How much did you spend on your wedding?

HighamKneeDee

Oh, good luck by the way.

Mr_Toad

When my daughter got married last year to the six foot bloke she brought home from Uni they decided not to go down the celebrity princess route.

They live in the same village as her husband's parents and we had what can only be described as a good old fashioned village wedding.

Married in the village church with the reception at the village cricket/bowls club.

All the catering was supplied by the village ladies, all the flowers came from village gardens and all provided free of charge as a wedding present.

As well as being one of the proudest days of my life it was also one of the best. Both families and all their friends plus the whole village was there. My daughter arrived at church on a trailer decked out like a carnival float by the local school children and towed behind a tractor.

It was a memorable day and cost almost nothing. A fantastic wedding doesn't have to cost the earth.

Pollycat

Mr_Toad wrote: »

When my daughter got married last year to the six foot bloke she brought home from Uni they decided not to go down the celebrity princess route.

They live in the same village as her husband's parents and we had what can only be described as a good old fashioned village wedding.

Married in the village church with the reception at the village cricket/bowls club.

All the catering was supplied by the village ladies, all the flowers came from village gardens and all provided free of charge as a wedding present.

As well as being one of the proudest days of my life it was also one of the best. Both families and all their friends plus the whole village was there. My daughter arrived at church on a trailer decked out like a carnival float by the local school children and towed behind a tractor.

It was a memorable day and cost almost nothing. A fantastic wedding doesn't have to cost the earth.

I've been very clear on another thread about my dislike of parties & family get-togethers, but I think I would have loved your daughter's wedding.

Fireflyaway

Personally nothing as my parents paid. However I don't think its about the cost. Its about memories and you can't buy that. Knowing love went into making a cake would top the most expensive cake. Food need not be expensive. Any venue can be made to look nice. Know anyone with a large garden? Could have an outdoor reception with a barbeque?! That would be cool and memorable.
Invites you can buy / make cheaply. Photos - ask a guest to take on that job. I think 'real' relaxed photos tell a better story than staged ones.
Rings don't need to cost much. When its on nobody will know how much it cost! Hope you have a lovely day whatever you decide.

pearl123

Mr_Toad wrote: »

When my daughter got married last year to the six foot bloke she brought home from Uni they decided not to go down the celebrity princess route.

They live in the same village as her husband's parents and we had what can only be described as a good old fashioned village wedding.

Married in the village church with the reception at the village cricket/bowls club.

All the catering was supplied by the village ladies, all the flowers came from village gardens and all provided free of charge as a wedding present.

As well as being one of the proudest days of my life it was also one of the best. Both families and all their friends plus the whole village was there. My daughter arrived at church on a trailer decked out like a carnival float by the local school children and towed behind a tractor.

It was a memorable day and cost almost nothing. A fantastic wedding doesn't have to cost the earth.

This sounds fabulous.

Mr_Toad

Fireflyaway wrote: »

Personally nothing as my parents paid. However I don't think its about the cost. Its about memories and you can't buy that. Knowing love went into making a cake would top the most expensive cake. Food need not be expensive. Any venue can be made to look nice. Know anyone with a large garden? Could have an outdoor reception with a barbeque?! That would be cool and memorable.
Invites you can buy / make cheaply. Photos - ask a guest to take on that job. I think 'real' relaxed photos tell a better story than staged ones.
Rings don't need to cost much. When its on nobody will know how much it cost! Hope you have a lovely day whatever you decide.

Exactly this.

One of her Uni friends did the main photos but the majority came from the guests. Almost everyone these days has a phone with a decent camera so they got hundreds of candid shots, all they did was set up an online photo account and give people access on the day so they could upload their pictures directly.

SunnyCyprus

Have you tried looking at dedicated wedding forums? ‘You and your wedding’ is good for daily updates and talking to brides who are actively organising weddings. The wedding board in MSE, although well organised and easy to use, is not used very much.

My own advice would be.. look at your budget, how much could you save each month, and how much are you happy to spend on a one day party? If you only want to spend £1000, it’s totally doable. If you are happy spending £10,000, that’s possible to!

Gloomendoom

Mr_Toad wrote: »

When my daughter got married last year to the six foot bloke she brought home from Uni they decided not to go down the celebrity princess route.

They live in the same village as her husband's parents and we had what can only be described as a good old fashioned village wedding.

It was a memorable day and cost almost nothing. A fantastic wedding doesn't have to cost the earth.

Absolutely. If you can avoid the rigid structure of a traditional wedding/reception you can make significant savings while maximising enjoyment.

We did something similar. Married in the same church as my wife's parents and had the "reception" at the same venue (my wife's family home). Followed by our guests, we walked from the church down to the house through a wood on a lovely summer day (30°C).

The reception was actually a very relaxed all-day garden party with old friends, forgotten acquaintances etc turning up at various times and children running around everywhere. Although we provided a hog roast in the evening, the rest of the food was brought by guests. We had a free bar with wine/fizz donated by my parents (French booze cruise), a barrel of cider from my wife's uncle and beer by us. Spirits were on a BYO basis.

suki1964

Gloomendoom wrote: »

Absolutely. If you can avoid the rigid structure of a traditional wedding/reception you can make significant savings while maximising enjoyment.

We did something similar. Married in the same church as my wife's parents and had the "reception" at the same venue (my wife's family home). Followed by our guests, we walked from the church down to the house through a wood on a lovely summer day (30°C).

The reception was actually a very relaxed all-day garden party with old friends, forgotten acquaintances etc turning up at various times and children running around everywhere. Although we provided a hog roast in the evening, the rest of the food was brought by guests. We had a free bar with wine/fizz donated by my parents (French booze cruise), a barrel of cider from my wife's uncle and beer by us. Spirits were on a BYO basis.

Sounds like ours in a way

Registrars office just a mile from the house then back to ours for lunch in the garden. Only a tiny garden belonging to a tiny terraced house, I borrowed garden furniture from every one I knew and hired crockery and cutlery

Was just supposed to be about 12 of us, turns out around 40 popped in and out during the day. Was a glorious June day sat in the garden , food I ordered from waitrose and bulked out ourselves, cake was a wedding pressie, we supplied wines and beers, bought cash and carry through the year

I even took the dog for his walk halfway through the day, still in my "wedding dress" and a few more well wishers came and joined in

I think the last guests left around 2 in the morning, I thought it would all be done and dusted by 6pm:rotfl:


A very memorable day , I loved it. So informal and fun.

bertiewhite

Our wedding cost a total of around £1500 - that was dress, church, food, the lot (except honeymoon).