The groom here.

Yay to a man taking his wife's name! My H took mine for similar reasons to you and it's still not something I see very often.

I'm not the best person to ask as I had a very small wedding with no formal reception, but lots of other people here will be able to help! Good luck with the planning

WSS and great first dance ( we had the same).

tried any village halls or church halls? If you go for a buffet evening spread you can easily do that in your budget.

I don't know any specific venues in your area though. Good luck.

When I chose my venue for a civil ceremony I didn't quite appreciate how expensive it would be for the registrar fees (ie for them to come to your venue). If I had been on a budget I would have had the ceremony at the registry office and the rest of the celebrations at your chosen venue. You'll save a fair bit by doing it in this way. Good luck and well done for getting stuck in with the planning process!

Not too far away from me, im getting married in cotgrave.

have a look at ruddington cake company, she is really good and cheaper than most other people ive seen.

what kind of suppliers are you looking for.

Look on groupon/wowcher for wedding deals as they have some really good ones on there that include everything

start planning now.

i managed to get 100 organza bags for favours for £5 (instead of the £4 for 10 at wedding shops) the only downside I had to wait 4 weeks for them to come from China via ebay

diy as much as you can, shop around on eBay, pound land, home bargains ..... You have time to do this and works out way cheaper than going to a wedding shop

Think about what is important and what isn't then prioritise your spending

consider sample sales/preloaded dresses (I got my dress from tailorwedding.com new and made to measure for me for £400 so was a real bargain)

infound flowers were going to be really expensive so made my own button bouquet(and loved doing it so much Im not starting my own business making bespoke wedding pieces)

Groupon and Wowcher often have deals on wedding cakes. Or agree to have cupcakes. These are a lot cheaper and some people actually prefer them. I'm going for cupcakes

Ebay for as much as possible.

xx

Just some examples of packages on groupon and holiday inn

http://www.groupon.co.uk/deals/dealbank_en_gb/the-derbyshire-hotel-non-accommodation-1-1/56062311

http://www.groupon.co.uk/deals/dealbank_en_gb/woodborough-hall-non-accommodation-7/56876802

http://www.groupon.co.uk/deals/dealbank_en_gb/ga-sedgebrook-hall-3/54435936

http://www.groupon.co.uk/deals/dealbank_en_gb/best-western-admiral-rodney-non-accommodation/52903440

http://www.hiderbynottinghamhotel.co.uk/weddings/packages-and-offers/special-offer.html?id=72

Hi there! We got married in Nottingham and can thoroughly recommend this lady for flowers - http://www.naomistrachan.co.uk she charged us a fraction of the price compared to other florists in the area. oh gosh, just had a look on the website and it says the lady passed away last year.

I also agree with marrying in a registry office (much cheaper) and there are some lovely venues around notts, we married in the council house on market square and its very beautiful inside.

Village hall is also a great way of saving money, again, there are absolutely loads around notts that have quite a 'villagey' feel'

Shout if you need any further help!

Thanks for all the replys.

So sad to see about the florist

I think we find it very overwhelming. Family politics is a bloody nightmare as well...

We had decided on cupcakes and I might get our niece to help with this. I would be happy to do away with cake all together tbh.

I thought I would be dead against package deals on groupon but some of those actually look quite reasonable.

I like the idea of having the ceremony at the registry and getting friends who are handy with a camera to take pics but Missus is adamant on photographer which is fair enough.

I also like the idea of taking those who attended ceremony for pub grub, very informal just go to local pub and saying "pick what food and drink you like, up to £15-20 per head" No fancy toastmaster etc, people getting the food/drink they like at a reasonable price with no pate or terrine in sight. I know if I was going to someone elses event this would be welcome from me. What do you reckon? is this tacky? Obviously would reserve the right amount of heads etc, but wouldn't be concerned about decorating it or hiring out the whole venue. Hell we can make our own speeches without a toastmaster.

Finding somewhere to do this may be more difficult. Surely gastropubs would welcome our money. Just don't like the whole paying the wedding premium thing. Bless her this is the wedding dress the missus picked :

http://www.milanoo.com/product/ivory-multilayer-backless-knee-length-chiffon-beach-bridal-gown-with-lovely-bowknot-belt-p421823.html#m933404 I would have let her spend up to £75 lol..

Point being, is that she is not wearing some long dragging gown into the local.

Then on to the evening reception... I have looked into the village hall thing but there are quite lot of restrictions when it comes to booze and when you can drink up to. Again would quite like a bar with function room with minimum spend requirement with a dance floor and perhaps room for a bucking bronco (srsly)

Was going to have a kids hour before first dance.

Where to start lol.

Some good advice here but also remember that you don't NEED all this stuff! Things like favours, Mr & Mrs signs, big frames and signs everywhere, expensive decorations, fresh flowers, they are all optional. It might be worth writing down everything that is associated with weddings and then thinking about what you actually need, what you would really like if you can fit it in the budget and what you are not that bothered about.

I have friends who have reduced costs by sending e-invites, some can be done beautifully. Social clubs can be good places to have an informal wedding party as another option.

Good luck!

I went to a small budget wedding last year. Think they spent about 3/4k in total.

They got married at the registry office, then hired a mens working/social club for their wedding breakfast & evening reception. Hog roast was the main meal, and then the leftovers were served in the evening too. Friends/family/the couple themselves prepared a evening buffet (usual buffet food). Their favours were cupcakes (plus had a main cake to cut), with the venue decorated by balloons & some candles on the tables for the wedding breakfast.

Also to save money they didnt have table plan or placenames.

Look at wedding photographers who are just starting up/friends&family who are into photography/photographers that dont usually do weddings to save money on photography.

Silk/fake/foam/paper bouquets may be a cheaper option than flowers, or if you're crafty how about a button or brooch one etc

I agree with what milly_bride said- you dont need lots of things like big signs/mr & mrs letters/big flower displays. Things like cupcakes can double up as favours & desert etc.

What a fun competition to have!

there are some brilliant youtube videos of flowers (scourge bootsales for supplies!), even the bouquet looks easy. the base material (the 'handle') are really cheap on ebay.

skip the stuff that you honestly dont need (favours, buttonholes).

keep your guestlist down

make your invites (our evening ones are actually 'new years eve party' ones that i bought for 40p a box in clintons sale - we are clagging our own design to cover the new year bit!)

raid bootsales for allsorts, we saw loads of full table decor being sold last week (sadly not our colours).

good old primark for suits

i think your day sounds great - you are being realistic about your budget but also giving your day a relaxed feel.

Hi, I'm a Nottingham bride and the west bridgford register office would have been my ceremony choice if it had been big enough. The gardens are beautiful.

As someone else has pointed out, having your ceremony any where other than a register office building will incur additional costs - can be hundreds extra so will have an impact on your budget. Also be aware that a lot of venues licensed for ceremonies will either insist you also have your reception there or will only allow you to marry early in the day, so they can fit in another wedding including a reception.

As you have discovered, many community venues have a lot of restrictions - this is particularly true of those that come under Rushcliffe borough council, but not all councils are as restrictive and some village halls offer better facilities and flexibility than others.

One problem you will have (I had the same issue) is finding a venue large enough for your evening reception. It might be a good idea to look at social clubs - the bars are usually reasonably priced and most allow you to bring in your own caterers. You may struggle with the bucking bronco though. What areas are you looking in / how far are you willing to travel? Ofcourse these don't tend to be particularly attractive buildings but if you can compromise on that, it will open up more options.

If you want a recommnedation for a caterer I have been lucky to find an excellent one. We are only having a main course as the formal meal - nibbles with welcome drinks, and an ice-cream bar throughout the evening. But we are paying £12.50 per head for the main course - a choice of four options, 2 meat, 1 fish, 1 vegetarian. They also quoted £10 per head for a buffet - sliced meats, salads etc. We didn't get a quote for a finger buffet. They came recommended through a number of people who have attended functions they have catered. They supply crockery etc but not table linen. Our venue does supply tablecloths thought so that has helped - I found quite a few that do.

I know Nottingham really well so if you give me an idea of area and type of building, I can have a think for you.

Good Luck