Wedding Tips start here...

stephandjai

The day finally came and everything came together. All the stress and tears were worth it and we had the best day ever. All of our guests commented on how great the day was and what a brilliant time they had. We were 100% happy with everything and we did it all for £1984.00 including dress, food, entertainment, drinks, etc.

My top tips for saving money are

• remember it's just one day
• there are some things that people won't even notice, like favours, so don't bother
• don't be afraid to do something different
• don't have a photographer, stand and pose and I guarantee that everyone will take photos
• have an afternoon wedding with a good quality finger buffet instead of a sit down meal
• read this thread all the way through

Have a look at our pics on www.stephandjai.weddingpath.com

jiblets1

stephandjai wrote: »

Have a look at our pics on www.stephandjai.weddingpath.com

You two look gorgeous. Your dress really suits you!
Good tips too. Good luck with your new lives together.:T :T :T

doodledoodle24

Hi, im Chief bridesmaid and my friend is getting married in october, we are struggling to find a venue that will seat 100 people in Luton, Beds, and let us do our own catering!

Any suggestions?

shelovestobuystuff

Hi!!!,just found this thread so will go back and read it from the beginning,might take me a while but I am sure to get loads of helpful advice and ideas.
Just want to post a few little questions to get me started.
I am having my engagement party this saturday and our planned wedding date is in November 2008, so loads of time to plan,I think?
I have seen amounts vary for the average wedding and will not,and cannot pay £15-20,000 for a wedding however special.I used the wedding budget guide on the www.confetti.co.uk site and came up with a figure of £6,500 for the occassion.I thought the average cost suggested on the planner for a dress was ridiculous at over £1,500 and put just £500 in the box for my whole outfit.I have since had a look at the kind of dresses I like and am shocked to see they start at about £1,600.
So my total will be more like £7,500.Are we supposed to pay for the mothers outfits too?
Sorry for rambling but quite simply my questions are,
What is the average price for the big day and what is the average price for the wedding dress?
We are paying for the wedding ourselves and have just over a year to save up for it.Do you think my £6,500-£7,500 estimate is realistic.

black-saturn

stephandjai wrote: »

Have a look at our pics on www.stephandjai.weddingpath.com

Well done and congratulations. I love that website. I'll be building one of those for our wedding

showtunesgirl

shelovestobuystuff wrote: »

What is the average price for the big day and what is the average price for the wedding dress?
We are paying for the wedding ourselves and have just over a year to save up for it.Do you think my £6,500-£7,500 estimate is realistic.

Quite simply, the questions that you have asked are anyone's guess. It really depends on what you want, what is important to you etc. Wedding dresses ARE expensive but they don't have to be. If you look around for a dress now, most shops are having their sample sales, so you just might get a £2k dress for about £500. It really depends on what you are looking for.

The average price of a wedding day depends on what you want, how many people you are having to it and where you are holding it. Obviously, if you are picking an expensive venue, inviting 100 people and holding it in London, it will be much more expensive than a barn you decorate yourself, 50 people in Shropshire. You get my drift.

Of course you can do it on £7,500 but it really depends on what you want and can you realistically do it on the budget you have set and have the things you want. You have to be prepared to compromise on certain things if for instance you won't budge on the dress etc.

Also, once you've read through this thread you'll see that what really pays off is thinking outside the box, think creatively, and wherever you can, rope in friends, relatives or do it yourself!

Hope it all goes well!

jiblets1

I agree with showtunes girl, it's all dependent on what you want. The best piece of advice for the budget is to choose what is important to you from the outset. We opted for venue, photographer, honeymoon. Those were the things that we were prepared to pay for, and everything else we considered duely, but if it became too expensive or just too much hassle, it went out the window. For example we had no favours, no gifts for the bridesmaids (they did have the dress after all), no place settings or order of service.... There's almost as long a list of things we didn't have as there is list of things we did have. Pick your priorities and remember them all the way through your planning!

black-saturn

I don't know if it's a realistic budget or not but heres what I've spent so far and what I still have left to buy:

Spent:
Wedding dress - £125.00
2 bridesmaids dresses - £30
Favours and contents - £30
Table decorations - £20
Shirt and tie for OH - £15
Invitations - £15
Ring Cushion - £2
Rings - £260
Deposit Photographer - £100
Limousine - £270
Bouquets and button holes - £40

Still to buy:
1 bridesmaid dress - £30
Registry Office Fee - £60
Church Fee - £170
OH's suit - £40
Cake - £90
Tablecloths - £30
Presents for bridesmaids - £50
Rest of money for photographer - £350

That all totals - £1727 :eek:

And were honeymooning in New York too :eek:

welshgirlmel

I got married last year and did the whole lot really cheaply main cost was dress and honeymoon as we stayed in lovely hotels. Think we spent about three thousand pounds including honeymoon and spending money

The main thing is that we saved money by:
Going to Gretna Green and getting married - photos were £130 only with all of them on a cdrom and 20 or so printed out in album!
Car and flowers also very cheap too as Gretna Green caters for thousands of weddings a year all wedding services are very competitive. Also visit to hair dressers was under £25
Civil ceremony in Anvil hall was gorgeous
12 people came, meal in the hotel was paid for by mother in law
honeymoon in Edinburgh - one night in fab 5 star hotel and the rest of the time in cheaper but still four star hotel
Cake from marks and spencers - chocolate occassion cake with chocolate flowers only £40 with our names and wedding date inscribed with white icing
Then we went for a few days in Amsterdam flying with easy jet - flights really cheap
Staying at a posh b and b there

Meal when back for friends in gorgeous restaurant - paid for family

Shoes, necklace, earrings and head dress off ebay
Shopped around for dress on the internet managed to get £180 off price in local shop!

It can be done on the cheap and it was fab. Inviting long distance cousins you haven`t seen in ages is what we didnt do.
mel

showtunesgirl

black-saturn wrote: »

I don't know if it's a realistic budget or not but heres what I've spent so far and what I still have left to buy:

Spent:
Wedding dress - £125.00
2 bridesmaids dresses - £30
Favours and contents - £30
Table decorations - £20
Shirt and tie for OH - £15
Invitations - £15
Ring Cushion - £2
Rings - £260
Deposit Photographer - £100
Limousine - £270
Bouquets and button holes - £40

Still to buy:
1 bridesmaid dress - £30
Registry Office Fee - £60
Church Fee - £170
OH's suit - £40
Cake - £90
Tablecloths - £30
Presents for bridesmaids - £50
Rest of money for photographer - £350

That all totals - £1727 :eek:

And were honeymooning in New York too :eek:

Hi black-saturn,

What about the reception venue, the food and beverages?