Great 'What I wish I’d known before my wedding' Hunt

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  • duchy
    duchy Posts: 19,511 Forumite
    First Post First Anniversary Combo Breaker Xmas Saver!
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    With everything that will be going on the day of the wedding -Do you have someone reliable you can delegate responsibility of making sure the booze is there in the right place? If you do and your budget is very tight it may be worth it to you. If you don't and you need to do it yourself -it might be £150 well spent.

    Think about what percentage of your budget that £150 is...... and how well the bride or groom cope with stress if there is a problem with it on the day they may need to sort out when they are supposed to be getting ready or welcoming guests.
    I Would Rather Climb A Mountain Than Crawl Into A Hole

    MSE Florida wedding .....no problem
  • Revels_Master
    Revels_Master Posts: 1 Newbie
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    One thing which looked fab at a recent wedding we attended - instead of flowers at the tables the bride had bought large ostrich size feathers in groups of Ivory and purple to match the bridesmaids dresses. Being tall they made a real statement as you entered the room and looked wonderful.
  • Metarie
    Metarie Posts: 20 Forumite
    First Anniversary Combo Breaker
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    So many great tips in here, thanks to everyone who has contributed! We are engaged and want to do it this year - but I can't stand the idea of having a huge wedding, it makes me feel a bit ill being the centre of attention! I really like the idea of a late afternoon wedding at a registry office and a sit-down meal personally.
  • NoGoodNamesLeft
    NoGoodNamesLeft Posts: 161 Forumite
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    I got married on Saturday and it was perfect despite being on a budget.

    We hired a photographer for a fraction of the usual cost as she was looking to build her portfolio.

    I got hairdressers from my local college. Three students and a teacher came to my venue for 4 hours to do people's hair for £30 then £10 per person. I went for a trial and a colour first to see if I liked them.

    We didnt do 'keepsake' favours as we didn't think people would want them. Instead we had cookie-base cupcakes as favours which doubled as an extra dessert. People ended up taking home centrepieces and decorations (mainly butterflies) instead.

    My mum did ALL the design and decorating with help from family members. The room looked amazing and was personal to us. This is probably the best thing we did to save money as a professional decorator couldn't have done a better job. Obviously we didn't just order family to do it - they offered! :D

    I found my dress on Ebay - a red Maggie Sottero which was about £2000 in the shops. I paid £150 plus £40 for alterations. I was going to put it back on Ebay but now I can't bear to part with it!

    No fresh flowers at all. It is a lot of money (especially on Valentine's day) for something that will die. We had crystal bouquets and corsages and artificial flower buttonholes. They can be sold on or kept.

    We registered at Debenhams. If your guests buy over £250 you get a £50 gift card. We didn't really publicise the list, but had about £150 bought. The day after the wedding we spent the extra £100 ourselves on things we needed just to get the voucher.

    I did my own makeup. A makeup artist with a trial was about £100. I spent about the same on some really good makeup and brushes which I can now keep. I have some makeup training, so don't know if everyone would be happy to do this.
  • Stephb1986_2
    Stephb1986_2 Posts: 6,279 Forumite
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    I'm glad this thread is still going I got married almost a year ago now and oh how this last year has flown!!

    One big tip for ladies if you have a massive dress and just want to go to the loo in peace without anyone else having to come with you, get on the loo front to back so not how we usually sit on the loo, face the back of the loo it's much easier and I was able to have peace and quiet on my own for 5 minutes :) although there was people in the loo asking if I needed help lol.

    Just enjoy the day as it does go so fast. If it is in your budget do get the day filmed as I love watching mine every few months to remember the day and see things you didn't get to see on the day.

    Steph xx
  • GC1987
    GC1987 Posts: 51 Forumite
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    Hi,

    I'm getting married next May and have a good few things booked but I'm currently shopping around for caterers and musicians for the ceremony. I've seen a few people saying the haggled to get the first quoted prices well down and I just wondered..how?!! I've no idea where to begin. Any tips or advice on how to haggle would be greatly appreciated :j
  • joby20
    joby20 Posts: 1 Newbie
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    NoGoodNamesLeft wrote: »
    I got married on Saturday and it was perfect despite being on a budget.

    We hired a photographer for a fraction of the usual cost as she was looking to build her portfolio.

    I got hairdressers from my local college. Three students and a teacher came to my venue for 4 hours to do people's hair for £30 then £10 per person. I went for a trial and a colour first to see if I liked them.

    We didnt do 'keepsake' favours as we didn't think people would want them. Instead we had cookie-base cupcakes as favours which doubled as an extra dessert. People ended up taking home centrepieces and decorations (mainly butterflies) instead.

    My mum did ALL the design and decorating with help from family members. The room looked amazing and was personal to us. This is probably the best thing we did to save money as a professional decorator couldn't have done a better job. Obviously we didn't just order family to do it - they offered! :D

    I found my dress on Ebay - a red Maggie Sottero which was about £2000 in the shops. I paid £150 plus £40 for alterations. I was going to put it back on Ebay but now I can't bear to part with it!

    No fresh flowers at all. It is a lot of money (especially on Valentine's day) for something that will die. We had crystal bouquets and corsages and artificial flower buttonholes. They can be sold on or kept.

    We registered at Debenhams. If your guests buy over £250 you get a £50 gift card. We didn't really publicise the list, but had about £150 bought. The day after the wedding we spent the extra £100 ourselves on things we needed just to get the voucher.

    I did my own makeup. A makeup artist with a trial was about £100. I spent about the same on some really good makeup and brushes which I can now keep. I have some makeup training, so don't know if everyone would be happy to do this.

    Hey NoGood :tongue:

    I'm looking for a cheaper dress online but I'm worried of being scammed with a cheap copy.

    Can I ask who you bought yours off and did it come as expected?

    Thanks

    J
  • Wendymarf61
    Wendymarf61 Posts: 5 Forumite
    First Post First Anniversary Combo Breaker
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    We used downloaded templates that we filled in and bought the pdf for $5 (Greetings Island) then had invitations etc printed by uploading the pdfs to Printed.com in the UK. Amazing value and quality and quick delivery and if you mess up they phone & talk you through it. Top tip - they do unusual sizes and their envelopes are fab too.
  • pigpen
    pigpen Posts: 40,999 Forumite
    Name Dropper First Anniversary Photogenic First Post
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    emidee wrote: »
    I didn't - I relied on a proficient friend to take the photos.

    His camera broke at the ceremony (though he didn't know this until afterward, & carried on taking photos). This left us with just the snaps that others had taken of our day, & no decent visual record of our day at all. Of course the friend felt incredibly awkward about it, but there was nothing anybody could do about it, the moment had already passed.

    I know it seems like the sort of thing you can save a few hundred quid on, but please don't - you don't want to regret it like I do. :(

    Same thing happened to me but it was a professional photographer, their gear can break too.


    Anyway.. I wish I knew he was a narcissistic abusive bully.. you live and learn... haha.
    LB moment 10/06 Debt Free date 6/6/14
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  • DanJKelly
    DanJKelly Posts: 43 Forumite
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    emidee wrote: »
    I didn't - I relied on a proficient friend to take the photos.

    His camera broke at the ceremony (though he didn't know this until afterward, & carried on taking photos). This left us with just the snaps that others had taken of our day, & no decent visual record of our day at all. Of course the friend felt incredibly awkward about it, but there was nothing anybody could do about it, the moment had already passed.

    I know it seems like the sort of thing you can save a few hundred quid on, but please don't - you don't want to regret it like I do. :(

    same happened to my mother in law back in October last year! Her brother is an actual photographer but not usually for weddings.. his memory card failed and the pictures were gone! Its made me ask my photographer if he has more than one memory card and if he brings more than one camera!
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