OMG. £110 pp quote for a wedding.

[romanceit]

What sort of madness is this?! Yes it is a hotel package but I've been to two or three weddings in this hotel and it's certainly not a particularly high end one.

Living in sin it is!

It is a racket. I hadn't really realised until we started looking.

I like the idea of the out of season times. A Friday would work well I think.

Sorry? The PP who had a bring-and-share wedding didn’t celebrate properly? I imagine that’s news to her.

You tell them you cannot afford/don’t want a big wedding.

anyone who gets offended by that is really not that close to you.

Goodness Me.
What is this "celebrating properly" nonsense?!!
We got married in 2017, had 30 people-ish.
Lovely country house, got married outside, inside for a 3 course meal, cake speeches, photos blah blah blah. Then off to a nice hotel for the night. We spent just shy of 5k in total, the catering was the most expensive bit at 1.3k.
We had an amazing day.

Of you want to reduce numbers make it very short notice. Like 3 weeks. Very effective method.

Is eloping an option? Dh and I married 7 years ago in the UK but if I could go back and do it again, I'd go abroad and not have all the guests.

Well what's with the 'get married in a field with one pot of crappy chilli between 100 folk or you don't really want to be married' nonsense?

Just to show you options - half your price

www.grangemanor.co.uk/venue/weddings/platinum-late-availability-package/

you are getting a really hard time on here op but unfortunately people won't let up now.

i was really surprised too at the costs. it seems like so much money for one event.

in the end we changed our plans by finding a small italian restaurant that we booked out for the night. we could have had dancing but didn't want that. Having the place to ourself was brilliant and we saved about 20% on the price but had a much better quality result.

We compromised. Hired a sorts hall and paid a marquee company to drape it like an indoor marquee it was beautiful and cost us 200 for the weekend

@TheOnlyKoiInAPondOfGoldfish
what year did you get married?

I loved weddings like that in the 70's. SO SO much fun. I hate (most) weddings now. The OP's need to out for her 'friends' type in particular. Very average meal for 'wedding prices', in a hotel

I'd MUCH rather have 'a bap in a field'

The best thing to do is ring and ask, especially if it is an independent hotel/venue.

If there are any times in the year when things are looking quieter, they will be happy to consider a booking to fill in the gap.

We have recently hosted some 'Afternoon Tea' weddings at my work- they've gone down very well and not as expensive as a full 3 course.

I think the key is to decide on the bits you care about and spend money on them and sod the rest. We spent a lot on food, booze and a good band, but nothing on cars, my dress was cheap, DH wore his 10yo morning suit, flowers were all local, made my own cake etc etc. The problem with a package is that you’re paying for bits you don’t want as well as bits you do. If you like the hotel, maybe worth talking about whether they can be flexible and take things out of the package that you’re not fussed about.

Yes, food, band and booze are the priorities! I think I'll put out some enquires for October. I've always loved autumn.

I've never seriously considered eloping but it does save a lot of hassle.

Why not look at a nice pub then? A good pub is doing your food, band and booze week in week out and should be cheaper than a hotel.

I think OP you need to decide on your budget and on your priorities.
For me they were

• nice dress (it only cost £500 in the end!)
• good food
• good photographer.

We got married in May on a Wednesday, saved a fortune.

I don’t think OP is getting a particularly hard time. It’s the going rate. It’s like complaining that petrol costs £1.65 a litre, and then telling the person who suggests getting the bus that you want to get to your destination PROPERLY.

I really dislike the MN puritans who think their marriages are worthier because they got married in a bin bag and made their own wedding ring from a copper pipe offcut but hotel weddings cost what they cost. You can have fewer guests or you can have a simpler do 🤷🏻‍♀️.

www.moneysavingexpert.com/family/cheaper-weddings/

I paid £150 pp for mine and we had 100 people but that included the venue hire (the venue was pretty enough that it didn’t need decoration), 3 course meal and evening hot buffet served by staff, plus drinks throughout the day, we did have to pay extra for a few things though like a coffee station. I don’t regret a single penny, we had an amazing day, best weddings are those with good food and plenty of it so we didn’t scrimp, get married on a weekday or a Sunday that should save a bit.

How bloody rude! I got married in a field and my chilli was fucking delicious. My whole wedding was £500 and I married a doctor.

You're being snobbish and looking down on people for making suggestions. The person judging things here is you. There's no solution because you're doing it to impress people. So save up money and waste it on a wedding. I'm laughing all the way to the bank. Except I'm not. Because I've got no mortgage to pay. I'd imagine the people upthread with similar weddings to mine are similarly fixed these days.

It’s not that bad! I was quoted up to £160 pp back in 2007 at the hotel I loved. Didn’t go there at that price.

food alone was £75 pp at ours 7 years ago so this sounds pretty good!

We got married on a budget but it was lovely OP

Registry office wedding followed by reception at a hired venue. We arranged for caterers we found at a local farmers market to do an amazing buffet meal and serve. We provided all the booze and drinks which we got from Waitrose on sale or return and with free glass hire. It was lovely. More work thanks turning uo and letting a hotel do it all, but far , far cheaper.

We buggered off to the lakes and had a "just us" ceremony and and didn't invite a soul!! Best day of my life and no awkward "should we invite great aunt Sally" or "if we invite X we'll have to invite Y".

Then have a buffet in a hired hall or barn and spend a bit more on the band/DJ?

You have more options than a hotel