Come and talk - Planning my WEDDING!!

[LoveMyGirls]

Dp proposed yesterday, apart from still being in shock I'm very very happy! We've been together over 6 years.

We've set a date (2 years from now) so excited and wondering what I'll need to book/ plan soon and what I am best leaving until nearer the time etc

I've never planned a wedding before!

Budget is bare minimum, £2000 max for everything including hen/ stag night.

Any idea's?

TIA

Confetti's website is fab for planning. It really helped me plan my 2004 wedding with obsessive military precision.

And Congrats of course!!!!!!!

Also, any bridal magazine will have a planner in there for you to fill in.

Ok, I'm going now.

Congratulations!

£2000 is a strict budget, but with a little creative thinking and some help from your friends, you might be able to do it.

One idea is to have the reception in your garden (if you have a nice one), in a local park or on the beach (if you live on the coast). You're a bit of a slave to the weather, but you could do a picnic, BBQ or spit roast and do a booze run to France to get some cheap bubbles.

Ask friends to donate their services (think if you have any that are handy with flowers, any that could play music at your reception, any amateur photographers, etc).

Ok I want.......

Close family and friends
this dress or one close to it
A family friend who happens to have become a vicar to do our service in his church (no idea if we have to be reg church goer's?)
Reception in a local social club (sounds worse than it is, the room is a fab size and the drinks are cheap plus it's local so people don't have to spend a small fortune on taxi's I know it's £150 to hire but you get half of that back if you leave the room in a good state)
My auntie can do flowers/ decorations
Dp's sister is handy with a camara (recently sold 2 photos for £1000 ) but i'm not sure if she would want to be a bridesmaid
Bridesmaid's - torn over this, I definitely want my 2 dd's and my sister but also want at least 2 of my close friends and I think his sisters (2) would like to be bridesmaids too and dp's mum said ages ago if we ever got married she would expect me to ask them.
Not bothered about car's, happy to just get a taxi though might be nice if i got a limo with all the bridesmaids or is that just tacky?

Erm what have i missed out?

Got 2 dj friends with equiptment my dad has also got all the stuff but he will be busy himself on the day My sister's friend does it professionally for £100.

Finally, I proper Wedding planning thread!

I got proposed to last November after nearly 8 years together (At last - was beginning to lose hope!), We're going for August 2009.

£2000 - I'm sure it can be done. Look for great bargains on ebay, They do anything from wedding dresses to cakes and favours.

Also confetti is a fantastic wedding tool

It's all very daunting isn't it. I can't believe how many decisions have t be made I'm the worse decision maker too, I need someone to just tell me what I need and what will look great

Oh yeah, look out for Wedding fairs near you. There's bound to be lots over the summer. Have a look on google

oh I see you've found ebay then Beautiful dress. Go for it! You can always sell it again if you change your mind. I would definitely go for it in case it goes

Also, I know you have a possible photographer but also ring around the local colleges to see if they have any budding photographers.

oh I didnt realise it was a brand new dress! I'll have to agree with notjustmum that does seem a bit cheap for a wedding dress. Would you consider a 2nd hand one?
Oxfam have wedding dress shops with not just 2nd hand dresses but ex catwalk ones too. You could get a real bargain! My friend paid £100 for hers and looked on the net and discovered it's worth nearly £3000!!!!

I'd be strict re bridesmaids and just have the dds - 7 is way too many IMO and remember you have to pay for their dresses.

Ask your sister to do a reading, your friend to help you dress (or vice versa) , the photographer sister to take pics and think of something for the other one to do (another reading perhaps).

Wow! That dress is good value. How can they do it so cheaply?

Sounds to me as though you are pretty organised. I bet you have a fab day.

wedding fairs were a waste of time and money IME - full of people selling things that you won;t want to spend money on (balloons, favours, invitations etc) and not much that was useful.

The free fairs aren't a waste of money and you get an idea of what you need to plan

I agree you do come home with a lot of junk though but I found them quite useful

Bridesmaids - I have to have my dd's no questions so this leaves the older ones.......

My sister I only have 1 and we have always been really close she has said she will pay for her own dress.

My 2 best friends, both I have known for 14 years we always said we would be each others bridesmaids (I have always said if i ever got married and they still wanted to be bridesmaids they would have to pay for their own dresses haven't asked them yet now it's actually going to happen)

Dp's sisters - I get on really well with both of them but they both live at least 70 miles away so getting to dress fittings/ being around to help organise stuff isn't practical so I don't really see how they can be my bridesmaids?? (I thought the point of having bridesmaids was to help out? someone to help dress me, come to the loo with me etc)

Congrats
Just a suggestion re bridesmaids dresses, look at Next, Adams, BHS they all do reasonable but lovely dresses for little ones, depending on ages I suppose!

I bought my bridesmaid dresses in Monsoon, in 2003 when the Japanese/Chinese style was in.My bridesmaids were 9 and 10 and loved their dresses which they wore again and again.I bought ballet shoes to match.

Congratulations

Getting married is a bit like being a mother for the first time, in that everyone, especially your MIL, wants to tell you what you must and must not do. And you have to learn pretty quickly to tell them firmly that you will do what you see fit. So knock your MIL on the head (literally if necessary) with the expectation that you will ask your DP sisters to be bridesmaids. IMO any more than 4 bridesmaids is excessive - but then feel free to ignore my opinion entirely!

TPL I've been thinking about what you said and it makes sense.

I have definitly decided I just want 5 bridesmaids (my 2 dd's, my sister, and my 2 best friends) I feel quite emotional about it, it sounds over dramatic and ott but for as long as I can remember I've pictured having my 2 best friends as bridesmaids I need them to be there, I need them, I can't get married without their help and support (yes they would give me their help and support anyway) but I want to give them what they deserve and the best thing I can ever do to show them how much they mean to me is have them as my bridesmaids I would always regret it if I didn't.

So this leaves me with either having 7 bridesmaids and looking ridiculous OR standing up for myself and having what makes me happy which is after all my right as the bride

Bloody hell, I organised my wedding in 6 weeks flat from looking at dh's diary (HM Forces) to see when we could possibly do it to walking down the aisle. It was great...no room for long discussions or agonising about things - decisions were made, stuck to, and it all went perfectly. Came in on budget too, so my Dad was happy (£975 including dress)...1986 prices though.

Point is, it can be done quickly and it avoids all the crap and fallings out that g with this territory.

Good luck...I hope it all works out...we're still together 22 years later.

ST I think I could easily sort it all for asap but dp wants to save money first and I think he needs time for it to sink in that we are actually going to get married, it took me 3 years to get him to agree to having a baby (he said he wanted to wait until he was sure he wanted to be with me forever - fair enough) so you would think he'd be more than ready to get married but I'm happy to do it when he wants to, rushing him would just make him run for the hills.