Make do, Mend and Minimise in 2015

misstara

Ooh forgot to say bluegreen - great to hear the scan went well and a wee boy

nursemaggie

misstara had a lovely holiday thanks, lots of cuddles and playing with DGS aged 2. Went to places I have never been before.

When we went to Malta before was about 16 years ago lots of development since. We did not hire a car so were restricted to where the bus went. Must say I missed the quaint 1950s buses. We even manged to get to where the 8th Army camped before the invasion of Sisely. My father was in the 8th army (desert rats) and DD worked out were they camped from my father's and his friend's photos. There is a peace garden there now.

[Deleted User]

We got married in the registry office and had the reception in our little first home. I did all the catering with help from a friend, MIL had the cake made for us at the bakery she worked at just an iced 1 tier fruit cake and another long loaf cake to slice easily. We went home with family and witnesses for afternoon tea, had a break from 5 until 7 just to catch out breath and then had all our friends and neighbours for a smashing party in the evening, we had a ball!!! We still haven't, some 37 1/2 years later, had a honeymoon but I do remember going to the allotment the day after the wedding and working the plot until lunchtime when miscellaneous allotmenteers joined us in our picnic lunch with all the leftovers, I think we had a bonfire too to celerate it all. You really don't have to spend a fortune to have a lovely and fun day.

mcculloch29

My wedding was done on a shoestring and just as well, as I ended up paying for it myself with my first month's wages from my new job.
Our massive bargain was the wedding cake, ex H spotted it in a department store window and asked if it was for sale, gave the soldier on leave spiel to win a bit of sympathy...
It cost him 50p (1976) and apart from the icing being rock hard after being in a shop window during the hottest summer on record, it was gorgeous.

[Deleted User]

When my late OH and I got married (1961) we did it in a registry office in Oxford.Had two witness's that we got from off the street outside, they were students and were happy to do it for us .We went for steak and chip with the two people cost £9.00. Never saw them since, and my wedding ring cost £4.00 I still wear it today 54 years later.My parents were convinced it wouldn't last as I had only known him for 41 days and at the time I had been engaged to someone else We lasted until I sadly lost him to a heart attack in 2003. Started off as broke as you could be ,but very happy, and I wouldn't have swapped him for all the tea in China.
Best £9.00 plus licence and ring we ever spent.If you know he's The One then money just doesn't come into it, we shared everything from being broke to being better off and the best legacy he left was our two daughters who are fantastic, and a credit to their big laughing Dad.all the cash in the world is no good if you don't have lots of love and laughter.
JackieO xx

vulpix

So nice to hear about everyones weddings.My first was in a register office with immediate family and we had a meal afterwards.The honeymoon was MIL's friend's cottage on the Llyn peninsula.There was no road to it,no indoor toilet or shower,it rained for a week and we both had a cold!

Second time was a church.Friend played the organ,daughters flute group played whilst we signed the register.Flowers done by the church ladies which they loved and for free,I did make a donation though.Wedding flowers are astronomical.I wanted 5 flower heads to float in a large bowl with some candles at the reception and the florist wanted £70 for that alone!!!!!!!!!!!!.and it was my bowl.I made the button holes,table decs and bouquets.The cake was made by class 3 at the school I worked at and decorated by the teacher and her Mum.I made the place settings and favours.Mine and bridesmaid dresses were eebay,suits were hired.I did pay for a nice car,Mr V put his foot down about me turning up in my own car.Photos were reportage style by my daughters photo student friend.We did our own hair and makeup.We also got married on a Friday which made for a cheaper venue. Hubbys friend did the disco as a gift.Oh,my friend made the rings at a fraction of the cost of high street shops.It felt so special and personal because so many people had helped create our lovely day.Saving on the wedding meant that we could have a nice honeymoon.

One of the nicest weddings I have been to was in church ,then the church hall for tea and cake.The brides Mum had been baking and freezing cake for weeks beforehand.

When i started planning my wedding I was shocked at what people think are essentials these days.

We do of course need to know all the details of the wedding plans.Vx

silvasava

First time round (in '66) the full works. White dress, church, 4 bridesmaids etc. Second time register office with parents MiL & Best Friend and a pub lunch.We'd known each other 5 months :eek: Our 41st wedding anniversary is on Sunday! I must admit the nicest weddings I've been to have always been the simplest.

vhalla1478

:THello Folks,

It's lovely hearing about new babies on the way and weddings/wedding plans. My DB's first grandchild arrived a few days ago; no details yet as my DB is still offshore-All I know is that it's a little boy and both mum and baby are thriving.

I had to smile over some of the wedding stories: when I married my first husband, we weren't too badly off, although I do remember being very nervous about buying material for my wedding dress in Leeds as we were warned by the stores that the IRA might be putting bombs in the rolls of materials!! We weren't having an immediate honeymoon, so after the 'sit down' lunch everyone came back to our new home and I thought they were never going to leave in the evening. When they eventually did we went out for a quiet romantic meal in a local restaurant - it was quiet; the only other couple there were celebrating their divorce! And the first morning of our married life was spent camped outside the dentists, early, waiting for it to open as my new husband had an impacted wisdom tooth and had been in agony all night.

My DS and DDil got married last October and that was a budget wedding par excellence - very necessary as they have six children, four from my DDil's previous marriage. As they have a very large and beautiful garden, they hired an enormous marquee (should have been £5000 but it was the first time this lady had erected it, so DS helped and it was only £500), my friend who used to supply Fortnum's and Harrods with pates, supplied the sit down meal - cooked in my weeny kitchen, although I have a large cooker, I paid for the ingredients, my DDil found the decorations for the chairs etc online, her dress and the bridesmaids were second hand, the flowers were from Tesco, made up by her and a friend, another relative made the cake, DS's best man is also a professional photographer so he did the photos as a wedding present as well as making his speech, poor man, we all mucked in to ensure the garden looked its best, my DDil made painted signs so everyone could find us (we live in the middle of nowhere, separately but on the same farm) and we all had a wonderful time. Irrespective of the fact that it was my son getting married, it was such a happy day because everyone had contributed. People are thrilled that you want to include them in helping out on your special day.

Have a wonderful day, Everyone.

Viv xx

camelot1001

Thankfully we had small families, church service, rented the village hall and the caterers did a great job. Friends organised a disco and we had a fantastic party.

MIL (who I don't really have anything to do with) still moaning that it wouldn't last. Well, it did until I lost my DH, but 21 years wasn't bad!

Good luck with the organising, I'm sure it can be done on a small budget and you will have fun with all the planning.

misstara

Afternoon all

A miserable day here - I took one look out the window and decided I was staying put until it was time to go to work. At least it will be a NSD

Used up the last of the squishy blueberries in pancakes for breakfast and lunch was nachos using up tortilla chips, salsa and cheese. Must go shopping tomorrow as the fridge is looking very bare and we have no fruit or veg left other than some onions.

I've budgeted £20 for food this week to try and keep to the monthly budget. Currently working on a cheap meal plan for the week.