Wedding Tips start here...

System

It's all very well saying don't bother with a pro photographer or videographer, but these are most likely to be the suppliers of the only true and permanent record of the most important day in your life. Its quite amazing that many couples are happy to spend many hundreds of pounds on impressing guests with quite pointless trippings for an hour or so, but quibble over a having a professional supplying the means to re-live that one day for the rest of their life.

danselby

Hi

I'm getting married on May 1st this year. We are catering it ourselves but we'll need to hire some tables and chairs and some (but not all) crockery...

Anyone got any suggestions/recommendations/tips etc? Thanks

The wedding is in Worcestershire for around 60 people if that helps.

Just had a quote for £388 for tables, chairs and tablecloths!

System

Our tips are:

• Find a venue that doesn't have a drinks licence like a farm that does weddings. They shouldn't charge you corkage & you can supply your own drink for a massive amount less than usual.

• For wedding gifts ask for holiday vouchers. Usually you have to pay for the holiday 12 weeks in advance. However we found a travel agent who allowed us to pay on credit card 12 weeks before & then will refund any vouchers we get back onto the card after the wedding.

System

Bhs has started to get their wedding collection on to the shop floor, they've got some cute flower girl dreeses at a very good price

System

Ooh, this is fun, I've never done this before!
I'm also getting married - next summer, and my sister came up with a fab money-saving hen night idea. It's still being modified, but here's what we've got so far.....
My hen-party attendee with the biggest living-room is hosting the party, and basically, we're all (10 of us) going to her house late afternoon, where another attendee's cousin, who is a beautician, and 4 willing students from the local college (beauty therapist final yr course) will meet us, and we'll be pampered, manicured, get facials, make-up done etc. for a couple of hours. The cousin is doing it for free, and the students are happy with 20 quid each for 2 or 3 hours work. Everyone coming will bring a bottle of Tesco's finest Cava (who needs real champers?) and something to nibble later. After our pampering session, we'll watch a couple of chick-flick-wedding-y films (think My Best Friend's wedding, Father of the Bride) then move onto frozen cocktails (a couple of quid each at local supermarket-but after all that bubbly, you won't need too many) and let the pyjama party and the gossipping begin......
Not too expensive, but lots of fun.....

Elfie x :-*

System

Hi there I have been following all the wedding tips since they started, and we got married on Valentines Day last Saturday.
It all went beautifully and the sun even shone for the photographs.!

One piece of advice though, that I know I didn't think of until too late, was assigning someone to take care of the flowers once we had left the reception.

We planned to go back the next day to collect two arrangements to put on the graves of some friends, only to find some guests had decided themselves to take them home as they left. We felt rather let down by that, but all in all we loved our day.

Mrs_Thrift

Congratulations, Annie, on your wedding last week. I'm so glad it went well.

I haven't been on this thread much as I haven't done as much planning as I should have! But I've been enjpying reading other people's tips. And I'm thrilled that Galstonian has nominated this thread for the most useful award! Thanks, Gal!

In an effort to keep being useful, here's a quick update on our plans:

We spent many, many hours looking at photographers on the internet, where we have found a fantastic, relaxed photographer (relaxed is the key word for our wedding!) who is also a good price.

We've decided to definitely NOT have special wedding cars. Friends will be asked to drive us. We decided it wasn't worth the money for 5 minutes to the church and 5 minutes from there to the reception (and we're staying overnight at the reception venue) so that's another saving.

The Great Wedding Dress Hunt (to coin a phrase of Martin's) is now on in earnest. I have seen bargains in Debenhams and on the internet, but my biggest problem is finding something I like... no way round that but to keep looking, I suppose.

I've been busy sending e-mails backward and forward to my bridesmaid, who lives in Taiwan, and we're getting on well with finding her something she likes. She's going to have it made in Taiwan, which should be a bargain, and only having one bridesmaid is a great money saving idea!

We had been thinking in terms of stag and hen weekends, but now we're thinking it's not worth the extra cost this year. It's not as if we can't go away with the lads / girls after we're married, so we will wait till we can afford it easier. We might just have a joint big night out and possibly separate meals / drinks nights in our local town. Still thinking about it...

So, I hope everyone's getting on well with their own plans - and enjoying the planning, rather than getting stressed!

Ms T.

amazon_2

Hi

Have been reading all the posts with interest - just to have great tips under my belt for my next one!!!

Firstly - check out how cool some Registry offices are - that saves a packet - you really DONT have to do the church wedding only if you want too. Older friends are now having blessings in church to celebrate long happy marriages - so you've always got later chances to celebrate. Sorry but the Sex in the City garden wedding was great - check out unusual settings with licences if you want something really different and cheaper. Some Registry offices are really beautiful too.

Second - forget flowergirls /boys etc - is that unromantic? It's about you two - the kids just distract attention from how glorious you both are. (not talking about myself here!)

Third - I gave up trying to keep control of everything as I wanted it small and cosy and it became a huge evening bash - which was v costly for all of us cos I wanted to pay as much as poss - we ignored lots of conventions about who pays for what - you should discuss and follow your gut instinct - so there is no bad feeling in family later about huge expense etc. Some some things did work great:
Getting loads of London cabs - no limos etc I would have been mortified - ready to take guests from London Registry Office to a great pub which laid on a room in Central London for a relaxed drink and more pub food kind of lunch which was open just for us and was great atmosphere. Then everyone collapsed and went back to their hotels etc (it did feel very strange running along Oxford Street to get a cab home in my wedding outfit!) and got ready for the evening.

The evening was one to remember - all official pics were well worth it but we didnt really need a posh evening do as well and was v expensive. You do need some official pics - they just don't always need to be so stuffily arranged - but the throw away cameras idea is great for all big events -just make sure you get them back as they can get lost easily in the melee.

Also despite warnings my Dad insisted on an open bar as he didnt want to be seen as tight wad and some great mates took advantage on triple whiskies all night which !!!!!! me off big time when I heard about the bar bill. We had different wine and bubbly at all the right courses and no shortage so I reckon you should limit the bar and let them buy stuff if they don't want what you are offering - tant pis!

If I had been stronger and kept my nerve I would have junked the evening do and tried to do as others have mentioned earlier and had more smaller family gatherings - kept the celebs going longer!
As per previous tipsters - mention to everyone that you are getting married etc. as most people give you deals on everything from your dry cleaning to whatever - it is only hotels/ catering outfits in teh UK who smile and rub their hands as they rip you off!

On our flight the pilot gave us a mention and as our friends tipped off the check in desk - we got free champagne on the plane, and when we got to our hotel again work colleagues had tipped them off and we had loads of freebies too and they upgraded us free.

Wedding cake - would highly recommend making Austrian Sachertorte style (heavy choc sponge cake) - as it is thick enough to make layers with - all my friends are chocaholics and a friend just baked in her oven for a few days - only cost us ingredients and everyone liked it better than fruit cake.

Other top tips - if you like any flowers etc at the do and have paid for them (ie they dont belong to hotel etc) make sure they are loaded into your transport home with all your presies afterwards (or with folks to their place if you are flying off_ as otherwise you'll be disappointed when you realise they've mysteriously vanished! (and often the florist wants the pots back and they've vanished too and you get charged for them!) . By the way the florist height charge is one of the funniest things I've ever heard - she should get a medal for entrepeneurial moneymaking.

Drink: Get someone else (not you as it is too embarrassing) - who is not !!!!!! like your Dad to check and agree how many bottles of wine were served during the evening when it all wraps up - I know it sounds tight but it really isnt (remember recent Ritz story about reselling wine) - you will get ripped off I'm afraid if you don't. And if it's your own wine and you are paying corkage - again get someone to take it home/away straight that evening and park it at their place ready for your return from honeymoon to continue the shindig!

Tip - if you don't go straight on honeymoon from the wedding make sure you have food at home for late midnight snacks, breakfasts or whatever. Despite all the food being around you are too nervous to eat much and then too busy talking and trying to speak to everyone. There is so much else to remember we forgot and were starving when we got home exhausted - and when all our mates came round next morning to see us off they all attacked left over chocolate wedding cake as no other food in our place!

If you are going to get loads of pressies on the day - detail a mate to organise everything to do with them - a safe place to put them - make sure you leave with them or they go somewhere else safe. Even better see if they will help you logging them all - even if you actually personally send out all the thank you's - the logging to make sure you attribute each thing to the right person is a nightmare and politically fraught.

Finally - some great www sites in The Eye last weekend -
https://www.confetti.co.uk - most famous British wedding resource
https://www.webwedding.co.uk - inspriation, practical info including all legalities and how to set up your own gift site
https://www.etiquettehell.com/wedding_contents.htm
Very funny site on how NOT to do it - dealing with families from hell, drunk vicars etc!!!

https://www.trailfinders.com/wedding.htm
A joy - you sort out the wedding list service and guests can visit or phone and buy vouchers so you can get your honeymoon paid for instead of getting 10 toasters - this is really how to save cash - people can spend small amounts and it still goes towards something really cool. Totally brill idea!

Signed: Gay (not cynical and twisted) divorcee

amazon_2

Sorry forgot - Ryanair still has great offers till end June for stag.hen party ideas - how about Gerona or other places away from obvious. Try to find a big flat to rent or whatever instead of loads of hotel rooms. You would all have lots to remember. In Spain the bride is taken around all the local bars in town drinking with all her friends and family who want to go - why don't we have that here?!

Wedding dress and other clothes tip - if you fancy a jaunt around London try all the rag trade districts back of Oxford Street - I had been looking for ages and ages and just walked into a sample sale which all those outlets do and got the perfect dress for £25 and was mega chuffed.

By the way is there a tiara mafia - isnt this another con to get you to spend more money - we are not royalty just brides - can't you just do without it and have great hair instead - yes it can look great but if you're really talking money saving and dont need to be conventional the whole bride in a veil over the face with tiara kindda brings out slight feminist heebie jeebies - sorry gals!


Or how about unusual beautiful Indian silks from East End to wear or decorate your venue?

simsun

Some more wedding tips for everyone.

My Fiancee and I have just been perusing the Metro Centre in Gateshead not only for our wedding next year but also my sister's wedding in May.

I have just bought my suit for both occassions from Suits Direct, where they are currently having a sale. A very reasonable bargain of £75 down from £149. The salesman, (who must have been having a slow day), also threw in a Pierrre Cardin Shirt for just £20 instead of £29.99!

We have also decided to create our own wedding stationary and we have found an ideal shop to help us out. In the Paper Mill Store we bought 30 pieces of A5 card for 5p a sheet, a rubber stamp, 50 envelopes and a few other bits and bobs for a grand total of less than £17. This way the stationary is much more personal and unique to us.

I am fairly sure that Suits Direct is a national chain but I am less sure about the Paper Mill Store. Either way there are other suit companies and craft shops around.

Cheers for now,

Simon