22 replies to this topic

[sparkledream]

Hello i'm new here and have been engaged for nearly 2 years. OH and I are buying a house, so our savings are going on that at the mo. we were plannign to have a small wedding anyway, about 5k, but unless we put the date back, which we dont want to, that wont happen unless we win the lottery!. SO i've been thinking about getting married in secret, to avoid the fuss, and just have close friends and family and a ceremony and meal.

what are your views?

[MrsC2Be]

Hello and welcome! Everyone here is lovely and will do their best to look after you

I would say that the smaller wedding idea is a good one, it will mean that you're surrounded only by the people who mean the most to you. You don't neccessarily have to keep it a secret, just say to people it's going to be a really small, intimate wedding. You could always have a big party to invite people to later on or on a different date? Or why not throw a big One Year Anniversary bash if you still feel like you want to do something with everybody. Sounds like a great idea for a party to me!

Good luck with the house thing, have you already found/bought somewhere? xx

[MrsBoucher2B2012]

Hi and welcome
i think it is a really sweet idea, some people are likely to kick up a fuss. They always will even if you have a huge wedding, some people just arent happy unless there is something to complain about. All that matters is that it is your day and that your happy.

We have a 5k budget as well and im doing a lot of it myself and am shopping around for the best deals in order to have the day we want. We dont see the point in spending a small fortune on one day when it could be put towards other things like our daughters future. So far we are under budget and we have got around 30 for the meal and 90 for the night.

One thing you should know about the brides on here is we all loved anything and everything to do with weddings.

[airy_fairy]

We are having a humanist ceremony next summer but because they're not legally binding we are having a very small (us plus two witnesses!) civil ceremony two weeks earlier. We are making a day of it with a trip on a steam train from Preston to Carlisle (we'll get married in the registry office there) and back again. We're taking a luxuary picnic hamper to enjoy during the journey. Can't wait and it's £500 all in!!

with just four it's so easy to have an extravagent day without the massive cost!

[Mrs T2B (Kel)]

Welcome to the forums Sparkledream....

MrsBoucher2B2012, on 25 October 2010 - 09:28 AM, said:

One thing you should know about the brides on here is we all loved anything and everything to do with weddings.

oh yes most definitely .. and some of us are so insane about all things wedding, an the friendships we made whilst planning our Big Day's that we are still here!

sparkledream, on 25 October 2010 - 08:27 AM, said:

SO i've been thinking about getting married in secret, to avoid the fuss, and just have close friends and family and a ceremony and meal.

what are your views?

We had a budget of around £4k ... and I actually blew £1k of that on my dress but it was / is so beautiful I still stroke it when I get a chance
We had around 40 to a day time do, with an afternoon tea party theme and meal (think high tea during victorian times) followed by an evening do for about 60 consisting of a BBQ.

Check out the DIY forums here http://www.bigday.co.../7-diy-wedding/

Also check out Popple's 'unofficial guide to haggling' .. here -> http://www.bigday.co...ch__1#entry9171

There are plenty of tips, advice and budget hunting Brides to be and newly wed Mrs' who will simply adore finding that great bargain for you . trust me .. I have nothing to look for on the internet since getting married

There's nothing to say what you should or shouldn't have, as a quick viewing of these boards will show you
Remember - IT'S YOUR DAY!! so have exactly what you want, how you want and don't let anyone tell you you can't shouldn't mustn't .. BOO to them, it's your special day, no one elses!

Can't wait to start hearing your plans as they develop.

[poppleminster]

Welcome! I am also having a small wedding - we decided we'd rather spend money on a small group we know will truly want to be there than lots more money on people that are coming as they know us but don't particularly care about watching us say our vows.

Glad to have you on board and I hope you enjoy the site. We're a friendly bunch so give us a yell if we can help.

Happy planning!

[iPrincess26]

Hello, Welcome and Congratulations. I don't really have anything else to add to what has been said above, except the ladies on here are wonderful and are there to help no matter what the situation! No matter how big, small, trivial or life changing you can count on this lot!

I would've been lost without them a few months ago and even now.

SO plan your day how YOU want it and we are here to help however we can.



xx

[Helen]

Welcome Hope you enjoy it here, everyone is lovely if a little mad

I would agree with the other ladies, it is your day so go for something that is special to you. I love the idea of a small wedding and then a party the following year as suggested by mrs c. That way you can spread the costs a bit as well as inviting friends and family to celebrate with you that you wouldn't invite to the actual wedding.

There are lots of ideas on here I'm sure you will be able to come up with something that suits you

We are having a about 5-7 people (including ourselves) for our wedding abroad then having a huge party about 6 weeks later in the UK (two chances to wear the dress hehe )

[Becky]

Oops I seem to have missed this thread - a belated welcome from me!

[sparkledream]

ok, so change of plans again.
do to money being super tight, as we have the house to sort, and money to pay back to family (18k for the deposit) and my OH has a daughter, and kids aren't cheep.
OH and i have now started to talk about still getting married, next year. our current wedding savings are just over 1k. so if we start saving hard i think we can save about 3k (pittiful really).
so i'm now spending most of my time scowering the net looking for deals. i've threatened OH with an asda wedding, not sure he beleives me.

[salmasalma]

I was just shamefully watching some Wedding TV online and they have a programme on there called 'Three Grand Weddings' - would be perfect for you to watch and get some tips on how to have the most amazing 3k wedding. It can be done!!!

[Amymel86]

Hello and welcome to the forum!

One way that i am able to cut costs is by using the skills of my friends and family! I've got.....

An Aunty who is a chef - making the cake
An Uncle and aunty who own a wine company - providing some of the good stuff for the evening
An uncle who is a professional wedding photographer - taking photo's (obvs!)
Another Uncle (I have a massive family!) who is a jeweller - making the rings
Friends (well friends of friends of the cat's uncle's daughter's niece, if you know what I mean??!) who will DJ at a cheaper than normal rate
A close friend who is very good at computer graphics etc - designing the STD and invites
Also i make tiara's so will make my own jewellery

Hope you can think of some people who will be able to help out! i find that whenyou ask people if they would like to help, they are really happy to be involved in the wedding and so are more than willing to help out.

Hope that's helpful!

PS - I don't want to do any cheeky advertising but have a look at my website www.littledaydreamdesigns.com (having a few probs with the photo's not loading to their full size at the moment!) but I could do something for you at a VERY competative price - it's a HOBBY not a business - honest!

[poppleminster]

Amymel86, on 21 January 2011 - 01:28 PM, said:

Hello and welcome to the forum!

One way that i am able to cut costs is by using the skills of my friends and family! I've got.....

An Aunty who is a chef - making the cake
An Uncle and aunty who own a wine company - providing some of the good stuff for the evening
An uncle who is a professional wedding photographer - taking photo's (obvs!)
Another Uncle (I have a massive family!) who is a jeweller - making the rings
Friends (well friends of friends of the cat's uncle's daughter's niece, if you know what I mean??!) who will DJ at a cheaper than normal rate
A close friend who is very good at computer graphics etc - designing the STD and invites
Also i make tiara's so will make my own jewellery

Hope you can think of some people who will be able to help out! i find that whenyou ask people if they would like to help, they are really happy to be involved in the wedding and so are more than willing to help out.

Hope that's helpful!

PS - I don't want to do any cheeky advertising but have a look at my website www.littledaydreamdesigns.com (having a few probs with the photo's not loading to their full size at the moment!) but I could do something for you at a VERY competative price - it's a HOBBY not a business - honest!

u are SUCH a wombat!!!! Your stuff is gorgeous and you are perfectly allowed a link in your signature just not as your username. I suggest you do it right now I am in love with some of your stuff now.

[Amymel86]

poppleminster, on 21 January 2011 - 01:36 PM, said:

u are SUCH a wombat!!!! Your stuff is gorgeous and you are perfectly allowed a link in your signature just not as your username. I suggest you do it right now I am in love with some of your stuff now.

Hahahaha!! I'm liking the wombat status you have given me! (it made me snort at my desk).....how to I put a link in my signature??

Thanks for the complement! It really is only a hobby tho....I took it seriuously a year ago and had dreams of running a full on business but I'm not driven enough and get bored easily.....I still enjoy making the tiaras but only when I want to, not when a bridezilla is emailling me every 10 seconds to see if i have posted her £30 tiara yet!!.....although I now understand the need to have EVERYTHING perfect since becoming a full scale bridezilla myself!

[poppleminster]

sparkledream, on 21 January 2011 - 12:54 PM, said:

ok, so change of plans again.
do to money being super tight, as we have the house to sort, and money to pay back to family (18k for the deposit) and my OH has a daughter, and kids aren't cheep.
OH and i have now started to talk about still getting married, next year. our current wedding savings are just over 1k. so if we start saving hard i think we can save about 3k (pittiful really).
so i'm now spending most of my time scowering the net looking for deals. i've threatened OH with an asda wedding, not sure he beleives me.

I'm on about the same budget as you, slightly less. It's perfectly possible - check out wedidng sites for people selling anything you're likely to use and have a good think on venues - I opted for a luxury venue for the ceremony but am having the reception elsewhere. Depending on what style food you want, most of the supermarkets do buffet deals that rival caterers and free glass hire. I've found a quaint granite 1940's village hall with wooden flooring and awesome views for my reception and am theming it as high tea - easy to decorate without costing the earth and as it's all part of the theme - it doesn't look like i'm being cheap. I adore the place. Rural village halls are often really gorgeous so worth checking out.

If you have a big garden then backyard weddings are all the rage. I love, love, love backyard weddings. Tent in the garden, hire the tables, cheap and simple to organise but really relaxed and effective and very personal.

Sorry, i've rambled! xx