How cheap is too cheap for a wedding!

My advice is spend as much as you want (or can). As long as you enjoy the day, other people will.

DO NOT WORRY ABOUT PLEASING OTHER PEOPLE!

This was my biggest worry about pleasing other people, thank you for replying.

I dont think its a case of too cheap, basically when we got engaged we sat down and worked out what we could afford to save each month and still be able to live comfortably, and that gave us our total budget. we then made everything fit within that. It may go slightly over but I am loving finding loads of wedding bargains to keep costs down!

At the end of the day, you can have as wonderful a wedding day on 1000 as you can on 10,000 if you have the right people, right atmosphere, its not all about how much you spend. At the end of the day the important bit is that you end the day married, the rest is trimmings,

Dp you have any artistic family and friends who can help make things like your cake, invitations etc?

maybe look at things like the iced fruit cakes that asda and mark's sell which you can then just decorate with a topper - they are much cheaper than a wedding cake from a baker.

Vistaprint do some very nice and very reasonable invitations, and they always have offers that you can get so many free.

The Range is a great shop - if you have one locally - for getting decorations and lovely wedding bits quite cheap

Ebay is a great place for wedding stuff, I just got my wedding jewellery (lovely necklace and earrings) for £20

the list goes on, its just a case of having a really good look around, hope this help a bit

I agree with Annie2000, it's not about how much you spend. Don't be pressured into thinking that you have to have all sorts of stuff!

We are also on a strict budget and I am doing a lot of DIY. I've made my own save the dates, will make my own invitations and I am slowly building up my venue decoartions from car boot sales and charity shops I also LOVE finding a bargain and I on the day I want to be able to look around and think 'I did all this'!

The most important thing is that you are both there on time to commit to each other.

Everything else is secondary

I also agree it's not about how much you spend. Ever watch Four Weddings? I do, religiously (!), and what you almost always notice is that those who spend less have the best days. To give you a couple of examples, my mil2b got married about 6 years ago, they wore smart clothes (not "wedding" clothes), went to the registry office, got married and went home and had a little party at the house. At the end of the day, they were man and wife, and they spent less than £500. I also have a very good friend who got married at short notice for £1000, and her wedding day was BEAUTIFUL. She had a gorgeous dress from a sample sale, and friends and family all pitched in to help with things like her photographs and her cake. They had the reception at a family member's house. Her photos look fantastic, and you'd never guess in a million years that it was all on a shoestring budget.

Just because you arent spending a fortune it dosent mean your wedding is going to be cheap in any sort of way, less is more as they say.

I find this topic really interesting as view points seem to vary so much.

I think most people know deep down that it doesn't matter how much you spend, but that rarely stops people indulging in things they can't always afford.

As long as you're getting married and you're happy, that's all that counts. Don't feel the need to indulge "traditions" that mean nothing to you or have no significance to your day. You'd be surprised at how much these bump up a bill!

I don't think it's a case of too cheap but i do think you have to be realistic...i would say you can get your dress/centrepieces/flowers/photographer etc for cheaper or DIY and still look lovely

BUT as far as a venue, food and drink etc goes one thing you'll really have to look at is your guest numbers because this is something that we have found to be difficult...

even if you pick a more informal venue (pub or restaurant) the cost per head for food/drinks is still going to be a reasonable amount...

it also depends on the food/drink you want to provide... for example we are going for a hotel (we think not set in stone) and this is also the cheapest venue we have found up to now (not really looked at pubs or restaurants though) the room hire alone is £1050 (although would be cheaper just for reception) and the food is £31 a head for 3 courses and coffee and the evening buffet is £14 a head and drinks (2 glasses of wine and a welcome drink) is coming in at £9 a head...

it all depends on where you would want your reception but i think you'll be paying similar room hire if you go for a hotel or a 'wedding venue' whether you have 10 or 100 people...

the most important thing is that your getting married to the man you love so if you want to spend £2000 then thats more than enough...too many people just accept prices for wedding related things and i honestly believe if you can be bothered to shop around you can do a fantastic wedding on a lot less!!

Good Luck!! x

I agree with Annie2000.

I think as soon as you start looking away from the Register Office (RO) for your ceremony you've blown that budget so I think you've decided right by staying with the RO. That's what we're doing. I also think a restricted budget is a great excuse to do things 'your way' instead of what everyone else expects from a wedding. Concentrate on YOUR priorities, don't worry too much about the rest. People should be happy to see you marrying your soul mate, no matter the 'size' of the wedding. If they are more bothered with how much you've not spent I'd say they're not worth inviting.

There is no 'too cheap'. There's no point spending money you don't have just because you think it'll give you a better wedding.

I've been to a wedding that cost £4000, and one that cost £25,000. Both had the ceremony, the wedding breakfast and dancing after. I couldn't tell the difference between the two!

At the cheaper wedding the couple just made a lot of things themselves rather than paying someone else to do it.

I think if you stick to your budget and watch your number of guests as this hikes up the cost, you can have a wonderful day just the way you want it. Have a BBQ instead of sit down dinner or get friends and family to help out with cakes, decor etc..you can still have an amazing day with no debt at the end of it.

I could not bare to spend a fortune on my big day! I am a tight wad as it is and for me it wouldn't feel right! You will have a lovely day!

You're being completely reasonable. My budget is about the same, and too be honest it's been fun (so far!). It's great trying to find a bargain but it's also lovely because I've had friends and family offering to help make bits or contribute in some way. I'm biased because it's what I am doing but I think I a small budget makes it more personal. You may have to put in more time but that means you think about what you really want, and also what you can do with out. I would much rather spend what I can afford then get in debt before I'm even married. You are not only being reasonable but sensible too!