How much do weddings cost??

[1980cat]

I have just recently got engaged(ok it was August he asked but didn't really believe him till a few weeks ago) so have finally started to look into it, the only thing is I have no idea how much this is going to cost.
I've seen what I really want on the web, getting married in the Swiss alps and have been given prices but I'm not sure how it compares to getting married here.
I don't want anything over the top, or I do really but no way I can afford it.Don't really want to get married in the local registry office as it is horrible so would probably be looking at a hotel somewhere. I'd love to get married abroad just the two of us and our daughter but Dp reallly wants his family there and i suppose he does have some say in it all.
Friends have had weddings at both extremes but it feels really cheeky to ask how much they cost.

Message withdrawn

Why don't you ring round a few places here to see how much they charge. I think if you get married in the hotel they only charge for the food they serve rather than actual room hire (ours did anyway). Best way is draft out a rough plan with numbers & type of menu etc & then ring round a few locations & see how it compares with your Alps plan!

we had a civil ceremony in a hotel. We had about 70 guests to the ceremony and wedding breakfast and about 120 to the evening do where we had a buffet.

We didn't have the full works but we did splash out in some areas.

Our wedding cost approx £9k and that was 4 years ago. Hopefully that will give you a rough idea. Basically, the more people you invite the more it will cost.

The Alps plan was going to cost about 2k for the wedding but would also need accomadation, dresses etc. I like the idea of going abroad as it means less people will be there and they have to pay their own transport and hotel is they want to come. Know it sounds bad but we would always have a party when we get back and that's not as expensive as having a meal and full day.

We had a big church ceremony, 80 guests to a meal, then another 60 at night to a buffet.

splashed out on - lovely venues, music & alcohol & flowers - music at the church, string quartet at reception, band at evening reception, lots of wine and champagne

Spent modestly on clothes, cake, gifts, stationery and photos.

Cost about £ 5 -6K

when comparing costs you need to look at everything - its easy to miss out quite big items

I hate to admit it but I'm really going to have to get one of these books about planning weddings and start to price this all up.
Peope keep asking me if I've set a date and so on I really need to start making decisions.

you can get married anywhere these days - we got married at the town hall (cost @£150 on top of the registrars fees but was really worth it as beautiful room and real sense of occasion even though very small number of guests), then food at lovely restaurant nearby (@£25 per head but again not many guests) then party at our house (loads of effort but everyone had a brilliant time).

We got married at 4pm then went straight to venue where we had 220 guests had a Hog Roast, hot potatoes & Salad Bar with choice of desserts, barn dance and it was wonderful!
Total cost of day was about 7.5k but worth every penny and would do it all again tomorrow (with the same man)!!!

Mazzy that sounds like my best friends wedding last year. They got married at their local registrey office it was a lovely old building plenty of oppertuities for lovely photographs (unlike the one here which is on one of the main shopping streets next to a hole line of bus stops and a sports bar). After the wedding they had a meal at a local resturant although they had the reception in the university student union (where they had met) they used the debating rooms and they were lovely (except me and my sister did feel really stupid going between the two rooms they had passing loads of drunk students dressed in bridsmaid dresses).

My spelling is getting worse the more I write, sorry.
The more I think about it the more the alps appeal to me as I could hopefully keep the costs down in other areas (use my sister as a photographer, make my own dress, meal for only a few guests that can make it). I think it will make it just a little bit more special. I have always wanted to go to Switzerland since I was small (don't know why sure I saw it on some travel program when I was little and fell in love with the idea of all that snow)

1980cat, I had a wedding that sounds a lot like cheekymonkey's. Had a civil ceremony in a Victorian barn conversion, hog roast and apple pie and custard and ceilidh. Had about 60 people come. Cost about £3k all included. It was fantastic and pretty cheap I think in comparison. Food is the biggest outlay imo.

Well, it can cost as much as you're prepared to spend! Depends what your priorities are really.
Congratulations, by the way

Kleggie is right - the meal was our biggest outlay plus the drink of course.

One thing to think about getting married abroad is that there may be some people you woudl really like to be there who wont be able to. eg those who cant afford an expensive holiday to Switzerland (its lovely but not cheap),

For example, my sister got married abraod recently and our brother and SIL couldnt go because she was in the early stages of a high risk preg and couldnt fly. i couldnt go either coz my DSS was very ill. Other brother and family couldn't afford it as they have 4 kids and he had just started a new job so couldnt get the time off.

Her Bf is a school teacher so she set the date at easter. unknown to her, all the schools in that county have chnaged teh holidays so that they are always the first two weeks in April.

Not trying to put you off BTW, you shoudl go for it if its practical for you. If not, maybe you coudl have a winter wedding here and honeymoon in Switzerland?

I'm too embarrassed to put what ours cost on here but it was the most expensive on this thread so far. We had a register office wedding and the reception in the local community centre which all cost very little, no posh cars, no photographer (family did pictures) and a friend did the cake, although we paid for materials for her which was still about £120. Inlaws paid for flowers and wine which were both v expensive! I had my dress and an outfit for ds made for about £600 together- seemed expensive but not too bad to me.

BUT food cost an absolute fortune because we had 120 people there. We also had a creche as so many of my friends have small children, that cost a bomb too. Add band and venue decorations and it spiralled hugely. NB I loved having a big wedding and enjoyed myself.

It's all in the numbers IMO - keep them down and you can do it reasonably anywhere. I think the alps idea is fantastic!

Firstly 1980cat, Congratulations
I have found that my cost guides have changed so many times since we started planning this wedding, I have basically given up now. I hav got a spreadsheet set up which I think covers everything involved in our wedding, how much we budgetted for and how much it actually is costing. If you like I could post it for you that way you could see if you have forgottena bout anything and also get a rough idea on what things may cost.

Ours cost c £8k ...was a Civil ceremony at a country house hotel and we had a lot of discounts as it was in October, 3 years ago.

That would be great springchicken, I'll try the CAT thing and send you my address.
It's starting to look like I'm going to have to start really saving now or I'm going to end up with wedding in the local registrey office and a meal at the the bar next door (only things off the buy one get one free menu though)

No need 1980cat - there is no personal info on there - here it is:

Item Estimated Actual

Brides Dress £1,000 £1,150

Groom suit £75

Best Man Suit £75

Usher Suit x 4 £300

Bridesmaid Dress x 3 £225 £200

Church £310

Reception Venue £750 £400

Marquee £0 £4,333

Meal (80 guests) £1,750 £1,656

Evening Buffet £900 £340

DJ £500 £325

Photographer £1,000 £800

Videographer £250 £165

Bride Bouquet £100 £75

Bridesmaid Bouquet x 3 £150 £42.50

Table Camera's £36

Table Flowers £250

Adult Favours £67 £67

Children Favours £50

Stationary £500 £50

Cake £250

Bride Accessories £200

Groom Accessories £200

Ushers Gifts x 3 £90

Best Man Gifts £30

Bridesmaid Gifts x 3 £90

Estimated Total Actual Total

£9,148 £9,248.50

Additional Costs
Alchohol £2,000

Obviously some things on here you may not want or need, or there may be things I haven't included but hopefully it will give you some idea.

That didn't copy right - the fist figure is the estimated and the second is the actual figure.