We got married last year and it really was a wonderful day. We’ve just had our one year anniversary and can’t believe how fast the time has gone! (We’re still waiting on that honeymoon though!). With two little ones, working for ourselves and a HUGE family, we really had to get married on a budget. We didn’t do anything too fancy and we made sure that it was something that we really wanted to do for us, not just to give everyone an all-expenses-paid for day trip! Here are our top tips for getting married on a budget, but still have a gorgeous wedding.
The Dress
We were together for 10 years before we got married, so originally I wasn’t bothered about the dress. I was going to just buy a nice white dress online, from a standard clothing website that I always use and not worry to much about it. But then, we went to a wedding show, my lovely friend took me along. She was adamant that just because we were on a budget and we had been together for so long that I should still have the full experience!
They had a wedding dress sale and I just couldn’t help but try one on. I didn’t plan on doing the whole wedding dress boutique thing, because a wedding dress can be eye-watering expensive. But these were off the rail and were on sale. You had 15 minutes to try the dress on and see what you thought. So I did and straight away I and my friend were in tears. It was absolutely wonderful! I had never worn anything like it before in my life, and I never will again. But it was half price and an absolute bargain. So after a quick call to the husband to me, to check that budget was all in hand, I went for it!
So what I’m trying to say is don’t feel like you have to blow your budget on a huge amazing dress, brand new, especially made for you. You can get just as an amazing dress from sale shops, charity shops and online. You don’t even have to go for a wedding dress! Prom dresses or special occasion dresses can look just as princess-like. If you click here, you’ll see exactly what I mean. You can wear a stunning dress and still stay on budget.
Photographs and Photographers
One thing that did take a chunk of our budget was our photographer, and I felt like we had quite a bargain, to be honest as we only needed her for half a day. I can honestly say, wedding photos are a must. I wish we had more, I wish we had a videographer too, but it’s too late now. There is nothing like looking back at pictures of your wedding day, it really is an incredible feeling.
Wedding pictures are a must but can be super tricky on a budget. Some wedding photographers cost literally thousands of pounds. I wish I was exaggerating but I’m not! A great idea for wedding photos is to get all your guests involved by either pooling their photos together on an app everyone to use and upload the pics they took on your special day. That way you have your wedding photos all in one place and can do whatever you like. It’s so much more cost-effective and you’ll get those amazing candid moments you don’t even remember.
Cake Cake Cake
We had my cake of dreams at my wedding and it cost me the same as a chip shop dinner for a family of four! How? Well, firstly, get recommendations from friends. I found ana amazing cake maker who just did it in her spare time whenever she had a request. I also didn’t want a traditional wedding cake (which always costs more!) I just wanted a two-layer chocolate drop cake covered in chocolate strawberries. It’s what I love and who cares about anyone else! It’s my wedding! So it was a celebration cake. Still a pretty big one, but by using a local recommendation instead of a big chain, it saved me a fortune and because it’s so personal, she even dropped it off at the venue for me! Honestly, you won’t even remember what the wedding cake tasted like… I might even have to get another one mad just so I remember haha!
The key to having a wedding on a budget is to try and distance yourself from the pressure of what you ‘should’ have instead of what you actually want. Remember it’s your day! No one will know if your dress cost £30 or £3000. The key is that you choose what you love and you do it so you’re happy, including being happy with how much the day cost you.
Enjoy!
