Starting out in life

Faith177

Gillybean wrote: »

If the wedding you guys want is coming in at 6k and you're happy to pay that then you go for it. yes it can be done cheaper, but like you said it can also be done for a heck of a lot more too. Our wedding cost a fair bit, but we saved, did overtime and it was paid for in full in advance of the day. If you want to make cutbacks however, there's tons of advice on here.

Not very MSE I know but you sound like a sensible couple who know what they want and are prepared to save for it.

Couldn't agree more

I brought my house long before I met OH. Basically re-mortgaged it with my mum so no deposit to pay.

However my wedding did set us back £25K my dress alone was £3.5K and our 3 course meal was £55 a head not very MSE at all but it was what we wanted. We worked hard to pay for it (I did two jobs for 2 years to pay for it) and we loved every minute of it.

Everytime I think back to our day there isn't one thing I felt we wasted money on or regret having and if i had to do it again I would.

If that's what you want to do then good luck to you only you can decide what to do in life.

tom9980

FatVonD wrote: »

To be fair the OP asked if what they are planning to do (re house and wedding) is doable. As has been pointed out to them solicitors costs etc is going to cost on top of their deposit and the Government 5% deposit scheme may well have been scrapped in 2 years time and they may find themselves needing a larger deposit in order to buy a house so that part of their plan may not happen as planned. If that worries them then they may need to scale back the wedding. They may choose not to but they have been given useful advice and really, what would you expect on a moneysaving site?

I would question the desire to put down permanent roots when they are still so young and possibly have careers that are not fully developed. Who knows where they will need to live in the future without knowing more about them? my advise on that is be flexible and only buy a house that you can happily live in for 10 years, something which you should only do when you are sure on location. The thing about these government schemes is they currently encourage people to buy overpriced new build boxes that are often overpriced and poor value. The new scheme is increasingly causing concern that a new housing bubble is being created something that should it go pop will put someone on a 95% mortgage in negative equity very quickly, so you better be sure you are going to stay 10 years +

Gloomendoom

duchy wrote: »

I do think that it is very easy to assume that you "must" do weddings a particular way......... Most of the weddings I've attended at hotels have all been pretty much the samre to be honest and kind of blurr together.

Very true. Our wedding reception deviated considerably from the established norm and, as a consequence, allowed considerable savings to be made. One of the guests who had had a standard "off the shelf" wedding package for her own wedding wistfully said to me "I didn't realise that you could do weddings like this."

I don't really drink so I personally don't feel the need for a free bar - wine on arrival, and with dinner plus something fizzy to toast -then a pay bar is more than acceptable.

That is where we differ. I am a drinker and I've been to too many weddings where, as a guest, I have been ripped off by the venue for drinks. A free bar bar doesn't have to be expensive if you are canny about sourcing the drinks.

jackieblack

It really boils down to priorities.
I know what mine would be but, hey, wouldn't the world be a boring place if we all had the same priorities.

paulineb_2

beckysbobbles1 wrote: »

For goddness sake!! I see everyone has jumped on the 'why are you spending so much on a wedding' bandwaggon.

If that's the wedding you and your fianee want then go for it. It's supposed to be the happiest day of your life so you should have what you want.

It sounds like you are both sensible with money and it's great your saving for it unlike me who got a loan to pay for my dream day (and no I didn't regret doing it).

I don't know if £10k will be enough for a deposit for a house. It really depends on where you are looking to buy. I also need to say that you don't know whether the government scheme will still be in place then but I'm sure by then there will be plenty of options.

Although the idea of having to be 'tight' for the next few years must be tough, at least you know your end goal. To be happily married, living in your own home.

Best of luck with the savings and planning your dream day.

No. the OP asked a question about whether they could afford to buy a house with a very small deposit and spend 6 k on a wedding

No bandwagon jumping here

This thread shouldnt be split in the camps of yes pay 6 grand no, its for the OP to consider and one opinion doesnt matter more than another

If I wanted to spend 600 quid on a wedding and someone else wanted to spend 10 grand fair dos

But I bet Id be happy knowing I could afford the 600 quid or the 10k

Its about cutting your coat according to your cloth as the saying goes, doesnt mean anyone saying that they could cut costs is on a bandwagon or miserly

You ask a question, you get honest answers

cats2012

I've not even read all the replies on here and I'm also not going to lecture you and just say yes it can be done and good for you!

We did exactly the same but the other way round, and spent £10k on the wedding - so shoot me! Yes could have done it cheaper but it was beautiful and everything I'd ever dreamed of and I wouldn't change it for the world.

FYI - yes we're in debt, but this was from honeymoon and furniture and will be paid off in 6 months. I still wouldn't change any of that either and it's worth scrimping to pay off!

Good luck to you both, I'm sure you'll have an amazing wedding and life together

sulphate

fay144 wrote: »

I don't really understand your argument though - you could equally argue that you can have a nice holiday for £200, so why would anyone spend more than that on a holiday? Or you can live quite easily in a 1 bed flat, so why have a house? You can cook at home, so why go out for dinner? Sometime in live, it's nice to treat yourself, and IMO moneysaving is about getting the best deal, not always doing the cheapest thing.

Well said.... I don't understand why there is always a focus on the cost of the wedding in threads like this. We don't have expensive cars, tvs, hobbies, or holidays - most people spend a lot on those things and no one bats an eyelid, but wedding costs always seem to get everyone's backs up. We don't have any of those things so chose to spend a little more on our wedding.

OP, congratulations on your engagement. Best thing to do is look round wedding venues and get a feel of the kind of wedding you want. Get to know what you can get for your money and you might find you can spend less - or you have to pay more - for the type of wedding you want.

Where do you live? Wedding venues are definitely more expensive depending on the area...

We spent a little more than £6k on our wedding day. I would have happily spent less, but I think both our parents wanted us to have a the wedding we did have, and as they were happy to contribute a little… And no it wasn't about "look at me and my money", how ridiculous. Now I wish I'd spent a little more to be honest, on a few things we scrimped on.

Also, I'm afraid that not everyone knows someone who is a cake or dress maker/florist/photographer who can do the job for cheap or nothing. And for photos that are going to be in an album/around the house for the rest of our lives, I would not have picked a photography student.

There ARE things you can do to save money on a wedding, definitely and I can give you some tips if you'd like Just bear in mind what seems like a great money saving idea may not be all what it seems. For example-
- as someone else has already said, sometimes a cheaper package deal includes a dessert so you don't have the option of having cake instead
- I've heard the "get married later so you only have to feed people once" before which sounds great but that often means - especially in winter - by the time the ceremony is over you have run out of natural light to take photos in. And - you guessed it - weddings are cheaper in winter!

Someone I know always said that she didn't believe in spending much on a wedding cos it's only one day, she got married today and they ended up spending much more than they originally thought they would :P Once you're in a position to have a wedding you get to know what you want and what you don't want, and how much you need to spend.

Lotus-eater

£6k for a wedding isn't over the top if you can afford it, or want to afford it. It's like jackieblack says, it's down to priorities.

But if you come on a moneysaving site and ask, you are going to be told it's too much.

Personally, I think you would be daft to spend 6k on a wedding when every penny you put towards your deposit on the house, will make your life easier from then onwards.

Horses for courses, up to you, it's not my money or life. An extra 4k to put down on a house will save you £'s over the length of the mortgage.
But you only live once and if you feel you must have that wedding, then you seem very level headed about it.

Just make sure you are both on the same page, sit down and work out the finances properly, if we did this with the money, it would mean this etc.

And congratulations :beer:

geoffky

I dream of my daughter having just a 6k wedding...If only..

paulineb_2

sulphate wrote: »

Well said.... I don't understand why there is always a focus on the cost of the wedding in threads like this. We don't have expensive cars, tvs, hobbies, or holidays - most people spend a lot on those things and no one bats an eyelid, but wedding costs always seem to get everyone's backs up. We don't have any of those things so chose to spend a little more on our wedding.

OP, congratulations on your engagement. Best thing to do is look round wedding venues and get a feel of the kind of wedding you want. Get to know what you can get for your money and you might find you can spend less - or you have to pay more - for the type of wedding you want.

Where do you live? Wedding venues are definitely more expensive depending on the area...

We spent a little more than £6k on our wedding day. I would have happily spent less, but I think both our parents wanted us to have a the wedding we did have, and as they were happy to contribute a little… And no it wasn't about "look at me and my money", how ridiculous. Now I wish I'd spent a little more to be honest, on a few things we scrimped on.

Also, I'm afraid that not everyone knows someone who is a cake or dress maker/florist/photographer who can do the job for cheap or nothing. And for photos that are going to be in an album/around the house for the rest of our lives, I would not have picked a photography student.

There ARE things you can do to save money on a wedding, definitely and I can give you some tips if you'd like Just bear in mind what seems like a great money saving idea may not be all what it seems. For example-
- as someone else has already said, sometimes a cheaper package deal includes a dessert so you don't have the option of having cake instead
- I've heard the "get married later so you only have to feed people once" before which sounds great but that often means - especially in winter - by the time the ceremony is over you have run out of natural light to take photos in. And - you guessed it - weddings are cheaper in winter!

Someone I know always said that she didn't believe in spending much on a wedding cos it's only one day, she got married today and they ended up spending much more than they originally thought they would :P Once you're in a position to have a wedding you get to know what you want and what you don't want, and how much you need to spend.

Not everyone knows someone who can make dresses/cakes etc, granted

But there are many local businesses where I am who advertise their services on facebook pages all the time, even an Im looking for this and I can afford to spend this much would be putting feelers out as to how many people around their local area can do stuff like that

Ive known people who have made successful businesses in cake making for example, out of a hobby and not always their full time jobs, if you ask around, you might be surprised what you get

And some of those people who do photography as a hobby are actually very good at it.