The All New Wedding Tips Thread (no chat please)

johanna70

I shared this tip on the under 3k wedding thread too, but it's a great, free alternative to having disposable cameras on the tables.

You can set up an account on a smartphone app (WeddingParty is the one I have used before, but there are others out there) and give the details to all your guests. They can then upload photos taken on their phones to the app, which is shared with you and the rest of your guests.
At my friend's wedding she put cards on every table with details of how to download the app, and at least one person at every table used it. It was a nice way to get candid shots at the reception and she was also able to share the pictures with friends abroad who couldn't attend in person.

Shesh_2

My daughter is getting married in November and is having an Alice in Wonderland theme I bought top hats (6 for a £1) and bubbles (12 for a £1) at pound land and printed labels with the bride and grooms names and dates I bought the chocolates off eBay the wedding dress complete with tiara and veil was bought from a local wedding shop that was having a sale they even threw in a free dry clean, bridesmaid dresses eBay £50 each from china and they are beautiful, my daughter wanted Poinsettias for her bouquet and we found some large felt ones for 29p in the sales after Christmas and its turned out lovely we also went to local car boot sales looking for teapots for the tables and the hotel are adding flowers to them for our displays. My daughter wanted a quirky wedding cake but as soon as you mention the 'M' word the prises go through the roof she found someone who makes cakes a a hobby and it is going to cost £130 bargain.

lilypad_rider

The thriftybride link says that the shop is now closed.
My head is boggling .... it is my 2nd wedding but I am trying to keep costs to a minimum, whilst making it beautiful! Not too hard then! Will go and search the other threads mentioned. Thanks

jerry2013

This is exactly what I need:) Awesome collection of wedding dresses shopping site.

retromother

Well I planned my wedding in five weeks for around £2k. These are my tips:

If you know a decent amateur photographer ask if they will do your photos. They know you better than any stranger so will really be able to capture the day as you want it

Dress of the rail. Mine was £75 in the M&S sale, but I looked at Monsoon too and they had lovely ones. Sold it on ebay afterwards

Keep it small. It's so nice an intimate having a small wedding.

Hire a room in a restaurant and have their set menu. The restaurant we used gave 3 menu options which guests selected whilst RSVPing, did all the decor for us and did a pink prosecco reception for the guests

Black cabs for transport

Look for registry offices that are in picturesque parks, photos can be taken in the park and look as gorgeous as the expensive venues

honeymoon in the UK. We went to Manchester, stayed in the Malmaison and had a fab time.

Go for a 'retro' hen/stag do, night on the town, novelty veils, the works.

kevthewev

I'm an ardent Money Saver and also a professional photographer and I just can't believe the number of people who say get keen amateur or friend to take your wedding photographs! A few years after the wedding you are only going to have a couple of things to remind you from the day itself, a marriage licence, spouse, ring and your wedding photographs! Wedding photography is one of the hardest disciplines to do well as no-one appreciates the amount of pressure put on the photographer and how much skill it takes to produce an excellent record of the day.
I have lost count of the number of people who come to my studio with tales of woe about unqualified wedding photographers ruining a couples big day.
When visiting a professional photographer be honest with them about your budget, you will be surprised at what options they can offer.
Finally, always use a member of the British Institute of Professional Photography whose members are trained, qualified and have to prove that they come up to a set standard both professionally and in their business before becoming a member.

Si_Clist

kevthewev wrote: »

Finally, always use a member of the British Institute of Professional Photography whose members are trained, qualified and have to prove that they come up to a set standard both professionally and in their business before becoming a member.

With respect, I have to ask if that is actually true. When I, as a professional wedding photographer, became a "qualified" member of the BIPP, I did so purely on the strength of

(a) 10 (or 20, I forget which) of my portraits meeting with their approval

(b) my agreeing to abide by their code of conduct and

(c) paying my annual subscription.

That alone entitled me to put "LBIPP" after my name should I wish to do so - but only for as long as I was a paid-up member. When I resigned, I ceased to be a "qualified" member, and exactly the same applied to the other lot, the Master Photographers Association.

So I had not been "trained", I was not "qualified", and the only "proof" that the BIPP had of the standard of my work was the portrait shots referred to above.

Membership of the BIPP and/or the MPA may well be of benefit to some photographers, but I still fail to see what it actually proves in itself to anyone thinking of engaging a member to photograph their wedding.

Sazzarella

Si_Clist wrote: »

Membership of the BIPP and/or the MPA may well be of benefit to some photographers, but I still fail to see what it actually proves in itself to anyone thinking of engaging a member to photograph their wedding.

Nothing really. Being a member of the BIPP does not mean you specialise in Wedding Photography and/or are any good at it.

I would much rather use a Photographer that can show previous wedding work rather than someone who is a member of BIPP but has never shot a wedding.

Pinzy

Research research research! Get an idea of what you want, then hunt for the best deals. We had two wedding photographers - one we paid for (£350) and another one found on gumtree who was looking for experience - both of them were fabulous (and neither was certified!).

Meet people! The only supplier we didn't meet for our wedding was the DJ, who completely ignored our "play/do not play" list. Unfortunately he was supplied as part of our package, so we had little say.

The only thing I regret not getting was a videographer. It'd be lovely to watch the ceremony again, with everyone singing our songs!

CakeFanatic

I would agree that a photographer is one of the most important spends for a wedding. I scrimped on this and regret it now Anyway, other tips for money saving on weddings.....

CAKE - make it yourself if you can. It's easier than you think. If you really can't make cake then another option is to buy ready made, plain wedding cakes and add a few ready made decorations which you can buy from specialist shops, hobbycraft etc etc. This can save a fortune.

OUTFITS - try sale rails in high street stores or maybe cut down on the number of bridesmaids.

FLOWERS - again you can make these yourself. Buy some silk flowers and floristry tape, put the flowers together until you come up with an arrangement you are happy with, then simply wrap the tape round the stems to hold them all together. I did this and made my bouquet for around £15. The florist had quoted me £75 just for mine and the one I made was bigger and had more flowers! I wanted real flowers originally but am glad I went for silk now as I have kept them.

TRANSPORT - to cut out/down on transport costs, could you have the wedding and reception at the same venue? Or do you know someone who has a fairly new car who wouldn't mind driving you? This can save hundreds of pounds.

FOOD - maybe limit the number of guests you have for a meal, or just have a buffet by holding the wedding later in the day.

DAYS/MONTHS TO GET MARRIED - look at booking your wedding on an off-peak day or month. Thursdays are much cheaper than Saturdays for instance and if people really want to be there then they will try their hardest to take the day off work to be there. If not, hold the wedding later in the day and they may be able to come after work!

STATIONERY - make all stationery items yourself including invitations, place names, table numbers/names, seating plans. There are some lovely templates/ideas online if you look for these things on google images.

DECORATIONS - wedding flowers are stupidly expensive so I avoided having these for decorations. Think about cheaper options like tealights, or try to think up ways of making your favours double up as decorations. I saw something on TV before where they had a "tree" in the middle of the table with homemade personalised cookies hanging from it.

PACKAGES - some places do some great value packages now for £1000 and £700. Google wedding packages to see whats available in your area. Many packages include drinks, DJ, room hire and buffet or meal. Just don't get sucked in to buying their extras on top of the cost without working out if you can get it cheaper elsewhere.

SEASONAL - if you are looking to use things like roses or a hearts/flowers kind of theme then buy decorations, silk roses etc etc after valentines day when these things are discounted in the sale.

HAIR AND MAKE UP - look up hair and make tutorials/videos online and then instead of having an expensive hen night out try staying in with the hens and practising hair and make up for the big day. You can then nominate a friend to do your hair when you know who's best!

Hopefully this will help someone! I am new on here and thought I would have a go with sharing some ideas :j