Wedding budget help!

Congratulations on your engagement!

It all depends on what you want to prioritise really and if the venue is what you value most and are willing to sacrifice some other stuff then that is completely up to you. I wouldn't say there is a right or wrong price - it's just whatever you are willing to pay! Once you go view it its worth asking for flexibility in price too - especially if you are willing to get married during the week or off-peak!

Caterers is likely to be a big cost too so it'd be worth checking out those prices as that might eliminate another chunk of your budget before you get your heart set on the venue.

I think that's quite a lot for a venue without any catering. You might want to look at somewhere that has a catering package included.

It's definitely possible to do it for £10k. When we did our budget we sat and thought about all the things we'd have to pay for then prioritised them. A photographer was really important to us so we spent a sizable amount on one. A photo album was not so we have their digital image only package and saved a few hundred pounds.

Once you've figured out what's most important we made a plan so we knew what was being bought each month. From big things - like the hotel deposit - to little things - like necklaces for the bridesmaids - we knew what was being paid and how much it was. It let us organise our household finances without overspending. It made a huge difference to us once we had an actual plan and knew how our money looked each month.

Im guessing your venue is dry hire like a barn for that price?

does it have other stipulations? you need to be careful some barns I looked at had £5000 hire but then you had to have a £10000 minimum spend using their suppliers too for a summer wedding (which is rediculous)

honestly our entire budget for 50 people is only £5000 including venue and that isnt to hard... so yes you can totally organise the rest for over £5000

dry hire means you can save on alcohol as you wont have corkage and shop around for affordable caterers... dont pay the first price you come across and if you can avoid the word 'wedding' (but dont outright lie because they'll figure it out eventually)

I would say that spending half the budget on venue hire alone without any catering, you will struggle to stick to your 10k budget. There's a lot of lovely venues that offer packages including catering for under 5k, and then you'd be more likely to stick within your budget. However, as your day guests are quite a small number, you might be able to make it work, if the venue allows you to use an outside caterer and provide your own alcohol with no corkage.

Whereabouts are you based? I would advise to look at hotels, as they tend to offer very good value packages including catering for the amount of guests you require.

Also, you say you've only seen the venue online - PLEASE go and look at it before you set your heart on it. I saw so many venues online that I proclaimed to be 'THE ONE' but when we went to look, so many of them didn't match up to their online presence.

You're not wrong - weddings ARE expensive! But you can do it cheaper if you're sensible and realistic with your ideas.

Good luck!