A Simple Spring Wedding...? Please?

[ReallyHip]

Not a child rearing query, although we have one dd (and hope for many more) and I love the advice on Mumsnet, but can ANYONE out there help me with my quandry?

We love each other and we want to marry. He asked and I said yes! We don't have much spare cash but like everyone would like nice wedding, civil ceremony, party, frock (well, maybe!) pretty little girls (including DD), photos, food, drink etc. but really really don't want to pay the horrendous hotel prices in Surrey. We don't expect our friends/family to spend a fortune on hen/stag do's, outfits, presents (but a new knife block would be nice!) overnight hotel accommodation etc. but would like to treat them to a good party. Our garden isn't big enough for a marquee but we do know a good local caterer. Does anyone have any ideas, recommended reading, experiences to share? Please?

We live in East Surrey close to West Sussex border.

Do you have any kind friends/family who could lend you their lawns?

Some friends of mine hired a church hall for their wedding and bedecked it beautifully. You could enquire about local ones (if it's any help my FIL is treasurer of the Ditchling one, don't know if that's close to you, but may be able to get you discount!)

Ooooh, I went to a wedding in Ditchling last month, CD (reception on the village green). One of my best friends has married the boy next door & has moved back there. Wonder if she knows your FiL?

Sorry for thread hijack ReallyHip, I'm no good on wedding stuff.

Congratulations Reallyhip! We had a wedding on (a sort of) a budget - mostly because I didn't want to spend unnecessary money on things that wedding magazines told us we should buy (and we wanted to buy more wine grin{}. Church hall idea is nice and nominate some good friends to decorate it with streamers and balloons and flowers etc. Check out halls etc near you and ask around - some places might not have considered having weddings there. I worked on the principle that we were having a party (as opposed to a reception)and things seemd more simple. It was informal but LOTS of fun (and we did have lots of wine - bought it bulk from majestic and they gave us some good discounts, or you can go over the channel and do it that way). Good luck with it all and don't let the Wedding Police tell you that if you don't spend lots of money then you won't have a good day!

Should have been of course.....

Is the village green the bit behind the church? Went to the fete there the other week. Where do your friends live, my ILs are in East End Lane

Beacon Road. Her Mum has a gallery in the village.

Bump ...
Hello ReallyHip ...
Everyone, meet my sister, ReallyHip ... she's lovely and deserves a gorgeous wedding ... so any advice would be gratefully received ...
I am, of course, Matron of Honour, and will be coming back to the UK for the big day ...

Congratulations ReallyHip, hope you get just the day you want... dh and i got married in may and had a great time. have to say that we ended up spending far more than we meant to.... but used local community centre coz v cheap and lots of space for kids - got a company called crescent moon to decorate it, it looked fabulous but it cost a lot! however, the main hall was a basketball court so it needed serious decoration. if you are interested i could send you an overall picture of the hall to show what they did. Might be worth contacting Polesden Lacey to see if they have a nice hall that wouldn't cost too much? or maybe any local college or uni? or local town halls?

Bumping this up again for my sister ...

Thanks Hon... seeing a couple of venues this w/e and considering other options too. Will speak over w/e...

We had a cross between indulgent and cheapskate wedding last year: blew all our ££ on venue for ceremony and catering, went budget for the rest. Did a lot of DIY (dress etc) - one simple thing was cake. Made it on a sort of hen weekend in cottage in Highlands (could be risky but...) and asked for contributions in the form of little knickknacks, the sort of things you would get in a cracker... We put marzipan and icing on as normal but then absolutely covered the thing with these little trinkets. There must have been thousands of them and it looked amazing, but cost pretty much nothing. Everyone took away a little thing or two as wedding favours. It still makes me happy to think of that cake!

Also we asked for someone to decorate the hall as a wedding present which was really worth doing.

Hope you have fun planning as well as wedding!

If you want floweres, either contact you local council and ask for their Lands dept(o rowhever looks after landscaping/gradens etc) - you'll porbably find that they will be good value, bith for a bouquet for you (MUCH chepaer than a high street florist) and if you want any other floral decorations (eg if you are hiring a hall). They're also good for advising you about which flowers will last for the day.

Altenratively, go the local wholesale flower market early the day before(Mum and Dad did that for my borther's wedding, who copied us and got married the year after us, also in a marquee at Mum & Dad's place) and get flowers there.

Agree with the others about ignoring waht the wedding magazines SAY you "need". Just work out what YOU want for your best ever party. it's YOUR day. You do what YOU want.

If you WANT bubbly for toasts etc, don't bother with champagne. A good Cava is fine and a fraction of the price. (Maybe buy a good bottle or two for you and dh-to-be to share! )