How much to save for relatively cheap wedding?

[ConfusedPixieThinksSheIsAnElf]

DP and I are starting to save for a wedding now, we aren't even engaged but I can't work more than part-time and he's a student, so we're starting to save for a 2015 summer wedding now.

How much would a quite basic wedding cost? Looking at a £1000 ceremony venue plus a hotel/restaurant booking afterwards. Relatively small (under 100 people for the whole event), will likely go thrifty where possible, call in favours from family friends for photography, jewellery for bridesmaids, favours and things like that.

The wedding would be in Sussex or Essex, costs would vary wildly between the two I'm sure!

[givemeaclue]

It's the venue, food, drink that makes up most of the cost. Depends whether you want a hogroast in parents garden or sit down 5 course meal in country house. 100 people is a lot.

Speak to some venues in the area you like or look on line and get idea of cost. Then you will know what you can afford.

Costs may not vary wildly unless you want central London.

Good luck!

[ConfusedPixieThinksSheIsAnElf]

Thanks for the reply!

100 doesn't seem like many to me, am I being disillusioned about it? It'd likely be nearer 75 if not lower tbh though, I doubt most of my family would turn up if it were in Sussex as they won't travel there. A lot of DP's extended family won't be invited because they're bastards. I don't really want to marry in Essex and won't unless DP's two Grandmas are still with us, and sadly it seems like they'll be gone before we get a chance to even invite them to a wedding :(


Venue is definitely under £1000, just, will probably be nearer to if not over the £1000 mark with inflation by the time we organise our wedding though. I have my heart set on this place and will kick and scream and cry if I don't get it will likely not be dissuaded unless somewhere else we both love and could afford appears, unfortunately Hever Castle does not fit into the latter category!

We would both like to get food catered by a normal restaurant but served elsewhere as the restaurant is tiny, we have no clue if that would happen though. We'd like to think so as the proprietor of our regular restaurant seems to love us

We already know that we wouldn't want typical wedding food though, we want good food and plenty of it. And lots of good vegetarian food as I want to be comfortable eating at my own bloody wedding, not picking at stale bread sticks and dry cheese. Buffet would be something like a family/friends pot luck with a few buffet bits thrown in from Marks and Sparks or something.


I really want to get planning this wedding haha. I will start looking into prices on venues for reception in the New Year, thanks for the idea :) I do want to have a relatively cheap wedding, with bits of it more expensive but most of it on the lower to middle end of the price range. I don't want to end up like my sister who spent £900 she didn't have on a dress and now has a £10k debt from her wedding Which is the main reason we're starting to seriously work out costs now as we don't want any debt but a mortgage and student loan for DP if avoidable!

[TobyLerone]

100 is a lot.

A restaurant/hotel reception venue which will allow you to bring in an outside caterer probably doesn't exist.

Ours is coming in at around £7k for approx. 80 people. That includes absolutely everything. Our venue is just over £1k, but on top of that we have registrar's fees of almost £700 (this is in Kent. I think that Sussex is cheaper. Not sure about Essex).
A decent photographer will cost up to £2k. The cheapest buffet package from a caterer will likely be around £15/head. For 100 people, that is £1500. We're having a hog roast, which has worked out slightly cheaper.

Would you be providing entertainment? A band/disco? We're having both, at a cost of £800.

Champagne/prosecco for toasts? Wine with dinner? Cake?

Your dress you can get in a sale mine was £150. My bridesmaids chose their own dresses different styles, all the same colour, all from eBay. I paid for them (just under £150 for the 3) and they will accessorise them however they want.

Weddings can be done really cheaply, but not if you want 100 people there!

[CordeliaChase]

We had a last minute budget wedding before we moved to another country. I had it organised in 6 weeks, from deciding to do it to slipping a ring on DHs finger! We married in the local registry office, then went on to a lovely restaurant for a meal. We asked the restaurant for a set menu for our 30 guests, and all the guests were aware they would be paying for their own meals. We paid for a champagne reception when they got to the restaurant, and our wedding car was a beautiful BMW decorated and driven by one of my DHs lovely friends. The meal was beautiful, and the restaurant were happy to take our booking with no deposit (seriously fantastic restaurant. Couldn't do enough for us!). We then invited people to join is for a drink at a local pub, I called a few weeks before to check they could accommodate us. I bought my dress from a charity shop, along with my veil and tiara. I made our own favours and my mum did the bouquet and button holes. My favours were two mini soaps shape like hearts that I bought from eBay, then wrapped in beautiful material.

All in all, I think our day cost £2500ish, including hotel, suit hire and rings. My ring was only around £150 but my engagement ring was very expensive (prestons of Bolton!) so it was my choice not to overshadow that. We had to be so strict with the budget as we were moving abroad. Our day was still perfect, my DH surprised me with champagne in the wedding car and we stayed two nights in a luxury hotel (paid for by FIL).

[YDdraigGoch]

Did you say your sister has a £10k debt from her wedding???
(Gets up from the floor in shock)

Remember a marriage is more than a wedding, and think carefully about whether you'd prefer to spend £1000s on a party for other people, or on something to make/improve a home for you both.
100 people would not be a small wedding - catering would be something like £5-8 a head for a buffet. More for a sit down meal. So for 100 people you're looking at £5000 just for a meal.
Suggest you are really mean with your guest list.

[Mbear]

Ours was £6.5k, that was wedding and sit down meal for 14 at very posh hotel then a party in a community hall for about 80 with food from waitrose. We provided all the alcohol (but people do drink less than you think) This cost also included £900 for my dress and £400 for a super posh cake!

However we had no bridesmaids, best people or photographer. Feeding people is what really costs the money.

[givemeaclue]

If you could have the restaurant serve the food in a village hall that would keep venue costs down but in your case the large numbers to feed and water will be the main cost

[Northernlurker]

You can get married very cheaply but a cheap wedding is not so easy oysiwm

I agree food and drink is the biggest cost. I think you could have a charming wedding for around £6000? Don't skimp on photos. When it's all over you want a nice shot of yourselves. Negotiate hard and maybe avoid expensive 'wedding' packages but do get somebody who knows what they're doing to take a few shots.

[ConfusedPixieThinksSheIsAnElf]

On phone so will quickly add that meal wouldn't be for that many! Logistically meal would be thirty to fifty people, likely lower end of that number. reception with buffet for up to one hundred, though most likely less than 75. Thanks for price/number ideas though :) it's handy to know, names me more convinced to get dp to whittle down his family list, and me mine! I may organise a wedding or engagement party in essex for my family and his and have a smaller wedding in sussex a week before or something.

And yes, sister is 10k in debt from her wedding and I think honeymoon too. They didn't really save for it and have a different attitude towards loans and debt than we do (we would rather pay everything up front, they are happy putting things on a card and paying in instalments) :/

[givemeaclue]

2 weddings???

[ConfusedPixieThinksSheIsAnElf]

No, I worded that wrong Wwedding and meal after in sussex for close family and local friends, then a party shorely after in essex for our families. Or an engagement party in essex for family and a smallwedding and small meal in sussex whenever the wedding is.

photography seems like it's be our biggest saving, my younger sister is a photography graduate and we have numerous family friends who do it for a living so I plan to take advantage of that! I have a family friend starting in the wedding planning business too so if things go well for her I've ask for help and advice and good deals there too.

[YDdraigGoch]

Good luck! I hope everything goes well

[theoriginalandbestrookie]

Our friends had a wonderful budget wedding last October. For the reception they rented out the local community hall. Put together their own bar - he is a real ale enthusiast so they had about 2 types on tap. Food was a hog roast with all the trimmings. For dessert, lots of people had made cakes and biscuits which were available buffet style. For the entertainment they had a magician, a disco and a local singer from their pub.
The cake was a layered cheese cake, which was then turned into supper with crackers and chutney.

It was a magical event, all the more special because it was so uniquely "them". There's lots of ways to do it on a budget so I would get creative about your thoughts.

[Hendersaq]

Wow, I want to know also! Really good topic.

[LadyCurd]

Ours was for 100 people plus 50more for evening and came in at £5000.
We had picnic baskets on tables as centrepieces with some amazing food in them. All cold food but I hate queueing at buffets so this was ideal solution. Food cost £1k plus £300 for pizzas delivered that night.
Drink was all from booze cruise to France. Glasses hired for free from tesco. Money saving expert forum has good wedding planning advice- more details of my wedding are on there.

[whattodoo]

Love the picnic basket idea!

[ConfusedPixie]

I also love the picnic tables idea! Thanks! An old friend always said she'd have a carousel and fun fair theme with candy floss, I love that idea too but am not allowed to steal it apparently!

I've worked it out to 30 family members who I might like involved, up to 20 friends for the entire thing now. Never really thought about numbers before this thread but I've completely culled half of my family. I'll spend some on a party in Essex after the main event as I don't want to invite most of my family to avoid bad family political situations! My sister ended up doing that and tbh, I don't want to have to cater my menu for my fussy, typical Brit family who won't eat anything unless it's a slab of meat with two veg.