Wedding £500 or under?

mummy2megan_2

My other half and I have been engaged for over 2 years...finally decided now is the time to start planning only problem is our budget needs to be as small as possible. Is a wedding for under £500 possible? We have set a date for April 2014. Any help would be really appreciated. We hoping to save as much money as we can as we want to donate money we save to St Davids Hospice who help my step father during his battle with cancer, they were brilliant so want to give something back.

Thank You

x

LEJC

Its perfectly possible to have a wedding under £500....

If you break it down all you actually need is the cost of the marriage...be that at a registry office or church or other venue that is licenced.

Anything you attach to thev process after that is purely an enhancement on the experience

First of all check the costs wherever you have chosen to get married and then go from there...you will probably find that the cheapest place to marry will be the local registry office rather than at another venue as you wont need to pay the travelling expenses of the registrar....

mummy2megan_2

I was really hoping it was possible but after researching registry office fees which would come to a total of £219.00 leaves me with £281.00 in my budget to play with.

Jodie x

Mojisola

This depends on what your family and friends are like but have you thought of a "community" wedding? Instead of people buying presents for you, ask if everyone will contribute something practical to the day - some might make flower arrangements or table decorations, provide food, lend a smart car for the bride and groom, etc.

It can be a wonderful day because everyone there has helped to make it.

The other option is a registry office do and meet up at a local pub with everyone buying their own food and drink.

mummy2megan_2

We are hoping to hire a room with a bar and do a finger buffet plus side my H2B great uncle is a caterer. Needing ideas to cut down rest of the costs but still have a special day

Jodie x

Justengaged

If you go to Costco you can get food platters already made up. Not sure how many people are being invited, but if the platters won't cover it, you can buy bulk amounts of food there anyway.

mummy2megan_2

about 74 guests in total there isnt a costco near me at the moment needing ideas on a budget or even better free!!!! trying to make myself a checklist but just dont have a clue

Jodie x

flea72

Tbh you are going to struggle to feed that many people on your remaining budget, unless you start asking for donations of food and help to prepare it. I don't think I'd go down the route of asking guests to bring a dish, it takes too much organising and someone lower down the list, always gets left with the expensive/time consuming item

I catered my own wedding, but it meant I spent most of my wedding morning rushing around, when in reality I really needed to relax and enjoy the whole day (as did friends and family who helped me)

I think asking for donations to the charity is acceptable instead of gifts. I would give various options on how, ie 'just giving' website or wishing well at reception

The cheapest way would be to hold the reception at home or a picnic at a local beauty spot (weather permitting), although I don't know how people would feel about byo booze if there isn't a bar available. It wouldn't bother me, if I was pre-warned, but some traditionalists might not like it

By planning ahead, you could buy frozen party food and whole gammon joints when reduced the previous christmas, allowing your budget to go even further. Cold Veggie buffets are always the cheapest way to go, meat really bumps up the costs. Also finger food negates the need to buy/hire cutlery. Glasses can be hired for free from most supermarkets, but that means you have to wash and return them, so buying disposable ones, is sometimes worth the expense

It can be done on your budget, but it does mean cutting corners and a lot of compromise, so you might not get the wedding experience you wanted. Sometimes it's worth paying for things, just so you can sit back and enjoy your big day without worrying whether everyone else is happy

mummy2megan_2

Realizing need to cut corners to save money may be worth it. My mum done her wedding on a tight budget, she payed £7 for her boquet and drove there herself as my step dad was in a wheel chair and was really a lovely day sorry to say my step dad passed away 9 hours afterwards but has left lovely memories of the day, the biggest expense was the registry office, my step dad wore a suit that was in his wardrobe which my H2B has said hes going to do. Any ideas on cutting costs on decorations? I already have a dress which my mum payed £20 for

Jodie x

punkgirlyuk

Our registry office offers a room for just the couple and 2 witness's at about £50, depends if you want everyone at the ceremony?
You need to decide what is more important to you , the wedding, the reception? feeding people or having a party?
Book a late wedding, then there are less hours to worry about with the evening do/meal, and gives you more time in the morning if you do need to prepare things yourself

mummy2megan_2

we both have close families and would like them to be there for the ceromony, we getting married same room my mum did but she paid less? not sure how this works out x