Easy ways to save costs when planning a wedding

karenburton1305

So one of my closest friends is planning a wedding that will happen over the next few years. 

She's loooking to save some money where possible - not necessarily a budget wedding, but saving money on things that don't  need to be as expensive/easy tricks etc. 

I've already found a bridesmaid dresses list for her to use (so I can find a dress I like too ahahahah) but I wondered if anyone else had any other option? Maybe for flowers/cars/table favours etc. She's happy to spend money on things that are important to them, but is looking to be potentially thrifty otherwise!!

Emmia

Bridesmaid dresses from the high st - you want the wedding /races area really (and take photos of them on the bridesmaids in the fitting room - some dresses look much better on camera than in real life). 

My sister had 2 weddings I bridesmaided at, one dress was £30 from Oasis and the other £35 from House of Fraser.  I bought shift dresses for my bridesmaids from BHS (not wedding section) which "popped" on camera - again about £30 each. 

MovingForwards

You're better off asking a board guide to move this thread to the family board as this one is about bank accounts.

@Browntoa @soolin

karenburton1305

MovingForwards said:

You're better off asking a board guide to move this thread to the family board as this one is about bank accounts.

@Browntoa @soolin

Hi Thanks! The forum board is about budgeting as well as bank accounts, so I assumed it would be relevant here? Obviously if there's a better place then great, but that's why I thought here was useful!!

I've been watching the series on Netflix called Cheap Weddings I think? They had great low cost ideas but some people's flowers fell apart etc. so I want to make sure even if we save money it's not all going to fall to pieces! Anyone have experience with second hand/online sales of dresses?

Emmia

karenburton1305 said:

Oh wow! They're great recommendations thank you!! Some dresses are much better in person I agree!
Quick question - did you do anything special with socks at either wedding? For the hen do and for the actual day, we're looking for some cool/quirky matching socks for the wedding parties. I've found some ideas over on SOCKSHOP but wondered if you had anything similar happen at your weddings and had any ideas/inspiration to share about shared tokens etc!

Matching socks, or ones specific to the wedding e.g groom, best man etc. could be a bit naff - If you're going to do it I'd stick with a normal sock brand like Happy Socks, which do loads of designs (adults and kids) and then coordinate from there.

Eco_Miser

karenburton1305 said:

MovingForwards said:

You're better off asking a board guide to move this thread to the family board as this one is about bank accounts.

@Browntoa @soolin

Hi Thanks! The forum board is about budgeting as well as bank accounts, so I assumed it would be relevant here? Obviously if there's a better place then great, but that's why I thought here was useful!!

Budgeting here [ETA: Budgeting & Bank Accounts, since the thread has now moved] is about planning spending, so as to have the money available when needed, not so much about doing things on the cheap. Other boards on the forum cover that.

So budgeting advice for a wedding would be work out how much it is going to cost, how much is saved already, divide the difference by the number of months before the ceremony, and that's haw much to save each month. Make adjustments for deposits needing to be paid earlier.

soolin

I have hopefully moved this to a better board for responses. 

Pollycat

soolin said:

I have hopefully moved this to a better board for responses. 

There's also a specific 'wedding and anniversaries' board (but not as busy as this board):

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/categories/weddings-anniversaries

Gavin83

Choose your venue wisely. They vary quite wildly in price. We got married in a registry office (a lovely old town hall building) and had the reception in a pub. Wouldn't have changed anything about it to be honest.

Decide what your priorities are. We didn't care about all the frilly bits people add on like posh transport, sweet stands, photo booths, etc. Our biggest priorities was the food, the photographer and the rings. Mainly picked the last two because they're the things that last past the day. Our food wasn't crazy expensive but definitely value for money. I've been to weddings with Michelin starred chefs with worse food than we had at 3 times the price.

Finally do what you can yourself. For example we made our own invites and it cost a fraction of what it would cost to get it done by someone else. I know people who have made their own table decorations as well. We also 'made' our own favours, which people loved due to how personal and unique they were and they cost less than it would have cost for a place to make mini cupcakes or similar.

TBagpuss

As others have said, dresses from the high street - and if she has time to plan ahead, be canny and shop in the new year (lots of dresses marketed for Christmas / NYE parties on sale) or summer when all the dresses they were selling for prom are on sale. 

Oxfam have several dedicated wedding shops - if any are within reach, have a look there - we went to one prior to my sister's wedding and while she didn't end up getting her dress there in the end, they had a lot of lovely wedding dresses at a fraction of the normal price - plus things such as shoes, tiaras etc . We particularly liked that they had no issue with  taking pictures when trying on the dresses, which was really useful in narrowing down which designers and styles worked for her and which didn't. They had a lot fewer bridesmaids dresses, maybe people re--use them more?

Also - it's worth her talking to bridal shops - they may have ex-display dresses which would be less expensive. (and if she chose in advance then sh'll still have time to get any alternations done so it fits her perfectly.

Flowers - buying flowers and making up bouquets etc yourself is much less expensive than buying then made up - we did this with my sister's wedding, and we (bride, her sisters and mother) put the bouquets for the bride and bridesmaids together the night before, which meant we got to spend time together so was great on two fronts. We did buy the buttonholes ready made.

Think about what things she feels are important, in terms of any reception - whether having (for instance) napkins and chair covers matching her colour scheme is important or not. Id she has the reception somewhere other than a hotel, then there are lots of ways to reduce costs for catering - a buffet may be cheaper and easier than silver service, depending on locality she may be able to look into whether there are any local colleges which offer catering courses, if so, she may be able to get a deal on having them do the catering.

Photos - consider if this is something she wants - I have been to several weddings whether there was no official photographer - at several, the couple had cards printed with the address and log-in details for a designated Flickr account and asked guests to upload their pictures there - and had a couple of friends who took a few more formal group photos as well - in all those cases, they got lots of lovely candid pictures as well as a small number of more formal posed pictures.

At one wedding, as a kind of guest book they asked people to write in a book and took photos of each family group / couple, with a view to putting the photos in with each guests comments. The 'hens' took it in turns to speak to guests at the reception to get them to write in the book, and to take the pictures, so no one person was doing all the work, but everyone got their picture taken.

If getting married in a church, bear in mind that you pay separately if you want the choir or bellringers. (also, make time to talk to the ladies on the flower rota, in advance -  They may well be willing to ensure that the relevant week's flowers are done in your colours, especially if you are willing to make a small donation and/or provide the loose flowers - this was another thing my sister did for her wedding, it worked out much cheaper than getting the florist to decorate the church, and the ladies enjoyed having some slightly fancier flowers than usual to play with! )

timing - some times of year and days of the week are more popular and therefore more expensive - so avoiding peak dates such as Saturdays in the summer holidays or May half term will probably make a huge difference to cost, particularly if her preferred venue, caterer or other suppliers are popular.

HampshireH

* Wedding Shop sale rails for dress (some get reduced by over £1k for minor issues like a missing button - which you can sew on yourself - based on experience for this exact reason)
* High Street shoes

* High Street bridesmaid dresses 
* High Street suits (Next are good)
* Minimal flowers (or none)
* Got a friend whoses a florist? Maybe they could do the bouquet as their gift

* Got a hairdresser friend who may like to gift a hair style?
* DIY makeup - no need to pay someone.

* Compare packages for venues - cheapest may not include the extras, like wise nor may the most expensive.
* Reduce numbers - less people less expense

* No need for hired cars, they can just be driven in normal ones.
* Use eBay/marketplace for second hand accessories that are fun but unnecessary like post box, table plan board etc.
* Decorating tables yourself is creative but may not be cheapest way. Actual party decoration companies are usually quite reasonable (DIY soon adds up and can get carried away).
* Cheap hen and stag nights

* Choose the best photography package to suit and get a few quotes. If it's important don't scrimp as hopefully will only have one wedding. If it's not important then ask the guests to do the upload thing - they will anyway may as well take advantage.

And keep a spreadsheet