2014 Budget weddings

strawberry_assassin

Hi

I'm new to this whole forum thing so go easy...

we are planning a 2014 wedding but on a really tight budget

Anyone got ideas??

Stephb1986_2

How tight are we talking? I've got a budget of £7,000 I'm going just slightly over it

Steph xx

strawberry_assassin

If I can get away with it, less than 3k!

Doesn't include honeymoon though. What I'm hoping to do is ask for donations instead of gifts and perhaps have a delayed honeymoon

yabajaz

M&S cake (2 tiers) with our own coloured ribbon
poss dress from monsoon sale - http://uk.monsoon.co.uk/uk/sale/wedding-dresses
summer maxi dresses for my 2 bridesmaids
growing my own flowers for simple posies

Stephb1986_2

You could do the invitations by text or email
Cake you could make yourself
Sales for dresses,shoes etc
Ebay for decorations and other bits
Facebook wedding groups for people selling unwanted things after weddings I can name a few for you if you like?
Do your hair and make up yourself or have a trail at a beauty counter

That's all I can think of off the top of my head

Steph xx

kacie

I think it would depend on how many people you're inviting and what you want on the day.

Use family and friends if you're able to, anyone that you know that can do the photos, entertainment, food etc

Lilith1980

There are sometimes photography students or new photographers willing to do weddings for free while they build up their portfolio.

Not sure where you'd search for these - they often advertise on 'you and your wedding' website. We'd like to try and get one for free but not seen any in our area yet lol.

lisajane8482

Artificial flowers are can be a lot cheaper than real. Ebay have a lot of different types to offer. I got my bouquet, 4 bridesmaids, 3 flower wand and 8 buttonholes for less than £110. I also got 4 coursages for £12.

If you're having bridesmaids alice bands are cheaper than tiaras. I got 4 alice bands which looked like side tiaras for £12 from New Look as they were on offer, would have been £8 but I got them delivered.

I designed and printed my own evening invitations, they were free as I used the works printer and some thick premium paper I found in the stationary cupboard.

punkgirlyuk

I'm getting married this year on a 2.5k budget.
Late ceremony at registry office on a Friday, straight into informal (£300 including giving notice etc)
meal (£500 for 70 people, a stonebake pizza oven ,novel and not too bad a price)
Social club hired for meal and evening do (£250)
Disco for evening entertainment (£250)
Sweet Buffet (doing myself with cash n carry £70)
Cupcake wedding cake (£100)
Doing my own decorations, buying second hand
Getting fake flowers
Secondhand dress
Men are buying suits from Matalan (just groom and BM)
Only having my daughter as bridesmaid
Buying cheap rings for now and will splash out on better ones a few years down the line if we can
My estimations are coming just under the 2.5k, may have underestimated some bits and overestimated others but have up to 3k if i really need it but hope i dont. We are not having a honeymoon, just a night away at a nice hotel (got a De Vere hotel for £40 inc breakfast, nice country hotel with spa etc)

Definitely can be done

JessicaLaLa

Hiya

Were getting married this year, it is coming in just over 4k, the majority of our budget is going on food, and seeing as we have high numbers I think we have done pretty well, here's some things that we have done:-

Artificial flowers for bouquets, button holes and table arrangements, alot of mine came from gtdecorations, the flowers I have received have been lovely quality and most are a very good price
Make your own invitations/save the dates, you can download free printables from many websites such weddingchicks.com
We have asked friends to give us used jam jars, covered them in lace, stick some flowers in, voila a lovely centrepiece!
Were holding our reception at a local village hall, it comes with a stocked bar with staff and is cheap as chips!
Ebay should be your new best friend, I have bought so many things from it for the wedding, decor etc, even my wedding shoes which are stunning and only cost £6!
One thing I will say is don't forget about the cost of the legal bit, after giving notice, booking fees etc it is costing us just under £500 for the registrar, which is a significant amount if your on a tight budget.
Hope I've helped, good luck with it all Xx

podperson

Look for things second hand - ebay is good, gumtree for more local or look for facebook groups or wedding forums where people will often sell off things after their big day.

Don't be afraid to ask people for favours. If you know someone who is a great baker ask them about doing the cake, if someone does flower arranging for a hobby or is a hairdresser then ask them if they wouldn't mind helping out.

Think about what the important things about the day are to you. if you prioritise then it's easier to see the things you may be prepared to do low budget or skip altogether and the things that might be worth spending a bit extra on.