When my boyfriend asked me to marry him over a year ago, I was under the illusion that all we needed was love. Now I know that a few grand doesn’t go amiss either…
We’ve tried to cut out all unnecessary extras, but short of not inviting any guests to your big day, weddings are always going to be expensive. And guests are, well, necessary – to us anyway. However, there are a few ways by which you can keep the costs from spiralling.
Get crafty
Remember Mother’s Day as a child – how your mum got all teary when presented with a card picturing her in macaroni shapes? How she said that the homemade presents always meant the most? Well, the same applies to wedding invites – your guests will probably appreciate a home-crafted card more than one you paid someone else to create. Making your own cards will also mean that they are more special to you, and the fact that they cost a hell of a lot less is a happy bonus!
For our invites, we rummaged around in a Lego shop until we found pieces that could be put together in our image, placed them on Brighton beach, where we are having our reception, and took some snaps (see image). We then bought some pre-folded ivory cards from a stationary store, printed out the text and got glueing. The end result makes us smile, a lot.
Fancy finger food
Forget the three-course meal and elaborate table plan – you’ll soon realise that here lies the main cost and stress of organising the celebration. Opt instead for an upmarket buffet – we’re talking tiger prawns and smoked salmon fishcakes rather than sausage rolls and cucumber sandwiches – which will work out much cheaper per head.
We’re also replacing the traditional wedding cake with cute cupcakes – they’re much easier to eat, very popular and half the price! You can even get a giant cupcake for the top tier of your cake stand so you still have something to cut.
Buy second-hand
If you’re a regular charity-shop raider and vintage shopper like me, you’ll have no qualms about buying a second-hand wedding dress.
There are plenty of sites out there, such as sellmyweddingdress.co.uk, almostnewweddingdresses.co.uk and thedressmarket.net that offer second-hand, ex-display and never-worn wedding dresses at significantly reduced prices. My frock (a long, white, traditional affair) was originally £600, but I bought it through sellmyweddingdress.co.uk for a mere £250. The seller even threw in some wedding shoes for free!
Many charities also run special bridal boutiques and Oxfam’s online shop has a dedicated bridal section, so not only will you look stunning for less, part of your wedding funds will go to a good cause.
Selling your dress on after the wedding will also help you recoup some of the money spent on the big day.
Create your own soundtrack
Instead of hiring a ‘wedding DJ’, a job title which puts the fear of god into me, and running the risk of Abba being played at your reception – you may like Abba, I don’t – ensure that you’ll be dancing to your favourite tunes by creating your own playlist.
If you want to have some friends up on the dance-floor with you, ask them to submit songs they’d like to be played too. Include an e-mail address to which they can send track suggestions on your invite.
Create a mega wedding-playlist on your iPod or burn onto CDs, hire a PA system for the evening and you’re away. To cut costs even further, ask around and see if any friends or friends of friends have a PA system they will lend you at a reduced rate – target the music-lovers and you’ll be surprised what kit they have.
Bargaining and borrowing
If you know other couples who have tied the knot in the last couple of years, ask them if they have anything you can buy or borrow from their big day. We managed to pick up a second-hand cake-stand for £20 from someone at my other half’s work and are borrowing the miles of village-fete bunting my crafty friend made for her wedding last summer.
As photographers are an expensive extra, ask around to see if anyone is looking to expand their photography portfolio and will do the job at a reduced fee. Luckily for us a girl I went to school with is looking to branch out from fashion and architecture to wedding photography and has agreed to document our big day for just £100.
There are no magic solutions to the money issue, but there are ways you can make your wedding plans more manageable, and more personal along the way. Just don’t get me started on the honeymoon…
Image © Jo-Ann Hodgson. All rights reserved.