Hi! Help a newbie?

Hello Sal.Mike,

Firstly, Congratulations on your engagement and setting a date .. and welcome to Hitched.

It is possible to do the whole thing on £****. I doubt a hotel reception is likely on your budget but you can always obtain quotes
and see what they can do for you.

I would recommend calling in as many favours as you can .. going down the high street route for dresses/suits etc.
Scout eBay and Pinterest for idea's and bargains.

Are you having a Halloween theme or just using the date?

Happy Planning x

Hello and welcome to hitched ?

I would suggest looking at less traditional wedding reception venues such as pubs or cafes, they will probably suit your budget more than a hotel ;-)

Hello & welcome to hitched!

Think a hotel reception would probably be out your budget but may be worth while looking into pubs etc for your reception to cut costs.
As mentioned already going down the high street route for dresses & suits will cut costs as well.
Doing a lot of DIY can save pennies as well with things like flowers, invites etc. Getting someone to drive you to venue as a favour etc rather than hiring cars.
Ebay and etsy is your friend, can buy a lot of pre loved things or nice but cheaper decorations / centrepieces etc. And B&M are a good shop for little bits n bobs.
Photographers you can try and get students who are looking to improve their portfolios rather than splash out loads on one.
If you know someone who can bake nice cakes can try and get them to make your cake as a favour or smaller price than an expensive cake shop.

So many ways to cut down on money, start making a list of things you both want / need and prioritise the things you'd be willing to spend more on and work out a budget for each. Perfectly possible to do it with a small budget

Happy planning & look forward to hearing more of your ideas!

Hi,

I went to a wedding fayre based at the local holiday inn and they had packages that would be lower than your total budget so that may be worth an ask

hope it all works out for you

Hayley x

My list of helpful tips would be, M&S Wedding cakes, High street wedding dress / bridesmaids dresses. also consider instead of a day do and evening do just have the one events with food and music. Village halls can be rented out quite cheap as well as some pubs too.

A friend got married in a registry office and their reception was at a pub near Andover called The Bourne Valley Inn. It's a barn attached to the side of the pub so it was shut away from the main drinking area and all the wooden beams were decorated with lights - it was absolutely beautiful. I don't know how much they paid but I'm sure it would have been cheaper than a hotel reception. Some pubs/inns have bedrooms too.

^ this ^

There are a few pub chains which offer packages for something like £1,000. Someone I knew went for this and their venue was fab.

You will have to factor in registrar fees of something like £450 but then you could try and make cut backs elsewhere.

Or, get married in a registry office & then hire a local hall and rope in friends and family to help decorate or have a bake off competition etc.

Either way, I'm sure the other brides, grooms and suppliers on here can give you lots of money saving ideas!