Confused Bride to Be!!

?Welcome to Hitched!

I think you and your future husband need to decide what's most important to you - if you really want to have all your family and friends there then going abroad probably isn't going to be the right choice. Obviously the plus side of going abroad is the weather, but a lot of people won't be able to go with you.

It's only expensive over here if you pick an expensive venue really - you can get dresses from sales or just don't set your heart on anything totally out of your budget to start with. Invitations, favours, cakes etc etc can all be made yourself cheaply enough, or you could ask friends and family to make them as your gift.

I found the wedding fayres very tiring and to be honest, hated every minute of it. There's too much going on, and everyone wants to get you to chat to them, I walked away feeling a bit punch drunk to be honest, but if you really have no idea of what you want they're good places to find things out. I already knew what ours would be so found them pointless.

All in all, once you've decided which way you want to go, just try and enjoy the planning!! It's great fun

Wedding fairs are great places to meet people and pick up brochures but don't be pressured into booking anything on the day - unless the choice is so obvious.

A lot of wedding fairs are primarily to promote the venue as a wedding location, rather than for the benefit of suppliers or indeed couples so do beware of 'hard sells' and reflect on your options before making a decision.

We're getting married in the New Forest in September 2011. Do you have any dates in mind yet? I know you aren't sure about UK or abroad though.

I would see whats in your area and go and see a few venues and get an idea on prices and what budget you are looking at then compare it against getting married abroad.

Getting married abroad can seem cheaper for yourselves but end up costing the same across the whole wedding when you take in to account your guests traveling. If you have a small family or want to keep the wedding small and intimate then see what you can get abroad, If have a large family or want a large wedding then look to the UK.

You dont have to look in your imidiate area for a venue, you could go to the lakes, or somewhere else picturesque.

alternatievly you can get married abroad then have a party in the uk afterwards.

We are marrying abroad (Zante, Greece) and have a smaller budget than we would need at home (although things are starting to add up quickly!). It was the best choice for us as my OH has been married before (twice actually - this is soooo third time lucky for him!) and didn' want a big do, and I was never a fan of the 'big white church' type wedding. We have invited immediate family only (neither of us have particularly big families), and and having a MASSIVE party when we get back.

I will say if you do decide to do it abroad, make sure decide on who you would like to be there before telling people about it. When I told my mum about it she asked "well what about XXXXX and XXXXX" (close family friends) but I just had to explain that although we'd love lots of other people to come, we have to draw the line somewhere. And when we told people we'd set a date, we just said straight away that we were going abroad and only inviting family, but there will be a great big party to look forward to! Everyone has been fine with it (apart from 1 of my friends who cried, but she was EXTREMELY drunk!)

Hope another perspective helps!

xxx

Welcome to Hitched!

You and your OH will know yourselves what you want. My OH and I chose a winter wedding as the result of a joke i made one day, and it actually turned out to be exactly what we wanted!

But from a personal point of view, i think a wedding in another country sounds really romantic, and would be perfect for that intimate wedding, but if you want to have all your friends and family there, and have a huge party to celebrate, staying in the UK is probably your best bet.

Like ajdown says - Wedding's are only really as expensive as the venue you choose as they are what cost the most usually. - My venue is about £4k including meals and drinks etc, i have a friend who is getting married in October this year who found an amazing deal at a Hilton in Glasgow where she could get married for £2011.

You should definately go to some wedding shows (not at any venues as these are usually geared towards the venue they're being held in) You will get an information overload, but it's definately a good place to start!

Good Luck!

Another good thing about visiting wedding fairs is that as well as possibly finding what you want, you will also quite easily be able to figure out what you don't want.

Some people say that chair covers are essential, others decry them as a waste of money.

You may have always dreamed about arriving in a horse and carriage... till you try getting in one and realise it's hard enough in jeans let alone a wedding dress.

Don't forget to include your partner in as much of the decision making process as you can - it is both of you getting married, after all.

Initially H2B and I wanted to get married in Ibiza, its like our second home there and we love it but when we started making inquiries we found out you cannot legally get married there unless you are a catholic so instead we started to look at other options. The problem was, with Ibiza people were happy to fly over but when we started looking at places more long haul it became a non option for people. We really could not decide and then my H2B asked me if I would really be happy on our wedding day without my mum and close family there. I thought about it and realised that I would miss them sharing the day with us so that clinched it for us getting married in the UK ?