Hey!

How many of you out there have a low budget and are having a 'cheap wedding'?

Our budget is £2000! Peanuts compared to most peoples i've spoken to but we are getting most things we wanted, church, sit down meal etc etc. Obviously having cheper versions of some things and are cutting some things out but hey, life goes on after the wedding!!!!! Stll gotta live!!

So is there anyone else out there on a silmilar budget to me?? Want to share idea's/tips and ways to cut down cost? Got most things done now, but id like to hear how others have managed it!!
What are your budgets?

Rachael xx

Rachael,

Having arranged all that for £2000 is incredible! We really want a sit down meal, but I am struggling to find anything for less than 3500! Where in the UK are you and how have you managed it?

Toni

hi for me the cheaper the better has long as its nice and me and h2b are happy i don't care my dress was only £55 the reception is £500 that's for food tables and little bit and bob to do with party and wedding is £150 so it going to be cheap lol i don't I'm happy do it that way. Iv got three kids so i really cant have a big one.

janine xxxx

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Hi Toni
Im from Suffolk, you? Basically i have managed it by asking favours from friends and family! I am a chef and have a few fellow chefs i used to work for who are doing the cooking for us, all we have to do is go to macros to buy the food in bulk! You dont necessarily need chefs mind, just anyone you know who knows what they are doing! You can save so much from the catering by not using a company to do it. We originally looked at having the reception in a hotel and to feed 80 guests it was going to cost £4500!!!! crazy money for all we want is a soup, a chicken dish then a hot pudding and custard lol!!!! You mean £3500 for just the food? or the entire thing?
We arent having a pro photographer, we know of someone who happens to be doing a photography course at college and she has agreed to do them for us but we also have other family members who are good with a lens taking soem for us, the cheapest we could find for a pro was £350 that was for 30 photos and an album and only at the church!!! we are now having photos all day and as many as want and it isnt costing a penny! And i bet they will be just as nice!
I have a friend doing makeup, she always does her own nicely and she enjoys doing it, so why pay a pro just to put on a bit of slap!
An old friend is a hairdresser and she is going to do mine and my 5 b.m's and flowergirl's hair, and only charge me for mine!
I have a pastry chef friend who is making our 4tier cake and only charging us for the ingredients. But before this we were going to buy plain iced cakes in 3 different sizes (from tesco-or the likes) and decorate myself, saving a good couple of hundred pounds!
Another good tip is EBAY EBAY EBAY!!!!
We got so much from there, all b.m's dresses for just £35 each!
Decorations for reception came to around £50
You can even get fab brides dresses on there for about £100!!!
Invites we got from studio catalogue and paid £50 got all personalised invites, day and evening, serviettes, place cards!

The idea is just to get people involved, you'd be suprised by how many people are just more than happy and feel touched that you trust them to help out!
There's so much to put on here, if you want to know anything else just ask, and tell me about your budgetting too!!

Rachael xx
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[Modified by: rachaelm1 on June 23, 2008 03:56 PM]

were doing ours for £2000, not bad considering the fact that the church is costing £550 alone......ebay has turned into my best friend ive got loads of stuff for the wedding from there
-fg shoes
-fg baskets and artificial petals
-centrepiece bowls
-favour bags
-3 bm dresses (on lookout for fg's)
-memorial candle (in memory of my mum)
-artificial flowers, ribbon and pretty pins for bm bouquets
-save the dates and invitations
-table confetti
-h2b's wedding gift
-cake bags
and veil
and it all cost about £150 cant complain

our budget including honeymoon is £3000! making own stationary which helps plus just cutting back on lots of things and finding things when they are in the sale. Also having some things as presents - mum has brought dress, nanny and mum are making cake and inlaws paying for car! pennies saved!

Hiya... i also love ebay too! our budget is £4k but we're hoping to take £1k of that on honeymoon so we can have a blast on our 2 weeks in nice, south france and so far, we're well under budget. this is due to the same way rachel m does it, friends and ebay!! friends mum is making cake, lady from church arranging my ebay flowers, vicars son doing our photography and hes trained, bridesmaids bought their own dresses and more people to the ceremony than reception as the getting married bit is most important. our biggest expense was the hotel for our reception venue but they'r doing a buffet for us too and i know theres much more but cant think of it at the mo! oh yeh, our church was free as my h2b used to go there and you just have to give a donation to registrar they have whos a deacon of the church... it's totally possible and we're both extrememly happy tho i think thats just cus we're getting married too :) 47 days apparently, eek! xx

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Hi Toni
Im from Suffolk, you? Basically i have managed it by asking favours from friends and family! I am a chef and have a few fellow chefs i used to work for who are doing the cooking for us, all we have to do is go to macros to buy the food in bulk! You dont necessarily need chefs mind, just anyone you know who knows what they are doing! You can save so much from the catering by not using a company to do it. We originally looked at having the reception in a hotel and to feed 80 guests it was going to cost £4500!!!! crazy money for all we want is a soup, a chicken dish then a hot pudding and custard lol!!!! You mean £3500 for just the food? or the entire thing?
We arent having a pro photographer, we know of someone who happens to be doing a photography course at college and she has agreed to do them for us but we also have other family members who are good with a lens taking soem for us, the cheapest we could find for a pro was £350 that was for 30 photos and an album and only at the church!!! we are now having photos all day and as many as want and it isnt costing a penny! And i bet they will be just as nice!
I have a friend doing makeup, she always does her own nicely and she enjoys doing it, so why pay a pro just to put on a bit of slap!
An old friend is a hairdresser and she is going to do mine and my 5 b.m's and flowergirl's hair, and only charge me for mine!
I have a pastry chef friend who is making our 4tier cake and only charging us for the ingredients. But before this we were going to buy plain iced cakes in 3 different sizes (from tesco-or the likes) and decorate myself, saving a good couple of hundred pounds!
Another good tip is EBAY EBAY EBAY!!!!
We got so much from there, all b.m's dresses for just £35!
Decorations for reception came to around £50
You can even get fab brides dresses on there for about £100!!!
Invites we got from studio catalogue and paid £50 got all personalised invites, day and evening, serviettes, place cards!

The idea is just to get people involved, you'd be suprised by how many people are just more than happy and feel touched that you trust them to help out!
There's so much to put on here, if you want to know anything else just ask, and tell me about your budgetting too!!

Rachael xx[/quote]

Hey !

what was the studio catalogue!? been searching for ages for decents naffordable inviteS! thanks x

Hey !

what was the studio catalogue!? been searching for ages for decents naffordable inviteS! thanks x[/quote]

Hi shell0301

If you type Studio Catalogue Online in your search bar then you should find their site. Then when you get on to it just type in Weddings into their catalogue search bar then it should come up with quite a few pages of wedding things, invites, place cards, albums and even gifts all to personalise. The invites are nothing too fancy but do the job and have your names and the date of the wedding on and you can always spruce them up a bit if wanted with some artificial flowers or something if you're into crafts that is!!!! But we are using them as they are, we have the silver heart ones, simple but nice.
I hope you find some you like!!!!
Rachael xx

:\)

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Hi yeah tell me about the church!!!! When we first started planning we really wanted to get married in a church till we found out how much it was! So we then looked into having it at a registry office as its a fraction of the price, but then H2B's god father offered to pay for us to get married in a church as a wedding present, as he really wanted us to have it in a church, so that was good because i always wanted a church wedding lol.
You did well on ebay!! We have had so much stuff from there too, dont think we could afford if it wasnt for ebay lol.

We're having ebay weddings lol x

Star!! looked and found my invitations!! for less than £50.... h2b is going to be pleased!! hehe!! thank you x

Our budget is 2.5k to 3k we are trying to do it as cheap as poss as H2b is training to be a plumber so had to take on less wages to fit the training in, plus we have a dd and ds on the way.
We have only just started planning but church is probably going to be the most costly thing!
The other thing thats quite hard is i have three neices and three nephews all within a year in age and i couldnt pick one of each for bridesmaid and page boy so we are having them all, which is working out quite expensive but we have agreed to just buy the dresses and bros and sis' are buying shoes and jewls ect.

I wanted DF to wear a morning suit and my bros and his dad ect but he has told me he wouldnt be comfortable in one so thats saved a bit as we are just having matching ties for them.

Thats about as far as i have got for planning so far so am hoping i can do all i want to on my budget!
x

Wow - the ideas are fab! We wanted a cheap-ish wedding, but still find ourselves budgeting around the12k mark! We're getting married on a thursday, which has saved around 10k on its own, and means we can have the bigger rooms for our reception (which we wouldnt have got if it was on a sat!). invites are stupidly expensive - thanks for the link to studio catalogues - the gold ones look really nice and soo cheap!!x

Hehe, glad you're all finding this topic useful!! lol.

My h2b, my dad, his dad, usher, best man are all wearing morning suits (my idea, love them!!) and we found a shop called greenwoods and they are hiring them from there, the whole suit, cravat etc, including shoes, cufflinks the lot, for £80 a suit!!! Whats more if you get 5 you get he fifth one free. h2b's nan is paying for usher and best mans suit hire as a gift and h2b's dad is paying for his own, we are paying for my dad's suit and we get the grooms free! five suits for the price of 1! hahaha. i thought it was great that you got the shoes and cufflinks in there, all he needs to worry about now is underwear! haha.

xx

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Aww so glad you found some you like!! It becomes such a headache when you are desperately trying to find something within a budget and cant, so i'm pleased i could help! lol

Pleased to see there are some other people out there with roughly the same budget as me, i dont feel like such a tight wad anymore lol, i was on another wedding chat forum before and all the other b2b's were older and obviously had more to spend, i think the average was about 20-25k they were spending on theirs!! so i felt a bit out of place lol. I'd have to get another mortgage out to pay for that lol!!!!

xx

Hmmm, I am feeling that I my budget is slightly too much for this thread.

we have a small budget of £6.5K. Out of that we have budgeted £3.5k for the reception and as my H2B is Welsh he really wants kilts and they are coming in about £800!

My maid of honour's father is a jeweller so if we pay for the gold he will make our rings.

My MIL2B is a seamstress so making all the dresses.

My gran cooks so is making the cake

I am hoping to sweet talk my cousin into letting us borrow his bentley or something similar as he is a chauffer.

My veil is my something borrowed from my maid of honour who got married herself last year.

My bro-in-law to be and his work colleague is the photographer. His colleague is only charging for the travel (300 miles) so only about £100.

We are making all our own stationary. My H2B also has a welsh signet ring and as it is a celtic themed wedding we are going to wax the back of the invitation envelopes using his ring. Small touch but wont cost much.

Omg i would love to be spending £3,000 or less.....but we're having 150 guests do you think it's possible?? we havent booked anything yet as won't be getting married to 2010 but we are going to be looking around now we are back from uni for the summer. we have decided to have a buffet...but i cant seem to find places that will do that :( im disappointed...everywhere is sooo expensive and wants a sit down meal tut....may just have to go with somewhere not so nice and decorate it...xx

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Hi sarahtitch

It is possible!! Like i said before the key is to pull in as much help from people as possible and ask for gifts in the way of paying for the day rather than having gifts on the day. i.e - someone paying for the flowers instead of having a toaster or kettle or another bail of towels to unwrap!!
We are having 80 day guests for ceremony and sit down dinner and a total of around 180 for evening with a buffet.
What sort of reception are you after, a hotel or somewhere else posh? We are having a large venue with its own bar (to stock up ourselves) and its own industrial kitchen (so we can get our own people to do the food) we have hire of the venue for the entire day and the day before (12-7) to set it up ourselves, (we bought most of the decorations from ebay, very cheaply!) which i love because i can set it up just as i want. The hire charge for all this time is just £350!!! a bargain for all the space there is! I did comprimise on the location a bit as its in a town and hasnt got much surrounding land but we are getting married in december so i cant see many people wanting to sit outside!!
I cant see why any venue would turn people away just because they wont do a buffet as opposed to a sit down meal, you need to be looking elsewhere my love!! If a buffet is what you want then thats what you should get!! Try looking for a venue with its own kitchen that you can use yourselves as this will save you an absolute BOMB on the food, believe me!
If you wanna ask anything i will be happy to try and help!!!

Rachael xx :D

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Try looking at any town halls in your area as these quite often have large hall space and usually their own kitchens where they allow people from outside to do the cooking! Plus are usually a fraction of the price of any hotel or whatever. May not sound too glam but you can really do a good job at sprucing them up and once you are in there and enjoyning your day it will be as good as any other! It worth looking! xx

Help!!!! What ebay stores are u looking at????? Im not finding anything! Thanks xx

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All of them!! Just browse browse browse!! What are you looking for exactly?? xx

thanks :). A hotel or something like that should be fine i think. Theres a place called park inn but i think u can have a buffet but it still costs about the same as a sit down meal....like most places near me. I think that we may have to go back to our orginal idea of the cricket ground but gotta find out prices first. I think we are asking people to do cake and flowers atm. one of my bridesmaids (best friend) has done my hair and make up for years but i dont think she'll want to do it for the wedding and on herself hmmm. actually u just reminded me to look at the town hall....my mil2b mentioned it and have totally forgotton. I think it probz would be better there as we may be getting married in the registar office anyway so no one would have to move. i guess i just have to be brave and ask people but atm i feel people dont care so much as its a long way off to them!!! xx

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Town halls are definately a good bet. For our food we are going to macro's to buy all the food in bulk and its so cheap as you dont have to pay vat on most things so if you can do that then get someone to do the spread itd be good, are you having hot/cold?
Where abouts are you?? xx

northampton. yeah i think i may look into someone doing food....i mean craig says his family probably would do it as they have done similat things but i dont want them to be busy on my wedding day doing all that etc etc...i mean craig (h2b) has even said he might as well help cook or whatever on the day of the wedding as he'll have nothing else to do before we marry haha! but i might be able to ask an old friend if she can help out as shes just finished her food course....but she probably won't know any one still in 2010!! im not sure if we want hot or cold though i think it would be a mix of both. xx

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Hehe oh no you dont want h2b cooking on the day!!! I am a chef so am lucky to have some ex collegues/friends that are happy to do it, asking your old friend who has just done her course sounds a good idea, i know what you mean about not wanting to have everyone running round doing things and not actually enjoying the day, i was worried of that too.
Have you thought about hitting one or two of you local colleges? Get in touch and ask if any second year cheffing students would be willing to do it, cheap for you and exprerience for them! Worth asking, that way you have people who know a thing or two doing it and yet wont charge an arm and a leg? xx

yeah i have thought about it. I guess the main reason i havent looked into it as havent decided at all where we are getting married or reception yet!!! but now im back home i can sort it out as long as h2b wants to. well my friend has just finished a college course so even if she doesnt know any one i think she'd be able to point me in the right direction (as long as she doesnt mind helping as i havent spoke to her in awhile). thats what i told him i was like u cant cook on our wedding day! northampton is probably not the greatest place to marry. Its hard when you don't feel that its right to marry in church as the other option are so expensive. xxx

Has anyone brought their wedding dress from abroad? I am considering buying one from China either direct from companies website or from ebay?

I have fallen in love with a wedding dress but at £1k its too expensive for 1 day I think.

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Hi KSC

I originally looked into getting my dress from china on ebay and i spoke to some poeple on a different forum for some advice and some said they had got their dress from china vla ebay and they said it was really nice and good quality and just as she imagined it would be! I was very worried incase it wasnt as nice as in the pics and incase i had to send it back and what not but luckily my mum has offered to pay for my dress as a present so im able to get mine from a shop locally but i think if you were looking at getting one from ebay then just check the feedback and what not, like i said some women i spoke to were very happy with their dresses they got from china, id say go for it, esp as you can get them from like £50!!!

Rachael

Hi Rachael

Thank you for that. It is very tempting as it is only ever going to be worn for 12 hours and I think I'd prefer to spend less on my dress so more family can join us :)

Our budget seems huge compared to this! We are saving up as we go along (ok he is saving, I don't have a job yet) and hopefully we will have about £3500 by the end of it. But our venue is far out in the country, so we are hiring a coach so people don't get lost and stuff, and also so they can drink champagne and stuff without having to worry about driving home!

I'm making our stationary (just as well really because we wanted it done on black card because we are "alternative")

We are trying to keep it as small as possible. My uncle is a photographer, so he's doing our photos. My Auntie makes cakes, so she's doing our cake. Because we will be in a garden, we don't need flowers to decorate our venue. All saves a little bit, so I can get a chocolate fountain!!

Our budget is maximum £5000. Church is free, as its a small village church. My dads friend is doing the flowers for church free of charge. Reception is £1850, for 3 course meal, reception drinks of mulled wine and bucks fizz, mince pies and chocolate logs. Also includes the toast and tea and coffee. They are also providing the bridal suite free of charge, and it really is a stunning room. Booked pro photographer to be with us for the whole of the day. All photos will be given to us on a CD in colour, black and white & sepia. We will also have an digitail album made, that looks really stunning. All of this for £480. Each extra album needed is only charged at £30. Wedding cars are being borrowed free of charge from welthier family members. I think we'll come in under budget easily. Bridesmaids are paying for their dresses and best man/usher etc are hiring their own suits

Our budget is just under 2k!
We've gone for a small registry office on a friday so it's cheaper and hired the local football club where there is no corkage charges etc and is reletivly new so not much needs doing to decorating...to be honest we're having a buffett and a disco so they should be looking at what there eating adn dancing not staring at the walls anyway!
EBAY has been brill for me and found a million bargins and some not quite what they said they are things!
Most has been asking mates and family to help which has been alot nicer as its got a close and personal feeling about it.
At the end of the day its not the money and the decor that makes the party its the people, if you invite people you don't really know or care much for like family friends you end up feeling under pressure to 'perform' for them not be yourself and enjoy Its your day!
My biggist tip has to be tell everyone you meet if you can drop it in to convosation i meet a photographer in the shop i work in thats usual price for pics all day is upward of a grand, but because she meet me liked me and enjoyed the idea of our theme she said she'll do the whole day an album and cd of images for £400. RESULT

I can't work ebay properly. I always end up unable to find anything I want.
Any tips or links to useful weddingy things?

Our Budget is very low too. We only got engaged in June and decided to get married really quick in October. Worse to that now is, that we are going over to my Hometown in Germany for that. First we wanted to do registrar there too ( in germany you have to get married at registrar first before you can get married in church ) but now we decided to go to Gretna Green, as it`s romantic there. Keep it very very simple and have the BIG Reception etc in Germany after the Church. I bought my Dresses on Ebay and paid £59 for a brand New Maggie Sottero Dress and £100 for a bright red DaVinci Dress. Both custome made. I also got my Mum to do the Invetations, Menu`s, PlaceCards, Order of Services etc herself ( she is absolutly brilliant in making her own Cards ). My friend and BMH is helping me with punching out out own confetti. I also have a friend who will do all the Photographs for us. All i have to get for him is a Kilt lol. I basically asked around if People could help me, and to my surprise i havn`t found anyone that said NO. I`m also all the time on Ebay and think because i buy bit by bit every week, the costs just spread like that... I`m having a Buffet which is also alot cheaper than a 3 Course Meal, and i`m thinking of using the wedding Cake as Dessert... As that would save money again. I think all in all i`m doing pretty well, if i think about it. I normally tend to spent, spent and spent lol But that`s what every Girl does or? In the End i don`t really care if all my things were cheap cus i know most of it is hand made and has a heart in it and not just bought in bulk. If you know what i mean.... :)

just had a last minute invite to my OHs old friedns wedding who he hasnt seen in ages....any they had a good idea on how to keep costs down.

everyone is invted to the ceromony at 11:30(in the town hall reg office). Newly weds and immediate family have a long relaxing lunch on their own, while guest amuse themselves in local area over a long lunch break, til 3:30. when the reception starts in a nearby town(loverly hotel)(but prob 1/2hr drive from reg office), for photos drinks games and "mixing". Speaches and toasts. then finger buffet. and finally disco and bar.

That way they get to see ervyone, have reception and photos down in pretty location, make sure that immediate family get the "special time" with their new in laws...and keep down the costs by not having a sit down meal. i thort it was a great idea....and may use it myself.

Also as they already live together they dont need the whole toasters/mugs and glasses gifts, so have asked for an anomynous donation box at the reception to go toward the honeymoon.(can also get vouchers at thomas cook). that way its not embarrasing if you cant give much but want to give something, and when it comes to honeymoon every penny counts.

That's a good idea, apart from the bit in the middelw heer you have to amuse yourselves in a town you don't know for a few hours. I've been to several like that and people end up just sort of wandering, not sure where things are or what they can do...

my wedding budget was £5000 but its coming in under £3500 at the mo. im doing loads of stuff.
- my mum is making all dresses and mens waistcoats
- my h2b and me are making invites etc
- got the mens suits at a discount store - was £500 for 5 suits and it was got by my h2b's parents but i counted it into my budget
- a local flower hobbyist is doing my flowers
- a company i used to work for is doing the food
- my next door neighbour is doing my cake
- a friend from my parents boat club using his classic car as my transport
- my dads band is doing the music as well as an mp3 player with my h2b's and my fav music on it
- we are having wedding on a friday cuz its cheaper
- using local masonic hall as reception venue - just give £150 to the masonic charity fund to have the hall for the day and the night before and the morning after
- wedding night hotel is in dublin - it was voucher for 2 nites b n b and evening meal for £79 per person and hotel gives you free transport to airport. a m8 is driving us to dublin the night of the wedding for free as he lives there.
- favours are made my mum in law to be and from local candy factory round the corner from my house in belfast
- photographer is a family friend so doing us a good deal
- hair dresser is another family friend
- make-up we are doing ourselves
- got my bridesmaids hair pieces from claire's
- got my tiara at a bridal fair at a fraction of the cost cuz it was demo model for trying on veils
- went to ebay for bridal underwear
- got jewerlley as a prezzie
- my bridemaids jews was from a shop in liverpool cost £50 but its class

is this any help?

willowsinead, can I just say you have a lovely picture as your avatar!

Your ideas are all really good, and I like that everyone is pitching in, as it were. You know, it's nice ebcause the people around you are pouring love into it by making things for you.
That's the way I want our wedding to be.

young bride it will be if you ask! i just asked people to help with what i know they are good at! like my neighbour's buisness name is Arlene cake creations, my photographer is don howes, the catering company is ervine catering - i told everyone years ago that when i get married that i wasn't going to stress out about it - they were all going to help - i gave a basic idea of what id like as my cake and im letting arlene run with it - i'll be surprised at the reception when i see the cake.

if any brides-to-be are from northern ireland, i was thinking about becoming a wedding planner at one stage so i have loads of info about stuff for northern irish brides! from cermoney venues to reception venues to transport and catering! i only have a few things about a good place to get discount bridal wear in glasgow, and a place to get calss jewerelly in liverpool! email me, with a query if i don't know im bound to nkow someone who does! lol!

sorry double! lol!

[Modified by: willowsinead on July 14, 2008 11:04 AM]</p>

willowsinead, please become a wedding planner. It sounds like you have a lot of useful contacts, and you seem very organised and helpful. You'd be a great wedding planner, really paying attention to what the couple wants! What part of Nothern Ireland? Anywhere near Ballemina? (sp?)

Yes, I have asked a couple of relatives to make our cake or do our photographs, as a wedding present. Still looking for catering though.

Anyone got any tips for caterers in the East of Scotland sort of Angus area?

scotland--- well my h2b family is from there and my h2b's uncle is in the bar buisness so i ll give him a call. but they are from kilmarnock. east scotland - http://www.standrewscatering.com/weddings.html - my cousin says they are good - im from the poor side of my family, my uncle is a multimillonaire so i don't know what they are like for value but the food is good, the staff are nice and they are able to do almost anything from setting up marquee hiring to organising the lisencse to sell alcohol, and for me one of the best things is that they like to use local people as staff, so theres no problem with a language barrier, and for being scottish the staff are usually up for a bit of banter!

i live in belfast, about 40-50 minutes from ballymena. belfast is the hub of the north! lol!

do you need anything else? in carnogie a wee town outside st andrews uni, theres a really nice handmade jewerlley shop, the lady in it is fantastic and if you have an idea she can put it into reality! my great aunt lives there and gets some fantastic pieces for not to much money!

oh - if any one wants help just email me! i love weddings to pieces!

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That's really not too far from where I live, so no problems there. I will take a look at that link too, thank you.

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We went on holiday to Nothern Ireland once, and Belfast was shut for the orange marches It was weird seeing it so quiet. I know it's a long shot and that not everybody knows everybody else but, have you heard of a family called the McCrums?

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I will definitely have a look at that handmade jewellry shop, I like the idea of using local stuff as much as possible. I might buy some really uniqie necklaces or soemthing for my bridemaids or the mums.

went to school with an andrew mccrum, and his sister ashielgh is a few year older. for kilmarnock theres a class wee palce called memory lane that nice for a reception if its a small one.! also the masonic hall in kilmarnock is beautiful if you haven't a venue yet!

We haven't really set a budget! Just going with the flow pretty much!

Church: £450 - thats including organ, choir and bells - one set of my grandparents are paying.
My dress: £850 - luckily my mum is paying!
Car: £330 - 1932 Ivory Sunbeam which we have fallen in love with!
Cake: £70ish - 3 tiers from M&S then sugar flowers to decorate from the cake shop
Photographer: £600 for the whole day, 50 prints, all photos on a CD etc - my uncle is paying
Day Reception: Probably around £1000 for a knife and fork buffet
Evening reception: £400ish for room hire and food
Bridesmaid/flower girl dresses: £325
Suits: Not sure but they are being hired
Flowers: £300ish - other set of grandparents are paying!

Can't think what else right now! I also get my savings from my grandma 6 months before the wedding when I turn 21 so that will do for anything we haven't paid for!

I have a low budget but wanted to have certain things, i got cheaper invitations and have seen silk holders for £3 each which make them far more expensive looking. I also used the same company for flowers, Photographys and Bride to be top. They really helped stay within my budget. Would be happy to forward anyone there details.

sarahmeade@rocketmail.com

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I'm not actually in Kilmarnock, but I'm close. We've picked a reception venue, we just can't book anything yet because we don't have the price for the ceremony, so we don't know how much money we have left.
Eek!!

yeah mine is gonna be about as cheap as it gets... its at my house in my backyard, there is less then 150 people coming. i jsut cant find a freaking dress!!! i found a super cheap photographer to and they are amazing!

hi im new here & evry1s budgets seem 2 be loads , we havn't actually made a budget but we are doing evrythin as cheap as poss

Were not to sure on our budget yet i have been looking at chippenham lodge which i think might be a big stretch for us, also swnyford paddocks which we can get quite a good deal on £1100 for dj,marquee and hopefully ceremony room. But buffet is at least 15 a head tryin to kep numbers at 100 but still adds up! I am having alfred angelo 1150 for my dress lovely! if you order online u can get it for $700 dolllars and a free bridesmaid dress.
I have found a god site for cheap flowergirl and bridesmaid dresses around 25 each (from china)

So its looking at 3k ish already and need loads more and cant find a cheap photographer nothin under a grand in my area.
I am in east anglia, herts (royston).

Any ideas?? to save on money or anyone know a photographer??
My partner is a dj so didnt really want a dj as he wouldnt like it but bands are just so expensive! We are planning this all late as well as we wanna do it quickly so just started planning and we want to do it in november!

hi mum2summer, where abouts are you? when we first began looking for reception venues we looked at the chippenham lodge!! if its the same one that is... near newmarket etc?! xx

hi mum2summer well 4 my photographer we r having my h2b grandad & his grandads brother theyv got the equipment between them so thats saving us a good few hundred £'s do u know any friends or family that take a good pic 2 do it 4 u

I am from royston but i have chosen swnyford paddocks as my venue (closer to partners family) we are looking at £35 a head now, so venue for is gonna be £4000 ish (stretching us out already) where about are you from rachael?

I now have a photographer for free.
Still flowers, decorations, and everyone outfits to go!
I think i am going over my budget!
I have 3 flowergirls( one being my baby girl) 5 bridesmaids and then the best man.

I have chosen to do cookies as my wedding favours found a site that do them wrapped and personalised for £2 pack (so £200) but then again i might attempt it myself.
Anyone got any ideas of cheaper flower decorations without making them look cheap and my flowers etc.
I want the chair covers for my venue but they want to charge and extra £600 pounds! i have found on email for £150 really want but dunno if i can afford it! I am sooooooooo gonna overspend and be in tears in the day that i cant pay for it all.

Dunno how u have done it all
i have people doin favours eg the cake and pics but dont know any florist.
Hopin were allowed to take own wine to venue as were looking at an extra £500 just on wine if we go with them!
We are havin the sit down meal but no buffet in the night as it would be an extra 2000 plus which we defo cant afford (got a little girl to look after!)

[Modified by: mum2summer on November 24, 2008 09:36 PM]</p>

hey im on a 2k budget and know what registry office i want but finding it hard to find a reception that will just do evening food that i would make and a disco, would love a hotel but struggleing to get somewhere...

xxx

Hi,

I'm too a Ebay lover.lol!
My Wedding dress - £54 inc p&p
CBM dress - £24 inc p&p
Card for Save dates/Invites & rsvp - £5
Organza, ribbon, table confetti, crystals, pot-pouri, candles, tealite holders, storm lanterns etc - £50
Rose Arch - £5
Eldest son shirt & tie - £10 (still 4 to buy, but waiting due to size chages in 9 months.) lol!
My shoes - £15
Flowers for 3 x BM & My bouquet £12
Still a fair bit to buy, We are lucky enough to have my dad with a Public house with a function room, so he's doing buffet and dj for us.
Cake from M&S - £25 (I'm making topper - £5)

Wilkokinsons and Home Bargins are brilliant, even more so if you are up for diying as much as possible.

Friends are taking photo's, may allow our teen son to video the evenings events (i did say 'may' though. lol!)

Cheap doesnt have to men nasty!
We're doing our wedding to a budget of £2500 and doing quite well sticking to it!
eg. instead of having a photographer we are spending part of budget on a decent camera and asking someone to take photos for us as a wedding gift - then we can use camera for honeymoon aswell!

I also sell wedding dresses - beautiful brand new designer wedding dresses, just for people on a tight budget because I know how hard it is!

www.bellesbrides.co.uk

Only got a few pics on at moment but I have 35 dresses in stock!
pop me an email bellesbrides@yahoo.co.uk or give me a bell on 0114 2499775 and see if I can help.

Andrea
xx

omg im recently engaged and im going slightly crazy trying to sort out our budget!
you guys are all so lucky to have so many family and friends to help you out... unfortunately because we are young (im 20 and h2b is 21) very few of our families are actually supportive and so are refusing to entertain the idea (very upsetting as you can imagine!) My only piece of luck so far is that my cousin does photography o she is doing ours but is inssting on £500 which is reli upsetting! so far our budget is £2000 but i dont know where to start! All i have are my shoes which were £15 from monsoon in the sale!
xxxx

hi mum2summer, well i grew up in a little village near newmarket, i now live in brandon. We looked at the chippenham lodge but we didnt go much on it when we visited, havent been to swyford paddocks.. when's your wedding and where abouts is your h2b from? x

hi alex_peploe123. How horrible for you that family and friends are not supporting you, but dont worry, they will feel like the idiots when they turn up to your wedding (if they are invited!) and have a good time.. as for you cousin charging £500... im sure you can do better! the best deal we found was £325 and was with a company called studio5 which was very reasonable (although we didnt use them, infact we didnt use a pro at all) a family member did ours. and to be honest tey are perfectly good.
Just take your time, work out what you can spend on each thing and go from there.
dont worry, everything will work out. need any advice or tips, just be in touch! xx

our budget is between £1500 - £2k, and at the moment have 150 guests.. but im having a buffett sso hopefully ill be doing most of the food, mum is making my dress, and my bro maybe making my cake.all im planning on doing is usin a hotel and have a party there although i havent looked at any costs. but if worse happens itll be registry office and then to the park for a picnic

Hi, does anyone know of any cheap venues in the W london area? I want somwhere pretty but still cheap and cant find anywhere, especially as Ive probably got about 120 people

It's nice to see it's not just me fretting about budgets. Everywhere I look people are spending in the region of 25k which imo is absurd.
We decided we didn't want a long engagement so I have about 11 months to organise a kinda big wedding. We're hoping to have about 7k by then but after reading ways which you're all saving money it might be nowhere near as tight as I'd thought.

Luckily I got an ex sample dress from Hollywood dreams. The original was £1500 but I paid less than 200 including delivery for it!
We also went to the national Trust in Scotland for a location. Because they rely on donations we managed to get the most gorgeous georgian house with a marquee for 1000. We just need to get the food and stuff sorted now which is the one area I'm freaking out about.

Hi, not a bride to be, but a groom to be! My girlfriend works very long hours so I'm doing most of the logistics as I work from home, this so-far involves a day of phonecalls and web-mining to present B2B with various caterers or venues that she can then turn down becuase they're not quite right!

Our budget is looking like being 3500 at the mo and all I'm really having issues with is the venue. We have a friend who offered us use of a paddock, but a marquee hire is going to cost upwards of 1000 for our 150 guests! And then we'll need a seperate venue for the civil ceremony.

B2bloves the idea of an outdoors reception with live music and 150 guests, but we have champagne tastes on a panda pops budget! Don't want to be tacky but do need to cut down, any suggestions? Heres my division of funds so far;

1,000: rings, dresses, suits and shoes. Also hair and makeup, no mean feat as I have too much hair which will also need to be tamed.

1,000: venue and entertainments. Should have been easy if a big tent didn't cost so much!

1,500: food and drinks, including cake etc. Possibility of a set amount of 'free' booze then a cash bar afterwards.

Photos; sorted, I'll post below on that topic.

We're based in Cornwall but will roam a little if needed for costs, b2b would prefer a sea view, but this is optional!

Cheap Wedding photos, the geek way.

As I do a bit of web-design and have many geeks for friends, our wedding photos are being done by friends and family. 4 of my friends have digital SLR's (and know how to use them!) several more have massively expensive compacts and everyone has a phone!

Because of this I'm setting up a website for the wedding, to get people involved in the run up and then to collect and display photos afterward. A simple log-in system prevents abuse by random web-folk and allows all guess to upload their shots. With the semi-pro friends I'm confident of some good shots, although often the best ones come from unexpected places.

All photos will be displayed on the website for posterity whhile out favourites will be CD'd, emailed or flashed to a local photography store for pro-printing.

Also hoping to get one lovely black and white image on a large canvas for the living room. Since there's no photographer holding the pictures there is no time limit on when you can get them printed and a secure web server is going to be used so that we have all the originals available until forever. Also give us an option to photo-shop our faves!

If you're not a web-designer and want a similar site let me know and I'll get mine done, show you it and sell an almost exact copy for about £50. Do make sure you have talented friends though!

Even cheaper than that, or if you already have a pro booked, make an 'event' page on facebook, make it invitation only and allow guests to upload photos there, all secure, easy access and mucho fun. Just mention in advance so guests bring digi-cams. (Can also do video the same way).

Either way you'll get a lot of crap, but also some brilliant, un-posed shots of tender moments.

I am having a super cheap wedding too (only 3K MAX), and have a couple of tips as I think we have done really well.

We're getting married in a manor house which has been converted to a pub/ restaurant. The venue is stunning, but because it is not a hotel, it is really cheap - £200 hire and £25.70 per head for a 3 course sit down meal! Ask about at local pubs/ restaurants near you - most (if they are cheap) don't advertise as this would need them to up their costs so you'll need to go and ask personally (or call) rather than try to search online - ours doesn't even have a website! Keep guests down during the day (for the meal) so as to cut back on costs, then open it up for the evening. Not only does it make it really personal and special - it also means you save money! We're having just 40 in the day, and that is everyone we want - no step cousins half removed for us! LOL.

Look at sample sales for your dress - and tell the shop your max budget. I did this and got a designer dress for £250 - the shop didnt even try to show me dresses more expensive, as they new I couldn't afford it, and I didn't want to fall in love with something I couldn't have.

Look at the bits which are most important - we're not having flowers, as the venue is really pretty in itself and it just doesn't bother me, we'll have bouquets and button but thats it. Instead, we're using loads of tea lights, which I got for 15p from Asda (on sale), and stealing everyones xmas lights to decorate (white only).

For invites, I started with Paperchase notelets (20 for £5), then adapted slightly with the info printed on tracing paper and stuck in and a ribbon tied around them, they look fab, and cost under £30 for 100.

Suit hire - shop around. Its not hugely different, but the first places we looked at was £80 a suit, now I've found somewhere that is £70, with 25% off on top. It all adds up.

I am having two bridesmaids, but they are wearing high street dresses, bought for £15 each from Dorothy Perkins. They are then wearing shoes they already own and sorting their own hair/ makeup.

For cars and cake we have called in our friends and family. My nan is doing out cake, and we have two friends, one with a Bently, one with a vintage jag - we therefore have 2 cars and a 3 teir cake for free.

For photography, we have two photographers, in addition to my mum (who is a pro, but won't be doing everything as obviously she needs to be in a lot of shots). We also have this for free as are getting friends to do it who are trying to gain experience. I trust them to get some good shots.

Entertainment in the evening is an i pod. And we're getting guests to RSVP with a song guaranteed to get them on the dance floor - so far it has been really popular, and everyone has been getting really excited trying to choose their song.

I think thats it, otherwise, sell stuff on ebay (even if just listed for 99p) - we've made over £100 doing this, and for stuff that was just lying around (clothes/ shoes/ bags etc.). It all adds up.

Also, sign up for some of the good survey sites - its not huge amounts of money but again it all makes a difference! I'm on about £20 so far on these. Again, not loads, but adds up! I can recommend if anyone is having trouble finding sites.

Lastly, search around. If we had gone with the "obvious" suppliers we found first we would be WAY over budget - we'd never have managed it. It has been hard work, but I feel confident I will have my perfect wedding, with nothing missing, and will have kept to budget! It can be done!!

Wow sorry that was long!

all i can say girls is EBAY! full of bargains! my biggest bargain was my cathedral length veil for £2.79 and my flower girls dress for £2.19! both are absolutly stunning! spending so little on things like this has free'd up our budget by atleast a couple of hundred! were also pulling in favours from family and friends who are more than willing to help and feel honoured to be part of our big day, my mum is a graphic designer and is doing our invites ect, im a dress maker and making my bridesmaids dresses i also make jewelary, tiaras and fascinators so im making those for my bridesmaids too, my great aunty is making our cake, my friend is a photographer, my other friend is a make up artist and a friend of my mums friends is a hair dresser. weve saved so much money because of our family and friends and getting some amazing bargains! wishing everyone the best of luck with their planning! x

As far as venues go I'd definitely recommend village halls!
We're paying £300 for ours, we've got it from Friday at 3pm (we get married Saturday) until 11am Sunday!
It is going to take some decorating, but we're planning a little pre-wedding hall decorating party! Everyone is meeting at the hall at 3pm, and getting stuck in with the decorating, and gardening (as the garden isnt all that well looked after!)
We're having afternoon tea (total cost £140 for 115 guests) after the wedding, then a hog roast in the garden (total cost £1600 for 180 guests).

So for the venue (including decorations & table hire) & food (including wedding cake - 3 tier from M&S at £93) we're spending £2300. Which it seems for most of you is a huge chunk of the budget. But if there are less guests, or just an ordinary buffet then it would definitely be cheaper.

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This is a great idea & I will definately be doing it, or having our own webpage.
We've also got single-use cameras for our guests to use and leave for us. H2B's parents brought these, £65 for 20 cameras in ivory with a stand and our names & date on.

Good luck ladies - and gents!

MD2B xx

Hi i havent got a budget for the wedding im just trying to save as much money as possable as my mum and dad are paying for it all but i dont want to use all there money!
I got my dress from a shop called Celebrations (ossett w. yorks) and it was £600 but because i payed the deposit on the first try i got 10 % off and £50.00 toward a vail or tiara etc. so i thought this was really good as they also had sale dresses from as little as £50.00 (im a big lass so couldnt get these)
I made my own invitations and they look better than shop bought i went to a craft shop and bought several bits to stick on and ribbon, printed the insides on the computer and that was it!
I have made all the bridsmaids bouquets myself from foam flowers (so much nicer looking than silk) and it was really easy and have done them well in advance,
I booked a venue where i can get an outside caterer so that gran can do it (she is an ex chef)
My bridsmaids are paying for there own dresses and shoes,
My sister is doing the makeup for us all,
And I have a friend that is going to do the hair,
I also am going to email the local college and ask if any students are intreated in filling there portfolio which will also give me a free photographer,
Im getting married to spend my life with the man i love, id rather save my money for holidays when we have children etc. ..
Becky x

Bought a great ring from http://www.jpdiamonds.com/
Very good prices, however that was the only cheap thing about our wedding :o
x

We are saving as we go but have worked out that we can save £500o by the wedding, I've made some huge savings by buying tulle and a hair slide to make my veil, I've bought tulle circles and I'll put sweets in them and use cable ties to make them into puches (my theme is black and white so I'll use black cables ties with white tulle and vice-versa. I've designed my own invitations and will have them printed at a stationers like Staples etc.
Our clothing is the main splurge - I'm having a new dress and shoes, and h2b wants to buy a suit rather than hire one, and we've booked a reception with 3 course meal, but only nvited 45 close family and friends, and inviting everyone else to the evening for a buffet and drinks.
My sister's friend studies photography and my FIL also does it, so one of them will be the photographer. We'll be approachign the colleges for musicians (I want a string quartet but cn't afford it) and we aren't including a hineymoon in the budget - we might just go to Pembrokeshire for a few days or something.

The MP3 player with you and H2B's music sounds like a great idea!!!

Will normal like..ipod speakers be loud enough tho for a room of up to 100 people?

hey!
dont think my budget is quite as tight as some of yours, we've done well so far tho, managed to get a Hall for the ceremony, and 3 course wedding breakfast for 65 people, and a hog roast buffet for 150 people, and a dj for just under £4500! Trying to find cheap, but different favours now, as well as centre pieces etc, plus does anyone know any cheap places to buy ivory textured card? Im planning on making my own stationary, also the grooms mum makes wedding cakes, plus we have a family friend whos a photographer...hopefully we can do the rest as cheap as possible...reading what you guys have done has given me hope :-) xxxx

Wow! that's pretty good missabbie! :) When's the wedding?

24th september 2010, im so excited hehe. xxx

looking at others on mine seems quite dear.
i hoping not spend any more 7000.
my dress was 399
evening venue is 420 but thats with out food drink and a dj.
i got all my bridemaids dresses for 30. they were on sale and went with my theme and to top that there was only three left and all in the sizes i needed.
all my flowers and bridemaids flowers cost a nice 12 quid. they look really good.
so far the dearesr thing for what it is i think would have to be my shoes.

Oh my goodness! Our budget is £1500!!!! mind you we've already got everything sorted for that much and thats including our Honeymoon so its all good! but then my Bridesmaids nan has offered to get her dress as a present which is so sweet and my dress is being made as a gift (fabric only to pay for). food will be donated by all our guests thanks to their generosity and everything else has been haggled for!!

xxxx

Our total budget is 10k (off my dad) but he said anything we don't spend, we can keep :) so planning on keeping it as cheap as poss. really.... Althou my dress was 1320.... Ooooops. keeping everything else relatively cheap thou, venue hire & food is like 3500 and photographer is a friend, BM dresses were £40 each in the sale and their shoes were £7 from new look! H2B suit was from French Connection in the sale and our rings are going to be about 350 combined (if even that) so not doing to bad. Just need to hunt the sales to find a pair of shiny shoes for H2B and my jewellery. Will keep looking :)

we're trying to do ours for £5000 or under so far we've spent just over £1000
for that we've got
my dress
all 3 bridemaids dresses
flowers and bottonholes
my shoes
undies for day and evening
deposit for photographer
deposit for reception
notices
wedding photoalbum x2
guest book
ring cusion
gifts for the bestman
gifts for the bridemaids
gifts for the flowergirl
petals

i think thats about it

Has anyone heard about this 'grand wedding for under a grand' promotion at holiday inn? they are doing an inclusive wedding package. my mum mentioned it to me as there is a lovely one in Newport Pagnell (where i grew up) but i think we have decided to get married in Yorkshire (where H2B and i now live) but i cant find the deal anywhere up this neck of the woods :(

So basically if you don't know a chef, florist, photographer, seamstress, cake-maker, hairdresser etc etc it's not so easy to do it cheap!

Ours is £1500 so not alot but we really cant afford anything fancy im having fake foam flowers which are beautiful and look really realistic i had my dress custom made in hongkong from ebay which cost me £70 my bridesmaid dresses are £40 each handmade from hongkong ebay again, cakes from asda there plain white fruit cakes which im going to decorate myself, suits from formallyyours only £65 a suit

Reading this thread has given me so many ideas! Thank you for posting! I've been engaged since Christmas eve and I'm scared at the thought of planning a wedding!! I'm a final year uni student and this thread is making me relax a little more! :)

hi girlies i havent read all of this topic as its HUGE! but have any of you watched 3 grand weddings on wedding tv? its really good, got lots of good tips etc for getting things for free/cheap xxxxx good luck xx

hi girlies i havent read all of this topic as its HUGE! but have any of you watched 3 grand weddings on wedding tv? its really good, got lots of good tips etc for getting things for free/cheap xxxxx good luck xx