A BUDGET WEDDING? WHY NOT?
A wedding is a wonderful occasion, especially for the bride and groom, but why does it have to be such a commercial event? I’m sure you must have known someone who has paid thousands and thousands of pounds for their wedding, only to get divorced a few years later. Throwing money at it does not make a great wedding. If you have the cash, then have whatever you can afford, but at looklovely.net we believe most couples would be happier in the long run limiting the expense of a wedding. After all, who wants to be saddled with an expensive loan or credit card repayments for years to come?
My lovely daughter and son-in-law married in 2000 and we all still remember it as a wonderful day. I also remember my husband’s face when my daughter announced that over a hundred people would be attending. On discussion, we established that having large numbers of friends and family was important to her, so we had to plan our budget really carefully to accommodate this.
This is how we kept the costs down with eight bridesmaids and around a hundred and forty guests.
Flowers.
We visited a local market stall the day before the wedding to purchase bunches of flowers for the table decorations.
The bridesmaids bouquets were simple, wrapped bunches of flowers rather than expensive posies. These worked out at a quarter of the price of a posy.
The church was decorated with gorgeous flower arrangements by the wonderful Pat and our friend Rosemary. Pat, who is thankfully an early bird, visited a morning flower market to purchase the flowers, which was much cheaper than buying from a florist.
Bridesmaid Dresses
We purchased ex hire dresses for the bridesmaids. The company managed to find eight in the same design at £25.00 each; we had them altered by a dressmaker for the younger girls.
Wedding Dress
This was an important item to my daughter. She commissioned a friend who was trained in fashion to make her dress.
Car
A friend who had a classic car obliged as chauffer for the bride and groom.
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Reception
We used our church hall for the reception. This helped enormously, as food cooked ahead could be popped into the church freezer. To make the hall a little more homely, we purchased a roll of inexpensive red carpet to lay over the floor. This cost around £200.00 and was used for years afterwards at church events, so a great buy as it made such a difference on the day.
The main reception at the church in the afternoon was for everyone at the wedding. We then had a private party at our house in the evening.
Food
The groom’s mother prepared a lovely display of food. It was rather like feeding the 5000, so the food was cooked ahead. A team of friends worked hard in the kitchen on the day to prepare and set out the food.
Drink
We bought wine at a discount from our local supermarket which provided us with free glass hire for the event.
Place Settings.
We used rolls of burgundy catering paper to spread over the tables, simple vases from a local pound shop and put a bunch of flowers in each vase. Silver coated plastic catering platters were a great success.
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Waitresses and Waiters
Young people from our youth club waited on the tables.
Entertainment
We had a string quintet made up of musical young friends which provided background music.
Church Music
A band of friends played during the service and a friend played the organ for the bride to enter the church.
You might be able to save money too, with help from your family and friends.
Wedding Budget Tips.
Work out in discussion with your partner, what is important to you. For many women it will be a beautiful dress. Allow extra in the budget for one or two main things that will really make a difference to you, rather than throwing cash at the lot.
Get saving! It’s much nicer to spend money you have got rather than money you haven’t.
Tactfully, find out whether any help is available from your family. Don’t expect anything but it might be that your dad or mum have been saving for years and would love to help. On the other hand, they may be cash strapped themselves, so tread carefully. Perhaps practical help could be forthcoming if money is short.
If you, or your friends or family have appropriate skills, start making now. Consider making your wedding stationery. If you know someone who has jewellery making skills ask them to make gifts for the bridesmaids, perhaps instead of giving you a wedding present.
Do you have a friend who married recently who could loan you something e.g. a bag or hair decorations.
Really Low on Funds?
You could:
Borrow a dress, make your dress or find one via ebay or a charity shop. Shoes and bags can be borrowed or bought in a sale. Suits can be found in charity shops or borrowed.
Find a friend with a profusion of flowers in their garden. Use these for bouquets and flower arrangements. Or plan your wedding around an event such as a flower festival at your church when the church will be filled with flowers anyway. (Check they will be left for your big day to avoid disappointment).
Get a friend to sing or play an instrument at your wedding to make it really special.
Ask a friend to make you a simple sponge wedding cake or purchase a plain cake, ice it and pop a model bride and groom on the top.
Use the church hall for the reception as this will probably be an inexpensive option, or go to your local pub afterwards. If you're using the bar and have large numbers, ask the pub first.This saves you having to buy drinks if you are broke as everyone can buy their own (just explain to guests beforehand). You could have the reception at home or in your or a friend’s garden with a gazebo. Get guests to bring picnic chairs and borrow a few tables. Ensure you can use the house as a wet weather back up plan.
If you have a hall or are using your home, ask people to bring a dish or a bottle to the wedding. If you make a list and request say a quiche, a dessert or a bottle of wine, the contributions should be pretty balanced.
Use your local tip sale stall to pick up cheap plates and glasses if you need extras. Or you could borrow from friends.
Have a relative drive you to the church with a ribbon on their car (available from florists in rolls).
Don’t Do It!
It seems to be fashionable to go abroad for a hen or stag weekend before the wedding. If you or your friends are on limited funds, why put yourself under this pressure? You could have friends round for a pamper evening with perhaps a visiting beautician or just share beauty products and a box of chocolates. You could visit a restaurant or even cook a lovely meal yourself. Remember, your friends might be relieved if you keep the costs down for everyone.
Your wedding is such a special day. Go ahead and enjoy it without the worry of having to pay off debt for years to come.
Do you have any suggestions for a wedding on a budget? Tell us on our Talk Back page.
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