Postpone the wedding?! :(

Are there ways that you can cut back on some of the things you have got in mind in order to save some money.

It's never good to start a marriage (even if you have been in a relationship for a long time) by borrowing money to fund it, but there are often ways of clawing back some of the money you thought you might need to spend.

Re-consider your catering, music, number of guests, table decorations, etc etc. Even if you've already booked deposits, there is no harm in being honest and asking if you can reduce the packages to a lower cost one, to "save" your wedding.

Ultimately, remember, that you CAN marry your beloved - you CAN have the same name and be legally man and wife - you just need to book a quickie at the registry office. OK, so the pomp and ceremony won't be there, but you would have your man, and his name. Everything else on top of that is just fluff and show, so if its a case of postponing, or having an intimate ceremony at the registry office, you DO actually have a choice and can be married as soon as you like.

Good luck!

I'm so sorry you're going through this! I'm not sure I have much to offer in the way of advice but didn't want to read and run!

Is there any way you could just scale things down? If some family members are causing problems could you just not invite them, have a smaller more intimate wedding? Maybe you could speak to FFIL and explain how things are and see if he can help? Maybe borrow from family and set up a plan to pay them back over a certain amount of time?

Sorry - I'm not much help... I hope some of the other hitchers have some ideas x

The venue tends to be the biggest expense and that sounds like it's sorted, which is a good thing. You may just have to lower your expectations on the other stuff (e.g. get a second hand dress/do some DIY decorations etc).

What is your budget for everything non-venue related?

Can you get a loan from your FFIL? Interest free credit cared something like that. If you're desperate to be married and have already postponed once, it may be worth investigating all your options before postponing again.

What is the problem with the families?

To be honest there's always someone causing drama when you're organising a wedding and there's also never enough money even if you have a huge budget.

Sometimes adjusting your expectations helps getting things into perspective.

Basically this ^^^ And big hugs to you - never nice to have family issues, and on top of money worries as well. Please keep us updated, and if there's anything we can advise on (I'm thinking there may be Hitchers local to you) then do let us know.

Aww, sweetie, I really hope you don't have to postpone. Look at all your options on the money front. Loans are really good value at the moment, you might be able to get an interest free credit card, or you could ask family and friends for help. This doesn't all have to be financial, perhaps one friend has a nice car that they'll take you to the venue in, maybe someone is good at make up, someone might have a tiara or shoes they could lend you, explore all your options. You really don't want to lose all your deposits! Even if you do have to postpone, speak to all your suppliers as your deposit may be transferred to the new date. As for family, it sadly isn't worth holding out for certain things to change. If there are people that can't be happy for you, let them be miserable somewhere else! Good luck, you'll marry him eventually!

If your FIL is paying for the venue then the other costs are minimal. Be tough with yourself about what is really needed. Or send me a list of all the extra things you think you need and I'll cross off all the things you can save money on!

Don't cancel the wedding or else there could be significant bad feelings with your OH's family re lost deposits.