Rich & Em Wedding Planners Diary [UPDATED 22/01/2009]

richandem

Hey Everyone,

We are new here and basically fell over the forum when trying to find a half decent place that had some 'good' tips for budget weddings and this surely is it so I thought I would keep a diary of all the things we buy, where we buy them how much they cost etc so that people in the future might be able to use it as some help? Also it could be handy if some other members pointed us to some things we have not yet bought but might be able to find cheap.

We are getting married July 25th 2009 and have opted for a Registry Office for our marriage, that is all booked so we are set on that score.

We have booked the local village hall which will be host to the reception for the evening that is also booked and we plan to kit that out and decorate it as we need, more information on that later. This cost us £110 including a bar license (8-12)

The DJ is also booked he is a friend of mine so is doing us a deal £70 for the entire night which I thought was really good. We are going to create our own ‘allow list’ of all the songs we would like playing so that he dosent play any rubbish.

The bride’s dress has yet to be purchased as we are still looking for something she is happy with and in out price range we don’t really want to go down the China route.

The groom has got the suits for him and the best man arranged, they will be hired from a local company that we found on the internet 1860.com but will also check other local companies the current price we have is £79 per suit

[strike]The groom’s ring is also bought got that from H. Samuel in the winter sale it cost a grand total of £49.99 and can be found here I know it sounds cheap but he really liked it so that is all that matters. [/strike] H.Samuel took the liberty of cancelling my order - thanks

For the food I think we are looking at getting friends and family to help out and doing most of the cooking etc ourselves, Tesco, Asda and Sainsburys because we have staff discount there are going to be our main ports of call. The menu is yet to be decided, if you have any ideas please let us know we are open to any suggestions regarding this.

Favours we came up with a small idea we have got some bags off ebay here we got 150 of them for £16 including postage, what we are going to do is get some ribbon and attach one of here (which cost £9.99 for 100) using some ribbon (found a spool for £3) and then we are going to put 3-5 flower seeds into each bag so that out guests can take them home and plant the flowers in their garden and they will grow with out marriage. We thought this was a good idea.

For the table decoration we are going to have the table covered with a plain white cloth (cost unknown as yet) each sitting will be set out with a plate and fork etc with the favour as explained above on the plate, in the middle of each table will be 2-3 disposable cameras as we are going to use this to capture our evening reception, their will then be a few flowers and balloons on the table (cost unknown) confetti pieces and maybe a few other bits to create that WOW factor

Invited have already been purchased, these were got from clintons i think we got them for 2 packs for £10 using a mixture of day time invites and evening invites.

Our To-Do List
Daytime

• Hair 4 Bride
• Hair 4 Bridesmaid
• Makeup
• Photographer
• Bridedress
• Bridesmaids Dresses
• Wedding Rings x2
• Flowers 4 Boquet
• Bridesmaids Flowers
• Transport
• Video
• Guest List
• Shoes 4 Bride
• Shoes 4 Groom
• Grooms Suit
• Bestman Suit
• Grooms Hair
• Bridesmaids Shoes
• Head Gear
• Button Hole
• Something Borrowd, Something Blue, Something New
• Spray Tan
• Nails
• Present List

Evening

• Disco
• Table Cloths
• Napkins
• Plates
• Cameras
• Cuttlery
• Candles
• Flowers 4 Table
• Tea Light Candles
• Flower Vase
• Pebbles
• Table Plates - Gold
• Food
• Wedding Cake
• Knife For Cake
• Wine
• Play list
• Wedding Guestbook
• First Song
• Grooms Speach
• Village Hall
• Chairs
• Drapes

Diary Contents
January 22nd Updates - 22/1/09
Rings Ordered - 14/01/2009
Table Cloth Hire - 12/01/2009
Bits & Bobs - 10/01/2008
Wedding Favour Bags - 05/01/2009
Wedding Rings & More - 05/01/2009
Wedding Rings & Photographer - 06/01/2009

Links We Used

http://home.btconnect.com/bridalbasement/ - Bridal Gowns
http://www.ebay.com - General Everything Wedding Shop
http://www.1860.com - Suit Hire
http://www.americanbridal.com/pail-wedding-favors-dsws84.html - Ideas for favours etc
http://www.hsamuel.co.uk - Rings & Jewelry
http://www.marksandspencer.com/gp/product/B0017171CQ/ref=pd_sbs_2/275-9284162-5251702?ie=UTF8&mnSBrand=core - Wedding Cake
http://www.mysilkweddingflowers.com/ - Artificial Flowers
http://www.blueribbons.co.uk/index.htm - Cake Accessories.
http://www.moo.com - Stationary With A Difference
http://www.weddingrings-direct.com - Bride & Grooms Ring's
http://www.ikea.com - Napkins
http://www.bordermarquees.co.uk/ - Chair & Marquee Hire


More will be added in due course.


Suggestions Feedback or questions are welcome
Many Thanks
Rich & Em

mirrorimage0

for the disposable cameras we had postcards printed up with a little competition for the children to keep them occupied (can also be done for adults as the adults loved it also, some serious competing going on at ours lol.
it had a list of what we wanted pics of, ie best man pulling a funny face, wedding rings, wedding cake, bridesmaids, pageboys etc etc we had about 11 things and got them made up at vistaprint website for free, just paid postage of around £2.99

http://www.weddingoftheyear.com/view_album2.php?cid=99&pid=37

richandem

mirrorimage0 wrote: »

for the disposable cameras we had postcards printed up with a little competition for the children to keep them occupied (can also be done for adults as the adults loved it also, some serious competing going on at ours lol.
it had a list of what we wanted pics of, ie best man pulling a funny face, wedding rings, wedding cake, bridesmaids, pageboys etc etc we had about 11 things and got them made up at vistaprint website for free, just paid postage of around £2.99

http://www.weddingoftheyear.com/view_album2.php?cid=99&pid=37

That is a neat idea, will have to look into that, how many cameras did you buy and how many guests did you have?

mirrorimage0

this is the company i was talking about, once you register with them they send you emails with loads of free offers and you can do invites, save the date cards or thankyou cards etc

http://www.vistaprint.co.uk/vp/ns/gallery.aspx?g=12&category_id=225&vt=-1&selNumDesigns=96&index_designs=4

we bought around 12 cameras as we were planning on doing it for the kids so had one or two on each table the children were, but like i said the adults loved it too, dont forget disposable cameras are more expensive to develop, when we had our wedding pics developed we went with costco as they were by far the cheapest but dont know if they do disposables (didnt think to look lol) we put them in boots as you are allowede to look at them before you buy which was a good idea as the kids took them and some didnt come out. it might be worth playing with words on the front of the postcards and getting the adults involved with thier digital cameras and asking them to put them on disks for you

mirrorimage0

also you mention confetti, make sure you ask the venue if you are allowed this as most dont, for our table decorations we had wooden roses with ribbons and crystals as i get really bad hayfever , my boquet was also artificail, my mum done all the decorations as she is good at that, we got a local lady to do our button holes and corsages which worked out half the price of a florist, where abouts are you as some peole may be able to give you better ideas of where to go, also if you need to get a wedding dress dry cleaned before or after and you have tesco vouchers then johnsons dry cleaners use them

richandem

mirrorimage0 wrote: »

also you mention confetti, make sure you ask the venue if you are allowed this as most dont, for our table decorations we had wooden roses with ribbons and crystals as i get really bad hayfever , my boquet was also artificail, my mum done all the decorations as she is good at that, we got a local lady to do our button holes and corsages which worked out half the price of a florist, where abouts are you as some peole may be able to give you better ideas of where to go, also if you need to get a wedding dress dry cleaned before or after and you have tesco vouchers then johnsons dry cleaners use them

This is a village hall we are hiring it is not really a 'venue' as such the guy who runs it is pretty good, i will make a note of that though and be sure to ask him.

I think we are looking at artificial flowers also, the buttonholes are going to be real. We are based in Oswestry which is about 30mins from wrexham.

Thanks for the tip on Jhonsons will be sure to check that out

mirrorimage0

ok so off the top of my head a list of what you may need.

make sure all your paperwork is in order at the registry office
wedding dress
wedding shoes (make sure you wear them before the day ie put a sock over them if you dont want them damaged)
wedding underwear
jewellery
something borrowed,blue,new
perfume
make up
tiara or vowel
bridemaids dresses etc
page boys outfits etc (bhs is quite good)
groom lol
suits
shoes
cufflinks
transport
flowers, button holes ,corsages,boquets
flowers for hall
table decorations(table clothes,wine,favours,cameras,flowers etc)
favours
drinks unless bar there
presents for bridesmaids,bestman,pageboys,groom,mums and dads(these are optional but remember the sales are on now)
caterer (get a few quotes and decide what food you want for day and evening guests)
do you want waitresses to give out drinks etc when you arrive and to clear up(so much easier)
make sure there is enough table , chairs at the venue as you may need to hire some
first dance song
you mentioned artificial flowers, remember if you are throwing the boquet you may want a seperate one done up if yours is too heavy (mine was)
garter for the groom to take off you and to throw
depending on your dress find someone for alterations and try it on often running up to the wedding as some peole lose more weight
wedding list (we had debenhams it was fine but loads of places do it)
honeymoon if you are having one( if you dont need things for the house maybe ask for vouchers or contributions for the honeymoon ie a morning snorkelling or a whale watch trip etc)
nails, massage etc day before so you can relax and chill out
thankyou cards for after

delegate people for different jobs, you dont want to be running round like a headless chicken doing it all yourself, see also if you can get the hall the night before to decorate it, makes it sooo much easier

make sure you time all your hair make up etc and make sure you relax and enjoy it it goes soooo quick, i loved every minute of mine and wish i could do it again.

if i think of anything else i will add

OHG just realised how scary that list looks, honestly its not, just do one at a time and tick it off

queenv_2

[quote=richandem;discussion/1383319]Hey Everyone,
rubbish.

The bride’s dress has yet to be purchased as we are still looking for something she is happy with and in out price range we don’t really want to go down the China route.

PLEASE DO NOT GO DOWN THE CHINA ROUTE!!
you may find when you go to a bridal shop that you are 2 sizes bigger - anyonw who has been to the far east will know that us europeans are a big boned bunch in comparison!
I have bought a brand new dress for £249 from a special little place in Liverpool called Copplestones bridal basement. link http://home.btconnect.com/bridalbasement/
His shop is based on the US style of the running of the brides but you wont have to do any running!
Hope this helps!

richandem

mirrorimage0 wrote: »

ok so off the top of my head a list of what you may need.

Wow this is a insane list, thanks very much.

mirrorimage0 wrote: »

make sure all your paperwork is in order at the registry office

Got an appointment booked next friday to sort all of this out.

mirrorimage0 wrote: »

wedding dress

The bride is still looking for the perfect dress, any recommendations on places to buy?

mirrorimage0 wrote: »

wedding shoes (make sure you wear them before the day ie put a sock over them if you dont want them damaged)

That is a really good idea, we will be sure to keep tht one in mind, might even do that for the grooms shoes.

mirrorimage0 wrote: »

wedding underwear

This is one for the bride ;-)

mirrorimage0 wrote: »

jewellery

This is one for the bide.

mirrorimage0 wrote: »

something borrowed,blue,new

I guess this is for the bride to find

mirrorimage0 wrote: »

perfume

We will get this near the time, the groom has aftershave already that he will prob use.

mirrorimage0 wrote: »

make up

Prob got enough of this already ha ha

mirrorimage0 wrote: »

tiara or vowel

Not sure if this will be used at all yet.

mirrorimage0 wrote: »

bridemaids dresses etc

We got these from the next sale £20 each and we got 3 pluss cardigans which were £9 each.

mirrorimage0 wrote: »

page boys outfits etc (bhs is quite good)

We are not having a page boy.

mirrorimage0 wrote: »

groom lol

Best not forget him eh

mirrorimage0 wrote: »

suits

These are going to be rented for the day, currently we have these priced at £79 each

mirrorimage0 wrote: »

shoes

Still to buy for both parties.

mirrorimage0 wrote: »

cufflinks

Already got loads so will use a set of them i think.

mirrorimage0 wrote: »

transport

The groom's mum is sorting this out i think.

mirrorimage0 wrote: »

flowers, button holes ,corsages,boquets

Still in discussion

mirrorimage0 wrote: »

flowers for hall

Still in discussion

mirrorimage0 wrote: »

table decorations(table clothes,wine,favours,cameras,flowers etc)

Still in discussion,

mirrorimage0 wrote: »

favours

See first post

mirrorimage0 wrote: »

drinks unless bar there

Got a onsite bar

mirrorimage0 wrote: »

presents for bridesmaids,bestman,pageboys,groom,mums and dads(these are optional but remember the sales are on now)

Still in discussion

mirrorimage0 wrote: »

caterer (get a few quotes and decide what food you want for day and evening guests)

We are going to do the food ourselves i think an setup a buffet area so that people can get their own food.

mirrorimage0 wrote: »

do you want waitresses to give out drinks etc when you arrive and to clear up(so much easier)

No i dont think we are going to have these

mirrorimage0 wrote: »

make sure there is enough table , chairs at the venue as you may need to hire some

This we have listed on questions for the venue.

mirrorimage0 wrote: »

first dance song

Still in discussion

mirrorimage0 wrote: »

you mentioned artificial flowers, remember if you are throwing the boquet you may want a seperate one done up if yours is too heavy (mine was)

Ah good idea.

mirrorimage0 wrote: »

garter for the groom to take off you and to throw

*whit woo*

mirrorimage0 wrote: »

depending on your dress find someone for alterations and try it on often running up to the wedding as some peole lose more weight

We have a shop local that will do alterations.

mirrorimage0 wrote: »

wedding list (we had debenhams it was fine but loads of places do it)

I think we are going to ask our guests to donate money so that we can go on honeymoon

mirrorimage0 wrote: »

honeymoon if you are having one( if you dont need things for the house maybe ask for vouchers or contributions for the honeymoon ie a morning snorkelling or a whale watch trip etc)

See above

mirrorimage0 wrote: »

nails, massage etc day before so you can relax and chill out

The bride had some vouchers for a local salon in our town so i think she is going to use them to get some treatment for the day.

mirrorimage0 wrote: »

thankyou cards for after

This is something i had over looked.

queenv wrote:

PLEASE DO NOT GO DOWN THE CHINA ROUTE!!
you may find when you go to a bridal shop that you are 2 sizes bigger - anyonw who has been to the far east will know that us europeans are a big boned bunch in comparison!
I have bought a brand new dress for £249 from a special little place in Liverpool called Copplestones bridal basement. link http://home.btconnect.com/bridalbasement/
His shop is based on the US style of the running of the brides but you wont have to do any running!
Hope this helps!

wow that place looks amazing, what does your dress look like? Do you have a pic, i have passed this link onto the bride she is going to get intouch with them and see what they have and if it meets her 'style'

Also does anyone know where we can get cheap personalized napkins?

Many Thanks
Rich & Em

liza83_2

what kind of price range are you looking for for the dress?
I got my dress for £400 its alfred angelo. I thought this was pretty cheap compared to some prices ive seen.

richandem

liza83 wrote: »

what kind of price range are you looking for for the dress?
I got my dress for £400 its alfred angelo. I thought this was pretty cheap compared to some prices ive seen.

£250 is the budget for the dress.