Our Wedding Budget - Advice and help needed

PrincessDonna2009

Hello Everyone

Me and my partner are getting married in September 2011 and we have a really tight budget to do it in, which is £2800. At the moment this is what our budget will consist of:

. Venue - £999 Package: 3 course meal for 50 people
Glass of wine with meal
Glass of Bubbly for toasting
Evening Disco
Linen and cultery included
Cake Stand

. Register - Paid for
. Flowers - £200
. Transport - £300
. Stationery - £50
. Gifts - £50
. Evening Catering - £468
. Favours & Table Decorations - £77
. Rings - £53
. Wedding Dress & Accessories - £388
. Shoes - £15
. Suit (Groom) - £100
. Stag do - £50
. Hen Do - £50

Total: £2,800

Has anyone got any ideas on where we can cut down on things, ideas on cheap table decorations favours etc....Just need some advice really on how to keep to this budget so it don't go over.

We are getting married in Leicester, so if anyone can find any better deals on the venue package that would be great, even though it is not bad!

angeleyesxx

Hi Princess

Well me and hubby got married august last year and only had 3 months to plan everything and we did it for under £1000!!

We got married at the local registry office, friends lent us their cars to use and did photos. I got my dress from Ebay £51 and a real bargin as well as a beautiful dress, held the evening reception at the local cricket club and got family to do the catering where as we paid for all the food etc. Table decorations etc came from Ebay and i made the wedding cake (3 Tier) so that saved us a fortune which we could then spend on the booze for the night!!

You can organise a wedding on a budget but you have to plan it out carefully and look for bargins and good luck with your big day!

ellay864

You havent mentioned bridesmaids so I'm not sure how many bouquets you need but that price for flowers seems quite high. A lot of brides here have made their own (real or artificial, or felt/button bouquests) but if you do want real flowers take a look at this thread for some suggestions. Are you including buttonholes/corsages for everybody - cut back on those and just have bride and bridesmaid bouquets, and buttonholes for groom and best man
Transport - assuming you're booking traditional wedding cars? It can be cheaper to hire from a taxi firm that do executive car hire, and get a really smart car but cheaper
Groom suit - could he hire for less? I guess it depends on what sort of suit he wants but my OH is hiring a regular lounge suit and it's less than £50

FerretloverUK

your hubby to be can hire his suit, it should be a little cheaper.
Make your own favours

alarafan

Your transport costs are £300 - I called up an executive taxi firm the other day and they quoted me £60 for a mercedes. Maybe consider and executive taxi?

sammy_wheeler

yeh i was going to mention the cars too.
and yes are you having bridesmaids?

PrincessDonna2009

Well I can't seem to find anywhere in Leicester that does is for less than that, as executive hire is just as dear...You have got a bargain on your hands if you managed to get transport for cheaper.

Can anyone suggest a place to hire suits, as most I have rang around want a massive deposit to secure the safety of the suir, incase of any damage to it?

I am having 1 x Cheif Bridesmaid and 2 x Children Bridesmaids. They mothers have offered to buy their bridesmaids dresses, so I am ok there and they are having flower bags not flowers. The flower budget of £200 is for me, cheif bridesmaid and all the buttonholes etc.. in which majority of the people will buy themselves.

clearing_out_my_pockets

http://www.debenhams-formalhire.com/stockists.php5

For suit hire.

PrincessDonna2009

Thanks for the link

We have managed to get the hire for £57 from Formal Affair after someone pm me on here, thanks!

PrincessDonna2009

I can't seem to cut back on anything, anyone else got anymore ideas...?

LEJC

Possibly not an idea to cut back but the venue includes hire of the cake stand but I assume you need to provide the cake?...its not mentioned in your budget so you may need to factor that in....

there are areas that could be done cheaper but its all down to personal preference and if you are creative enough to be able to diy..
an example would be on your budget for flowers...and I tread carefully here as you may have decided that it is an area that there is no compromise on...£200 is a good budget for real flowers but you could make the money go a bit further or even cut the budget if you considered silk or artificial flowers...the budget could be halved if you were creative and able to follow the tips on the making your own flowers thread...this goes also if you were able to use real or artificial flowers...there have been some lovely creations pictured on the thread and well worth a look at what others have managed to achieve.....its quite amazing what can be done!
You mention that you have looked at exec hire companies for transport...have you contacted local reputable taxi companies..they too may have high end cars they use for airport runs etc and that may be a way to cut the transport budget...but again its just a matter of taking time to try and source a cheaper deal...if you have your heart set on a particular mode of transport have you tried asking if you were to pay now if there would be a discount?...sometimes you will also get a deal if you offer to pay cash...just a thought...