getting married - low key and really cheap

jobbingmusician

Ooooooooo I've just remembered another MSE thing we did at our wedding. We didn't have a photographer, and asked guests to bring their own cameras and just snap away! 2 people gave us albums, and one unexpected guest (actually a friend of our cooks) turned out to be a pro wedding photographer and gave us the most amazing disk of photos :j :j :j

rubytuesday

The best wedding I went to was in a registry office followed by a picnic in Regents Park on a gloriously sunny day (they were lucky) asked to bring own picnic but they did end up providing sandwiches and champagne,then an evening do in Pub with an Indian buffet. It was a great day!

jayne26

i did the whole low key wedding in 1988 and would do it the same tomorrow, low key , no stress, no crazy bills for years after , the big wedding thing is great if your into it but i would hate the stress and stuff. you could ask for the pressies to be everyone chipping in 5 pounds and all go to a nice pub and have drinks, do it the way you want, its your day after all :T

fruityslh

My cousin had a fantastic day , for which they hardly paid anything.

Register office do, brides dress made by her mother (simple style nothing too elaborate) her twin daughters bridesmaids dresses made by our Nan, her intended bought new shirt and tie, her parents paid for flowers and a vintage car as a present, then we all went off to their favourite Indian restaurant for a lovely meal (there were about 20 of us in total, family only) then we all went back to their house and sat in the back garden soaking up the sun. She then had an early evening reception at the local pub with a few sandwiches to which the couples friends were also invited to. Cake made by the brides fathers which was a fruit cake, iced and then decorated with love heart sweets. The whole day suited the couples personalities down to the ground.

My advice though would be to decide on your budget and then stick to it come what may, as it's all too easy for things to escalate, you can get marreid as cheaply or as extravagantly as you want as long as it's within your budget.

bylromarha

Have been to some great cheap weddings. Took a picnic lunch to one. Another we had dominos pizzas and creamcakes in a church hall.

It really is the people who make these occasions...I would rather spend £100 on a cheap wedding day with all my friends and family than £10000 on a day with loads of people who wanted to just be there to show thier face and be impressed with how much money you have spent on your day.

blue-kat

many thanks for all the helpful replies about lovely low key weddings .

we're still deciding what we want to do, but can see how easily it can escalate - good to be forewarned !

TBH I'd rather spend the money on a nice ring. we looked in PA jewellery, but were wondering about going to supplier direct, or ebay. but how then do you get a good fit...pay to have it done at local jewellery shop??
any ideas please:)

partner doesn't want a ring, so that's saved a few bob.;)

we're going to check out a hotel in town tomorrow, with a view to taking a few friends for a posh coffee there after registry office.
then go home, have a rest, then have a nice tea with the kids and watch a video.


as well as low key, we also want it to be a quick social as long events are just too much effort for me ( I have ME/CFS + other health probls).
if we had a social at home, it could all too easily end up going on and on for hours and hard to chuck people out.:rolleyes:

Plus we'll prob do a big party at home for our son's 18th this summer, with the same guests. Don't want to spoil his day either, so need to do something different.

lillianh

Hi,

Congratulations on your wedding.

We did our wedding for about 5000 pounds. It is cheaper than your average wedding, but it was really classy and nice.
The best advice I would give you is to set the date of your wedding off-season, this will give you a good bargaining power, as all wedding vendors would be looking for business.

Also check out this website:https://www.yourweddingforless.com
There are also a number of threads on wedding tips on this forum.
Good luck,

Lillian

charlie007

have got some fantastic ideas off here, have a holiday planned for july it would be good to get married before then and at this price why not. we have been together seven years|!!

Feej_2

We had a great wedding a few years ago and as far as I remember it cost about £45. It was his 3rd & my 2nd wedding so we had what we wanted and felt no need to conform. Everyone (us, my parents & all our 6 kids) wore black jeans - started as a joke with my Mum, but we went ahead with it as a dress style to stop things beginning to escalate. Mum & Dad paid for the meal we had afterwards as their gift to us.

Chilled out for the rest of the day, and only mentioned it to anyone else afterwards.

Great!

squibbs25

We too had low key wedding, we stuck to our guns and only invited the people that we really wanted there. Which consisted of our 2 children, hubby's 3 children (previous relationship), hubbys mum + dad,my mum and step-dad,grandparents, and siblings with their offspring! Oh yea, an aunt+uncle from each side. Caused major ructions in the families as even my real dad refused to come if i didnt invite certain family! (He's still not talking to me LOL) Neither me or hubby could see the point of inviting relatives that you dont see from one year to the next.
Both mothers were witnesses.
To cause futher upset, we never held and evening reception either, just hired a local hall for the afternoon, The only thing i wanted was a nice "car" so hired a Bentley. (Looks great in the photo's) Everything else was low bugget as didnt need to spend a fortune, Bought cake from M&S, Mother-in -law did all flowers (had silk, for lasting memories), she also did buffet too. We supplied the champagne for the toast, but guests had to buy there own drinks. (less likely to go OTT with alcohol) Didnt spend a fortune on clothing, dress was from Debenhams, as was my baby daughters, hubby and son hired suits, 3 step-daughters dresses bought from little discounted bridal shop.
Wedding took place in local register office and was jsut what we wanted, a quiet simple affair!


Also when little sis got married, (Church), we "found" a bridal department in the Cancer Research Shop. She got a designer dress for £200, ( Virgin Brides dress worth £2300) and her veil and tiara for £25. All items were immaculate. The funny things is to this day none of the guests ever found out the dress come from a Charity shop!
What a Bargin!