Wedding Tips start here...

Jess_B

Its fab, we are just relaxing into it not having to worry about weddings or anything anymore! Looking forward to having lots of time together and lots more holidays!

mrsdee

I found you could spend an inordinate amount of money on extras! It is crazy!! We had a small (36 people) civil ceremony and spent money on lovely location and champagne, but didnt bother with the following, which would have drained our resources! :

flowers (there were some flowers already in location, so that was fine!)

bouquet - I didnt bother and if anything, made life a whole lot easier as didnt have to worry about where to put it etc!

cake - we had a chocolate and strawberry dessert

bridesmaid - no need if you havea civil ceremony - what do they do?!

cars - I drove and we hired cabs for guests (cheaper than coach or minibus)

order of service etc - just turn up and listen - no need to print stuff up!

official photographer - we had two friends/guests take snaps which were more informal and much more interesting,and then disposable cameras for others to use later in the day (we had more guests in the evening and had a do in our garden at home - we bought all the booze and hired a small catering co to supply staff to serve drinks and also serve canapes, at small amount of ££ per head).

we had a fabulous day and ALL our guests said how delighted they were.

Then went on fantastic honeymoon - wonderful!!

Musique

nh wrote:

Try http://www.eandl.co.uk/uk-wedding-insurance.htm

or

https://www.weddinginsurance.co.uk

The cheapest I have found is £47, but I haven't booked it yet - has anyone found a cheaper one?

I've found some at Marks and Spencer: http://www6.marksandspencer.com/pages/default.asp?PageId=home&Product=WI the premiums start at £54 - the policy looks more comprehensive than other quotes I have seen so it might be worth paying the extra......

Ellen_2

I've found the dress I want - £800 in one shop, £650 in another 2 miles away - I couldn't beleive they would vary so much - I started surfing the web to see what I could fine - The same dress, brand new ordered in America from https://www.houseofbrides.com/national/index_frames.htm is $449 - that's about £220!!! I then rang customs to enquire about duty to be paid when it's shipped in - 12% of price, even with delivery of $55 means this dress will cost £280 - FANTASTIC SAVING!!!!

katglasgow

well done Ellen!
I managed a good bargain too, I got a dress from a rbidal shopp sample sale - £199 instead for £650+ I am chuffed to bits!

nh

Ellen wrote:

I've found the dress I want - £800 in one shop, £650 in another 2 miles away - I couldn't beleive they would vary so much - I started surfing the web to see what I could fine - The same dress, brand new ordered in America from https://www.houseofbrides.com/national/index_frames.htm is $449 - that's about £220!!! I then rang customs to enquire about duty to be paid when it's shipped in - 12% of price, even with delivery of $55 means this dress will cost £280 - FANTASTIC SAVING!!!!

Hi Ellen,

I looked at house of brides too and they have great savings, but I have seen a few bad comments about them on the internet, late dresses etc. I suppose it is the same as anything, you take your chance. But I would say order early just in case! The dress I have chosen was £900 in the first shop I went in (in Preston, Halo and Ellis) but they had all these great deals on. You got 25% off if you paid straight away or you could have two free bridesmaid dresses if you spent over £950. Plus you got your shoes, tiara and veil free too. But when I contacted Eternity who made the dress they said the dress was only £650 anyway! So it wouldn't have been such a good deal after all! My friend bought hers there and paid £800 discounted by 25%, but it was only £600 anyway when we contacted the supplier.

I didn't get mine from there in the end. So I suppose some shops bump up the prices then try to make out they are giving you a good deal.

hickling

I am recently engaged and am getting married this Christmas, and cannot believe the way prices are bumped up for weddings- ok, I might have been naive here....
My tip for saving money is 'LIE'. This is my new method of saving money. If you mention the word 'wedding' the cost of everything shoots up. I am not having a traditional white wedding dress, so went to see about getting one made. If you think of a simple wedding dress in a colour, you're not too far off from a ball gown/ evening dress. So from getting an orginal quote for £1000 for making a 'wedding dress', to a quote for £400 to make a dress for 'a Christmas Ball', you can see how much mentioning the 'W' word can make.
Also, we do not want a traditional wedding reception, just a big party all our friends can enjoy- again, mention the word 'wedding' at venues, then its a license for them lift their prices. Booking a party with food for 150 people, its amazing how much cheaper things become. Obviously some people want the traditional wedding, but a bit of lateral thinking goes a long way.
My other money saving idea is to load hours of music on your iPod and connect it to a sound system- cheap DJ and no danger of having to dance to 'Come on Eileen'....

VickyA_2

Many congratulations hickling!

I am also recently engaged (last Friday!) but my mind is already in operation "wedding" mode. My now fiance is worried about the beast that he has unleashed on the world. At last, I can go to a wedding fair!

We're hopefully getting married next summer - dates are all a bit restricted because I'm a teacher - and my parents have had a part of a field set aside for the past 16 years (since I was 10) for a marquee for my wedding.

Soooooooooo, in a nutshell, if anyone else has got some good tips (I've had a great time reading this thread) to add, I'd greatly appreciate it. What to do/What not to do/what first dance went well, etc.

Thanks,
Vicky

Mrs_Thrift

Congratulations hickling and Vicky!

I completely agree with hickling that the best weapon with "W" word suppliers is to LIE! One of the places we looked at for a reception is one my parents have been to many functions at before, several of them they planned themselves, so they knew the prices for an average meal. But they wanted to charge at least double for the same meal for a wedding! We decided that if we went for that place we would just bend the truth and call it a "celebration" meal and disco but in the end we found a better place.

It fell into the category of people / places who don't often do / supply for weddings, and here the lying tactic is best reversed. We found that "normal" suppliers are thrilled at the thought of being involved in a wedding, and are more likely to do what they can to help, and give you better prices.

VickyA wrote:

What to do/What not to do/what first dance went well, etc.

Thanks,
Vicky

Well, what to do: plan a day you will enjoy and enjoy the planning.

What not to do: don't get too hung up on what you are "supposed" to do or have at a wedding. And don't worry too much about the little things. Just think "when I look back at the wedding, will x,y,z stand out in my memory?"

What first dance went well: We had "It had to be you" sung by Harry Connick Jr (not in person unfortunately!) which was the perfect tempo to dance to and the words are beautiful without being too soppy for us. We then had about half a dozen other similar songs - Bobby Darin, Frank Sinatra type things - that everyone could join in dancing too and they all went down very well.

The closest thing Mr Thrift and I had to an "Our song" before the wedding was "Creep" by Radiohead so it wasn't quite fitting for a first dance! But we decided we wanted to choose a new song for us anyway, for the start of our marriage. And we had "Creep" played later on in the night in amongst the rockier stuff.

We found a fantastic DJ who asked for an idea of the kind of music we wanted and wasn't put out when we sent him 4 pages of A4 listing tracks and artists, in categories, in the order we wanted them played through the night, hehe! We told him they were mostly a guide, but highlighted which were our favourites, as well as absolute must haves, and he played just about everything on the list, and it all worked brilliantly. Most people got up to dance at some point, and some people were hardly off the dance floor!

VickyA_2

Ms_Thrift wrote:

What first dance went well: We had "It had to be you" sung by Harry Connick Jr (not in person unfortunately!) which was the perfect tempo to dance to and the words are beautiful without being too soppy for us. We then had about half a dozen other similar songs - Bobby Darin, Frank Sinatra type things - that everyone could join in dancing too and they all went down very well.

Oooh, I love that song. An excuse to watch, "When Harry Met Sally"!