How can i make £1500.00 go as far as possible for our wedding?

poe.tuesday

I have just been to the most amazing wedding that I know was done cheapy

they hired a field
they hired a marquee
they hired tables and chairs and didn't have any other decorations other than balloons (which looked fab)
they hired portal loos (very posh ones too)
the food was all made by the family and we were asked to bring picnic blankets and a cool box with booze as there would only be a limited supply
It was a help yourself buffet and pudding was strawberries and clotted cream with homemade shortbread buscuits, they went to the local strawberry farm and got them cheap
they had a steel band to start with then a DJ
there were bales of hay dotted around the field for people to sit on, supplied by the farmer who owned the land
they had a local lady with some birds of pray doing a demo, sounds odd but it was amazing, especially for the kids as they got to hold the birds
then in the evening there was a pig roast
and then the last thing at night was a massive light up the sky demo, we thought it was going to be fireworks but it was these paper balloons that we all set alite and they all glided up into the night sky, absolutely beautiful

http://www.weddinglanterns.co.uk/

it was an amazing day and they why they suceeded was because they thought about it and planned it, weddings are about celebrating the love of people not the amount of money spent, it really was the most amazing wedding I have ever been too, if you can't hire a field then you can often hire out large pub gardens and then the guests use the pub to buy their drinks etc

notisis

Hi and congratulations!
I bought a brand new (still with all tags) Monsoon wedding dress off Ebay for £40 (I'd already tried it on and loved it at a Monsoon store so knew what it was like before bidding!). Shoes and underwear were cheap. £80 for husband's hire suit. Rings about £250 (18ct) but you can get cheaper. Registry office service was about £37. Coach hire £100 to collect 50 guests and take them to register office, then from there to lovely pub for lunch on terrace overlooking lake and then from there back to our house. Pub lunch (starter and mains) and drinks for 54 was about £500 (FIL put a bit extra behind the bar on top).

DJ was £50, buffet just under £200, friend made 2 lovely wedding cakes and I only paid for ingredients. I bought extra desserts & salad from M&S. Mum & Dad paid for marquee style tent in garden (about £70 in sale from B&Q). We collected all drinks monthly and bought 2 cases of champagne from Tesco on special. I collected table cloths, paper plates, plastic glasses, bubbles, confetti, balloons, candles, garden lanterns etc over the months from places like ebay. We borrowed and bought garden tables & chairs (anyone want to hire them?!) bit by bit as well.

Then a couple of days before, family and friends came round to put up the marquee, sort the tables and decorations out, all ready to finish off on the big day. We borrowed an extra fridge to chill the champagne & drinks and bought lots of ice to pop in tubs to keep drinks cold and cousins acted as barman. It was like a big garden party and didn't cost much. Only problem was clearing up the next day - throwing everything into plastic bin liners! But the DJ & his wife helped and family came round to help. Luckily I won a holiday to Rhodes which we went on a week later for our honeymoon, otherwise we were going to book a last minute cheapie.

There are lots of things you can do to keep costs down - as others have said use the local village hall, a huge picnic in a field, use your own or borrow a friend/family garden, just have a meal for a very few (maybe 10) after a ceremony and then use your local pub for a bash for everyone else later. You could go away on holiday and get married at the same time - colleague reckoned it cost £1500 for two weeks on a Greek island last year including wedding and she took her 1 year old. Just had a party when they got back.

Good luck with whatever you do - you'll enjoy it just the same as it's about you and your oh.

fay144

I think the important thing is to think about what wedding bits are important to you.

For example, I really wanted fantastic food and a free bar at mine, but couldn't have cared less about music, photos or far flung relatives I rarely see. So we didn't bother with a disco and dancefloor, had no seperate evening guests, got a very cheap photo package and only invited the people we really care about for an intimate "dinner and drinks" type do. One wedding I went to, they wanted the opposite - lots of guests, disco, and only immediate family at the ceremony. We both probably spent about the same.

So I suggest thinking about all the wedding bits - cake, music, meal, drink, photos, video, flowers, etc - and if you don't care about them then just don't bother, and spend the extra on the things that are important to you.

One thing I would advise against is making the invitations. I did that, and while it was cheaper than a specialist stationary place or department store, it would have worked out a fair bit cheaper to buy bottom of the range ones from M&S or Clintons, unless you already have a fair amount of craft supplies.

onlyroz

The main problems with weddings is trying to prevent your mother from taking it over and doing it her way...

just_thrifty

Everyone's made great suggestions, and, speaking from experience, I definitely agree with getting some professional photos done. Another small idea that's cheap and fun- buy some of those disposable cameras and put them on the tables for your guests to take snaps. You'll get a good laugh at moments you might have missed!

fin35

Many congrats - I would love to get married again (to my husband of course!) - whatever your budget it is such a special day.

A few hints and tiips to add to the many! OVerall get as many friends involved as possible. We married legally in a registry office and had only immediate family and best man there. We then went to a restaurant for lunch. We had the big white thing the next day for friends but this can be a simple party.

Clothes

• Charity shops are wonderful - travel to a rich area - it is amazing what people give away. A local shop to me actually has a wedding room you can book to try everything on - they have everything you could think of. I bought a pair of sparkly shoes for my 2 year old for £5.00.
• For the Groom - he doesn't have to conform to a suit, a friend bought a lovley shirt in a sale and wore cream chinos which looked great for a summer wedding.

Reception

• A friend used her primary school and bought in fish and chips.
• Local halls are normally very good value - we hired one recently for a birthday party for £40.00
• Drinks - check out supermarketwines.co.uk for what is on offer. you can get a good sparkling wine for under £4.00 if you look hard.
• Do you know anyone that plays instruments that would play music or a good bedroom DJ that would be happy to play a few sets?
• Friends hired us disco lights etc as our wedding present.
• Go to discount fabric shops if you want to decorate chairs yourself

Car

• Ridiculous waste of cash! Do you know anyone with something decent who could drive you?

Honeymoon

• Hotels are always offering really good deals for weekends away which include breakfast and evening meal.

I could go on - i always wanted to be a wedding planner!

best of luck

oompahloompah

Our wedding cost us a grand total of £1250.
My dress - charity shop.
Groom and bestman outfits - the present from the best man
Flowers - the present from a talented friend
Cars - borrowed from a friend with a posh car!
Transport between ceremony and reception - just along the road so we walked!
Ceremony - registry office
Reception - We only had 20 at our meal and about another 100 in the evening
Photos - a talented friend - we paid the raw materials
Video - another friend!
Invitations and favours - made them myself
Entertainment - this was the only thing we paid in full but a DJ is much cheaper than a band; also if your wedding is midweek or at short notice ask for a discount, they can only say no!

monitorsit

hm71 wrote: »

Just as a quick aside, depending on how long you have this is my DD prom outfit. I spent 4 months getting it together in various sles and things and spent the princely sum of £75 in all. other parents spent upwards of £200. so my bargain. But dress is from Marshall ward, shoes from next, bolero from Debenhams & tiara from local store. Handbag daughter already owned. might be worth checking out the websites etc..

That is a bargain! Well done!

schmickleicklepickle

I think I will be echoing what most other posters have said....

TO me the most important thing about my wedding day was the fact that I was marrying by husband and that certain people were there to share our happiness.
We shunned many traditions due to limited budget:
- I made my own dress
- I made my own invitations
- No car - my dad drove me
- no photographer or videographer. We got given loads of photos after the event which weren't all posed and more natural. My step dad filmed the ceremony andmy dad filmed some of the party
- no cake (my mum made them for a living but passed away) so this was my very personal choice - believe it or not I got aggro from teh MIL about it (she offered to pay) but I stood my ground
- no flowers other than my boquet and 4 button holes
- did my own hair and makeup
- only close friends and family came to the ceremony. The family stayed on for the meal, the friends went out for a meal!
- the band for the reception were friends of friends so cheap
- no bridesmaids
- step son was page boy - outfit bought in BHS - lovely but cheap
- no morning suits for hte men, just bought matching suits and ties which DH then went on to wear for work

Can't think of anything else right now but hope that helps a bit! The most important thing to remember is that it is YOUR day, not your guests!

joess

We went to a wedding recently and they had bacon butties and potato wedges served at 10pm - just as everyone was getting the munchies! They went down a storm and she said it only cost £2.50 a head.

Get your cake from M&S (or even cheaper Tesco/Asda) and just put some fresh flowers on - again my friend did this and it only cost her £50.

All the shops are doing massive sales at the moment - buy your dress from one of these store or eBay.... £800+ dresses go for a fraction of the price - there was a woman on GMTV this week who bought a dress from China for £2.50 and it was lovely - perfectly fitted too.

Good luck!