Wedding 2018

[Tryingtoconceive2years]

Venue is booked
Dress is brought - needs to be altered
Any tips to save money?

[Mamabear14]

I wouldn't be getting rid after you'd asked them, I think you may have to suck that one up. I think most venues will ask you to cater at least 80% of guests for the evening. I would always go for more food, people remember if they are hungry!
I agree on favours, we are doing fairly cheap ones but they are top of the list to be got rid of if we run short nearer the time.

[Tryingtoconceive2years]

I had a big overhaul of the guest list last night as our save the dates arrived - also decided on a cheaper menu for the evening buffet. If 150 are coming (50 would have been with us all day and had a 3 course meal) how many would you cater for in the buffet?

Wedding cake has also been downgraded and favors are out of the window.

In regards to ushers we can get rid of 2 but as we have already asked them how do we tell them?

[JiminnyCricket]

*april 2018!

[JiminnyCricket]

I@m getting married un April 2017, budget is below. Registry office in the morning just me and dp and witnesses, followed by humanist ceremony at a lovely villiage hall with 70 guests, a spoof ukelele 1940's travelling troupe of entertainers for the champagne drinks reception with canapes, then a sit down 3 course meal. Meal is sharing stuff like a big family dinner, so baked camonbert with artisan breads, then a 2 meat (turkey and beef) roast dinner with all the trimmings and pudding is massive sharing pavlovas

Then speeches etc, then evening the ukelele band are doing a 1.5 hour stage set and we're having a playlist on after that. No evening guests, but a free bar all day, 2.5 glasses of wine with dinner, glass of champagne for the toast and sparkling wine for the drinks reception. Then behind the bar there will be 3 different cocktails in 10L dispensers, an 18gal keg of real ale and a couple of crates of bottled larger, along with extra bottles of wine and spirits/ mixers.

Total cost of wedding for 70: £9,400.

Bulk of that is on catering and booze

[clary]

Trying I agree with others on here, certainly ditch wedding favours. What are they even for? Who cares?

Also car to wedding - we paid £350 (19 years ago!!) for a fancy vintage car and nobody saw it. I would have ditched that in hindsight. Do you have a long way to go from church to reception? Even if you do, can someone with a smart motor (big Merc or BMW or even just any nice colour, shiny metallic saloon) drive you?

I would also very much not bother with stationery - again, we had Orders of Service printed and what a waste that was. Check with the church but I bet they can provide hymnbooks or even have facility to project the hymns - which is the only bit anyone needs to see really. The fact that your mate Jemma is reading Shakespeare's sonnet will be obvious when she steps up to the lecturn.

£300 seems a lot for a wedding cake but maybe I am out of touch. Last wedding I went to the bridegroom made the cake. It was fine.

I agree 7 ushers etc is not needed. We had a church wedding and we had a best man and one usher. Both wore smart suits (their own)

I would expect the reception venue to make itself look nice if I were paying £60-70 a head. I am not a fan of all that wedding glitter confetti stuff anyway.

And yes, get your hair done for sure, but everyone else can do their own, ditto make up. Make sure you don't go for pale pale colours for you or you might look washed out.

[Tryingtoconceive2years]

BackforGood you are completely right - Maybe I will show him this and suggest maybe he can decrease the number he has. - it is bloody daft having 7. How many do you usually have and what do they do? Best man looks after the groom and ushers look after seating. anything else?

[BackforGood]

Sorry trying - my post wasn't meaning to criticise you. You can spend what you want and do what you want for your wedding . It's just you started this thread to ask how you can cut down the £15.5K original cost you had budgeted, without even budgeting in the cost of the Church where you actually will get married.
I love all the wedding threads on here - some are just batshit crazy, but most are full of helpful people who will make suggestions / give advice if you want it.
Just looking at all your posts and answers so far, I'm getting a feeling that you are wanting to economise, or be sensible about what you spend, and your dhtb seems to be just suggesting things he'd like for the day, without any real notion of cost. Would that be fair? Would he sit down and look at this thread with you and look at the budget ? This whole 'groomsman' thing is new since my day, but isn't it something that the number normally balances up with the bridesmaids?
Generally, I think the couple should pay for the outfits they are dictating, but, I think he needs to have a think about why he needs 7 mates in matching clothes? Surely they will still be his mates, and do anything helpful he wants them to do, without wearing matching suits?

[Tryingtoconceive2years]

seven201 I have found dresses - I have been a bridesmaid before and had to find shoes so think that will be ok.

Dress has been brought and was £50 - 2nd hand from a lady that decided she didnt like it.

[seven201]

The seven ushers is ridiculous. Surely some of them own a suit? Hire ones for the ones that don't. No need to match. Don't ask your bridesmaids to buy their own dresses - that's rude. Normal in America to ask for them to pay I think, but rude here. I told my bridesmaids to wear their own shoes if they owned any that worked but otherwise I bought them shoes. I think only you get to have your hair (and make up if you really want) done if you're on a strict budget. We had gypsophelia with origami flowers in for table centre pieces and bouquets all made by me and family. What about your dress? Mine was expensive but a sample. I agree about the car, no-one really sees you in the car. I walked the 15 mins from our hotel. Would have booked a cab if it was raining though. Don't bother with favours. I didn't bother with save the dates, I just told people.

[Tryingtoconceive2years]

*Hand

[Tryingtoconceive2years]

Also lots we wont post, will will have out to guest - sending very few by post

[Tryingtoconceive2years]

I had a £20 gift card on amazon

[BackforGood]

Except you haven't really saved money, you've spent £22.99 and will now need to spend £24 on buying 40 stamps, when, you could have just e-mailed those you particularly want to be there, or created a whatsapp group or a FB group (or presumably lots of other social media I'm not familiar with group), and telephoned the odd Grandmother who isn't on any form of social media.

I mean, that's not problem if you have lots of money to spend, but that's nigh on £50 you've spent unnecessarily, which, I believe, is what you started this thread about.

[Mamabear14]

They are very pretty

[Tryingtoconceive2years]

<a class="break-all" href="//www.amazon.co.uk/Personalised-Save-Date-Cards-Invitations/dp/B017HKSA0C/ref=pd_sbs_201_2?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=MZ116HVJWSBRK6DKJMDH&tag=mumsnet&ascsubtag=mnforum-21" rel="nofollow noindex" target="_blank">//www.amazon.co.uk/Personalised-Save-Date-Cards-Invitations/dp/B017HKSA0C/ref=pd_sbs_201_2?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=MZ116HVJWSBRK6DKJMDH&tag=mumsnet&ascsubtag=mnforum-21

Just ordered these and saved some money

[Tryingtoconceive2years]

ahhh ok - I dont think we will cant bells or anything.

Luckily we live in the parish and are UK nationals

[thegreenheartofmanyroundabouts]

Church is £500-£600 depending on which extras you have such as an organist or bells. Churches will have flowers anyway but you can pay to have nicer ones rather than the ones the flower ladies were planning that week.

When you spoke to the vicar about the wedding they should have given you a breakdown of the costs. If you don't live in the parish you need banns read in you home church and if you are not U.K. nationals you need a special licence that is around £250.

[Mamabear14]

Ah that will probably explain it then! Personally I would spend as much as you can on food. People don't care about what was on the table decoration wise, they will remember if they were hungry.

[TheFlis12345]

It's a little pricey, especially as you have quite a few kids so their package won't include alcohol. Most places I've seen are around £70 for adults and £25 for children.

[Tryingtoconceive2years]

Mamabear14 that is also including buffet for 150 people

[Mamabear14]

That is still expensive. We are at 25 adults, 5 teens so only a tenner less than adults and 5 small kids and that's under 2k for a 3 course meal, a reception drink, half bottle of wine each and glass of bubbly for toasts.

[Mamabear14]

I wouldn't ask people to save the date for en evening invite. If people will have to travel as well I wouldn't put them for an evening only invite. There's so many wedding politics which is why we went super small and chilled out, we aren't even inviting aunts and uncles! We are literally doing parents, siblings and the kids and a few super close friends

[Tryingtoconceive2years]

TheFlis12345 includes reception drinks, 3 course meal, wine with food and champs with toasts. Is that still expensive? That is 48 adults and 12 children.

[PigletWasPoohsFriend]

You send them to day guests.

[Tryingtoconceive2years]

With save the dates do you send to day and evening and then just send the specified invite?