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Original poster

Money saving tips!?

32 replies

Jellycustard · 04/01/2022 13:55

We got engaged last year and have just booked our wedding for winter 2023.
We've worked out rough costs and it's looking to be about 11,000!

I know in the grand scheme of things this is small compared to others but it's still a huge amount for one day. Our venue is in around 6,500 alone which is cheap compared to most other locations aside from registry office route. We are hoping family may chip in a bit, but we aren't expecting it. We had also looked at abroad but that isn't the cheaper option like we'd been lead to believe.

Anyone got some to savings tips or ways to save on the "extras" - I'd be grateful to hear from you all. The hardest part will definitely be cutting down on our disposable spending! I'm just so overwhelmed!

OP posts:
Idontgiveagriffindamn · 04/01/2022 14:05

For me work out what is important to you and focus your attention there.
We weren’t bothered about flowers or table decorations. The hotel included a budget in our package for these and we stuck to that.
Also a friend did the cake as a wedding present and I baked cupcakes for the favours.
For the speeches everyone was given Prosecco rather than champagne.
We spent quite a bit on the food and a photographer. And also did a lake cruise (which ur friends still talk about). I reckon if I’d asked them what the table decorations were like they’d have no idea
We also designed and had printed our own invitations so saved money there.

Totalwasteofpaper · 04/01/2022 14:05
  • keep bridal party small (2-3 bridesmaids Max)
  • Get your dress from Wed2B it's 650-800 vs thousands, i did and know 4 other people who have YOU CANNOT TELL THE DIFFERENCE the quality is great.
  • Shop sales fro the suit for your husband
-Decided on wedding band types - get a steer on cost and browse from now onwards then buy when you see a good deal. -Bridesmaid dresses from the highstreet (Chichi or asos or similar) let them wear whatever shoes they want
  • keep flowers a. seasonal and b. limited bridal party only
  • go to bobbi brown get a make up tutorial and do your own make up
  • honestly... find a cheaper venue thats already decorated I got married in marylebone town hall and rented a whole fine dining restaurant which had gorgeous flowers everywhere 4 course meal and canapes in the evening for less than that...
  • do not waste time, effort and money on favours.
  • get the cake from a supermarket or an online cake shop ours was huge and was 200 pounds or so from cutter and squidge
KiloWhat · 04/01/2022 14:05

How much have you budgeted for a dress. You can save a fortune if you buy 2nd hand or from a highstreet retailer rather than a specialist wedding shop. Or We2Be does sensible prices.

How many bridesmaids? Can you just have one?
Hire a suit don't buy one outright.

IbizaToTheNorfolkBroads · 04/01/2022 14:07

Do your own hair and makeup. You know what suits you best anyway.

KiloWhat · 04/01/2022 14:07

Invitations, just print your own. No one really keeps them.

Favours - don't bother or just put a few wrapped sweets on the tables.

Flowers - you don't need many just some for you and Bridesmaid and buttonholes maybe.

KiloWhat · 04/01/2022 14:09

You really don't need an evening disco. Have the wedding early and then the reception

HermioneWeasley · 04/01/2022 14:11

Do you really want to spend £11k on a wedding? Take a step back and ask what that might do paying off a chunk of your mortgage, or as savings for any kids.

bettertocryinamercedes · 04/01/2022 14:15

I did my flowers and table decorations for about £150 - really easy country style decor with wheat etc

My dad took photos of the ceremony and they are really good and a few afterwards - no cost

We didn't have cars as we got married at the venue

My mum made the men Harris tweed waistcoats to match and keyring favours from the leftover bits!

I wasn't going to bother with hair and makeup but at the last minute I did - I'm glad I changed my mind as I look nice in the pics !

I made the wedding cake and tray bakes for the buffet.

My BIL was the DJ and disco at night

Our wedding was £130 a head at a 5 star hotel so we had 30 guests and a few more in the evening. It was amazing. I don't suppose in the grand scheme me going those bits saved a fortune but a few thousand maybe?

The grooms bar tab probably took care of most of what I saved 😂

CrimbleCrumble1 · 04/01/2022 14:22

I had my wedding at a nice registry office, didn’t have bridesmaids or a hen do as didn’t want them. I wore a beautiful dress that was from the evening wear section of a London department store so hundreds and hundreds of pounds less than if it had been in a bridal shop.
Basically you don’t have to follow any rules.
My main priority was a fun time for my guests, a three course meal and then a buffet as I didn’t want anyone to be hungry. I went for guest experience over how it looked for the photos.

andynet · 04/01/2022 14:30

Congratulations on your engagement and wedding plans! :)

For things like the cake, flower arranging, invitations - do you have any friends or family that could do this for you as their wedding gift to you? Is anyone in the family good with designing on a computer to design and print you some custom wedding invites? Anyone in the family "the baker" who could do your cake? Anyone who could do your flower arranging for you if you went and brought the flowers from the wholesale market?

Little favours like this all save you big overall if you are happy enough having things homemade rather than going to the professionals. And family and friends are normally always willing to get involved just to be included in helping towards your special day.

converseandjeans · 04/01/2022 15:05

We did following

  • dress was £250
  • uncle & a mate drove me & bridesmaids to church & I just bought ribbons for cars
  • wedding was 3.30 so only needed to provide dinner then bacon rolls late on
  • Aunty made cake
  • brother in law took photos but we only asked him to do a few at church & then put cameras on table at venue
  • did own make up
  • bridesmaids dresses from monsoon (off the peg) and just had young cousin & a friend so not a huge wedding party
  • basic flowers

I think yours does sound expensive tbh.

converseandjeans · 04/01/2022 15:08

We did allow bottle of wine per person though which went down well as there was plenty to drink. There were cigarettes on the tables too - but this was pre smoking ban.

We also went for making sure people had fun rather than something to look good on photos.

ChessieFL · 04/01/2022 15:11

@KiloWhat

You really don't need an evening disco. Have the wedding early and then the reception
Or do it the other way - get married later in the day then just have the evening reception and buffet. Not having a sit down meal cuts costs considerably.
CrimbleCrumble1 · 04/01/2022 15:16

KiloWhat
You really don't need an evening disco. Have the wedding early and then the reception
I’ve been to two weddings like that, they weren’t great.

KiloWhat · 04/01/2022 15:29

@ChessieFL that's a good idea too, gives lots of prep time.

@CrimbleCrumble1 so have I, they've been fine. Cut outs a large part of the drinking too (handy if you're planning on paying for any of the drink) and means people can head off home late afternoon.

Original poster
Jellycustard · 04/01/2022 15:53

Thank you for all your tips so far! I'm hoping once we've met with the venue coordinator that I have grossly over estimated the costs. I've planned to look in wed2b as £1000 for a dress for one day will never happen. Grin Having 2 bridesmaids and 3 flowergirls to keep costs down.

Our flowers and buttonholes are £180 artificial which I didn't think was too bad? I wouldn't trust me or my friends to put them together well.

It's just hard when you've been to weddings in the past you don't want to be the "cheapskate wedding." We did consider just us type wedding but I think we'd k back and regret not having a bit of a celebration/party. Really the photos are most important for me as it's the only thing we'll have to remember it.

OP posts:
ruthieness · 04/01/2022 16:01

We had a formal wedding at a beautiful location then an informal evening "party" at home - it worked really well!

converseandjeans · 04/01/2022 16:13

jellycustard

Having 2 bridesmaids and 3 flowergirls to keep costs down.

That's quite a lot I would say. Can't you just have 2 bridesmaids? Maybe put flower girls just in matching Joules/Next/M&S dresses?

DaisyDozyDee · 04/01/2022 16:16

Best advice is to focus on the things you really care about. Don’t get sucked into paying for stuff you don’t actually care about, just because someone else tells you you should (for me: hair, make up, shoes, photographer, hen do).
Also, accept genuine offers of help - especially if you have talented friends. In our case, that meant the dress, flowers and wedding favours were made for us and wedding rings were a gift.
Not sure this will be true of all venues, but at ours the little add ons/upgrades were actually really good value (like serving drinks and canapés by the pool rather than inside and having a dessert buffet instead of a single dessert for everyone). Both options cost almost nothing per head but made a big difference to how the overall event felt.

IbizaToTheNorfolkBroads · 04/01/2022 16:21

Hire a dress! eg HURR

Original poster
Jellycustard · 04/01/2022 16:26

@converseandjeans

jellycustard

Having 2 bridesmaids and 3 flowergirls to keep costs down.

That's quite a lot I would say. Can't you just have 2 bridesmaids? Maybe put flower girls just in matching Joules/Next/M&S dresses?

That's what I'm hoping. I'm planning to get bridesmaids online and fingers crossed no tweaking is needed. Ideally hoping to pick something up for flowergirls in the sales next year, or even their own wee dresses, it's just a wee token to make them included.
OP posts:
Hathertonhariden · 04/01/2022 16:29

Steer clear of wedding magazines/websites/fairs. They all try to convince you that you must have all sorts of stuff which aren't necessary and just add to your costs.

Buy plain iced cakes from a supermarket and stack them. Add ribbon and a few flowers (perhaps the mothers' corsages) and job done for a fraction of what you would get charged for a "wedding cake".

LethargicActress · 04/01/2022 16:34

Choose one thing that you want to be frivolous with just for fun and so you enjoy it, and look for the cheap ways of doing everything else. There are ideas out there for virtually everything.

Think about weddings you have been to and think about what you didn’t notice and wouldn’t have missed.

hemhem · 04/01/2022 16:36

I got my dress made by a local dressmaker. It fitted me perfectly, was exactly the design I wanted and cost £600. Don't pay for a brand name dress!

We got simple favours and stationery and printed a lot ourselves. I made all the place names, table plans etc by hand.

The only things we really spent on were the food, drinks, venue, music and photographer. We didn't bother with any gimmicks like photobooths.

Congratulations on your engagement! If you save £500/month from now till your wedding you'll have your full budget plus a contingency. Doable if you're motivated or get extra income e.g. working overtime or earning on the side

MrsMoastyToasty · 04/01/2022 16:39

Cars. We used a friend who worked in the motor industry (vehicle hire). He hired a 7 seater for the weekend and got an employee deal. We paid him to pick DH, best man and ushers from one house and drop them off at the pub next to the church. He then came over to my parents, picked up the bridesmaids and my mother and dropped them at the church. We also hired a black cab to take me and dad to the church. Even with the meter running while we were in the church it was cheaper than limousine hire.