Please help me plan my wedding

[Kayl23]

Hello,

My partner and I are due to get married 15th October 2022. We're also due our first baby 27th January 2022 and obviously I will be going on maternity leave. Clearly, I have put myself in a horrific financial situation haha! We have discussed pushing our wedding back a year, but I would really prefer to try and keep it as next year by keeping things as cheap as possible but still nice. The venue cost isn't an issue as we're lucky to be getting help with that from family, and my mum is buying my dress. But everything else still needs booking and paying for. We are decorating the venue ourselves so really im looking for any advice on how to do that for as cheap as possible (we're having an autumnal theme, think candles and pumpkins). Also need to figure out what to do about a photographer, invites etc.

Im really hoping there's some mumsnetters who are good at finding a bargain or how to make the most for your money! Would also love to hear any stories of peoples own weddings and how they kept the cost down! ☺️

@PostMenPatWithACat We don't want to get married in a registry office with two witnesses, we want to get married at the venue we've chosen on the date we've chosen ☺️

Yes agree re the make up. I went to the Clinique counter in Boots and the lady did my make up for me. I wrote notes as to what she was doing, then bought a few essential bits and padded the rest out with my own make up and did it myself.

@tattychicken Oh that is such a good idea! I think I will do the same! So long as I keep practicing I'm sure it will be fine ☺️

Haha not quite but hopefully useful ideas

My dress was an ex display that was altered to fit though there was fun an games with that as I kept losing weight! Was a size 8 when I bought it and it was a 10, one size no biggie right? But by the time I got married I was a size 4! I think the seamstress was cursing me!

I was working full time in a nursing role, planning the wedding and seeing then fiancé long distance plus we had a couple of family disasters in that time period so I was massively stressed and when I'm stressed I don't eat!

Wish I could lose weight that easily now!

Just helped my dc to do a wedding, sadly no calais trips for booze due to bloody covid.
We also did table decs of bottles with fairy lights etc in them, looked fab
Barrels of beer, aldi wine or wine from the bigger supermarkets when they do their periodic 25% off deals.
Skip wedding favours, they nearly always get left by lots of guests
We had a hogroast during day and a gourmet grill van at night, could possibly have managed with just one of those as had made salads etc ourselves as well
Games etc for kids were a big hit ( cheapie hook a duck off internet type stuff)
Did pay for a pro photographer and the pics from them are amazing
Homemade and decorated sponge cake and lots of cupcakes acted as wedding cake and pudding

I got my dress from House of Fraser, lots of High street shops do bridal ranges, Monsoon, Debenhams (if they’re still open?), ASOS have wedding dresses too.

I did go to some bridal shops but tbh got a bit irritated by them all fawning about finding ‘the one’, how long everything took to order and how much they’d then charge for alterations- I mean if I buy a dress normally I just get one that fits

If you do go to bridal shops remember to wear good underwear and a strapless bra, I also didn’t find having to stand about in my knickers in front of strangers very appealing, I found bridal shops quite stressful!