Wedding Tips start here...

*starla*

Hmm yes I guess you're right, I don't want to spend the day stressing about people getting hungry.

The problem with putting on bacon sandwiches or something like that where you need one per person leads to feeling like we can't invite more people as more people = more cost. So I will be thinking about something for the evening where it doesn't depend too much on how many are there.

Need to cut the costs somewhere though... might go for the hot buffet in the day and save a bit there..

Alternatively - drinks. Our venue doesn't have standard packages but it would seem that it is normal to provide an 'arrival' drink after the ceremony, wine on tables, and a toast drink. This might be somewhere to cut back - if I was going to cut one drink out what should it be?

I am thinking do without wine on tables as most of my friends drink beer anyway - we'd end up with just a few people drinking all the wine and others having to buy their own drinks.

Just trying to find ways to be moneysaving without affecting the day too much... Everything else is on a budget but of course it's the venue and food that costs the majority - to bring it in on budget something's got to give...

I guess it all comes down to priorities - but I haven't worked out what mine are yet!!

mirrorimage0

would the budget stretch to a hot buffet in the day and a cold buffet in the evening (do you need to have thier caterers a different caterer might be cheaper) and if you dont want thier wine do the let you bring your own and charge corkage which might be cheaper, or maybe have fewer eveing guests if you really cant afford it all. would they let you do your own chocolate fountain perhaps you can feel these up with cheaper things i e marshmallows , mini donughts, fruit etc other than cutting the amount of people you have i cant see too many ways round it, we went for a cheaper hall only venue so we could afford to cater for everyone and supply all drinks every where else was just to expensive

trevor8

Hi my girlfriend and i getting married next year both second time around.Wanted some advise was llooking to get married in my girlfriends sisters garden instead of registery office.Big garden so could cater for this.Two questions can this be done and has anyone had experience of doing something similar.Thanks

shopaholic1373

depends where you live if in scotland yes if in england wales no.
if in england you would need to do regestry office first(to make you leagaly married) then have renewal of vowes in garden no regeststar will perform marraige in a garden but heres the company i am using as i am renewing vowes in a garden cost is £250 site can be confusing but if you ring they are most helpful
http://www.civilceremonies.co.uk/
as i say different rules laws apply in scotland

harryhound

*starla* wrote: »

Hmm yes I guess you're right, I don't want to spend the day stressing about people getting hungry.

The problem with putting on bacon sandwiches or something like that where you need one per person leads to feeling like we can't invite more people as more people = more cost. So I will be thinking about something for the evening where it doesn't depend too much on how many are there.

Need to cut the costs somewhere though... might go for the hot buffet in the day and save a bit there..

Alternatively - drinks. Our venue doesn't have standard packages but it would seem that it is normal to provide an 'arrival' drink after the ceremony, wine on tables, and a toast drink. This might be somewhere to cut back - if I was going to cut one drink out what should it be?

I am thinking do without wine on tables as most of my friends drink beer anyway - we'd end up with just a few people drinking all the wine and others having to buy their own drinks.

Just trying to find ways to be moneysaving without affecting the day too much... Everything else is on a budget but of course it's the venue and food that costs the majority - to bring it in on budget something's got to give...

I guess it all comes down to priorities - but I haven't worked out what mine are yet!!

We did a "corkage" deal and collected the drinks (as above) from Majestic Wine in Calais ("free" crossing). At 4 GBP per cork, you would have expected the venue to be pulling them out on block, but actually we had some left over. The venue also had two bars where guests could purchase further drinks, one of which was "ours", by the end of the night, we had more or less taken over both and the barman shuttled between the two into the dawn chorus.

This avoided the unfortunate "swill" effect, that can happen when certain guests try to earn back what they have spent on the present, in free drink, before it runs out.:rolleyes:

*starla*

Hi everyone, thanks for your replies.

I have been in touch with our venue to find out what our options are for the evening and they have said they can do a basic buffet (sandwiches, crisps etc) for £4.50 per head which is pretty good, and we are probably going to cater for 100-120 out of the expected 140, we'll also have the cake.

We're not going to put wine on the tables as the majority will want something else to drink and either not have any wine, or there are a few who will see the wine as an excuse to drink more (i.e. buy a pint and drink the wine) and it might not end pretty...

Our venue doesn't do the normal version of corkage, but they have said they can order anything we want from their supplier which is reasonably priced, and then add a couple of pounds corkage - we have been told £10 for a bottle of sparkling wine, so if we get 5 glasses out of a bottle (and I believe you can get 6) it works out £2 per glass for the toast, sounds good to me!!

I never expected the major problem I am having with wedding planning - wrestling with my conscience!! Finding a balance between having a brilliant day with all the important people to us there and minimising the guilt of spending a few thousand on one day is difficult!!

Our budget is coming in at around £4.5k (excl honeymoon - and photographer which sister in law to be is paying for) which is quite reasonable as we're having everything we want, but then again that sort of money would make a nice dent in the mortgage!! But I know we will have an amazing day and remember it for ever so it will be worth it.

andertoonz

*starla* wrote: »

Hi everyone, thanks for your replies.

I have been in touch with our venue to find out what our options are for the evening and they have said they can do a basic buffet (sandwiches, crisps etc) for £4.50 per head which is pretty good, and we are probably going to cater for 100-120 out of the expected 140, we'll also have the cake.

We're not going to put wine on the tables as the majority will want something else to drink and either not have any wine, or there are a few who will see the wine as an excuse to drink more (i.e. buy a pint and drink the wine) and it might not end pretty...

Our venue doesn't do the normal version of corkage, but they have said they can order anything we want from their supplier which is reasonably priced, and then add a couple of pounds corkage - we have been told £10 for a bottle of sparkling wine, so if we get 5 glasses out of a bottle (and I believe you can get 6) it works out £2 per glass for the toast, sounds good to me!!

I never expected the major problem I am having with wedding planning - wrestling with my conscience!! Finding a balance between having a brilliant day with all the important people to us there and minimising the guilt of spending a few thousand on one day is difficult!!

Our budget is coming in at around £4.5k (excl honeymoon - and photographer which sister in law to be is paying for) which is quite reasonable as we're having everything we want, but then again that sort of money would make a nice dent in the mortgage!! But I know we will have an amazing day and remember it for ever so it will be worth it.

Hi Starla. We are having a christmas wedding with a similar budget. I have opted for a 3.30 ceremony, followed by hot choc/coffee/tea and mince pies and just under 2 hrs for photos, room change (it's in the same building) and socialising etc for my 70day guests. In that time the remainder of the 120ish guests will arrive too and then at 5.45-6ish EVERYONE is going back in the room to be seated formally for the speeches. Everyone will have a place setting and all that but technically we are catering for everyone with an evening hot buffet. (Its a christmas wedding).

So rather than being served the food by waiters etc, people just get up to get their hot buffet food and sit back at their table to eat it formally around 7...

Speeches first (probably put some nibbles on the tables) so bridal party etc can relax and actually eat something after they have got over the nervous speeches bit...

This method saved a fortune and we also get to share the meal with everyone! We are having our cake cut for desert which is free and not charged at 3.50pp if you had it with an official wedding breakfast as technically it is part of the 'buffet'.

Basically the day guests get the hot drink and mince pie extra (and get to see the ceremony!) but we are only having 1 glass of bubbly for EVERYONE for toasting as the drinks packages are extortinate for a council building. The advisor/planner woman said this would still be enough as the bar will remain open and the drinks are reasonably priced for anyone wanting extra. We are also having it on a friday which saves a packet on suppliers too.

hope this makes sense. I am more excited about my colour-co-ordinated wedding organiser (i'm a monica!) and have trawled through this entire thread taking the best tips into word and re-organising them catagorically to put in my folder. *freak i know!) I also look through alot of other forums on weddings too to get all the best ideas and this has been done before and worked a treat. (apparently!) x

ps. we are also going to tell people to eat lunch beforehand and we know everyone will appreciate what we have paid for as we are paying for everything ourselves. (apart from my dress :-p)

shelovestobuystuff

I am more excited about my colour-co-ordinated wedding organiser (i'm a monica!) and have trawled through this entire thread taking the best tips into word and re-organising them catagorically to put in my folder:rotfl:

Me too!:T A day or two after the proposal I had already spent hours trawling the internet for ideas and had ordered a wedding folder,so with a week I had it crammed with stuff.Hubby 2b saw it lying around a couple of weeks later and I pretended I had had it for ages and had been planning for years(just like Monica).Scary thing is he believed me:o

Krystaltips

I wanted to be that organised but this wedding just seems to of organised itself... I don't know where the ideas came from... But I don't mind... Apart from the mother in law, everything else has been stress free! (Maybe it's because I'm too laid back... I'm not too bothered if the invites match the bridesmaids...)

shelovestobuystuff

I usually leave final decisions to the very last minute but am a star at pulling everything together in the end.I think thats why my MIL got stuck in at the beginning and I thought she was a real dragon,it was just that we like to do things differently.She plans her xmas list for next year on 26th Dec and doesnt sway from it and I plan my final one about 2oth of the current year(very last minute).I guess she just didnt trust me to get organised in time.
I am different with the wedding though,decisions are being finalised way in advance.I am not telling anyone else about them though yet,let them stress.

I have not been printing stuff off and putting it in my wedding folder lately,I find I am running through my ideas,worries and choices on this forum instead.
Note to self,must update my wedding folder.I could even upload all my inspiration photos,venue photos etc in a slideshow to my bebo.Yay!Thats my weekend planned.