How do you make a wedding budget?

mandij87

I am planning my wedding for next year on quite a small budget compare to other people that I know who have got married. If I can help you at all, please feel free to pm me.

We have got a fantastic deal at the Holiday Inn. Ceremony room, reception room, sandwich and drinks reception, evening buffet, hosts, DJ and accomodation for us all inclusive for £999. The rooms are beautiful and all open out on to gardens which overlook a lake. We have paid an extra £150 to get married in the gardens on a pavillion type thing.

I am making my own invites (ebay, local stationary shop), table centrepieces (tesco, ebay), table plan, wedding card postbox. I have got my fiances nan making my bridesmaids dresses, and the mens waistcoats and his other nan making the cake. I am going to make the cravats and bags for my bridesmaid and me. My brother will be driving me to the wedding venue and my mum will drive the bridesmaids. We will decorate the cars with ribbons. I am going to make the bouquets with fresh flowers from the supermarket (good quality, last ages and much cheaper then florist. I am a qualified floral designer which does help with this bit!) I am making corsages for my mum and my fiances mum, and buttonholes with artificial flowers. Argos do a lovely range of wedding rings, and I think that's where ours will be from. They do a gold ring for around £50-60 with engraving of your choice inside, which I think is a really nice idea. My dress I will be getting from a sample sale. A friend of mine will take the photos and I will also get some disposable cameras for the tables so the guest will take some photos for us too!

Hope that gives you a few ideas. My wedding is not going to be any less elegant then a £50k wedding, but it will be more personal as a lot of things will be made by me and my family, plus I won't be starting married life in debt. I can't wait! xx

summerday

I also suggest you try your local library for books on wedding planning-they are likely to have some on budget weddings too.

It is a very personal thing as everyone has different ideas and aspirations, as well as budget constraints. My tips are:

only invite people who you will genuinely appreciate being there, don't bother inviting vague acquantances etc- you are paying to feed these people remember! In some ways the more guests, te less time you will have to spend with each. Also never ever lose sight of the fact that the wedding is for one- I repeat ONE day, that goes by in the blink of an eye. I am so very glad and relieved that we didn't go into debt for it, even though we worked extra hours to pay for it all, as I know it would have taken some of the joy out of it if we'd been paying it off for months afterwards.

Consider which things, if any, you're prepared to get second hand- I initially wouldn't have agreed to a pre-owned wedding dress, but when I saw a totally unique one on Ebay I fell in love with it, and the girl I bought if from was a real sweetheart, who kept in tough in the run up to my wedding offering advice and support etc- no one had a clue that I'd paid £200 instead of the original £1000 and I know I would have regretted spending that much for something I'd only wear for 8 hours. I then donated my dress to a charity shop hoping that another bride would get the same joy from it that I had plus helped a charity at the same time.

M&S do some lovely wedding cakes, try your local independent florist-mine was a lady who works in the local greengrocer, she made gorgeous bouquets for me+bridesmaids for way cheaper than large florists.

Phototgrapher- personally I would go for a professional and DO get recommendations- we know of 2 couples who got rubbish photos and had to rely on those that guests took ad hoc. Ours was only £500 plus we got full rights to all photos, got a CD we can print copies from- make sure you get this.

Pollycat

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?

mollyzhang wrote: »

1. Go online: Sign up for free memberships to online wedding planning sites like The Knot and Brides.com, where you can get an overview of expenses, as well as track and manage them.
2. Ask your family to help: If you need help footing the bill, sit your parents or other close relatives down, separately if necessary, and discuss what they'd like to contribute to the wedding budget. It's not a handout; it's traditional for families to help pay for weddings.
3. Think through every expenditure: It's easy to overspend when you get caught up in all of the details of wedding planning. Compare the gratification you will get for your purchase against the work and stress you will endure to pay it off.
4. Understand the consequences of overspending: With typical wedding costs going well over $20,000, it's important to consider that paying off an elaborate wedding could take a great deal of time, put stress on your relationship as you're trying to grow together and even compromise your ability to finance and furnish your home.
5. Consider hiring a financial planner: View all of the little wedding decisions that you're making as one big financial planning decision. As you prepare to take the huge step of getting married, why not get a little advice on how to manage your money?
6. Create a joint savings account: Transfer a set amount of money into an account that you don't touch. This little bit of planning and discipline will pay off when the funds you need are at your disposal.
7. Put it on plastic: If you're going to pay for part of your wedding expenses on credit, get a credit card just for the wedding. This is not a license to spend money you don't have. But, if used wisely, a credit card will help you to keep track of your expenses and, if you shop around a bit, can be a great way to get frequent flyer miles—hello honeymoon savings!

Puttting wedding costs aside for a moment, does anyone else find it too much of a coincidence that Janezhang has asked for advice and up pops mollyzhang recommending a website?

I've spammed mollyzhang's post, I think some of the other posts from both posters are suspect, especially mollyzhang's first post which also recommends the website above - which is against forum rules.

Idiophreak

Pollycat wrote: »

Puttting wedding costs aside for a moment, does anyone else find it too much of a coincidence that Janezhang has asked for advice and up pops mollyzhang recommending a website?

I've spammed mollyzhang's post, I think some of the other posts from both posters are suspect, especially mollyzhang's first post which also recommends the website above - which is against forum rules.

Ah, yes, just noticed the "How did you divide up your wedding budget?" thread, too.

Spammed.

Mupette

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'm getting my friends involved with the planning, one is a dressmaker, one is dealing with the cake, one is party (who just spilt the beans on a do at a hall and i dont pay,,) some are doing the booze..

getting my friends involved makes them feel wanted, keeps the costs down as they are doing it rather than wedding gifts..


Ahh didn't notice that this might be a bit of an iffy threat, still half asleep, son in hopspital and not with it today

LegalBlonde

:eek:I hate spammers what a waste of all our time! :mad:

LegalBlonde

PS I was a bit suspect when I couldn't find OP's original post about charging entry...

Glad

Hi, Martin’s asked me to post this in these circumstances: I’ve asked Board Guides to move threads if they’ll receive a better response elsewhere so this post/thread has been moved to another board, where it should get more replies. If you have any questions about this policy please email forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com.

anguk

LegalBlonde wrote: »

PS I was a bit suspect when I couldn't find OP's original post about charging entry...

I couldn't find the OPs other thread about selling tickets either. It does seem very suspect.

KK22_2

I've found all your answers very informative anyway, so thanks!