Cherish Wedding planning service

Q13 –Are there any themes that work well for budget weddings?

Just about any theme can be used for a wedding, and any creative bride can use an idea for inspiration.

A good place to start is looking at wedding supplier websites to see if they have any special offers or clearance for particular themes.

If you go back to your 3 most important things and then see how ideas can fit with that. A summer marquee wedding could have a garden party feel, with rugs for picnics or a BBQ. A Venue wedding could just have a simple colour theme, which means you can source items from a greater range of shops.

A vintage styled wedding, means you can serve afternoon tea following the ceremony, and leave out an evening reception.

Q8 – Does planning a wedding on a budget take longer to plan?

Time certainly helps with a budget wedding.

Sourcing items at the best price is crucial if you are going to stick to your budget. So you will need to spend time trying to get discounts and negotiating deals.

You may decide that you can make some things yourself such as favours, invitations, table centres and even your dress. This is a great way of saving money, but does take time.

The more time you have, the less you will be forced to make hasty decisions, that are not always the best value for money. If you can give yourself at least a year, you might even be able to save up more money.

Q7 – Is it cheaper to have a small ceremony and then a separate party at another time?

If you choose to celebrate your wedding twice, then beware some of the costs will be repeated and others will be halved. Although it does mean that you get to celebrate twice, and that can’t be bad!

The idea is to invite only the closest relations to the ceremony (usually the local registry office) followed by a small reception. You will be tempted to ‘push the boat out’ because there are not many guests, and this could be costly for just a meal and drinks.

However when you do book your separate party, you will have the same inevitable entertainment and evening food cost. You will also probably invite the same guests again and many more. Will you wear your wedding dress or incur more costs by treating yourselves to new outfits? You will also not have the photographer attending, and you may need to get another cake.

Q6 – How do you decide what your budget is?

The only way to decide on your true budget is to work out how much money you think you can afford to spend on your wedding.

If you have been saving up, then you should have a fixed lump sum.If you have no savings, perhaps you will need to put the wedding back a little until you can save a bit of cash at least for deposits.

If possible get any family who are contributing financially to either tell you which items they are prepared to pay for or to give you a fixed amount which you can allocate yourself.

You then need to get quotes for all the main suppliers. This will give you a more realistic idea of how much each purchase might cost. You can estimate the extras in the beginning but as soon as you get time, you need to get realistic figures for everything on the list.

Q5 – How does the timing of the day affect the budget?

If you have the ceremony at 12pm, it is going to be a long day if you also want an evening party. The added costs to be considered might be more reception drinks, more entertainment, feeding the guests twice, photographer waiting longer for the first dance etc.

If you do want an early wedding you could invite all the guests to the ceremony and have a formal reception or tea party straight after the service and no evening reception. Alternatively, you could have a very small ceremony and just book a table at a restaurant for close family. Then have a gap before an evening party with all the guests invited.

If you are happy to have a late ceremony, then you can invite all guests for 5pm and go straight into the reception meal and evening party without needing to provide more food or entertainment.

Q4 – Will the date of the wedding affect the cost?

If you have a particular date in mind for sentimental reasons (the anniversary of your first date) you may need to rethink if it falls on a peak bank Holiday Saturday. The summer is always going to be more expensive for weddings, because of the weather – June is the busiest month. If the date is one of your 3 most important things though, you may decide to just go for it and make savings elsewhere.

Weekends are more expensive for every aspect, including the ceremony. Registrars cost more and so do venues. Many hotels are offering mid-week packages to couples, as a budget option.

If you are completely flexible about the date of your wedding then why not take advantage of a last minute booking, or a cancellation, which should be discounted.

Q3 – What are the 3 most important things for your day?

Sit down and discuss with your fiancé, the aspects of your wedding that you do not want to compromise on. This could be the dress, flowers, transport etc. Is the location of the venue crucial to the success of the day? Have you always dreamt of a designer dress? Does your fiancé want to arrive at the ceremony in a Ferrari? Does the ceremony have to be in a church? Do you want to share the day with all your friends and family?

If it is easier, write a list of the parts of the wedding you are not so fussy about, e.g cars, food, entertainment, favours, cake? This will help you to decide where the majority of your budget needs to be spent.

You have to be strict and choose only 3! Being strict now, will stand you in good stead for the rest of the preparations.

Some more things to think about before you start to get to grips with your budget.

Q2 – What do you remember from weddings you have attended?

Think back to weddings of family and friends and see what you remember, good and bad.

Do you remember the invitations, the bridal car, the dress, the flowers, the favours, the cake, the music, the food, the bar and any personal touches?

Hopefully this process will put the wedding into perspective. The elements that you think are crucial may not necessarily increase the success of the day. Would you prefer to cut the budget on some items and spend on the parts that will be remembered by the guests?

Remember also that it is your wedding so you want to be proud of your efforts, as well pleasing your guests. The most important memories of the day should be yours!

Many brides have a strict budget for there wedding, all brides want value for their money, however much they are spending.

Over the next few weeks, i am going to ask you to think about certain things that will help you stick to your budget.

Q1 – Why are you getting married?

The intention of this question is not to focus on the budget, but to reflect on all the reasons you and your partner had for deciding to ‘tie the knot’.

Write down some memories from your first date, look through old photo’s, and remind yourselves of some of the best moments, in your relationship.

The reason for all of this is because it is worth considering the past before moving on to plan your wedding. This will help you both focus on the things that have been important to you and that you definitely want for your big day, e.g large/small, summer/winter, vintage or modern.

This way you should be able to achieve a day that reflects both your characters and has your personal touches everywhere. You might also find a common thread that could be a theme for the wedding.

Just a small incentive for you to book with us over the next few months. Kick start your wedding plans with us, and we promise to save you even more money.

We are going to offer clients 20% off all our services that are booked in October and November.

They do not need to be used in those months, so long as they are booked and a deposit is paid.

I have a few weeks left of filming with wedding tv and thought i would share some of the programmes ethos about planning a wedding on a budget. So if you have a budget to stick to (whatever the amount), every bride wants value for money. So take advantage of our offer, and give us a call.
www.cherishweddingplanning.co.uk 07885 543618