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Original poster

Did anyone have a really small intimate wedding....

59 replies

allthreerolledintoone · 13/01/2007 12:57

due to family issues i do not want the fuss of a big wedding all i really want is a nice dress maybe a nice location and photo's to show for it. As mentioned in a previous thread said and i arent talking to his parents etc so i just want something small but thats going to be rmantice and memerable i dont want to regret having the big wedding.I want to get married easter too so how can i do it cheaply.

OP posts:

WeaselMum · 13/01/2007 18:43

good advice here about telling restaurants/hotels etc that it's a "family party" or reunion or similar - when you mention the word wedding, prices seem to go much higher

mawbroon · 13/01/2007 19:31

We had 14 guests. It was arranged with 5 weeks notice because it so happened that all my family were going to all be in the same country on the same day anyway, so avoided extra travel. The only appoinment left at the registry office at such short notice was at 9.40am, so after the ceremony, we went back to our flat (small one bedroom flat - we just cleared the living room and put a load of chairs in) for champagne and wedding cake. We then went out for a lovely lunch. I didn't tell the restaurant it was a wedding until the last minute.
The whole thing (including two nights away as a honeymoon) cost £1,100 and we are every bit as married as a couple spending £11,000. I would not have liked a big fuss and this suited us both perfectly.

mawbroon · 13/01/2007 19:38

Oh sorry, forgot the cheaply bit. I made my own cake - none of the three tier stuff, just one cake. My outfit was chosen so that it all could be worn again. We bought the champagne from Tesco, used DH's old Landrover with white ribbon as a wedding car. Lunch at the restaurant was very reasonable rather than having to pay evening a la carte prices. Actually, the most expensive thing was the hire of the registry office as it cost the same whether you had 40 guests or just 4!! I didn't bother with flowers, but could of course just have made my own bouquet with supermarket flowers. DH just wore his suit rather then buy or hire another. No photographer, just informal photos and my brother kindly videoed the ceremony for us. I'm sure there's more but that's all I can think of for now.

runnyhabbit · 13/01/2007 20:26

We got married in Sorrento, Italy. There were 15 in total - my parents and my sister, dh parents, brothers and sisters, and bil/sil (he has 4 sisters and a brother!) It was the equivalent of an Italian registry office, but in the town hall (which was beautiful) and the words were so much more meaningful - talked about marriage being a partnership, that it needs maintenance for it work etc..

We stayed there for a week with both families, then went to Sicily for a week for our honeymoon whilst everyone else went home. Think we paid about £3k for everything

auntymandy · 13/01/2007 20:37

ours was very small. My dad died the year beforw and I couldnt face a big do!

We had a garden party at DH's mum and dads. It was scorching hot.

We had a party later on for DS's christening and our wedding combined

Jennster · 13/01/2007 22:06

Marymillington we did that too. Was being done up when we looked round. In the end we went to Ferraris for a meal with just the 12 of us having got married earlier at the registry office. The photos in the garden were FANTASTIC and later we had a big party in our garden, with just our friends where everybody brought dishes of food for a hot buffet.

We organised the whole thing in 4 weeks while I was 9 weeks pregnant. Our biggest expense was all the booze we provided. Just before everybody left, there was a massive firework display, where we had brilliant views from the garden.

Linnet · 13/01/2007 22:15

Dh and I got married in Canada, just us and dd1. We had decided to go there on holiday anyway and then looked into getting married there and just went for it.

For us it was a good choice as dh's parents are divorced and his dad is remarried. My mum and dad were divorced and my dad is remarried and my mum has since died. My uncle and my granny on my mums side don't get along with my dad, so we didn't see any point in trying to have a wedding here and then have people either coming and not talking or not coming because they don't talk to so and so.

So, we went away, had a fabulous holiday and a little wedding and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. Our photo's are fantastic as we got married in the mountains and everyone has said how good they are and how happy we look.
I really wouldn't have had it any other way.

12yeargap · 16/01/2007 11:26

We had 10 there, including ourselves.

went for a pub meal afterwards, lovely.

mumblechum · 16/01/2007 11:31

We had just us and 4 friends, at 4 days notice.
It was lovely. Went out to nice restaurant, then the next day off to Paris, after phoning our parents to tell them. Mine were delighted, if a bit taken aback. DH's mum absolutely justified our decision not to tell anyone by saying "Oh, if I'd known, I'd have got a coach load of my friends down for it!"

Have never regretted it, it was a really special day because it was so relaxed. I'd been married before with the whole kit&kaboodle and found it incredibly stressful.

Hope you have a lovely day.

puddle · 16/01/2007 11:33

I did - just dp and I and close family (parents and siblings) at the registry office and then had a meal afterwards. We hired a room as there were a few children.

I had a hen weekend away in a cottage with about 8 friends beforehand too, so felt like they were involved.

Berrie · 16/01/2007 11:35

We rented a house on the coast in Cornwall, had a civil ceremony and then had lunch back at the house with close family and friends, then down to the beach for a sandcastle competition.In the evening we had a BBQ. It ws lovely!

shonaspurtle · 16/01/2007 11:39

Best friend got married at the local registry office and we all went back to their flat for the reception. Her mum made a buffet, her sister supplied the champagne as a wedding present and we all brought a bottle.

Best wedding I've ever been to for atmosphere of pure happiness and laughs and there were maybe about 20 of us.

Dinosaur · 16/01/2007 11:40

Very sore point with me at the moment as DB is having small intimate wedding on Friday and I am not invited!!! (Neither is my sister.)

wurlywurly · 16/01/2007 11:41

we went to my cousins wedding in australia, that was only close family and friends, but the following day the family hosted a huge bbq and everyone was invited to that, it was lovely.

wurlywurly · 16/01/2007 11:42

dinosaur thats a bit harsh of you db, is there a good reason why your arent invited?

3rdTriMossTer · 16/01/2007 11:43

Had the wedding in the registry office, and then to our local pub, they gave us free hire of a room as long as we promised to buy lots of drinks. We sure did! We paid for a buffet which was £3 a head (30 ish people) and was surprisingly tasty.

Mil bought my dress (purple velvet) for under £100 from the internet, and my bezzie mate and her dp paid for me and dh to spend the night in a nearby hotel, and pet-sat our house while we did.

Sil made our wedding cake it was lovely and looked gorgeous.

Bubbly was Asda own brand Cava at about £4 a bottle, no one really noticed the difference or was too polite to say!

Photos were done by giving out cheap disposable cameras to everyone and getting them developed later.

Only slight sadness was my parents and sister did not want to attend, but that's another story.

Small, intimate and I have to say one of the best days in my life. I don't regret not having a big wedding, and if I had my time over but with more money, I'd do the same again (albeit with a more push-up-y bra!)

Dinosaur · 16/01/2007 11:44

wurlywurly, I am very very upset about it

I may start a separate thread as I am becoming very bitter and twisted!

Apols for thread crash, guys!

wurlywurly · 16/01/2007 11:45

mine was a big wedding, i am the baby of the family and the last to marry, so my parents was ademant that we had a big wedding (and they paid) it was lovely,my dad is one of 13 children so you can imagine how big the reception was.

evamum · 16/01/2007 11:46

We had 26 people at our wedding, immediate family and very close friends and it was fantastic.
We got married at the registry office and had the reception at our house with catered food. Then we went off to a 5* hotel for the night while my family tidied the house!
I wouldnt have changed it for the world.

wurlywurly · 16/01/2007 11:50

i think its a matter of if you have a big wedding then you wish you had made it smaller and more intimate, and the opposite. As long as you have the people there that you want (parents/best friend/your dog etc etc) the end result is still the same, you will have got married which ultimately is what you want.

cremolafoam · 16/01/2007 11:55

yes we had 8 at ours including us. 2 friends and both sets of parents. also did it cheaply. got married in a park( civil ceremony) my dad and dh mum as witnesses. both mums did a reading.
Both friends took photos and a video. hired a fab boat( it was summer in Sydney) for reception- our own music- champagne and smoked salmon.
sailed to a restaurant for slap up dinner.
total cost to us about £ 2000
Got my dress and shoes ( pale blue summer dress) in the sales for £250
it was really lovely-we even play the video back all the time as it makes me feel happy!
on our return from Oz to the uk
sister had a big BBq for us and all our friends.

Peridot30 · 16/01/2007 11:58

We had a smalish wedding with only close family there were 40 including us. We had a great day and held it all in the hotel -ceremony, photos,meal and reception. Invited all our friends at night for a big party

batflump · 16/01/2007 14:00

We were married 10 years ago at a waterside restaurant in south Sydney - restaurant was BYO, and our fab chocolate cake was from a local cake shop - we had about 30 people, including 9 young children (eldest 10, youngest 2), it poured with rain, and several people said it was the nicest wedding they'd ever attended! Just a very, very happy and joyous day for all concerned. Just writing about it now is making me smile.

Just as a sideline, I worked with a girl who wanted a huge elaborate wedding at a very ritzy hotel - horse drawn carriages, French champagne, the works. Her Dad shelled out £40K for this wedding (she took great pride in letting everyone know how much it cost). The marriage lasted less than a year, and her dad was made redundant owing huge amounts for this ONE DAY. It still makes me to think about it - obviously she was someone who gave no thought to life after 'the' day.

notasheep · 17/01/2007 14:06

6 of us(that included the bride and groom)
we drank sooooooooooo much champagne and had no regrets.
And the bride wore White Levis

Fimbo · 17/01/2007 14:28

Dh & I arranged our wedding in 3 weeks. We got married in the registry office in St. Andrews which was formerly a church (sadly, they use another building now) followed by a meal in a country house hotel. We had a grand total of 11 guests including ourselves and my dh's 3 nephews. We got married in November, it snowed the next day and we got snowed in and had to wait until the next day to go on honeymoon (west coast of Scotland). I must be the only person to buy a pair of wellies on their honeymoon - how romantic!

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