Shoe-String Wedding

gayleygoo

I was a bridesmaid last year and our dresses were ebay China cheapies. They looked gorgeous, were fairly well made and only needed some minor alterations to fit us. Our flowers were pretty silk ones that we still have

would you consider a vintage wedding dress? You could try Etsy, there are lots of great dresses on there, many are less than a few hundred pounds. Buy shoes that you will wear again.

For the groom, he could wear a nice suit he'll wear again. If OH and I ever got married, I'd let him do it in his woolly jumper and hippie patchwork trousers!

Wedding cakes can be incredibly expensive, so if you have any baking friends who could gift you with one (or a tower of cupcakes instead!) that would help. don't bother with favours if you're really trying to save money, but they don't have cost much if you do have them. you could put some sweets in little cellophane bags, or make seed bombs (great for a spring wedding).

ambyence

Congratulations!

You've already made a big saving on the venue so that's a big plus.

I got my bridesmaids' dresses from ebay and they were £39 each. They were perfect and made to measure which was great, as two of the three bridesmaids have bigger than average boobs.

I got my own dress in a shop (more for my mum and MIL's sake than my own, I'd have been happy in something cheaper).

Shoes were ballet pumps from Amazon at about £6 a pair. I got mine then the bridesmaids asked if they could wear their own shoes as they knew they'd be comfier in heels (?) so they did.

My husband got his suit from a department store - can't remember which one - and new shoes that he still wears for work.

Enjoy your planning - it can be stressful but I found I enjoyed the organising that I did (husband was self-employed & I was studying for my degree at the time, so he did most of it).

Best wishes for your future together

KxMx

My friend who had the chinese dress was plus size and (her words) stupidly tall. Apart from the backing it was perfect.

claretsgirl

Congratulations on the wedding. Mine is next year too. I got my dress online from Debenhams for £120. It was on sale and had an extra 20% off. It fits me perfectly.

justme111

sarahmtly wrote: »

My partner and I have set a date for our wedding for March 11th next )

so refreshing to see someone who does not feel they need to spend to be happy and have a memorable day. I would look for djs amongst friends but you seem to have it sorted already and not expensively. I would not go to a church but I understand if you want to. I am sure you will find a dress you will look great in cheaply, many suggestions here already. If you don't then I am sure you will find money for one you want.

sarahmtly

Thank you all so much for your suggestions. I will definatly have a look at debenhams and I like the sound of buying a nice comfy pair of flats from Amazon.

Also love the idea of buying fresh flowers from Tesco the morning before the wedding. I was going to buy artificial and make some flower centre pieces but the thought of fresh flowers sounds really nice and probably a bit cheaper.

I wish I knew someone that could sew to make my own dress but I dont and if I end up doing it myself I know I wont be happy with it.

As for favours I am very fortunate in that I have my own Silhouette Cutting machine so I am able to laser cut favour boxes and invites ect myself.

If anyone knows of any plus size suit or dress hire companys in or around Cardiff then I would love to know of them

Thanks again for all your ideas

Maysie

I managed to get a New dress with labels on ebay it was something like £1300 when it first came out. It was 2-3 old and it was on a buy it now for £50. There are bargains from the uk to be had. Shame the alterations cost over £300!. Simple styles are cheaper to get alterations done. Mine had lots of layers of tulle and satin which is what bumped up the price so its something to be mindful of.

I used to do a daily search on ebay for uk only, tulle which I love but your favourite material is a good search) the neckline I liked and style. It cut down the searching a lot. Most recently listed search is where I found my dress it had only been on 3 hours.

Pollycat

Not noticed this mentioned yet but there is a specific board for weddings:

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/forumdisplay.php?s=&daysprune=&f=142

theoretica

Another nice option for flowers is to use flowering plants in pots, they can be cheap (maybe cover the pots in nice paper or cloth) and guests can take them afterwards for their gardens. Also I prefer low arrangements - easier to see the people opposite!

Jacko_amz

I bought a dress from China on eBay and it was awful didn't fit me at all even though I'd sent specific measurements, in the end I bought a stunning dress from my local bridal on one of their big sale days, a mori lee for £250 it's beautiful xxx