Wedding Tips start here...

alison6692

MonkeyGirl wrote:

Hello I'm new to this thread. I haven't read all the thread yet but I am slolwy trying to. Just a few questions.

Those that have made there own invitations and things where did you get your inspiration from? I make my own birthday cards etc but I just can get any insipiration for wedding. So any help much appreciated. Also any ideas for favours? I want something unique but cheap ish.

I dont have a budget sorted yet well I do but it isn't a money saving one and I dont really want to budget too much until I have seen the reception places etc.

Thank you for any help you can give me.

MonkeyGirl

I just hit the Thanks button instead of quote button - ha ha. Ooops.

Anyway - Does your weding have a theme? That would help with invitation design. Why not have a nosey on some wedding invitation sites to get some ideas here are a few I have found

Wire hearts - classic lovely design

http://www.cammardesigns.co.uk/Wire%20Hearts%20Stationery.htm

Envelopment Designs

http://www.imaginewedding.co.uk/featured%20printed%20invitations.htm

I love this polka dot design - Top Left

http://www.lovemeg.co.uk/Invitations/invitations.htm

Personalised Photo

http://www.fruitymango.co.uk/detail_personalisedthanks.htm


Hope some of those inspire you!



Wedding Favours

I would say if you are on a tight budget don't bother. I have been to weddings that have them and some that don't - didn't make a big difference to the day to be honest.

I can PM you my Top 20 wedding favour ideas for under £1 per person if you like. PM me if you want the link.

I had charity pins and bags of sweets. The bags of sweets worked out about 50p per person. Got the bags from ebay and the sweets in bulk from Makro.
Pics here

http://www.chessphotography.co.uk/weddings/Elmers/pages/IMG_3832.htm

http://www.chessphotography.co.uk/weddings/Elmers/pages/IMG_3829.htm

http://www.chessphotography.co.uk/weddings/Elmers/pages/IMG_3829.htm

HTH

Love alison x

jiblets1

vickitoria100 wrote:

i have another question for your unending wisdom! my h2b and me are wondering whether to go for a band or a DJ in the evening. x

For us the deciding factor was that we are having wuite a late wedding (4 o clock) and we decided that it would be really difficult to allow the band to set up and sound check etc without disturbing the guests significantly. Also having a band would have limited our space, and the positioning of the top table would have been a nightmare.

Some places we visisted were also only prpared to have a ceilidh band or something that didn't get too loud.

Just something to consider. Shame for us, we would have loved a band.

vickitoria100

woohoo! we were quoted upto £2,650 by two different photographers that we really liked. After a bit of negotiation because it was a late afternoon ceremony, off peak, all in one place, didn't want albums etc we've got them down to £500 and £450 respectively! i know it may sound a lot but they're going to be there for the whole day into the evening and that incl. copyrights to the photos on CD! and they're fantastic. One does loads of magazine work and the other has won loads of awards. now who to choose.....

glitterycloud

Im getting married on a beach in St Lucia in Sep 07, I have been looking on line for a dress but everything is really expensive. We are getting married at about 5 o'clock in the afternoon (time hasnt been confirmed yet) and im only going to be wearing the dress for a short while as im not having a party back in the UK, therefore I still want a strapless dress but not at the price I have seen -- can anyone help?????

AshSimmo

I have just joined the boards and spent all my spare time since my B/F proposed on Valentines day reading all 88 pages of it! I really wanted to say a huge thankyou to everyone who has contributed as it has given me no end of ideas but also a little confidence that we will be able to afford what we both dream of having.

We are currently thinking about Summer 2009 and are trying to get an idea of how much its all going to cost, so we can see when we are likely to have saved enough money to do it! We will not be going into debt for one day but there are a few things both of us dont really want to compromise on such as beautiful venue and nice photos.

I am fairly lucky in that I do make my own greeting cards (and even considered doing it as a business until I saw how swamped the market is) so hopefully all the invites table plan placecards etc will all be ok. I am just hoping that my inspiration and talent in paper and card will extend to favours, table decorations and tiaras etc.

One thing I did want to contribute is a website I use for all my cards...

http://www.pdacardandcraft.co.uk/

They have an absolutely huge range of card, vellum, paper envelopes etc...their delivery is reasonable and free if you order over £40. They have been quick to deliver and the only problem I had was athe postmans fault and PDA were lovely about it on the phone and sorted it all out. Also they will send you a swatch pack of the cards so you can get a look and feel of the type of cream etc that you want.

showtunesgirl

glitterycloud wrote:

Im getting married on a beach in St Lucia in Sep 07, I have been looking on line for a dress but everything is really expensive. We are getting married at about 5 o'clock in the afternoon (time hasnt been confirmed yet) and im only going to be wearing the dress for a short while as im not having a party back in the UK, therefore I still want a strapless dress but not at the price I have seen -- can anyone help?????

What is your budget for the dress and do you have a style in mind? I think I've been on pretty much every wedding website ever so far for dresses, so let me know what your budget is for and a pic of the kind of dress you want and I'll have a look!

Soph

Hi Glittery cloud

Have you tried Monsoon - they have some really lovely wedding dresses, which are quite simple but really elegant and would be great for a beach wedding.

Have you thought about getting one made? If you were keeping it simple, this might be a fairly reasonable option.

Congratulations anyway - I bet you have a fantastic time!

alison6692

Hiya

Hope this helps someone

Thay have Thank you cards reduced to 50p

Lots of bargains

http://www.dauria.uk.com/handbags.html

Love alison x

Violetta_2

Discounts on at Debenhams today and tomorrow some gorgeous looking dresses too .

pinkkaz

Well, I got to about page 17 of this thread before I skipped to the end!

I'm getting married in January next year (inviting about 100 people) and money-saving bits so far include (and lots of these have been mentioned already):

*Dress - my friend is making my wedding dress as a present to me. It's going to be green and regency style! I've just bought my wedding underwear on ebay for £1.99! BF will splash out on a really nice suit which he can wear again and again. Groomsmen can wear what they want - I expect we'll coordinate it all somehow.

*Bridesmaids - I'm having 3 of my friends, and my sister, as bridesmaids and instead of splashing out on dresses for them, I've just told them a colour (red) and they are all going to get their own dresses in their own style which they can wear again and again

*Venue - we are getting married in a church because it's cheap and atmospheric (we're planning on filling the place with candles since it's a winter wedding - you can buy candles in bulk on many websites REALLY cheaply). Reception will be at a venue in the town where you just hire the space and then do everything else yourself. So it's only £800 to hire the town hall!

*Ceremony Music - a friend of mine is a concert organist, and loads of my friends are musicians so this is sorted. Hand-picked choir.

*Reception Music - my boyfriend is a sound engineer and has lots of musician friends so DJ is sorted (although I'm trying to persuade him that a barn dance beforehand is a good idea!)

*Favours - what are these? I've never been to a wedding where they hand out favours!

*Cake - good friend's mum is making for free

*Car - bf's dad has a classic Jag so will be using that!

*Catering - I like the tips in this thread which suggest contacting the local college for waiting staff. I'll definitely try that out as I know the local college runs a course on hospitality - thanks for that one. Food-wise, I'm getting relatives to contribute a special dish if they can, but also I've been looking at the Waitrose website and they do canapes and other food at very reasonable prices!

*Booze - definitely going to do a booze cruise with enough for all our guests. We won't expect them to be buying booze

*Invites - bf's sister is v artistic (is a fashion designer) and is designing the invites. I don't expect to spend any money at all on invites/order of service. I'll use work to cheekily print them out!

*Misc - there are other tips I've picked up from this thread which I like esp. buttonholes from charity shop, and making own table decorations.

Sorry - this is v long!