To want a really small wedding? Cheap but fun ideas please!!

[Mumof3almost4]

We have decided to get married, both second weddings so church not an option. DP would like a big wedding but we have barely any money so can't.
I'd love a smaller wedding but I have no idea how to make it minimal but fun. Please can you send me your ideas and experiences?
Thank you!!

Are you having an evening do? I really wanted a butler to hand out buttered toast at midnight!!

We only had 9 guests, and hired a box at the races.

There are some lovely village halls about - one near us has views of rolling hills and lovely outdoor seating. If you have kind family and friends you could rope some in to help with food...get some speakers and compile your own playlist etc. I do believe there might even be a website especially for "village halls suitable for weddings" or similar.

What kind of people are you? Outdoors, indoors, kitsch, modern, pub, formal dining...

We (10 of us) drank champagne in our living room, went to the registration office, to the pub and then for a Thai. It was a lovely day. We had actually chickened out of a big do and saved about £20k which we knocked off the mortgage instead. So glad I didn't sink all that cash on one day, it wasn't 'us'.

we married abroad with no guests (well PIL gate crashed but that's another story) - we had a big evening do - in the local village hall - as presents one friend did the disco, another did the catering and bar - we supplied the booze, my sister did the decoration and my mum did flowers and cake - it was ace - had so much fun!

I'd get married in a registry office and then come home for an all day BBQ with plenty of food and drink!

We eloped in New York

Just the two of us, we look back on it with such fond memories. It was perfect for us as we have complex family relationships.

My wedding dress cost £200 from Wed2b, and a further £100 for alterations. DH got a nice new suit. We booked an incredible meal out on our wedding night, it was just the most perfect day. The whole holiday, officiant and photographer, outfits, rings etc cost us about £6k in the end. Money well spent, and we probably could’ve done it cheaper if we’d wanted to!

A big wedding is a big party in his head, I can't imagine he cares much about chair coverings! Ask what is important to him about the scale and if it's the people then I'd hire a village hall or use a big garden/field and gazebo and just have a piss up with some outdoor games. Sumo wrestling suits, giant jenga, kids soft play hired for the littles.

Excellent ideas thank you!!

I love the idea of a box at the races, where would we actually get married though, can you do that there?

We are pub, evening with friends people, pretty chilled about it, don't want chair covers, favours etc.

Some racecourses will have a licence, we got married at a register office.

I had a larger ceremony and afternoon tea.
The I booked out a lovely small bistro for the evening for 20 people.

So not tiny but not a fortune either.

The most important part to small and fun wedding is to have genuinely only people you genuinely like and who like you. And they should be bit fun. 😁
We had under 40 ppl (including us 3) and it was so much fun without any organised fun because everyone was in a good mood so were just messing about.

The bubbles probably helped too😂 You can get adorable bubble tubes or even some shaped like champagne super cheap.

My dh is a wedding photographer and one of the most relaxed and fun weddings he covered was at the local registry office and then onto a reception at the brides parents. They had a beautiful garden put up a gazebo and hired waiters and bar staff, kept drink options simple and had a range of canapés.

Just checked some prices for races, well over our budget and also forgot we have kids ha

Brother got married in a lovely local pub - well registry office - then booked out the local pub - hog roast - vegetarian buffet too. Bit of money behind bar but enough for a couple of rounds really.

Bride wore a nice dress, he wore his good suit, no bridesmaids, no make up person, did her own hair, no swagging. Her bouquet was flowers from a friend's garden (they didn't last the day but were beautiful). No buttonholes.

Everyone had a lovely day and it was cheap....for a wedding.

Basically don't do any of the bits that wedding magazines tell you you have to do.

Friends hired a room at their favourite restaurant. Not pretentious, just absolutely lovely. It's all about the people - get the people you love around you, enjoy a nice meal together, job done. The nice thing with a restaurant is people can linger if they want to over coffee, brandy, more coffee, whatever, but there's no expectation to do so.

Also the best things do come in small packages. It doesn't have to last all day to be a thoroughly lovely wedding. Ceremony at 4ish, take some photos, start serving food about 6 and space out the courses. That's plenty.

Also the best things do come in small packages. It doesn't have to last all day to be a thoroughly lovely wedding. Ceremony at 4ish, take some photos, start serving food about 6 and space out the courses. That's plenty.

This is what we did. Ceremony after 3 in the registry office, then to a nearby booked restaurant with some small canapes and dinner served at half 6-7. Then cake.

Really simple. It works both ways. Your guests won't be over tired of it and you won't have too much stress.

Get some local magician if there are kids. Great fun for all ages (in my humble opinion😁)

Late afternoon registry office ceremony with invited few, up the road to the pub (walking distance) for some pub grub and then an open invite to any others to come and buy a drink and help us celebrate - no presents please just buy your own booze! We did have a bit of money behind the bar and bought the evening lot fish and chips in tiny paper cups (provided by pub) a d cut the cake then instead of dessert. It was all grand.

Registry office, back room in the pub with a buffet. Was lovely. I agree that it's the people that make a good wedding (and the knowledge that the people getting married really ought to be getting married - the worst weddings are the ones you know are only going to last 5 minutes, however glamorous they are)

ToryStelling, that sounds just so lovely. Can I ask what you did about witnesses?

Best wedding I've ever been to was a civil ceremony and then a pub crawl around Dublin. Photos taken in Stephens Green Park while the guests had icecream and a stop off along the way for dinner! It was so nice.

DP doesn't fancy a registry office. My family are all over in Ireland, I'm wondering if I could do something low-key there. If not maybe a pub would be good here

We got married at a registry office, close family and a few friends, then a local pub for a quick bite to eat, then back to ours in the garden, no frills, perfect day.
Cost about 2k all in, dress and everything!

Registry offices vary a lot.
From pretty ugly to just pretty.
It worth checking out the ones in your local area.