Wedding August 2008

samcl24

Hi everyone. This is the first time that i've been onto this site so sorry if what im asking has already been answered elsewhere!

I am getting married in August this year and i was just wondering if anyone had any tips on how to make it as cheap as possible. I bought the dress of my dreams in the sale. The reception is looking to cost around £2000. This is for a wedding breakfast and an evening buffet.

Am looking at photographers and they are very expensive!

Any help would be great. Thanks

NoahsPennilessMummy

hi

when my friend got married last year they married late on in the day then went straight to evening reception which obviously saved a lot of money....not sure if it would suit everyone tho...depends if you have your heart set on an all day do

pinkshoes

Photographers always cost an arm and a leg! How about putting disposable cameras around the room for people to take their own photos?

Or get a friend to be "official photographer" (get someone who knows how to be authorative, and can call people together for group photos!), and get them a nice gift to thank them. You can then pick and choose from digital pics, and print the ones you really like.

squashy

I would really advise against 2 "do"s as this will really be bumping your costs up! We had a hot sit down buffet as a compromise between the two. In fact it was tapas but you could have anything.

Another big tip is to get married on a weekday. It is usually much cheaper. You may actually find most photographers already booked up for this year (august is the busiest month!) if you are choosing a Saturday. Table cameras are a good idea as an extra but there were very few good ones from mine so I think a photographer is a must to capture your special day.

Wedding dress was an ex-sample bought from a wedding dress company at a wedding fair. They still altered the length etc free of charge but it cost me a third of what it would have for them to get it made from scratch.

Bridesmaids had dress from Debenhams and the flower girls rom Adsa's wedding range.

Car was a silver merc decorated and chauffered by my uncle.

Hen night consisted of me and cheif BM hiring a double hotel room and pampering each other the night before, which also gave us somewhere to get ready away from my partner!

Just a few ideas!

WeirdoMagnet

There's lots of advice on here on how to have a MS Wedding. Have a look at Martin's Article Getting Married - How to have a money saving wedding, and also the Weddings and Anniversaries Board, which has a great thread started way back in 2003 by Mrs Thrift (was Ms!) Wedding Tips Start Here....

Good luck!

2boysmum

Hi,

Congratulations on your big day!

I got married in 2005 and did mine on a budget, wedding dress was from debenhams, bridesmaid 1 dress was from bhs, bridesmaid 2 dress was from monsoon as she was 8 months pregnant at the time!, rings from h samuel, got ready at the venue so didn't need a car, hubby came in best mans vintage porsche, favour boxes and match books ordered from e-bay, gave uncle our camcorder. Only invited immediete family, aunts and uncles and best friends to the meal and had everyone else at the evening reception with buffet. It cost us in total just under £3000. It can be done cheaply without missing out on anything, you just have to shop around, use the internet to do plenty of research and good luck!

Sharon

flutterbyuk25

Another idea for photographer's is to approach a local college/uni with a photography department so see if one of the student would be willing to do the photos free in exchange for them using a few in their portfolio?

Or if you aren't fussed on having lots of official photos of everyone on the day you could do the disposable camera option and book into a photo session afterwards to have pics taken in your wedding outfits?

One tip, if you do rely on friends/family to take unofficial photos for you is to ensure that there is someone waiting outside the ceremony to take the first pic of you coming out of the doors as a married couple. As all your guests will probbe inside then without that person outside you wouldn't have that magical first picture (hope that makes sense!)

good luck x

samcl24

i'd just like to thank everyone for all their help. I have noted all this down so fingers crossed i can get something sorted!!! Thanks again

u2nick79

Please can I stress not to just rely on disposable cameras? I got married in the summer, had professional photographers (just starting out, were very cheap in comparison and I had mother, father and son - 3 photographers for cheaper than normal companies) and had some lovely pics. We had disposable ones on the tables for during the reception and the evening and the quality was terrible.

Can you ask a reliable friend with quality camera to do the pics?

zztopgirl

Agree with others here but especially u2nick's advice, if you can get a good trustable friend who is good with a camera, dont waste any money.

I had a mse blessing one sunday in 2006, did a deal with a professional photographer to only take pics at the church (which would be 40-60 minutes max), the service was to start at 2pm, he sauntered in at 2.05pm and made up 6 different excuses to why he was late. He did waiver all the fees but it doesnt make up for the lack of photos, i ended up with no photos of my daughters, professional my backside. Dont want to put anyone off but just make sure if you do use a pro, make sure you have a signed contract and that the photographer is fully insured, also that they actually do have qualifications. I spoke to other photographers after the event and was told there are only 2 out of 20+ in my area that are actually qualified.:eek:

I also tried the college route but was told i would have to put a notice on the college noticeboard and hope for the best, but i stupidly decided it would be worth it to fork out a couple of hundred for some decent photos.

I had the reception at home in our back garden, we only had about 15 guests and it was a really hot day. Everything came from ebay, had a m&s cake which was on special offer at the time and had a limo hired very cheaply, but had rung every limo hire service going to get the best deal. Did all my own food before the service!:T My way isnt practical for everyone, but if you have your heart set on your reception, make sure you try and get the cheapest and best deal in everything else. And dont forget to have contracts, etc.

avidcameraman

Hi I totally agree with zztopgirl if you use a pro make sure there a member of an official body, such as The MPA, BIPP or SWIPP all of which you have to pass a panel to be able to use there credentials, and you have to be fully insured too. I know this as I a member of 2 of the above as a wedding photographer. Good photographers start from around £350 and in my experience having got married last June it was worth every penny.

We also had a 2.30pm ceremony and we just had everybody for one sit meal this saved on having two separate meals and we laid on some lite snacks to get people through a 5pm Breakfast meal and finished of with classy bacon baps late in the evening. We also used the cake as a dessert rather than pay for three courses there was small charge for serving the cake with fruit sauce and cream. Even with add food we saved a lot by not having 2 do's we just had one very big one.

ps If your having a week day wedding barter with all your suppliers because it should be a lot cheaper..!!!!

All the best Avidcameraman