The Great ‘how to host a big party on the cheap' Hunt

Starz_Ceilings

Eight years ago this year! But feels like it was yesterday! We saved money in lots of areas, but still had an amazing day with loads going on.

I purchased silver sugared almonds wholesale and saved a lot making them into my own favours. I also put fortune cookies on the table - they were inexpensive, but people really liked them...

I contacted a 'porsche owners club' as my husband is a 911 nut. They were delighted to help us out (If you're cheeky enough to ask!!) and it meant my hubby was delivered to the venue in a top of the range red 911 (his team's colours) - the guy whose car it was was really chuffed to be involved in our big day, and didn't even want any money! I think in the end we made a small donation to charity instead. My dad brought me to the venue in his pride and joy - his shiny black MG - decked out with all the ribbons of course! Wedding cars cost a lot so it was nice to make a saving here.

We put bingo cards on all the tables - instead of numbers there were answers to questions about the two of us - the best man read out the questions, and the winning table got a bottle of bubbly. We called it "Wedding-o" (lol - sorry!) Everyone enjoyed that...

We brought in our own wine and paid the venue for corkage - it still worked out cheaper than buying their wine, so it's worth checking.

I saw a gorgeous dress (with a crazy pricetag) and got a friend who was a dressmaker to copy the design for me - this saved me loads and I was delighted with the outcome. We bought some very simple bridesmaids dresses in a sale and customised them with tiny silk flowers.

We also bought fireworks that were on sale the previous new year and set them off at the wedding at midnight.

I saw an amazing cake in a bridal magazine and my mum (who admittedly is a dab hand when it comes to cakes) copied it exactly - that saved a fortune - the original cake was almost £1,000!

I reckon in total we saved several thousand...

There are lots of ways to make savings!

boldaslove

when my friends got married a few years ago they hired out a private room above a pub and got everyone to bring a dish to the reception. people were divided into savoury/sweet, the guests were from all over the globe so the food was fantastic and very interesting! my mum (a dab hand at baking) made the wedding cake and musician friends played rather than hiring out a band. there was a laptop hooked up to the soundsystem with loads of music on, so everyone could DJ. several guests were keen photographers so there ended up being hundreds of pictures and my friend shot a load of footage which someone else edited on their computer and burned onto a dvd.
it was a 'kid friendly' reception (till 11 when the adults could party!) so several of us got hold of a trunk and put homemade shakers and fancy dress stuff in (fake beards, fireman hat, feather boas, masks etc) to keep the kids entertained. although to be honest the grownups seemed to enjoy that more!

i have to say it was pretty stressful to organise but it ended up being an absolute riot, everyone still talks about what a great night it was, definately the best wedding i've been to!

foreversomeday

For our wedding (now postponed due to the little one!) I was thinking about having the reception in a local park, and getting everyone to bring a dish or plate of picnic food, and a blanket. It would be great for kids as they can run around and make as much noise as they want or play on the slides and things - I was going to suggest that parents bring a change of clothes for their children if they were going to be all dressed up for the photos! We weren't inviting everyone to the wedding itself anyway so most of the children coming wouldn't have to be dressed up in special clothes.

Of course this is very much dependant on the weather - but since everyone is meeting in a public place there is no booking fee and no problem if you postponed it, so it could all very well be arranged at the last minute as long as people aren't flying halfway across the world.

Parks work well as a party destination, and are free to get in. I remember having my 6th birthday party in our local park and everyone who came (including me) said it was the best party ever. If it is involving lots of children though you will need more adults to supervise and regular head-counts to make sure nobody has wandered off! You can do some structured games, perhaps a hugely organised hide-and-seek or sardines (again make sure the adults keep their eyes open!!) and any food tastes better if it is eaten outside so you wouldn't have to go overboard on this. If it is summer, avoid ice cream vans or ask parents to give their child money for an ice cream as this can become expensive with a lot of children, especially if you are already providing lunch. Another thing which will be exciting to children is to find a park slightly further away than you would usually drive, which most of them would not have been to before. Make sure you know where the first aid place is in case anyone gets stung by a bee or falls over - or carry plasters, wasp-eze and lollipops just in case. Face paints are also cheap to buy and can be applied before you get there if you arrange a separate meeting place.

curlysue_3

I'm actually a wedding planner for a 4star hotel and there's a few things you can do if you've got your heart set on a hotel for your wedding/reception:
*be flexible on the date- Saturdays are the most popular day for weddings, therefore less chance of a bargain, so ask about discounts for Sunday - Thursday weddings- you'll be surprised what kind of money you could save and most guests will welcome the excuse to take a day off work!! Also, bear in mind that may-sept are the most popular months for weddings, so going outside of these months can mean great savings!
*don't just accept their set packages with 3 courses, drinks package and evening food- always ask if they can tailor make a package- ditch a course, or do without teas & coffee- make people buy their own drinks?
*skip the wedding breakfast altogether and go for a more informal late ceremony straight into an evening do with a great buffet- what i am planning for my own wedding!!
*make sure to do your guests a deal on accommodation too!!
*try and get rid of room hire costs by having minimum numbers of guests as per the hotels terms- sometimes if you can add a few extra people you can save hundreds on room hire.
*if you're prepared to do everything with a bit less notice then your average wedding, you can also get some great discounts with by checking if there are any dates coming up soon, eg phone up now for any cancellations/free dates in august this year.

And aside from all the hotel bargains to be had- dont forget EBAY!!! It's great, you can get dresses, tiaras, shoes, bridemaids outfits, table decs, just about anything you might need!!!

Hey_Dude

markrussell wrote: »

I run a company called bliss productions and we specialise in parties on the cheap. We usually save people anywhere between 35-60% of the "Usually" cost of throwing a party by using local, homemade or if we do have to hire specialist equitpment, ensure we are using "best value" suppliers. We have seen a recent boom in what I descibe as value events and clients have started coming to companies such as mine knowing we can save them tremendous amounts of cash. All we do is add 10-15% to the total bill for us. But when your saving 50% its really handy, especially if you haven't got the time......
We only profit from the overall event and produce recipets for every cost line to prove we are not adding premiums.... I have not posted links, but if you or a friend are interested then give me a shout via the message service.

Is giving someone else 15% really Moneysaving?



Dude

markrussell

Hey_Dude wrote: »

Is giving someone else 15% really Moneysaving?



Dude

Its usually 10%, just do the maths, I save you 50% off the cost then charge 10% for you to do nothing, that equals 40% saving....That sounds good and my customers love it......

yorkie_cook

Friend of mine got married last year and wanted a tiara but didn't want to pay £50-£100 in the bridal shop and another friend suggested trying one of the asian shops or online she went online and got got one for a few pounds.

MoneySavingStudent_2

Start planning early is a good tip!!

Im getting married next year but because were on a budget and cant afford to just shell out £2000 all at once for a reception venue/meal were doing things bit by bit!

I buy 1 thing each month for the wedding and because ive brought in advance it speads the cost better and its not as hard on your wallet because you have time to search for the best price!

I got engaged in Feb and so far ive got the following:

Deposit for venue = Cost £500 (Amex card used with 5% cashback!)
50 wine red favour bags = Cost £2.50 (including p&p)
50 ivory favour bags = Cost £2.50 (including p&p)
150 red chocolate favours = Cost £3.50 (Including p&p)
150 white chocolate favours = Cost £3.50 (including p&p)

Keep this date free cards pack of 100 including envolopes = Cost £7.98
Printer ink = Cost £20 (Black & Colour)
*I saved money by printing my own. I drew a picture, and made a couple of hearts on paint, edited them and made a verse to go inside the card. Looks professional printed on golden paper*
I will do the same with the actually invitations!

For the venue we thought a sunday would be nice but were not too fussy. We ended up moving the day to a Friday because we got 20% off our wedding breakfast! We also got free room hire, bride and groom suite free, parents of bride and groom rooms for free, free decorations, special rates for guests, use of spa etc.
*If your not bothered about what day, ask the wedding planner if they do a special offer for having it on a certain day. Our venue were doing 20% off for July/August weddings if they were on a Friday!*

But of course the whole day is about the dress for us girls!!
And yes... i have brought it already! I saw the exact one i wanted straight away... BUT it was £350! :eek: Which is alot on a tight budget! I went through the local papers and searched ebay daily.. Then on one day i found the dress on ebay! It was an ex display model and it was in my size!
I got the dress for £41.10 but then got an email saying the seller had over charged me on postage so she refunded me £6! :rotfl:
*Always search ebay and other sites before you make a big purchase! You never know you might just get lucky like me! PS my dress was from the UK too NOT china!*

We have also called in favours for the suite hire from a cousin who will do the hire for about £45 each instead of £59!
The bridesmaids dresses are £100 each but im looking on ebay to see if we can get lucky again!
*Also keep an eye on places like debenhams because they do random 'blue cross sales' on there website! Im hoping to get the bridesmaids dresses in that. Next one is in June i think!*

My fiance's grandad also use to be the vicar at the church were having, and the vicar there at the moment is my fiance's uncle, and he has made sure we dont have to pay for the church until the day before. (Which i think happens anyway in most cases!)

So by buying abit each month so far ive been able to save lots! Im so pleased about my dress! Im going to work out table menus later this year and see how much i can get that down by.
ALSO
We are thinking of making out own wedding cake, as fiance is good at baking and future mother-in-law is good at decorating cakes! (of course they'll be some trial runs first!)

Photographer - We are going to ring up the local university and see if a final year photography student would be willing to build up there profile! (We'll check work before hand to see if he/she is the best in the class!) Their only a few months away from graduating and becoming a professional, so why not?!

Flowers - Local is best. but buying charity shop plastic flowers for the best men etc is a good way of saving money and donating to a good cause! Me and my bridesmaids are going to have some flowers from our own bush in the garden. My auntie (who i was very close to) died in Feb, 3 days after we annouced our engagement, and her ashes are under the bush/tree in the garden (we planted the tree/bush in her memory) so we are going to have a rose each from it, so she can be there with us

I hope you've enjoyed reading my wedding plan so far!
:j

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malteaser1988

moneysavingstudent...your wedding sounds fab...i cant believe you are managing to get married on a student budget!
im also a student and i definately couldnt afford it right now!
are you using savings or earnings?
malteaser

mummyyummy_2

MUM OF 5, do you have any pics you can post here of your table decs and flowers, they sound lovely...thanx xmyx