Saving for wedding / ideas to have a cheap wedding

xironsongx

We're trying to do a wedding with £5,000 or less. We're hoping to get married in 2020 around July but may do it in a mother month , no actual date set

We have a venue sorted but not paying yet as they only book a year in advance and that's for £1,500-£2,500
Depending on what we want that's offered.

My nan can do the wedding cake, I have a second cousin who does flowers (and probably not having a lot of them) .

Not going to wear a conventional wedding dress,probably a comic dress from blue banana (goth/punk/emo/alternative store) for like £60 with dolly shoes as I can't wear high heels.

I'm happy to make decorations, invites etc. my self

I'm looking for any tips on doing the wedding as cheap as can be.

VintageHistorian

Limit the guest list. We had just under 40 people at ours. Make it clear from the start to relevant parties (family mostly) that you have a limited list and so that means Great Aunt Doreen, who you've never met but sends a Christmas card to your Mum every year, won't be getting an invitation. Neither will your in-laws friends from school, the entirety of your partner's office, or people on Facebook that you haven't physically spoken to in the past 10 years.

July is peak time for weddings so expect to pay more for things like catering, and expect to have to book them early and pay a sizable deposit. If you can arrange it for "off season" then you should get some better deals.

At least by having two years you can see if you can get stuff in sales between now and then. Watch eBay like a hawk, sign up for newsletters from Hobbycraft and The Range so you can find out when they're offering discounts on various craft bits, and make yourself an Amazon wishlist of things you need so you can refer back to it for prices.

But mainly I'd say that keeping your wedding small is the only realistic way to keep costs low. I did allow three babies and a toddler at mine though because A) I don't mind kids and they weren't going to eat much so didn't cost me extra XD

xironsongx

I'm no longer saving for a wedding.
After talks woth my fiance and my parents/nan. I've decided to save for emergency fund and for driving lessons then a car.

We're not in any rush and because of my recent illnesses I want to have a financial cushion before saving the big stuff in case anything happens between them and I'd have no money .

Pollycat

xironsongx wrote: »

I'm no longer saving for a wedding.
After talks woth my fiance and my parents/nan. I've decided to save for emergency fund and for driving lessons then a car.

We're not in any rush and because of my recent illnesses I want to have a financial cushion before saving the big stuff in case anything happens between them and I'd have no money .

WOW!
That was a quick change!

It's good to sort out your priorities.

xironsongx

Well I've been thinking about putting away for my emergency fund a lot for the past 3 months and feel that we aren't ready to save for a wedding when we both want to drive have cars and I've got no back up money if anything in the house breaks (which is the reason I owe my fiance £360) .

I had a long heart to heart with my mum and nan about it yesterday.

pigpen

if being married is important.. just go to the registry office with 2 witnesses and it is all done for under £100 .. you don't need people or a party or invitation or a huge venue or anything.. I couldn't care less who was or was not there so long as myself and my other half would be and 2 compulsory witnesses.. I don't even need my children there, certainly not my parents.. I love them all very much but adding those would increase numbers from 4 to 35 minimum.. and my costs significantly.

DigForVictory

There may come a time when your family want to see you married as they can feel their health beginning to slip a bit but may that be a while off yet.

Do be open to a small fast wedding if that's how your mum's & nan's health suggests it? Noone will begrudge you cutting the numbers (& the pennies) wildly under those circumstances.

Very best of luck & just squirrel the occasional things that seem essential & affordable - like a dress (that you would wear again, or could resell easily) if the ideal appears?

Zandy_23

Your doing the right thing by planning this early. Just keep the number of invites as short listed as possible and buy necessary things this early so you save both time and money. Good luck on your planning and wedding!

sillyvixen

DigForVictory wrote: »

There may come a time when your family want to see you married as they can feel their health beginning to slip a bit but may that be a while off yet.

Do be open to a small fast wedding if that's how your mum's & nan's health suggests it? Noone will begrudge you cutting the numbers (& the pennies) wildly under those circumstances.

Very best of luck & just squirrel the occasional things that seem essential & affordable - like a dress (that you would wear again, or could resell easily) if the ideal appears?

When we got engaged we were planning a long engagement, but then it became apparent mums health was not going to allow that. My wedding was planned in 5 months, we had everything we wanted (including reception for 80 in local pub hire room) for just over £4000 (it was only over £4000 as dad felt he should pay for a free bar). Mum was well for the wedding and in her element, but by the time I got home from our honeymoon a week later my mum was having fits due to her illness, and 2 weeks later was refered to the palliative care team. If we had not got married when we did we would have stayed engaged forever - I can't imagine getting married without mum there.