To think its near on impossible to have a cheap wedding?

[DownUnderBound]

In our many years and dc together we have actually booked and cancelled two weddings packages! Each time turned into a circus, with everyone else thinking it was all about them, and taking over, moaning & making us feel guilty over small guestlists etc.(not inviting second cousins we literally dont even know) I have a feeling of its now or never, not getting any younger! But a googling session tonight has confirmed that it cannot be done! Am I wrong? Any tips?

matilda. Proscecco and beer.... good thinking. Told you I was clueless about this type of things haha.

I will probably stock up on proscecco, beer, vodka and a few other spirits. Will be a small guestlist and they will all know the coo!

Supermarkets do good.buffet services as mentioned by pp.

I always wanted a choc cake if I got married, just sent a pic of a two tiered choc cake with flowers & decorations to a local cake maker for a price, saying it was a birthday cake. 75! Then got my friend to do the same with a similar style, but saying it was for a wedding, price.... 375!!! Just goes to show, dont mention the 'W' word.

Checked a well known spermarket, gorgeos bouquet 50.

With all your wonderful help I nearly have this all sorted! Thankyou all again

We went to a lovely wedding a few weeks ago, reception in a church hall. Meal was a help-yourself buffet, tables groaning with gorgeous food. I asked which posh caterer did the food - it came from M&S.

I had a fairly cheap wedding, just by having a non-fancy town village hall with a buffet for my reception. I didn't fuss about pretty chairs, because I reckoned I was getting married in such a beautiful location, fancy bows on the back of chairs would be unnecessary.

If I wanted to do a wedding cheaply now, but also wanted a big family affair, I'd tell everyone not to bring presents, just a plate of food and a bottle. I'd hire the local village hall, British Legion... anywhere that's not particularly expensive to hire.

Have done this once as a guest, and enjoyed it - a couple of bottles of nice wine and a posh platter from M & S still works out cheaper than donations to that luxury holiday a traditional wedding present. Loads of lovely food. Very relaxing. And if you want presents, rest assured most people gave a small gift as well.

We paid 5k 10 years ago and we had what was right at the time. If we were getting married now, we would do things differently.
We wanted to get married and 5k was a lot of money to us, but I wanted a church wedding with a few trimmings. I seriously considered my friends garden for a marquee but that cost was prohibitive so we ended up with a social club type hall.

You have decide what is important to you and the kind of day you would like. Enjoy!

Not a wedding but for mums 50th we used waitrose party food and a local hall, it was great. The food was surprisingly inexpensive and we only had to unpack the boxes.

I think weddings can be done with in a budget

My best friend got married last year she had a registry office for the ceremony where we are the registry office is a lovely building, then they hired a pub again a very nice old log burner type pub they had a Buffett, played music off the iPod ( save on a dj)

Another friend got married in a registry office then have parents and 6 friends for a meal in a fancy restaurant.

Another friend found a hotel that for £2000 done the ceremony, Buffett, dj, and the couple got the honeymoon suite for the night.

I got married in San Francisco just us, baby, parents it was amazing and then we had a party on our return for all friends and the rest of the family.

Things like wedding favours you can make yourself?
Are you any good with baking? Or somebody you know? Could do a wedding cake that way?
Buffett will be cheaper than sit down meal?
If you don't want a massive white dress? How about looking online, eBay, debenhams, house of Fraser for a simple white smart posh dress? I think some oxfam shops do wedding dresses?
You could have a registry office ceremony and then hire a hall for afterwards? Local church hall or similar? Buy alcohol from cash and carry? Do a little food? Music dancing what more to people need?

We are now going to sit down and work out what is important to us, whatever isnt will not make the list!

We had a similar hour party for my 30th couple years back at our house with 80 guests! It was one of the best nights that went on till 5am! So I know we could pull off a good party.

Lessons learnt.....the first things anybody will know of this is when the invitation is delivered to them! From that moment onwards, we will politely decline anyones 'opinion'

Reading this with interest. I'd marry my man in the clothes we're standing in in a registry office, job done, but he wants a Big Cheap Wedding. Big and Cheap just don't sit comfortably together, especially when he doesn't want to cut corners (everyone must have hot food, that we haven't prepared as he cba). Isn't it the woman who's supposed to want fuss and feathers?!

The hotel where we booked our wedding was charging nearly £40 for a rather dull menu- soup, roast, apple pie. We told them we would only pay £20 and what could they do for that? They agreed and we ended up a good hot buffet instead. Never be afraid to negotiate.

The best two weddings I have ever been to were registry office followed by restaurant. There was no fancy hotel wedding package and the bride and groom still got speeches, photos and all the wedding-y trimmings.

I used to work in the industry. Before I did I planned my own traditional white wedding for much less than friends marrying at the same time.

Church
My family church where I was confirmed basic costs, organ player
Registry offices are often gorgeous now and CDs/mp3 can be just as good.
On the friends and families theme, a friend of mine had a very famous singer as a nephew who sang at her wedding. But most of us have someone talented in our circle.

Dress - ex display 10th of full cost, nobody would have known. Ex display, buying from independant retailers, from high Street stores, not having a 'wedding' dress all bring costs down.

Also shop at the right time. December and January are quieter for wedding retailers but also march/April as they're getting rid of last year's stock to make room for this year's, wedding season is Easter onwards.

Shoes - non wedding shoes just pale colour

Flowers - local florist very helpful, also help from family with one particular flower.

Cake - local baker, simple design, 2 tiers only and I still had cake coming out my ears (200 at wedding).

Engagement and wedding rings - h Samuel, not because they were cheap but they had the designs we liked. Several friends have made their own from various heirloom items.

Stationery - local word of mouth I found a guy who was just starting out and doing it as a cottage industry. I negotiated a discount by allowing him to put name of business and number in very small lettering on back of order of service, they were so gorgeous some of my friends still have them (20 years later!) This was pre Facebook, there are a lot of people doing this as hobby income.

Photographer - as stationer, just starting out but great portfolio of non standard shots but also took some standard ones. Kept cost down by not having thousands of shots taken and only ordering the ones we really liked.

Reception I'm a military brat so we were able to use the families club (like a working mans club. Decorations can make an amazing difference to any space. I've known brides use barns, church halls, community centres, empty schools, even an old hospital building!)

Decorations - I got tons of stuff by shopping just after valentines day and getting valentines balloons, napkins, tablecloths, centre pieces... Depending what your style is if there's a time of year that ties in with similar decorations get them just after that occasion. A friend was wanting green in her wedding and shopped just after paddy's day, another friend had pale yellow in mind, shopped just after Easter.

Made my own favours

You've already said about enlisting family and friends, my flower girl her mum made the dress and we said right that's your gift to us then.

Catering - by sgts mess, buffet not sit down. It was cheaper but we did it as we had such a varied combination of dietary requirements, I'm veggie, several other veggies, couple vegans, several allergy sufferers and coeliacs and diabetics and people on heart healthy diets...it was just easier.

Did my own make up and nails (actually my gran helped night before one of my happiest memories)

Hair done by my usual hairdresser, as I was a very regular customer I got a good rate.

Local dj

Wedding night in local hotel, local tourist information were extremely helpful and found us a gorgeous little place that wasn't well known. Four poster bed, beautiful room and we had the place to ourselves!

For the skills based areas some students (hair, make up, graphic design, photography can be extremely talented and happy to get the experience and build their portfolio. My local hairdressing college course students have done some amazing work for charity fashion nights etc. There's also local amateur clubs (eg photography clubs) who are often happy to help if only to advise.

As pps have said think laterally too, I've known brides get their dresses from charity shops, find unusual locations, or just have exactly the wedding they wanted and just because it's a certain style its ended up being cheaper (I'm thinking of a 40's themed one I was involved in, the place cards were ration books!)

You can have a lot of fun with it, there's lots of forum on this too.

It depends entirely on what you want. We had a wedding which "off the shelf" would have been around 6/7k but we did it for 4k including a honeymoon. I wanted all of the bits (things we didn't need but I liked; lots of flower girls and page boys, sweet table, popcorn cart with our welcome drinks) but I got my dress from a catalogue and I made a lot of our wedding myself (bouquet, table decs.. a lot) and I spent time sourcing for example I was quoted £800 on average for a hog roast.. I ended up paying £450 and it was AMAZING!

You don't want a cheap wedding trust me, you want good value.

Of course it can be done :)

We had a registry office with a village hall. Incredibly cheap (by normal wedding costs!), very chilled out and it was lovely.

Our wedding cost £150 all in. Registry office, prom dress, shirt and tie for DH and toddler DS, dress for baby DD, and we all went for a meal afterwards at local cheapish restaurant where everyone paid for their own meal - it was great! We couldn't afford a big party so we called a local clubby place and asked for a table and fenced off area, which was free, and they gave us a load of free drinks too! We asked everyone to come to our 'party' there and it didn't cost us a penny! It wasn't a dream looking day (understatement!) it was very cheap and cheerful, but we wanted to be married more than we wanted a wedding, and what we ended up with was a really nice time with all our favourite people without stressing over costs!

An asian couple had been living together for years. He was divorced before he met her, and she was never accepted by his mother. No children.

One day she just came into work with some photos. After about 10 years of living together they went to a registry office, and got married in normal clothes. They then went to a photographers with hired wedding clothes and had professional photographs taken of just the two of them.

Simple, fuss free and no IL's of either side to create problems.

We are doing Registry Office with 5/6 friends, followed by either a local slightly upmarket restaurant or catering at home. The stress of organising a capital-W Wedding and spending all that dosh makes me break out in hives.

Intent to Marry - £35
My (nice but not wedding-y) outfit - £300
Ceremony - £250 (?)
Lunch - £300
DP's outfit - probably suit he already owns
Rings - ?

DP went nuts with my engagement ring but that doesn't count surely

Local rugby club or cricket clubs r usually cheap with their own bar. Then just provide a buffet

Downunder...i got my wedding cake from marks and spencer! It was very tasty. Friend did the deciration on it. Had another friend who id the flowers. I carried a single white rose with abit of greenery on and ribbon in a very pretty way. Very classy! I know she enjoyed doing it as i know she visited wedding fairs for weeks before and really got into it. On the morning of the wedding she kept popping in with the flowers asking if thus was ok. It was perfect in the end and i bet you pay alot for what she did. It was so lovely knowing she done it too. Had make up friend do my make up. Hair done by bridesmaid....

Without doubt it can be done but you will have to be ruthless.
You could do registry office
You could hire a local hall
Food can be a cold buffet with friends and family helping

It is YOUR wedding and as such YOU decide how you celebrate it.

You could just get married with a couple of close witnesses and go out for a meal after and split the bill, it can, if you are prepared to be ruthless and fend off awkward comments from family, be that cheap.

It also depends on your expectations.

The nicest weddings I have been to have been the cheapest:

Buffet prepared by family, local hall, music, happy company.

We got married for £1500 last month. Registry office for the ceremony then a pub function room for the reception.

We got the room for free because we asked them to do the catering and also had a drinks reception. It came to around £700. Luckily one of our guests was a photographer and took our photos as a wedding present.

We also used the wedpics app and got all our guests to download it prior to big day. Some of our favourite photos were taken by our guests on their phones.

My dress was from BHS, they have some really nice wedding dresses for around £100. Instead of a wedding cake we had 3 of our favourite cakes from a local bakers, came to less than £40.

Of course you can do it cheaply but it depends what you want. Personally a buffet in a social club or a hog roast in a church hall really isn't for me but I would happily buy a nice dress on the high street and take however many people we could afford, say 30-40, to a really fabulous restaurant with limitless wine and champagne and come back with change from £3-5k dependent on how many guests we had.

We got married for less than a grand so of course it can be done.

Just looked at the M&S party food. If that alone isn't a good reason to get married I don't know what is!

I'm already married... but I would totally consider bigamy.

www.marksandspencer.com/l/food-and-wine/food-to-order/party-food-and-sandwiches