The 5K Wedding
20th September 2018 by Natasha Goldstein
Planning that dream wedding can be magical, exciting, frustrating and not forgetting costly all at the same time. But don't fret, we've grouped together our top tips on planning a fabulous wedding on a shoe-string budget but that doesn't mean you have to scrimp on the enjoyment of the day!
The Ceremony - Circa £100
Registry offices were massively popular during the 80's and 90's and are starting to make a fashionable comeback!
A lot of these buildings have been re-furbished, modernised and some have even moved to different locations which offers the brides of today more space, comfort and beauty for their special day. The likes of Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr and Liam Gallagher all held weddings at the famous Westminster Registry Office.
The Reception Venue - Circa £1000
The reception venue can be the most expensive part of planning a wedding, however if you are savvy you can get a great venue at a low price!
Local village halls are a fantastic, under-rated option that offer so much space and unseen potential for the big day. Available with all the needed amenities (kitchen, bathrooms etc) and presented as a blank canvas, you're able to decorate and layout as you see fit to your own personal tastes and vision.
Venues such as these really enable you to put your own stamp on the day for that extra personalised touch and can also offer breath-taking views of natural scenery, ample free parking for your guests and don't charge for corkage. Just make-sure that your venue does hold all the appropriate licences.
The Food - Circa £1500
After the ceremonyCanapes are an obvious choice for this time of day as it will be too early for a big meal but your guests will still need something to keep them going until the main meal. Buying high-end store bought canapes are a great way to combat the hunger and often work out much cheaper than hiring a caterer. This means more money is left to spend to feed your hungry guestsFood is often one of, if not THE biggest spend of any wedding and there is no way around this. With an average wedding lasting up to 12 hours, you need to keep your guests well fed! Meal times can be split in to 3 different sections of the day:
The wedding breakfastInstead of a traditional three course meal, an increasingly popular choice is to hire a specialist food catering truck such as BBQ, Pizza, Mexican, Italian etc. These vendors roughly charge around £15 per head depending on what cuisine you decide on, so depending on the number of guests, the above figure could go up or down slightly.
Late night top-upBacon and sausage butties are a common late-night snack to finish the evening and tie your guests over while they wait for their carriages to arrive. Obviously you can offer vegetarian, vegan or other options too!
The Drinks - Circa £500
A lot of couples' favour offering a free bar at their wedding and yours (if that is your choice) can be no different. Buying alcohol in bulk from a merchant or a grocery super-store means you will get a lot more choice and quantity for your money.
Many of these stores run promotions offering 25% off when you buy 6 bottles of wine, so, let's do the maths; if you purchase 6 bottles of wine each costing £5, with a 25% discount that is a total cost of just £22.50. This means you could fill each table during your wedding breakfast for less than £23!
The same offer can be applied for fizz to toast the newly-weds and for stocking up your evening 'bar' with prosecco and wines. Don't forget the beer though!
The Waiting Staff - Circa £500
With all the food, alcohol and soft drinks you're purchasing, you'll need a team of experienced people to do all the serving.
Based on a team of 5 to serve your canapes and late-night snacks, drinks for toasting and to tend your bar, you will be looking at a cost of about £500. As you'll be hiring this talented bunch for approximately 10 hours, in between serving food and drinks they can turn their skills to washing empty glasses, cutlery and plates and pop them back in their boxes.
The Decorations - Circa £300
If you're decorating a plain venue then decorations will be high on your priority list. Decorations such as bunting, candles, fabrics, flowers and fairy lights amongst others are cost effective and create maximum impact in turning an empty space in to a beautiful one.
Don't forget, you'll also need to purchase or hire your make shift bar area, your cutlery, and wine and champagne glasses but a trip to any homeware store will make this a quick and easy job. One of the smart things about buying all your own decorations and equipment is that once your wedding day is over, you can sell these on to other price-savvy brides to be and make some money back!
The Flowers - Circa £100
You don't have to spend BIG to have beautiful, tasteful flowers that compliment your wedding colour scheme and your outfit - you can get the same fresh quality from a supermarket!
At first this can sound like a very unappealing option but please do bear with me. With a budget of up to £100 you will be able to buy more than 10 x the amount of flowers than if you sourced these from a local florist.
With selecting this option, the power truly is in your hands to create a wedding bouquet that is one of a kind and made personally for and by you. And with the remaining flowers left over, these make great centre pieces for the tables, a thoughtful gift for the mother of the bride, and for extra decoration inside your venue.
The Cake - Circa £100
Who doesn't love cake at a wedding? Whether you're feeding 30 people or 300 the price doesn't have to cost the earth. A smart and sensible idea for your wedding cake is to offer something a little different and unique, and I have two ideas on how you can achieve exactly this.
Instead of having just one wedding cake, why not have 5?! Offer your guests a 'cake table' with high quality, shop bought, large cakes. This will not only feed all your guests, they get to taste a variety of different cakes or get to choose which slice of cake they decide to enjoy.
A second option is to opt for a shop brought one tier wedding cake and surround this with cupcakes of your desired flavour or flavours. This will ensure that every guest doesn't miss out on the all-important cake and you can even buy extra to give away as part of the party favours so your guests can enjoy again at home!
The Bride and Groom's outfits - Circa £400
Many high-street retailers are breaking in to the wedding market offering discounted but still beautiful wedding gowns and suits for the bride and groom. Depending on your personal style and tastes, you can find a gorgeous gown for under £200.
Charity shops and specialist shops also have vintage wedding dresses for a fraction of the price so it's definitely worth a look there too!
As for the grooms, they have the option to either hire a suit which can cost as little as £150 for the day or they can buy a brand new one for a small increased cost and wear it again and again for many anniversaries to come.
The Music - FREE
No wedding is complete without dancing!
Before your wedding, ask for song requests from all your guests as this will make them feel more a part of your special day and add in a few favourites of your own. Upload these to your iPod or stream them on your laptop using a well-known streaming service, plug in to the venue's PA system and you've got your music for the evening!
Because you've asked every guest for a song request, there is no excuse for no dancing!
The Photographer - Circa £200
Let your guests be the photographers!
Place every table with 4 or 5 disposable cameras and let your guests do the rest.Because these are the people that know you most, they are more likely to capture those beautifully natural, happy moments throughout your day, those kinds of photos are priceless and show the real you and the real love between yourself and your significant other.
There is also a huge chance that your guests will take a few silly shots too which will make great keep sakes from the day.
The Gifts - Circa £200
A very traditional part of a wedding day is saying thanks to those closest to you; your wedding party.
For the mothers of the bride and groom, a bouquet of flowers is a beautiful and thoughtful gesture and as started earlier, these can be created from your wedding flowers.For the fathers of the bride and groom, a nice bottle of wine or their favourite beverage will always go down well.
For the bridesmaids, who have most definitely helped you keep your cool during the process of planning your wedding, deserve something a little extra special. A personalised make-up bag with a few of their favourite treats inside is the perfect way to show them you care and appreciate them.
For the groomsmen, personalised cufflinks are a thoughtful gift and can be used again for other special occasions.
The Favours - Circa £100
This final gift for all your guests to take away can be something as simple as chocolates; they're simple, Elegant, taste great and don't have to cost a fortune. Some companies offer individually pre-packaged mini chocolates for less than £1 which means if you have money left over, you can add another treat or two of your choosing in to the mix!
Whatever the cost of your wedding, make sure you, your wallet and your special day is protected from the unexpected by arranging your wedding insurance with Dreamsaver.co.uk. From the moment you pay your first deposit you should consider getting your wedding insurance to help protect you against wide range of issues such as venue and supplier cancellation, loss or damage to the wedding attire, loss or damage to the wedding rings, Personal accident cover and much more. You can even arrange your cover up to 2 years in advance!
Please Note: Policies must be purchased a MINIMUM of 14 days before the ceremony date.
Please Note: This Article refers to an historic version of Dreamsaver Wedding Insurance policy. Policy Terms, Conditions, Exclusions and Prices may have changed. Please see the latest policy wording for more details