Realistic minimum

[glasshalf]

Hi
What is a realistic minimum amount I can expect to spend on a wedding? We would have min 40 guests , late afternoon winter wedding . We would be paying for it all ourselves so want to know what is realistic. Don't want registry office would love New York where it's super cheap but you have to be there 24 hours before and we won't have that option with what we already booked!!
Thank you :)

Depends what you want to do and how 'formal' you want it.

You could probably find a restaurant that would be happy to provide a meal for 40, for the cost of what you would normally pay (particularly if you were talking January when they are usually quiet rather than pre-Christmas).

If you phone up hotels and mention the word wedding though, prices do tend to get multiplied by at least 3.

Or you could do more of an afternoon tea?

Or, I went to a lovely wedding a few years ago (couple had very little money) where they persuaded a local pub to give them their room for free (as pub would then be taking all the money behind the bar), and asked us all for our order from the local chip shop, who delivered to everyone in the pub room. It was a really, really nice, informal occasion.

Or book your local Church hall / parish rooms / Scout hut / community rooms and get a local caterer in ?

So difficult for people to give you an estimate without knowing how 'traditional' or 'formal' you want to be.

The legal bits will be the same, whatever you do afterwards, but will still need to factor in.

Then, are you buying a bespoke wedding dress, or a 'non-traditional dress' for you to get married in?
What will groom be wearing ?
Will you be having attendants?
Flowers ? (Bouquets but also decorations for room)
photographer?
cake?
transport?
church or registry office or part of hotel package?
Would you feel compelled to pay out for someone else to do your make up / hair / nails / tan or not?
Do you want to send out formal invitations ?
Do you want printed order of services?

'What is realistic' is going to depend on 'what is important to you' and whether you are just 'trying to bring it in under £12k' type budget or whether you really only have £500 to spend.

How long is a price of string? I think weddings are a bit like holidays. You can go to Spain on a basic package or a tailor made trip at 10 times the price.

There’s a bride on here struggling to do hers ( for what she wants) for £3,000, But actually you can get a wedding package in a fairly bland hotel or decent pub for 40 at that price.
Mine was £8,000 for a very swanky AirBNB in the South If France and a top restaurant with 3 course buffet and free wine.
My friend spent nearly £30,000 on a an singing or dancing affair.

I’m confused about New York though. If it’s so cheap why can’t you just fly out for a 3 night stay for £600 each, independently of whatever else you are doing there?

Thanks both. Yes you're right I guess there is so much to think of (hense why I've been put off for so long) may be better to sit and make a list of essentials perhaps. I wanted a sort of idea of maybe how cheaply someone has got married , I certainly don't want massive or formal!!

Re New York- boomed with siblings - but only 2 not all so the upset it would cause would be too bad for us to consider it!!

Booked*' not boomed!

I agree with others posters, it's impossible to say how much something might cost as it depends what you want. I got married a month ago, the flowers cost £1,000. It can certainly be done cheaper. But we got our invitations done through Opitmal Print as we weren't bothered about the stationery.

I’m the bride referenced above who is indeed struggling to the point of giving up to have a wedding for £3000 or less. If you want a barn, steading or anywhere else rustic, you are looking at anything from £4000 onwards for venue hire alone. Hotel packages can be £4-5k for your number of guests, if you aren’t particular like me about the style of decor. I wish I could a) have a bigger budget to spend on one day’s party and b) didn’t have such specific tastes.

Restaurants can be hired out for £1000 or can offer a private room for £500 if your numbers fit their room. Catering costs are a killer, unless you have a buffet but then there is minimum spend of £2000+, which I personally wasn’t prepared to fork out on my guests food and drink (smaller group than yours).

Good luck with your planning!

@StrongInside thanks for replying . Id be happy with a registry office and a nice restaurant meal but my OH doesn't want that he said he wants us to save and have what we want if we're going to do it!! Maybe it will take a few years again 🙄 good luck with yours xx

We got married 4 years ago and all in it cost about £4000 including my dress and bm’s dresses. That was 75 people. We were so lucky though one of the hotels we loved had a fantastic package available and a great drinks option on top. The biggest chunk of that £4000 was the food and drink. I didn’t like any of the expensive dresses I tried on and opted for something from the high street I felt suited me better. It can be done it wasn’t hard in the end because we were lucky we got a great deal that was miles less than anywhere else locally and it was fantastic.
We had planned on New York as well and for various reasons didn’t and for other various reasons we couldn’t have gone in the end so very glad we married close to home.

Glasshalf, thanks! You could still do a nice restaurant, it doesn’t need to be somewhere grand. I’m in Scotland where we can get married anywhere, but it doesn’t make it any easier to find a venue. Maybe you could go to the registrar office but not your local one? Some are prettier than others.