How do you make a wedding budget?

Person_one

Idiophreak wrote: »

I'm getting into debt for my wedding and not in the slightest worried about it...if you're going to get into debt for anything, I think the wedding's quite a good reason...better than a big TV, a fancy new car etc. Each to their own.

OP specifically said they wanted to keep costs down. Personally I think going into debt for a one day event is madness, I know people who've been divorced years and are still paying off their wedding! I also think going into debt for a fancy car or a TV is madness, its not like there's a compulsory level of debt you have to get into and its just a case of what you spend it on!

What's wrong with having a wedding car?
Nothing if you can afford it and want one, again, OP said she wanted to keep costs down.


We're paying thousands for our photographers - because they know how to take photos without turning the day into a photoshoot and the don't produce cheesy clich!d pictures - which, as you admit, is what you'd end up with if you hired a student...To say nothing of all the other services a professional photographer will provide that a student simply will not. Personally, I love the idea of having a lovely professionally designed photo album to remember our special day. Some people may be happy with a tesco photo album and some free prints from snappysnaps. Each to their own.
Each to their own indeed, but at the risk of repeating myself, the OP specifically said she wanted to keep costs down. I actually believe you're far more likely to get cliched cheesy shots with an expensive pro than with a student.



If it gets eaten, how can it be a waste?

It'll still get eaten if its a few pre-made tiers from M&S on a nice stand rather than a £400 hand decorated elaborate creation.



I do! I quite like them!

Get one then, but the OP specifically said she wanted to keep costs down.



...but it only matters whether one person can tell - and that's the bride!

Are you ready? Here we go! The OP specifically said she wanted to keep costs down!

You're making an assumption here, that relaxed = cheap and elegant = expensive. In our experience, places to have an elegant do are dime a dozen - it's much harder (and thus more expensive) to find somewhere to have a decent relaxed reception.

You clearly enjoy all the wedding 'trimmings' but if you can't afford them then they're just unnecessary expense.

Idiophreak

Person_one wrote: »

You clearly enjoy all the wedding 'trimmings' but if you can't afford them then they're just unnecessary expense.

You seem to have read the bit where the OP said she wanted to keep costs down very thoroughly...you seem to have ignored the bit, however, where she said she still wanted an elegant wedding - which to me infers that she wants at least some of the trimmings.

Person_one

Idiophreak wrote: »

You seem to have read the bit where the OP said she wanted to keep costs down very thoroughly...you seem to have ignored the bit, however, where she said she still wanted an elegant wedding - which to me infers that she wants at least some of the trimmings.

She asked for advice, I offered mine, feel free to offer your own if you wish. It would be a better use of your time than getting wound up over my post!

anguk

The simple way to keep costs down is decide how much you want to spend and stick with it. Decide what is most important, dress, venue etc and save on things that aren't so important. For example if you've seen a fantastic dress and you have your heart set on it but it's more expensive than you thought cut back on something else.

One of the easiest ways to cut the spending is to restrict the amount of people at the actual wedding & reception, just have close family and friends for that then throw a bigger cheaper evening party for all the rest of your friends.

I often end up gobsmacked at the amount of money some people spend on their wedding, some could pay for a substantial deposit on a house!

curlylou1986

there few things to think of to start with -
when are you getting married and are you saving or using credit card etc?
me and hubby had a realistic amount to put aside each month when we set the date. we worked out how much that come too then we had our budget.
we then wrote a list of things we needed for the day, decided between us what were the important points we didnt want to miss out on, and other facts that werent as higher priority and we could spend less on.
then shop around and use the internet for ideas and prices. the wedding board is amazingly helpful!

we had an amazing day, spent £2,500 - registry office wedding, hired rugby club for reception, fish chips and 99 ice cream for 55 people, cupcakes, dj, hot meat buffet, profesional photographer, quiz, sweet buffet etc. amazing what you can do!

ask people for help if they have a talent or will help you stick things together, take advantage of vistaprint website for their freebe's, and make ebay your best friend (using nectar to gain more points)
look at magazines for ideas, then find ways make it fit in budget... for example, a sweet buffet from a company can spend few £100, done with bulk brought sweets and glass ware from ikea/£1land could be done for under £50. flowers if brought in season or fake also save lots!
check the holiday inn (and other hotel) deals that throw it all in for one price - these can be nice if it suits, BUT work out numbers first, some may offer it for 40 day guests....but if you need 60 then end up paying lot more for the extras.
also if having grooms men/bridesmaids a way to help make your budget stretch more for other things you want to include is to ask for contribution: we brought the boys shirts and ties and girls dresses and shawl - all other extras were agreed to be brought by themselves.

it takes some working out to start, but it can be done and stuck too!

good luck, enjoy the planning - take full advantage of help/advice/the other board!
:j

Idiophreak

Person_one wrote: »

She asked for advice, I offered mine, feel free to offer your own if you wish. It would be a better use of your time than getting wound up over my post!

I've already offered my own advice, actually answering the question
"How do I make a wedding budget, and stick to it while still having an elegant wedding?" rather than "which elements of my wedding can I scrap to save money", which seems to be what you've answered.

Person_one

Idiophreak wrote: »

I've already offered my own advice, actually answering the question
"How do I make a wedding budget, and stick to it while still having an elegant wedding?" rather than "which elements of my wedding can I scrap to save money", which seems to be what you've answered.

Blimey is this what its like on the weddings board? Remind me never to go over there! I'm sorry if my well meaning but possibly blunt post offended your sensibilities but please do try to get over it!

PinkPrincess83

My first suggestion- as someone already suggested is pop over to the wedding board- there will be loads of really useful advice and ideas on how to keep costs down.

We are trying to do are wedding on a tight budget- we gathered together a list of what we wanted/ didnt want, I then started to gather estimate costs of how much I thought things would cost and what I was willing to pay for them and then I have been shopping around- shopping around in my opinion is the key to keeping the costs down- I knew what kind of dress I wanted so went to a bridal sale and got mine reduced for £900 to £200- and its just what I wanted, things like my tiara I found one I loved that was £45- by waiting and signing up to their mailing list I got a 15% off voucher emailed to me.

I dont feel like I am missing out on anything although Im on a budget, we have a photographer- only for a few hrs but we have one, we have a nice car, we are having a lovely cupcake tower, I think that as we are getting married in a registry office (our local one is lovely and has some lovely parts for photos) and not spending a fortune on our reception venue we have managed to keep costs low, also we arent having a formal 3 course sit down, we will be putting on food for day guests and evening guests but not in the traditional wedding breakfast way. Also our orignal budget for wedding rings wasnt much but as I fell in love with Goldsmiths I am using out tesco vouchers towards that and I can now get my favourite ring.:D

If you are planning on saving for your wedding I would also work out how much you can realistically save each month, we are putting by a small amount each month but it soon adds up. Hth.

anguk

Janezhang wrote: »

I need to keep costs down for my wedding, but I don't know how to go about it. I originally was going to sell tickets for my wedding, but after the reaction I got here, I think that it would probably tick off most of my guests, so that's out.
I have no experience with weddings, event planning, or budgets. How do I make a wedding budget, and stick to it while still having an elegant wedding?

I've just re-read this and I'm a bit :eek:

If I had friends who were getting married and they were genuinely strapped for cash I would have no problem helping out maybe with catering, flowers or something like that. But if I had a friend who was spending £1000s and wanted to charge for tickets just so they had more money to spend on a more extravagant wedding I'm afraid I wouldn't attend. And I wouldn't be the only one, the venue could well end up quite empty.

I'm pleased you've changed your mind.

Person_one

anguk wrote: »

I've just re-read this and I'm a bit :eek:

If I had friends who were getting married and they were genuinely strapped for cash I would have no problem helping out maybe with catering, flowers or something like that. But if I had a friend who was spending £1000s and wanted to charge for tickets just so they had more money to spend on a more extravagant wedding I'm afraid I wouldn't attend. And I wouldn't be the only one, the venue could well end up quite empty.

I'm pleased you've changed your mind.

Me too.

It seems to be a bit of a recent phenomenon that people massively overestimate how much other people care about their wedding! I blame Hello magazine and all the wedding programmes on TV these days!