You will always hear stories in cheap magazines like ‘How I got married on £100’ or ‘How my wedding bankrupted me’ and this will always be the case. You will always have the option to choose a cheaper or more expensive option of what you’re looking at, you just need to be sensible and know what you like. Yes, you might be able to do your entire wedding on £100 but will it really be what you want, do you want paper napkins and starving guests? On the flip side, do you really need that swan ice sculpture in 30 degree August heat? Probably not. Weddings are about compromise, only spend what you can afford and try and save money a little bit at a time in certain areas.
The Ring
Would your bride be up for a vintage engagement ring? Maybe that’s all she’s got her eye on, lucky you. These can be half the price of usual engagement rings and are essentially one-offs, she won’t see anyone else with one like it.
The Venue
Weather permitting, consider an outside ceremony, this will more than likely be free if it’s in a public place or cost a small fee if you’re on National Trust or privately owned land. Ask around, use your connections and check the weather forecast! Your average church wedding costs around £450 so bear this cost in mind.
The Reception
Visit sites like Pinterest.com for inspiration for your reception, you might be surprised what you can do on a smaller budget that looks great such as home-made favours, place mats and photo booths. Consider perhaps asking guests to bring something with them instead of a gift, be it a bottle or two or a spread of sandwiches and have a huge buffet with all your friends and family.
The Attire
For the bridesmaids’ dresses, don’t go to a specific wedding shop as costs will rocket and styles may well be dated. Take all your bridesmaids shopping together and choose coordinating or the same dresses from high street stores that could be tailored to fit better or customised with the wedding colours with ribbon sashes for example.
The groom and ushers’ wedding ties, suits and waistcoats can work out to be really quite expensive but there are a few ways to cut the cost of your big day. If you’re having a more relaxed wedding, and by this I mean that you aren’t indulging in the morning coat and top hat style of dressing, you, your groomsmen and your ushers can wear your own suits if they are coordinating, well-fitting and good quality. The likelihood is that you all have a fairly good suit that you pull out to wear to interviews, other people’s weddings, that sort of thing, so drag this out of the back of the wardrobe and wear that! If it’s been a while since you’ve worn it and your body shape has changed, take it to the tailors to get it fitted to you. This can make an old suit look like new for the fraction of the price of buying a new one. This might leave you with a bit of budget to buy matching accessories for your groomsmen such as ties, bow ties or cufflinks.
Try online budget planners, Money Saving Expert has a good one, or do a Google search for more money saving tips!