Wedding Tips start here...

Mrs_Thrift

Wow! Thanks to everyone for your good luck wishes and congratulations. And congratulations to all those newly-weds and soon-to-be-weds out there.

I'm going to have to take my time and do some serious note-taking from all the fantastic tips but a few things are already starting to stand out:

Dresses - I like the idea of finding a pattern or a similar dress I like and getting it made up. I hadn't realised it could be so reasonably priced so will look into it. I'm only having one bridesmaid / maid of honour and she's getting her dress made in Taiwan where she lives. She assures me this should work out quite cheap but I'd never thought of doing it over here for my own dress. I know, not very practical to have her living on the other side of the world but it does mean I can send her lots of boring e-mails about the wedding details and she doesn't have to keep nodding and smiling and saying "how interesting". Which should save my other friends from the same fate!

January Sales - definitely looking like a good idea so might try to arrange a day trip to London after Christmas. I like the sound of that Virgin Brides bargain!

Photos - I have to say I would worry all day if I was relying on disposable cameras but I reckon that if we had a few kicking about they should provide a few good pictures and we'd need to buy less from a professional photographer? Mmm...

Friends - defintely the best tip by far seems to be "have clever friends"! Luckily I have got a few friends that could help with the creative things like flowers and decorating the (M & S or Asda bought) cake. So I'll be rounding them up!

And to what I've learnt over the weekend while researching reception venues (we've already booked our local church for the service.)

Firstly, it looks like we're definitely going for the Friday to get reduced rates.

Secondly, we were comparing the cost and value for money of different hotels and these country houses that specialise in conferences and weddings but don't operate as a general hotel the rest of the time. We found that, in general, the normal hotels charge less for what they call the Wedding Package (but isn't much more than room hire) but more for the meals and drinks packages than the specialised places. They also seem more likely to insist that you have (and pay for) certain things like an evening buffet for x amount of people. So, they can almost balance each other out, depending on exactly what you want, what setting, etc.

But, the biggest turn-off about these places (apart from the cost - we're lucky that my parents are paying for most of it and although they're not what you'd call lavish, don't mind spending if they feel it's worth the money and can't be done any other way) was the confines they place on you. Most seem to say "This is our Wedding Package, this is what you will have / won't have and this is how much you'll pay". As my fiance pointed out, neither my Mum or myself would take very kindly to that, even if the end result was beautiful.

So, we're now looking at "different" venues. There is a country house and a college (in an old country house) and a retreat centre (in a country house - see a pattern?) on our shortlist at present. At all of them you just hire the space for a pretty low fee then add (or otherwise) the other service providers of your own choice. Which also means we can provide our own booze, saving a fortune probably!

Hopefully by next week we should have somewhere booked so watch this space!

Wow again - this has to be my longest post ever! Hope it hasn't bored you all and/or put anyone off marriage!

mini

I came across this site when looking for a tiara, I didn't actually buy from here but thought I;d mention it anyway. After all you only wear such things for a few hours although I am conntemplating wearing mine for the weekly shop just to get value for money/locked away.

Myother fascinating list (and maybe you could helpme here) is who to tell of change of name, the list goes on & on maybe you want to start writing letters now!!! Although interesting Tesco Visa tok my word for it when I rang them & changed my name without proof.


regards, mini

MSE_Martin

Hi folks,

Just to say i think this board is amazingly useful. So much so that Im probably going to turn your tips into a guide for the main site - attributed here and linked to this forum of course. This way even more people can benefit from your hints and tips

martin

Mrs_Thrift

The response has been fantastic! Thanks again to everyone.

Now that I've read it through again I've noticed a mention of a Monsoon factory shop from Emma Braithwaite. Can you tell me where that is, please? Could be interesting.

And, yes, Galstonian, I'll bear in mind that divorce is the most expensive thing! We WILL be happy, whether we like it or not!

BTW it was actually a wedding in Galston and Ayr that proved we didn't have to do everything by the book and made us realise we could have a small, enjoyable wedding without (too much) stress for everyone involved.

And I'll be checking that tiara website out, too, Mini, thanks. I had a leaflet recently for some quite standard looking tiaras costing about £135! As you say you only wear it for a few hours, but all the wedding propaganda tries to make you think it's not only the norm but that you must spend huge amounts.

Mrs_Thrift

I forgot to say, mini, I think I've got a list at home of the people you need to tell about your name change (in a little freebie book about weddings from the priest - we've got quite a practical minded priest!). I'll look it out and let you know what it says.

I'm glad you reminded me, though. That's going to be a heck of a lot of stamps! We could do with some tips on how to save money on the name change thing. Any tips? ???

Galstonian

email or fax notification of change of name (if acceptable) is cheaper than stamps.

Assume friends and family can in the main be told in advance in wedding invitations.

Mrs_Thrift

Thanks Galstonian. I think I'll start with emails as much as poss and only use up stamps if they insist on a proper letter and proof.

Now I think of it, does anyone know if there are any rules on the way you can change your name? Let me explain because that's as clear as mud! Everything I've read has been about either keeping your name or changing your name. But I was wondering if I could sort of convert my current surname to have as a second middle name and have my hubby to be's name as my new surname. And if I could do this by way of a "normal" marriage name-change scenario rather than a Deed Poll thing. If that makes any sense to anyone, hope you can help! ???

WeirdoMagnet

Having read all this to my bf of 7 yrs, he is now quite keen to marry me, and do it in ultimate Money Saving Fashion. Who said romance is dead?!

Monsoon do have some great dresses - even suitable for the bride. After all you're only going to wear it for one day. They still have their sale on at the moment 70% off!!! So their dresses are going for about 80 quid. If you wanted the big discounts you'll have to bite the bullet and wait for the larger reductions, but as far as I can work out, they always have loads of wedding style dresses left.

As for the venue, I have always wanted a wedding in a big castle. You can do this in Scotland with https://www.rentahostel.com for between £1000 and £2000. You basically hire the whole place, not each bed. Our families live all over, which is why I quite like the idea.

Good luck.

Georgina

System

I've cheked out the virgin brides website & it seems like they've close their London shop, the only one is in Manchester..... If anyone knows any different could you let me know.
Both Tesco & Sainsbury's do iced fruit cake in 3 sizes, some sainsbury's stores even do pillars to separt the tiers

Mrs_Thrift

It looks like you're right, Debbie. Only seems to be one store now, in Manchester. Boo! I was looking forward to a day out in London and trying on all the dresses (then getting a cheaper copy made, of course!)

Another quick tip for today - I've received information from a hotel this morning. And they say they offer reduced rate rooms for members of the wedding party. The prices are lower than their brochure prices but still £20 more than prices you can find for their rooms very easily on the internet (not all of them last minute deals). So, when you're offered a "deal" by a wedding service provider, be veeerrrryy wary.

Kinda ironic how cynical you have to be when planning such a romantic event, huh?