What was your wedding like if you got married pre the year 2000?

[Chocolateandcoffeee]

I'm engaged and am currently planning my wedding (will be a small one as we don't have a huge budget) and it got me thinking about weddings in the past. My parents never got married and the only people I really know who are married got married within the last 10-15 years so I've only really heard about recent weddings. Was just wondering if you got married in the 90s, 80s, 70s or 60s- what was your wedding like? Was it a lot simpler than today's weddings and what did you wear, what was your cake like and how did you celebrate? Before getting engaged I never really had an interest or thought about weddings but I'm actually finding learning about it all really interesting and enjoyable. Would love to hear others experiences

Got married 1999.
Local church then hotel around the corner for meal and party with my friends Dads band playing. Around 80 people in the day, 120 in the evening.
Dress from berketex brides.
Auntie made bridesmaids dresses, matching waistcoats for the men and a little bow for my dog.
25th anniversary in November.

1987: my dad paid for most of it; local church then reception in local hotel.

The guests were mainly family and friends of our parents and we invited a handful of our own friends each. Maybe about 60 guests in total.

I think that’s the biggest change now: couples pay for it themselves and invite their own friends rather than weddings being more of a do laid on by the bride’s parents.

I got married in 1985. Choice was church, or registry office, which in our town wasn't that nice, an office on top of a shopping centre leading outside to the rooftop car park. No castles, country house hotels or barn options. Ivory silk dress, lots of bows lace and ribbons, due to Dianas choice of gown having created a fashion, it was impossible to find anything else unless you were having it made. Reception for 70 in a lovely old hall, roast chicken wedding breakfast, buffet and disco in the evening. Honeymoon was 3 nights in a hotel in a toursity small town

Got married in the mid 1970’s, 40 guests, but lots of people turned up at the church to watch. Family friend with a nice white car drove me and dad to the church for 2pm. We walked down the street to a hotel for the reception, buffet, free bar and no entertainment. New husband and I drove off in his car about five o’clock to our ‘honeymoon’, which was a weekend in a hotel about 50 miles away. My family hosted an evening party at their home for all the neighbours and family including children.
Dress was off the peg at Debenhams, I made my own and my one bridesmaid bouquet’s and the church flowers the day before. No stag or hen do’s, no favours, no first dance, no nonsense, 12 photo ‘package’ with local photographers and bought an album to put them in.
It was a great day. My parents paid.

Married 1993.

Wedding - Church wedding

Wedding breakfast - pub/restaurent - family, v close friends. Sit down meal, speeches etc.

Evening reception in church hall - wider friends (such as school friends, uni friends), work colleagues, neighbours etc, disco and buffet

In those days, it was usual for people to attend the wedding and evening reception (and not be offended), plus child-free weddings were uncommon.

Weddings could only take place in churches and registery offices, so it wasn’t unusual to go to several weddings in the same church over the summer. Plus the same venues were used for receptions.

My dad paid for it all. Wore white dress, one bridesmaid (niece) and had other relatives as ushers.

1990, register office. It was either that or a church, because you couldn't legally get married in hotels etc in those days.
Then "sit down" lunch in a hotel.
Traditional iced fruit cake - I still have the sugar flowers in an airtight tin 😂
I think about 70 guests - can't really remember. Finished about 5pm, as no evening do..... thank God, because they are awful!
Whole thing probably much more restrained and simple than weddings nowadays.
In the extremely unlikely event I were ever to get married again, I would pare it back even more and invite just a handful of close friends and eat in a top notch restaurant.

Married in 1990 in church. We're not religious but didn't want the registry office option. White dress with long train, headdress and veil. Two bridesmaids. Husband had best man and three ushers. The men in the wedding party wore grey top hat and tails (ugh!) Children were invited.

Sit down meal for about 90 people in church hall. Three tier wedding cake. Speeches etc. In the evening we had a disco and buffet. Nothing very fancy. I'm actually glad I got married before the days of social media and instagram.

I got married in the 90s. Busiest time for weddings for me was probably 86 - 96

All except 1 were in Churches (the one was in a registry office).
Then you went to where the Reception was.
Mostly a 3 course 'sit down' meal, fairly traditional meat and veg.
Everyone ate what they were given, or subtly slid it on to the plate of someone else at the table.
Commonly (but not always) things moved to a disco in the evening with additional people joining (though often some elderly - or just non-party -loving Reception guests would go home after the speeches.
Most ladies wore hats to Church. Men always wore suits. Commonly the Groom, best Man, Ushers and sometimes fathers of bride and groom hired morning suits. At some weddings, people would give all guests a 'button hole' to wear.
Lots of other people who wanted to wished the couple well would come to the Church, or, at least, neighbours would all come out to see the bride off from home.

Favours (if people had them) tended to be sugared almonds (I mean, why?).
People didn't cover the chairs with anything but the people sitting on them.

I got married mid 90’s in a nice registry office, there were 40 guests for the ceremony and meal in a hotel afterwards. We had a Buck’s Fizz reception and pianist playing during the meal.
Then we had 30 more guests for a buffet and disco and an unofficial after party in the hotel bar that went into 3am.
My dress and shoes etc cost £500, cake £100, lovely flowers, £100, photographer £250, Rolls Royce £250. I didn’t have bridesmaids or a hen do.
The total cost was £5000 I’d say it was a medium sized wedding. We got engaged at Christmas and by new year I’d booked the registry office and hotel for the reception for 8 months later.
I wouldn’t say my wedding was very different to ones I go to today.

My first marriage in 1981 was the usual traditional thing, church- reception in the banqueting suite top floor of the very big co-op - then a week in Ibiza, second wedding 1996 - 7 of us there- got married in gibralter , reception on terrace of lovely old school hotel and stayed on for 6 days

Married in spring 1997. it was really dark and pouring with rain in the morning but about an hour before the wedding, the sun came out really warm and dried everything up which was nice.

DH proposed when DC1 was a few days old so 3 months from engagement to wedding as I just wanted it done quickly to cement our little family. I hadn’t wanted get married before that but having DD changed my mind pretty quick! My mother was furious as she wanter to plan a big extravaganza! Massive row about me wanting a registry office wedding as I was a confirmed atheist but my mother wanted a church wedding.

We had a surprise two horse and carriage which picked me up from my parents house. We’d arranged a friend to take me in his Mercedes. It then took us from the registry office to church for a blessing (compromise to shut my mother up!) then from the church to the restaurant for an afternoon reception with around 50 guests which finished at in the late afternoon. My mother did a massive 5 tier cake which was amazing.

We went off to a posh hotel for dinner and had the honeymoon suite for the night while my parents had DD. No honeymoon due to DD being so young and not wanting to leave her.

The council opened the pedestrian only road through the centre of town for the carriage as registry office was about half a mile down the very end so had people clapping and cheering and shouting good luck as we went by which was lovely.

My parents got a chimney sweep to meet me outside the registry office for luck and the wife of the carriage driver gave us a decorated horse shoe which we still have on the wall 27 years later.

My dress was an off the peg plain sleeveless ivory full length dress with a big bow on the back. I hate frothy, lacy meringue things so went for the plainest thing I could find. Cost about £250. With a fresh pink rosebud crown. Younger sister was my bridesmaid.

DD had a mini bridesmaid dress too which she poonamied over the back of and the new dress I’d packed her as change of clothes was too small so we’ve got pics of her with the dress gaping undone at the back at the reception.

Parents paid for reception and horse and carriage. We paid for the photographer and the rest as didn’t want them to pay for everything.

Married late 90s.
My dress (cream) and bridesmaids dresses (copper) handmade by a local seamstress. Groom & best man hired suits as did the dads.
1 small flower girl.
Church wedding (which I wouldn't do if I was doing that now), with about 60 guests who came straight on to the reception.
Sit down meal of 2 courses. We didn't pay for the bar but did pay for drinks for toasts and with meal.
Another 30 or so to the evening reception.
We budgeted hard and did a lot ourselves including decorating the church. It cost around £4k all in.

Immediate family only, registry office, lunch at a good restaurant, a beautiful cake from local Italian bakery best man and moh brought to the resturant in the morning. Short but wonderful four day honeymoon at 4 star hotel.

We got married in 1990, I was 26. It seems very young looking back, but we are still together, 34 years and three DC later.

We had a church wedding for 70 near my family home, pouffy dress very much of the time, vintage cars, hotel reception with sit down buffet and three tier wedding cake. Party in the evening with extra guests and food. It was a good day.

I got married in 1999. It was quite a big, traditional wedding, in a marquee, but we did it at home and pulled in all sorts of favours from friends - caterer, dressmaker, florist, entertainment, photographer etc - were all provided by people we knew who charged cost price only, or at least did it for a good price. Bride's grandmother made the cake. Ceremony was a register office as I don't think you could get married in non-church "venues" on those days?? We had a cheapish UK honeymoon in Devon, a week in a lovely self catering cottage. Whole thing cost less than £10k for 100 guests.

My parents were married in 1969. Church wedding, reception and meal for 90 people in a local hotel but no evening do (this is a more modern thing). Bride made her own dress. Bride's mother made the cake. The honeymoon was three nights in a posh hotel in Eastbourne.

Married in mid 90s. Very DIY I think it was about £2500 all in.
Church wedding, reception for about 100 in local banqueting place, some extra people joining for barn dance with live band in the evening. Only decorations were balloons and a few flowers brought from church. No favours or anything but I hand lettered all the place cards.
Mum and I made all the dresses in dupion silk (ivory), I didn't want a fussy polyester dress with plastic encrusted trims. I had two adult bridesmaids and one flower girl, the dresses were copper too like PP. Wedding car was a Jaguar.
Honeymoon was a week in Devon then camping a week in Cornwall. DH didn't even need a suit as he'd got one for his sister's recent wedding.
Practically the only thing we paid full price for was photographer who wasn't very good and only took about 50 pictures on film. I am a bit envious of people now with a huge collection of digital photos of their day!

1999
It's our 25th anniversary this year :)
Church wedding - local parish church
My 2 x adult sisters were bridesmaids
Meal for 100 at a nice hotel
Another 50 at night for an evening reception
Flowers done by my aunt
Bridesmaid dresses made by my mil
A local lady made the 3 tier cake
Cost £7k

We married in 1999. My dress was the second I tried on and I fell in love with it. It was £150 in the sale. We found lovely wedding rings in a pawn shop. On the day, I had my hair dressed by the hairdresser but preferred to do my own make up. We had a church wedding as it was very important to me and my family. My niece who was 7 at the time was bridesmaid as was another little girl who was a friend of the family. They had made flower girl type dresses. I think we had around 60/70 people at the church and the wedding breakfast at a nice local hotel. A relative made our beautiful 3 tier wedding cake. We hired a local photographer just for day photos. We travelled in a posh hired cae, a Bentley maybe, can't remember
The evening reception was in the function room of a social club. We had 100 plus guests with a huge catered buffet. Our Dj was a friend who worked in regional radio. We stayed back in the hotel on our Wedding Night before travelling to Paris for our honeymoon the next day. It was a wonderful, happy day with all our family and friends and our dj said it was one of the best weddings he had ever done. I will say that we were incredibly lucky as my lovely parents and pils insisted on paying for everything including our honeymoon. They helped but let us choose what we wanted. I don't think we were demanding at all. It was all very easy We were incredibly grateful and thankful. Married 25 years later this month and we are still very happy.

Not a typical wedding but we got married in 1999 on an Fijian Island. Just the two of us.

Cost not sure. Maybe £10k? Silk Flowers done by florist and buffet catered by our 2 neighbours and guests who were in the catering business.

Thank you everyone! I'm really enjoying reading all these. They all sound so lovely and like everyone had such special days!

Got married in 1990, venues weren't licensed then, so Registry Office first, then to a local venue for meal and speeches, carrying on into the evening with a live band and buffet. About 40 people for the sit down meal, another 50 or so for the evening. My family had a catering business so evening buffet was a wedding present, band were friends so that didn't cost much, and my dress was under £100 . My mum's outfit cost way more, and that was included in the budget of about 4k, as was the honeymoon ( a week in a cottage somewhere pretty in the UK). A family member persuaded a friend to provide a fancy car to and from the ceremony, and my Mum and MiL made the bridesmaids dresses. I had a hairdresser come to the house for me and the bridesmaids, and we did our own makeup. The cake was really expensive compared to everything else, about £200, and I don't think we spent a lot on flowers, just a simple bouquet and buttonholes, and then very small vases of whatever was in season on the tables. I think we provided the drink, DH got it from Cash and Carry.
It was a really fun do, the band managed to appeal to everyone, the speeches were hilarious, and we all had a good time!

I got married in 1992. Church wedding,reception at my old school…a beautiful place and grounds. 80 at reception and about 50 at evening reception.
Hen night was a crazy night in local town…absolutely brilliant.
Really think that people try too hard with the pre and post celebrations nowadays .
Honeymoon in Corsica . Wedding cost about £15000.

Married in 1981. About 40 guests - mainly family, including children.

Church wedding at 3pm to allow guests to travel and eat beforehand, buffet reception in a hotel near the church. My mum made my dress and the cake, my sister was bridesmaid, a neighbour took me to the church in his vintage Rolls Royce and my uncle took the photos.

There was none of the over elaborate (IMO) planning that modern day weddings require. We just booked the church, reception venue and the flowers and sent out the invitations.

We didn't have an evening do and just stayed in the bar of the hotel with family.

1991 - big white meringue, 3 adult bridesmaids and one little one. Late morning ceremony followed by a wedding breakfast at a local hotel in walking distance from the ceremony.

100 guests 2 cars one for me and one for DM and the bridesmaids.

Formal structured bouquet for me, smaller posies for bridesmaids (other than little one who had a teddy dressed as a bride instead). A couple of big formal arrangements for the ceremony and co-ordinating round table arrangements at the hotel.