Thursday 13 August 2020

Tips For Getting Married On A Budget

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Last summer I got married and wrote so many posts about our wedding day, it even featured in a wedding magazine. As parents, we did not want to go crazy and spend a fortune on our wedding so it was on a bit of a budget, although we did end up spending a lot more than we originally planned. When planning a wedding I always think it is best to decide what you want to spend on and what you don't mind saving on, for example, we splurged on a sit-down meal, decent DJ and booked a venue decorator. Whilst we saved on transport and made our own sweet table, place settings and seating plan to cut down on costs. 

With so much uncertainty in the world right now and so many people having weddings cancelled and having to make re-arrangements I thought I would share some of the ways, I saved on my big day. 

floral wedding arch

1.) Be Flexible 

Being flexible on the date you get married can make you reap huge savings on your wedding venue and suppliers. I got married on a Saturday in June as it was a special day to us (my late mam's birthday) and it cost us a lot more than if we had gotten married on a different date. When looking at venues we found that weekday or out of season weddings were a lot cheaper than weekend summer ones. The cost of the registrar (if getting married at a venue) was also a lot more expensive for weekends than weekdays too. 

2.) Sales 

As we booked our wedding two years in advance I was able to get a lot of my wedding items in the sales. My wedding dress cost £800 reduced from £1600 as the bridal shop had a sale on when I visited (they normally have them once or twice a year when new collections come out). My bridal shoes were reduced from £75 to £3.50 in the Rainbow Club sale (wedding shoe company). We even got some of our wedding decor hire half-price as we booked when they had a black Friday sale on. So it is well worth following pages on Facebook or via email and keeping an eye out for any upcoming sales. 

3.) Photographs 

Wedding Photos can be expensive and I kept seeing people mentioning so many times in wedding forums I was in that they couldn't afford photographers prices. For us personally, wedding photos were important so we did splash out on a brilliant photographer. However, some photographers do packages so you can just book them for an hour or two which can work out a lot cheaper or you can use
 wedding photo sharing where your guests can upload any photographs they have taken on the day. Then you can have all of your photos in one place, some of our guests got some lovely photos on our big day that  I will treasure forever. 

semi naked wedding cake

4.) Get Married Later In The Day

Another thing I have seen mentioned a lot is to have a wedding later in the afternoon and then you only need to book an evening reception and provide evening food instead of day and evening food. We have been to a 4pm wedding before and it was nice with no waiting around like you often find with long all-day weddings. 

5.) Skip The Extras 

There are so many extras to wedding days now, from photo booths to sparkly dance floors and even ice cream trikes and singing waiters. Yes, they are nice but honestly, no-one will mind or notice if you don't have them. Weddings are all about family and friends getting together and celebrating your day with you, most people will just spend most of the time chatting and catching up anyway. 

6.) Get Creative 

I am not at all crafty or creative but for the wedding, I actually made our own table plan and place settings and it was actually quite enjoyable and worked out so much cheaper than buying them. We had clay hearts for the place settings after seeing a guide on the Hobbycraft website and all of our guests really liked them and took them home afterwards. 

7.) Shop Around 

When looking for bridal party outfits we shopped around and got some real bargains. My teen had her prom 2 days before the wedding so we had to buy her a prom and bridesmaid outfit, so when we went shopping we got her two similar dresses from the Metrocentre in the January sale and she chooses which to wear for the wedding and which to wear for Prom, she wanted a Prom dress to suit you. They were both pale pink, long dresses and her bridesmaid one was only £10 (reduced from £90). 

8.) Make The Day Your Own

The most important thing is to make the day your own. If you don't want a sit-down meal, cake or white dress then don't have them. Cut out all of the things that you don't want and I bet you will save a lot of money by only keeping the things that matter to you both. 

Remember no matter how much you do or don't spend on your wedding day all that matters is that you're getting married. All of the extra things don't make a wedding as all you really need is each other as cheesy as that sounds. 


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