Affordable Marriage. Is it possible???

mountainofdebt

jonnyb1978 wrote: »

Wanting to get married ASAP, dont mean tomorrow but a year or so time.
Except there is one big thing stopping us. Its RIP OFF.

Been doing a bit of research and abroad seems a good option but some you have to be a resident in that country for some time, so i have come up with Malta. Rent Villa, get married have honeymoon in Villa.
Small, immediate family over and instead of a big bash, book a posh restaurant and have a slap up meal and drinks after the ceremony.
Then have a party on return home for everyone else. Friends family etc.

Does this sound like a cheap skate or with a bit of thought and effort turn out to be nice rememberable wedding.

Anyone been in this boat with any experience.. Thanks

You could have described by SIL's wedding with the exception she did it in this country and not abroad.

Didn't have a photographer - relied on people's photos & drove themselves to the reception.

We had a brillant day - and throughly enjoyed it - infact one of the best weddings we've ever been to.

jo1967

I think you need to keep one thing in mind - its your wedding, make the day about you & do exactly what makes you happy. :j

My cousin had a small wedding in Mexico with wife & step daughter & 2 pals. Threw a big party when they got home (wearing wedding clobber), we came, we partied, we had a great time! Informal, relaxed & fun!!!

My wedding was about £2k 17 years ago. We used people we knew (favours etc!) & held the reception (small wedding due to cost - 50 guests) in the pub where hubby worked & where we got engaged (few years later they did ds christening lol). It was small, cosy & relaxed. What I remember most is the noise of people laughing & chatting! In comparison a friend a couple of years later had a very formal wedding & I felt very uncomfortable, everyone sat at the tables whispering!

So do what make you happy & most of all have fun & enjoy it!

paddy's_mum

Our wedding, three years ago, cost just under £2,000 all in. I had a new dress and lightweight matching summer jacket, hubby bought a new suit. We made the invitations ourselves and I made up my own bouquet and table flower decorations using flowers from Morrisons and foliage from the gardens of a friend or two or from the hedgerows. One daughter polished up and beribboned her 4x4 and drove me to the registry office in that. My sister did my hair and nails and my daughters stood in matching blouses as bride's supporters.

The registry office could only seat 30 so the actual legal bit was restricted to family and lifelong friends only. We chose the oldest lady from each side of the family as our witnesses - my mother (75) for me and my hubby's sister (83) for him.

We then hired the local hall for an evening bash, badgered a friend or two into running a barbeque to feed the mob, other friends ran the music and my daughters played at being barmaids.

We had one heck of a party with over 100 guests and everybody just mucked in - kids, grannies, friends, all playing about together so no stuffiness or best behaviour anywhere. As jo1967 says so well, I too remember the party as lots of people laughing and chatting and we were pleased to break out of the expected mould of white dresses, multiple bridesmaids and all the 'frilly bits' that are so uneccessary and so flipping expensive.

Your man is marrying you, not a voluminous white gown. Your family and friends presumably attend to share in and celebrate your happiness not to freeload an expensive meal in a stuffy hotel. Kick over the traces, make up your own rules and make the day your own! Good luck.

Katyag

We got married in 2000 and spent a total of £1,700 for everything. That was my dress, three bridesmaids, church wedding, hotel reception etc the lot. Its all part of the fun seeing what you can get for as cheap as possible.

buglawton

When you are single and your finances are getting a bit chancy, you can have a clampdown for a few months, enjoy the gadgets you already own, do cheaper leisure activities for a while etc. When married the chance of both partners being in the mood to be like this at the same time is smaller.

Conclusion: married, you live better but will have to work harder to afford the 'expected lifestyle' of married life. This is before even thinking about kids.

Hermione54

Best wedding I ever went to cost under £500 three years ago. £150 for the church (you don't have to have all the bells and whistles), £15 for the hire of the church hall, £200 for the dress, a bit for flowers, everyone brought their own booze and bride's mother supplied the food. It was a riot.

hollydays

Dont know how complicated getting married in Malta is,but consider getting a quote from a wedding planner for just the documentation.

nzmegs

Ours was £3000 which included a honeymoon in Bath and flying my mum over from NZ and accomodation for several relatives. I got my dress from Dorothy Perkins at Xmas time when they do their ball gowns. It cost £90 and was beautiful (Really!). Our cake was £50 as we had plain icing and covered it with fresh flowers from the garden. We had no flowers in the ceremony. We got married mid week which meant our photogher was just £100 and the venue was cheaper. We also got married and had the reception at the same venue - no need for hire cars.
it can be done just lower your standards and enjoy the day. Noone will be judging you.
We even got money back from the venue because we over estimated how much everyone would drink. A nice bonus to come home to after the honemoon.

suzukibabe

We got married July last year, and did everything for £1000, we didn't have a honeymoon as we couldn't really afford one but what a fantastic day.

If you have a wander to the special occasions and celebrations board, there is a sub board on there all about weddings/anniversaries which has some fantastic tips on saving money on your wedding.

HTH

margaretclare

Hi

I was a bit surprised by this, and unless you know something I don't, I wouldn't have thought you could talk about an 'affordable wedding' and then talk about abroad in the same breath!

If you just want to get married, as opposed to 'the wedding', then it's possible to get married very very cheaply where you live. All the rest is non-essential - you're still just as married if you spend thousands or hundreds.

It all depends on what you want, and what is important to you.

HTH

Margaret