Lydia72

Have you decided on a date yet?
If not Sunday weddings are cheaper than a Saturday, make it the day before a bank holiday Monday and no one will have to be back at work the next day.
Phone round some venues and don't mention the 'W' word, just tell them it's a family reunion and you'd like a three course Sunday lunch, what kind of package can they do?

I had the job of organising something similar a couple of years ago (vow renewal, fifty guests) and the most expensive venues definitely weren't the best.
Once we'd agreed on the meal I negotiated with the venue for a drinks package, room decoration etc.
Everything was done via email and phone as a different part of the country but it was absolutely spot on.

I don't think you have to sacrifice having a nice day just because you're on a budget, but then also you don't want to look back and wish you'd spent a bit more and done it differently.

Flowers, hair and make-up; you can ask at your local college, some students will do these for free if they are trying to build up a portfolio.

Stationery you can do yourself. For the vow renewal I organised the 'bride' had seen a table plan in a local gift shop, they started at £200!
I made something identical (well, think mine was better actually) cost £25 to get the mount-board cut at a local framing shop and then about £5 on ebay for gems and ribbon.

Same shop wanted £25 for a decorated postbox, got one on ebay for £6.
Favours were made from disposable icing bags filled with sweets and tied with curling ribbon.

Personally I wouldn't skimp on photography, holding a camera at an angle does not make you a photographer!

Google 'wedding blogs' there are loads or sign up to Pinterest and have a look at wedding boards.

lordharding

iTrader: (1)

My first wedding cost the ex mother in law 25k in 1986
Lots of money but they were rich and silly with money for their only daughter
That ended in divorce

13 years ago I paid for it with the misses and I like value for money
Gretna green over the anvil £130
Minister £40 donation to his church
Piper £40 got him down from £60 he got £100 in tips
Wedding dress for misses hired from gretna green wedding shop £120
Tiara £40
I wore a barong ( phillipines national shirt for groom ) £20 from cebu
Black shoes and trousers £30
Wedding ring £100 ( I don't do rings )
Flowers job lot from local florist £50
Invites £20
Car hire for American stretched Limo £250 we took 10 of the misses friends and my parents in it ( the guests loved it )
We had my green wagon dressed up in gold ribbon to match the wheels
Gretna green photographer£150
Reception £25 a head for 40 guests
Disco at night £110
Buffet at night £600
We had 30 people stop in our house and the wife made full English breakfast for them all the next morning
Honeymoon in paris for a week £800

Wedding night story
The boy who was 12 at the time had a sore stomach and got worse through the day so stopped at home when we had the reception and night do
With a relative looking after him
In the middle of the night we rang A&E doctor who took him to hospital and he had his appendices out the next day incase it burst
I slept in a wheelchair in the awaiting room and the misses slept on a bench next to his bed

You can have a good wedding and keep the costs down

ScoobyWon't

Wot? No absinthe?!




I'm thinking of going on a booze cruise to Calsis, in order to stock up on wine. I've already spoken to my brother's father in law, who is a shop-fitter, about building a mobile bar for me, which I'll subsequently use for my business.

I want to take my hog-roasting oven, though I've been told that I won't allowed to carve it. Boo. Luckily, I've got plenty of people who will help me out.

I've got software which allows me to cost menus, recipes and ingredients and scale it to the number of guests who are going, so I'll be using that to influence the menu for the day, and the price. I'd be happy to hire ovens etc and run the kitchen myself.

We'd like a venue where we can do everything in one place, ceremony, reception and rooms, though we would both be happy with a marquee in a field. We just want a day where everyone can join in if they want to, or just sit back and enjoy themselves.

Markus

Hello there
Alas no Absinthe, thought it might not go down too well to get people smashed on it

Having spoken to my wife this evening, looks like the total of everything for the wedding was CAD$7000, so that's about £4000, not too bad for one day

CrisPDuk

Just got of the phone from MrsD, we were supposed to be going to her niece's reception next Friday, but the poor girl has become so wound up by her mothers family's demands (her father is MrsD's brother), that she's cancelled everything except the actual ceremony.

And told her mother that none of her relatives will be welcome at the church