Ten months and only £1000 for my wedding venue and food. How can I do it?

purplefiona

Ten months and the budget from hell. I have £2000 to pay for the band- my fianc! is a jazz musician and composer and he is writing all the music for me, and arranging and rehearsing a big band of pro musicians, which is no mean feat and not cheap. I have to do the rest for £1000, as £3000 is the most realistic amount I can think of being able to save in the time, at the same time as paying off my debts at a sensible rate to keep me sane. I'm paying as I'm the one who is earning. Dress, cake, flowers and invitations are taken care of by the families. I have to fit a venue and food for 200 guests (I'm not kidding- we have a lot of friends) into £1000 and I know it just won't go! Added to that, the jewellery for me and the bridesmaids, though it will all be made by a friend, will be at least £100 worth of swarovski beads. I am a jeweller and I want it to be nice quality- same as the jazz.
I got my (purple) dress for £67 from ebay and I'm absolutely not a snob- I'll scrimp wherever I can- please help! Even the registry office will cost a bomb!

6angels

Oh dear I dont envy you this one! Have you budgeted for the actual ceremony too?

paddingtondoo

Ok first thing don't panic - easier said than done I know.

I would suggest finding out how much the registry office going to cost first as that can't be negotiated. If you get married at the office itself I would have thought it would be around the £100 mark.

Once you know post it on here and I'm sure we can all come up with something.

Could you ask guests to bring food rather than give you a present?
You haven't mentioned drink either.

floss2

purplefiona wrote: »

Ten months and the budget from hell. I have £2000 to pay for the band- my fianc! is a jazz musician and composer and he is writing all the music for me, and arranging and rehearsing a big band of pro musicians, which is no mean feat and not cheap. I have to do the rest for £1000 .......

I'm sorry, but have I got this straight? Your fiance is sorting out music & band to the tune of £2k, which you have saved up, leaving you with £1k for the reception????

How much is he paying into your wedding? Can he not subsidise the band costs, allowing some leeway & flexibility on the budget for everything else?

What about flowers..... bridesmaid dresses.....groom & best man's suits..... registry office costs.....cars......cake.....and that's before you, your families & 200 friends eat & drink at the reception......I think you may have to think about reducing the guest list to fit the amount of money available.

LilMissEmmylou

tbh i think its mental ur paying 2k for a band when u only have 1k for everything else. You can get some really great bands to perform for so much less!

hot.chick

Well not sure if this helps?

We are having blessing and mini reception in a community centre.

I's not the posshest of venues but we'[re making the best of it, decorarions are balloons (£6.99 for 50) love heart sweets (£5 for 100 ish from ebay) and food is going to be some picky party food and PIZZA! There is a delivery company that does 2 x 12" pizzas for £10 and if cut into squares instead of slices will go much further.

Drinks is pimms and cider as it's summer and then own branded soft drinks for those who don't drink.

Then for the hard core evening do - we're off to the local vodka bar who have hired us the upstairs for free!!!!! and people can but their own drinks.

Not conventional I know - but we tought with a bit of inventivness we could keep most people happy and not blow the budget!

Good luck!

purplefiona

floss2 wrote: »

I'm sorry, but have I got this straight? Your fiance is sorting out music & band to the tune of £2k, which you have saved up, leaving you with £1k for the reception????

How much is he paying into your wedding? Can he not subsidise the band costs, allowing some leeway & flexibility on the budget for everything else?

What about flowers..... bridesmaid dresses.....groom & best man's suits..... registry office costs.....cars......cake.....and that's before you, your families & 200 friends eat & drink at the reception......I think you may have to think about reducing the guest list to fit the amount of money available.

Well- the dress, flowers and cake and invitations are being sorted by my family, and bridesmaids are doing their own dresses, groom and best man suits are being paid for by his family, the guest list will definitely take a hammering, yes....
I'm sure that he will pay into it but he doesn't save the way I do, its more sporadic, because he gets paid more sporadically. So to be safe I'm not counting what he may put in- And hey, if I still have savings at the end of the whole shebang that has to be a good thing!

purplefiona

paddingtondoo wrote: »

Ok first thing don't panic - easier said than done I know.

I would suggest finding out how much the registry office going to cost first as that can't be negotiated. If you get married at the office itself I would have thought it would be around the £100 mark.

Once you know post it on here and I'm sure we can all come up with something.

Could you ask guests to bring food rather than give you a present?
You haven't mentioned drink either.

Good point. Register office seems pretty good place to start. I didn't mention booze- but we are going to get a load from France. I'm hoping it won't cost more than £200 which I know does not sound like much for booze- but it really is cheap in France! We will choose some that will be brought over by parents, then go get it nearer the time. I'm looking for super-in-advance ferry special offers soon.....!

brownbabygirl

purplefiona wrote: »

Well- the dress, flowers and cake and invitations are being sorted by my family, and bridesmaids are doing their own dresses, groom and best man suits are being paid for by his family, the guest list will definitely take a hammering, yes....
I'm sure that he will pay into it but he doesn't save the way I do, its more sporadic, because he gets paid more sporadically. So to be safe I'm not counting what he may put in- And hey, if I still have savings at the end of the whole shebang that has to be a good thing!

SOme of your posts are a bit worrying. I hope this does not apply to other aspect of your finances.. You dont want to start out with you paying for/taking care of everything.

*ducks eggs and tomatoes*

winnie81

purplefiona wrote: »

Ten months and the budget from hell. I have £2000 to pay for the band- my fianc! is a jazz musician and composer and he is writing all the music for me, and arranging and rehearsing a big band of pro musicians, which is no mean feat and not cheap. I have to do the rest for £1000, as £3000 is the most realistic amount I can think of being able to save in the time, at the same time as paying off my debts at a sensible rate to keep me sane. I'm paying as I'm the one who is earning. Dress, cake, flowers and invitations are taken care of by the families. I have to fit a venue and food for 200 guests (I'm not kidding- we have a lot of friends) into £1000 and I know it just won't go! Added to that, the jewellery for me and the bridesmaids, though it will all be made by a friend, will be at least £100 worth of swarovski beads. I am a jeweller and I want it to be nice quality- same as the jazz.
I got my (purple) dress for £67 from ebay and I'm absolutely not a snob- I'll scrimp wherever I can- please help! Even the registry office will cost a bomb!

Thats not for real is it :rolleyes:

Sooler

Hope you're not bank rolling an ego trip.
He wants you to spend 2K on his mates, nice earner for them.

Half of what you spend on the band for everything else! - is the band the most important thing of the day to the extent that it's worth twice everything else put together?

I'm not critising or passing judgement on what you want to do - it's your day, entirely for you to have what you want. Just a passing comment in a public forum.