Wedding Tips start here...

jo_jo_7

Victoria 100, on the charirty flowers thing..... My OHs dad died of Parkinson's Disease 2 years before we got married and so we gave all of our guests a Dr. James Parkinson Tulip bulb as favours. They seemed to go down well and we hope that our guests have put them in their gardens and when they bloom every year will remember our day! We got them from a company called GeeTee and a proportion of the profit goes to the Parkinson Disease Society. I think that they were only about 20 quid for 50 so very good on the budget too!

Guinea_2

jo_jo wrote:

Victoria 100, on the charirty flowers thing..... My OHs dad died of Parkinson's Disease 2 years before we got married and so we gave all of our guests a Dr. James Parkinson Tulip bulb as favours. They seemed to go down well and we hope that our guests have put them in their gardens and when they bloom every year will remember our day! We got them from a company called GeeTee and a proportion of the profit goes to the Parkinson Disease Society. I think that they were only about 20 quid for 50 so very good on the budget too!

Hi there
I am interested in the above bulb but can't seem to find it on the website. Any ideas?
Thanks

showtunesgirl

Hi Guinea,

Please see the link: http://www.parkinsons.org.uk/Templates/Internal.asp?NodeID=93536 But you do need to bear in mind the dispatch time due to when they need to be planted!

jo_jo_7

Hi, pleased that a couple of you are interested in the bulb thing! The company that you can get them from is called GeeTee, website https://www.gee-tee.co.uk. I contacted them by telephone but not sure if I can but number on here!

jo_jo_7

Sorry, forgot to write this above, they are usually dispatched October/ November but they posted them early to me as my wedding was in September

jiblets1

My friend went to a wedding that had a characturist on the weekend. I thought this was a lovely idea. Unfortunately after a few words from the bride and groom everyone felt obliged to go to him, and there ended up being a huge queue. I think this could be a great idea if he maybe went round as a "reportage" characturist, or took quick digital snaps and drew from those. Would be succsful if better organised I think...

dizzzyqueen

we are getting married on new years eve this year, as all the family usually pay to go to a hotel for the night to celebrate it saves money there. Also on a Monday so cheaper, but almost everyone is off work.We are going to gretna green - getting married at 4.30pm then straight for the evening meal.
Didnt want to wait more years and spend thousands.
Those that can't make it can watch us on a webcam.
Just seen the post about the parkinsons flower...my dad has throat cancer, does anyone have any ideas for favours that a cancer charity could benefit from?

Thanks
Wendy

8pnoodles

Cross posting this from the debt board, in case anyone is interested?

I am looking for a couple who are getting married, probably towards the end of 2007, or in the beginning of 2008 (ish) who would not otherwise have a photographer for their wedding day.

I would shoot the wedding for free and they'd get a disc of images free too.

As it's free I can't travel too far so the wedding needs to be close to Stafford or perhaps Luton at a push (have a mate in Luton who I could stay with and I know the area well).

I am NOT offering this to anyone who can afford a photographer but would rather have a freebie. I only want a genuine couple who would otherwise have no record of their day. Hence me posting here because I have definitely seen some people in debt saying they are due to get hitched soon. I would love to be able to "give something back" for the good advice I have had in the past, and this seems a good way to do it.

This would be my first full wedding on my own and I can make no guarantees that any of the photos will come out and that it wouldn't go disastrously wrong! Hence me wanting to shoot for a couple who would definitely have no photographer otherwise.

I have however second shot four weddings so far and have another four lined up for this year to second shoot. My husband and myself have a website for our wedding photography, and many of the images in our gallery have been shot by myself if you want to be nosey.

Fingers crossed the wedding I do will then be used by me to build up a portfolio. So there's something in it for me too. I am not entirely altruistic!

I am flexible in style, and tend to do a combination of reportage and formal posed shots. I will also be a member of the Society of Wedding and Portrait Photographers soon (when I can scrape the membership fee together!).

If anyone knows a couple this would be of interest to, please drop me a line or reply to this thread, thanks.

Destined_to_be_skint

Oh my goodness! Well, my partner proposed a few weeks ago and I've been trying to do some research on budget weddings and am shocked at how much it's all costing and just how difficult organising it is going to be. We haven't set a date yet.

The first MSE thing I thought of was a DIY job in a local church/community hall with me getting the caterers in but this would mean that we'd have to set the hall up and clear up afterwards and unfortunately none of the local halls let you hire for three days in a row. So it looks like we'll have to go down the hotel route which will cost megabucks (which I haven't got!) and completely lack any individuality. This annoys me because I am artistic and want to decorate the venue to look fab.

We'll need to invite about 100 people to a buffet meal and then have a party in the evening (no evening buffet as we will start late so we only have to feed them once!) Here's my budget for you to have a laugh at:

FEES 200
MUSIC 0 (Get friend to sing)
FLOWERS 150 (Do these myself)
DRESS 150 (Get local dressmaker to make)
SHOES 40
ACCESSORIES 40 (Make these myself)
BRIDESMAIDS DRESSES 80 (Make these myself)
BRIDESMAIDS ACCESSORIES 30 Ditto
BRIDESMAIDS SHOES 40
GROOMS SUIT 200
GROOMS ACCESSORIES 100
VENUE HIRE 300
FOOD 600
DRINK 200
CAKE/PUDDING 30 Serve as dessert
PHOTOGRAPHY 200 Get friend to do
DECORATIONS 100
VIDEO 10 Get friend to do
INVITATIONS 20 Make these myself
ORDER OF SERVICE/MENUS 10 Make these myself
FAVOURS 20 Do something like grow plants from seed
TRANSPORT 0 Use family cars
GIFTS - BRIDESMAIDS 40
GIFTS - BESTMAN 20
GIFTS - PARENTS 40
INVITE POSTAGE 25
ENTERTAINMENT 200
TABLE DECORATIONS 20
FIRST NIGHT HOTEL 100
TIES 20
HAIR/MAKE UP 50
BEAUTY TREATMENTS 0
CHAIR/TABLE HIRE 200
CUTLERY/CROCKERY/GLASS HIRE 200
TABLECLOTH/NAPKIN HIRE 40
INSURANCE 50

Total 3525

I know it's all going to cost at least twice this amount but I don't want it to look cheap!

Does anyone know of any good caterers/venues in the Uxbridge area of north west London?

Any comments welcome! Thanks.

vickitoria100

hi Destined to be skint! welcome to the thread! firstly, congratulations!! make sure you read this whole thread for some fab tips!

secondly, here are my thoughts!

1. you may want to consider if you need bridesmaids? i am not having any (partly because i can't pick between the candidates and partly because there is no need and therefore a wasted expense)! havign a look at your budget, you've set aside £190 for them including the gifts which is quite a lot out of £3.5K IMHO. I presume you're having a civil ceremony so they have absolutely no purpose really!! what about getting them to do a reading or sign the register or something instead?

2. are there any halls in your area that let you book two days in a row? or are you sure you can't even manage on one? if your heart is set on a hall, why don't you have the ceremony later so you can have the morning to set up and rope in a couple of good friends to clean up in the evening?

3. if you do have to go for hotel, go off peak and not on a weekend. do as dizzyqueen has done and be creative in your choice of day without paying extra!

4. surely you won't need to spend £150 on flowers if you're doing them yourself? esp. if you don't have bridesmaids! what about silk flowers so you can keep them forever? or try a local flower wholesaler for cheap real ones and keep it simple!

hope that helps?