you and the important people, then hire a hall for the evening for all your other guests to join you.

hpe this helps x

Have you considered going abroad?

We're going to get married in Italy, as we went there for a holiday and loved it: wonderful lanscapes, great food and wine and cheap flights! My agent, Danila from Dama Wedding, has great recommendations about vendors and really helps us understand where we can achieve the best overall value for our guests and within our budget. Registry office (fab 17th century villa) £ 450, Dinner £ 65 ph (rich welcome cocktail with sparkling wine for toasting, 3 course meal, wedding cake, coffe, after dinner drink, wine) photo £850, flowers £ 350.

The best advice I can think of is not to feel obliged to have certain things.

You don't NEED to have a 3 course, silver service wedding breakfast. You don't need to spend £100 each on bridesmaid dresses. And you don't need to pay a fortune for things like flowers and photography.

Firstly ask ALL your friends, family, work colleagues etc. if they know anyone who can make cakes, do photography, organise flowers..for 'mates rates'. My best friend is making my cake and my dad is a photographer so will get a work mate to do that!

If you can't find people to help with things then DIY! For my sisters wedding my mum simply bought 3 basic cakes form a supermarket and decorated them at home!
If you are looking for a cheap venue then village halls are a winner! Plus outside caterers can be very affordable! My OH and I found a caterer who does an impressive BBQ menu with table service for around £12 a head!

The BEST place for wedding decorations and stationary? EBAY. That's where I am getting the vast majority of my stuff like table decorations, balloons, flowers, bridesmaid dresses, favours etc. It's a gold mine. Most wedding shops ram up the prices on everything as they know people will pay out for a wedding! If not ebay then go to smaller shops which aren't specifically for weddings!

The best way is to do as much of everything yourself or get friends and family to help. Suppliers are usually the costly thing! xx

Cutting down the numbers of guests invited for the meal is one of the best ways to reduce your costs

I must admit, I am far from being a budget bride, but I'll try to help.

One way to keep costs down would be having a later ceremony - that way people would be expecting less food. Although, if you were wanting a hotel reception, some costing already account for a 3 course meal, and quote per guest - so keep an eye out for that

If you think people might be able to help, then ask - my mum is doing my flowers (as long as I don't ask for anything difficult!). If you know a good cake maker, rope them in, a simple cake with white icing and a ribbon looks lovely.

A friend had an early ceremony (at the registry office) followed by lunch at a very nice outlet of a chain pub (Brains in her case, so a brewery pub) - just main course with cake as afters. There was then a break till about 7pm for the evening reception - at a different venue. That was in Swansea, where we are lucky to have a registry office right next to beach for good photo opportunities, so it is worth checking out where your registry office is.

Find out about village halls, or church halls where you can use your own catering - you could even request guests to bring food or drink if necessary!

For dresses, maybe look at second hand, high street or ex samples, or even have something made if you know someone with the ability (and the right price)!

If most of your guests are computer literate, you can find many places with free wedding websites - useful for cutting down on the info on invites and hopefully cutting costs.

i hope some of this is of use - as I said, I'm not an expert