Help me with the shortest list of things to buy for small wedding

[derbyperson]

Invites
Wedding rings
Cost of giving notice / registrar
Wedding dress
Suit
Bouquet
Cost of meal / drinks after wedding
Honeymoon

I would say that's about it really. Maybe some table decorations if you fancy them

Cost of any admin incurred by (if) changing your name

Hairdresser/ make up maybe?

You don't need much really.

I am a registrar and honestly, I don't think you need much. Some of the most amazing weddings I do are just two people and their closest friends with none of the fuss.

You don't need invites, flowers or wedding clothes if you want to cut it down further IMO.

Shoes that go with whatever dress you buy might be another thing? Maybe a handbag that goes for your phone etc, or foist that on a friend. And anything you want for your hair - doesn't have to be expensive, but if you even want a £6 sparkly clip you would still need to buy it.

Not a thing to buy, but a playlist for the ceremony - someone recently had a place that insisted on a CD which might require buying some MP3s and ripping a CD?

If I were getting married now I would beg a close friend to do some photography rather than pay a photographer (which TBF you don't mention) but I would probably feel I owed him a bottle of gin or whatever as a thank you but obviously you don't have to have any photographs at all.

photographer, you really should have a few (not 101) good photo's.

Small clutch bag for phone, lipstick and a tissue!!

I am having a think about what I've seen/heard of in the weddings I have done that I thought were lovely.

Invites - either no invites or something wacky that can be kept by the guest and used, even if just a fridge magnet. The cards just get thrown away! For a very small wedding, I'd probably do something ceramic myself.

Wedding rings - go as crazy as you like to suit you

Cost of giving notice / registrar - you're stuck with this (and this is my job!) but legally you should be able to get legally married for £127

Wedding dress - meh. Some couples rock up in jeans. Some buy special clothes they will wear again. Wear what suits YOU and you feel amazing in. Don't feel you should conform to a white dress.

Suit - does your soon to be DH need a new suit? Would he prefer and wear more frequently new trousers, a shirt and converse or trainers? If he would, get those new.

Bouquet - seen some absolutely lovely home made ones, some using supermarket flowers. Others florist flowers but hand tied.

Cost of meal / drinks after wedding - this can be what you want it to be! Don't tell the venue it's a wedding though beforehand unless you want the price to quadruple 😆

Honeymoon - this is where I'd spend the money personally

Photos are lovely too to spend money on, but guests can take plenty themselves if you prefer. A video is unnecessary IMO.

Other unnecessary things (IMO) I have seen:

Ice sculptures
Birds of prey
White doves
Over priced wedding transport
Ring cushions
Ridiculous outfits on small children
Phones that people leave personalised messages on
Card letterboxes
Wedding favours
Anything that started as a blackboard
Any elaborate seating plan charts
Order of services
Ring boxes

A wedding venue I work at frequently say that even lottery ticket scratch cards bought as wedding favours get left. They share them up at the end of a shift :-)

Invites can be done online with something like Paperless post if you want.

include announcements with the invites.

You don't need a bouquet. I'd get a photographer instead.

So agree. I did the whole sh-bang, which I don't regret but also in hindsight it was unnecessary. I could've saved thousands and just had a party (which was the main thing I wanted)

I agree with this.
I had a boquet and no professional photographer at my first wedding, no boquet and professional photographers at my 2nd (they are both friends and one was training the other in how to do weddings, it was all really lovely). Boquet was a pain. Professional photos made me cry with joy which I really did notanticipate.
I made my own dress and DH's outfit and my shoes came from consignment store at a good price. I did have a floral crown so felt bridal with no veil or boquet to fuss about. Food cost alot more than we anticipated, in part because of price hikes following war in Ukraine. Still, it felt good to treat our dear ones to a feast. We got good prices on wine and bubbles by waiting for sales and promotions. I also got a surprise at how much DH's wedding band cost. I'm wearing my great grandmother's wedding ring, if an heirloom is an option for you. It feels very special.

How 'small' is 'small'? We had a small wedding - three guests at the register office plus two more to lunch afterwards. We didn't need formal invitations or a photographer (someone is took a few snaps ... do people really look at photos after the initial viewing of the album?). I did have a new dress but nothing 'formal', DH wore a suit he already had - with a new tie. Can't honestly remember if I had a bouquet or not. Honeymoon is not essential. We were perfectly happy with our 'small' wedding and are still married over 35 years later.

Underwear to suit the wedding dress.
Transport (taxis?) to/from venue.

Photography student for the photos. Ask to see their portfolio. Ebay and other sites have lots of lovely secondhand wedding dresses, some never worn.

No to the photo album, but it's nice to have one or two amazing shots that you can frame. It's not the same having an amateur pic taken off someone's phone, it would be a real fluke to get an amazing shot. Good point about invitations, if it's small you might be able to skip this (although it is a nice keepsake, but not essential). I also would say a honeymoon is not essential, but important if you can afford it, moreso than the wedding! It your special time as a couple to celebrate your marriage.