Realistic wedding plans or not? What do you think?

wench90

My and my OH are hoping to get married next Sept 2010. We've been together 10 years and its about time really (split up for a while and are now back together and know what we want! )We are keen to get on with it but at present we dont have much savings but I have worked out by next Sept we could have around £7000 saved, maybe a little extra with help from our families. I really dont want to spend anymore though.

I have found a venue, a gorgeous old house that can be rented out and house up to 25-35 people for weekend (Fri-Mon) for around £3505. We would have to pay an additional £750 for the ceremony but as the guests would be paying for their own accommodation (as they would at any wedding) i have figured out that my OH and I probably would only need to come up with around £2000 max towards venue hire which seems quite cheap given what some pay.

However, as this is simply a house (not hotel) we'll also have to hire everything in, which will include tables, chairs, catering, possibly bar, decorate the house as well as the normal stuff like dress, flowers, transport, stationary, entertainment, cake etc. etc. I'm not sure all this will be possible with the extra £5000 or so we have over and i just wanted to ask two things.

Firstly, do you think its do-able??
Secondly, any tips on how i can keep costs down??
Thirdly, any advice on getting a pay bar hired..no idea how this works?

Cheers :j

picklepick

Does the house have a large garden as you could hire a marquee and then they would sort out the tables, bar etc and would have a catering company they regularly use.
Just a thought!

picklepick

Even if you dont hire a marquee they might be able to hire you the tables, bar etc or contact some caterers to see what they suggest

Taadaa

i think it probably is do-able. Marquees were horrendously expensive when I looked at them up to £3k some of them!

Google hire places, there are loads, or have a look on a wedding forum site for some recommendations.

mdhughes03

Hi I looked into the bar thing when we were considering a village hall as venue. Google Mobile bar and I bet there are a couple in your area. The one I looked at charged £450 for the bar and staff and licensing and then your guests paid for their own drinks

geri1965_2

Would all your guests be happy to spend £100 each on accommodation?

shelovestobuystuff

Are you having just the 25-35 guests that there are bedrooms for at the house or more than that.
If its just up to the 35 then the accomodation should have enough tables and chairs for everyone already so no need to hire.
For small numbers is there any need to set up a bar?maybe just hiring some staff to serve drinks you buy would be cheaper.
For larger numbers a local pub will probably set up a free bar service on the premises.Any wedding I have been to which isnt in a licenced venue,i.e. hotel etc has had this.
I was looking into catering very recently for a party and one caterer offered to set up and staff a bar for a nominal £30 fee for the guests to buy their own drinks.

mrshaigh2b1987

firstly congrats! yeah i deff think its do able! My biggest money saving tip for u is......ebay! Seriously alot of my stuff has been brand new off ebay for less than half the price! Also would u consider a copy dress? I got mine from a lady down south and it cost me £240 and the original was £700!

JoolzS

Why do you assume that all your guests will pay for their own rooms? You state that they would have to do this "at any wedding" and I wonder why you have this ridiculous assumption. I've never been to a wedding where I had to pay for a room and I wouldn't attend one if I had to. My friends are gracious enough to either get married within driving distance of my home, or they pay for the rooms at the venue. If a "friend" asked me to pay for a room in a hotel as the privilege of attending their wedding I would decline.

Julie

lindaatno9

That's a massive undertaking for you both to do. Organize all the catering, decorate the venue etc so you'd have to take a relaxed approach.
Why not treat it like a big party?
After we got married, we had our sit down meal (small pub) and then came back to ours. I decorated the dining room with ivy and tulle and fairy lights and candles. Set the buffet out on the table. To make the space go further, we put tupperware boxes on the table to make "platforms" and then covered the whole thing with a sheet. It looked really nice to be "displayed" rather than just plates on the table.
I wouldn't think you'd need a bar. Just buy the booze and let guests help themselves. You could even suggest "bring a bottle"
Congrats by the way. :beer:

BeckyArch

i would just like to say that i always expect to pay for a room when i go to a wedding, as i think the bride and groom have enough to pay for without paying for a room for the guests as well.. so i don't think you'll have a problem there..

would you be ab le to hold the ceremony in an un-licensed venue? or will you be able to get a license? otherwise it sounds like a fantasitc idea! relly hope it goes well for you. and i agree...ebay is fantastic for wedding things! i have got decorative bits from there! and for so little cost