Me and dp want to get married...

[CharlotteACavatica]

But we have 3 small children and so have VERY little money, we really really dont want to get married at the registry office, so i thought i would try and find out if anyone here has managed to have a really nice wedding and kept the cost down??

Church weddings don't have to be expensive.

Someone I knew got married for £2000 all in (inc honeymoon). She made the dresses and the church florist did the flowers for a much smaller £ than a florist would've done.

We got married for about £900. That includes my dress, flowers, invitations, cake and food for reception for about 70 people, disco, bar, hall hire, balloons and table decs, 5 bridesmaid dresses, dh new suit and the church choir and organist. You just have to be strict about what you want from the day. If you want to end the day as Mr and Mrs CharlotteACavatica, you can do it very reaqsonably if you are canny. If you want to end the day having had a massive party, it can be more costly.

hey up chuck...thought i would post on here as i have just got married (one week's marital bliss so far ) and managed to do it all for £939. we did do the registry office, but it was very informal, come as you are type thing on the friday (it costs £103.50 just for that, but don't ask me what they do with the £0.50!!) then on the saturday we had a canal boat trip and meal for 24 people. my mum made my dress, so that came in for under £100, my MIL did the flowers and cake. do you have creative friends/relations? if so, it's well worth getting them involved as doing things like flowers/cakes/invites yourself brings the cost down no end. also, if you are going to have an evening do, try to keep it as informal as possible. don't send out invites, make a myspace page (it's free) and email the link to all your friends. don't do a buffet or anything like that if you can't predict the numbers. it's too much hassle and gets very expensive.

one final piece of advice: try and avoid things that are specifically marketed as "marriage" or "wedding". there is a huge industry associated with these things and just saying "wedding" puts an extra £100 or so on the price tag!

good luck & congratulations! xxx

We looked at all the local civil locations, chose a national trust property that wasn't expensive but provided the flowers!

We did an evening reception in a local pub £3.50 per head inc dj! It was all fab.

I know this'll sound mad but we got married in Florence through Weddingsabroad.com .. and it was SO MUCH cheaper than a UK wedding

Hiya
If you don't fancy a registry office wedding, find a local hotel who can do everything for you.
Me and my dh got married in a local country club, asked everyone we knew to help out (a friend of mine was an excellent flower arranger etc), and don't worry about it.