help me cut my budget in half

[princessellie]

ok so far i have budgeted for:

invitations - 30
place names - 10
favours - 20
venue - 2500
flowers - ??? (im thinking silk roses, black and pink, my bouquet, top table and 2 buttonholes)
DJ/karaoke - 200
guestbook - 25
centerpieces - ??? (three different sized glasses with one rose in each, floating candle and glass pebbles in water - not sure how much itll come to for 5 tables)
registrar - 250
dress/accessories - 400
BM dresses/accessories - 250
groom/best man tux - 200
flowergirls outfit - 200
cake - 50
photos/video - ??? (was thinking id get someone from local college to save money)
horse and cart - 800
hair/makeup - 100
wedding rings - 1000 (for both, i have to get shaped one to fit round my engagement ring)
BM/best man presents - 200
kids lucky bags - 20
give notice - 100?

the things i want to keep for definite are the shaped wedding rings and the horse and cart, oh adn the video/phots

ive put the prices for everything else right down but its still working out at 6500 and we have 3500

my mam and dad are going to give us some money to help us out but said they cant mtatch what weve put in, theyll prob give us another grand and pauls gna ask his mam for some money to it aswell

HELP!!!

x

 

[booflebump]

You could probably spend less on bridesmaid and best man gifts

Less on rings - even a made to fit could come in under 500 depending on the band you choose

Flowergirls - dresses in debenhams are 50-60 pounds

Bridemaids dresses could done for less

Obviously your horse and cart is a lot too (but I know how much you want one!)

xxx

 

[dizzyspells]

You can get some lovely silk flowers on Ebay hun I got 3 Bridesmaid,1 Flowergirl,buttonholes and mine for about £70 I think all made to my specs and they were lovely!

Only other suggestion is can you get your Flowergirl/Bridesmaid dresses pre-owned or from the sales?I got my Black ones from Debenhams all 1/2 price.As we had black they all had there own shoes as you could not see them.

Hair and Makeup I did my own as I knew what I wanted and am fussy lol.My friend does hair so she helped and just bought her some small bits to say thank you!

Best Man/Bmaid gifts dont have to be expensive I got some glasses made up which were about £8 each then a few other personal touches into goody bags.

Do you know anyone who has a pro camera?I hate having my pics taken but got a friend to take all the pics with her SLR and they look great as they are not all posed as such.

Not sure that was any help!

 

[honeybee2]

ok so far i have budgeted for:

invitations - 30 about right!
place names - 10 I got my place name cards for £1.99 for 100 from ebay
favours - 20 about right
venue - 2500 what does this include
flowers - ??? (im thinking silk roses, black and pink, my bouquet, top table and 2 buttonholes) you could get this for £100 easy
DJ/karaoke - 200 about right
guestbook - 25 you can get them cheaper from ebay
centerpieces - ??? (three different sized glasses with one rose in each, floating candle and glass pebbles in water - not sure how much itll come to for 5 tables) try Ikea
registrar - 250 depends entirely on your location- ours was the same amount
dress/accessories - 400 you can get them alot cheaper!
BM dresses/accessories - 250 depends on how many you have!
groom/best man tux - 200 sounds about right
flowergirls outfit - 200 I got my flower girl dress for £25!
cake - 50 what sort of cake are you having?
photos/video - ??? (was thinking id get someone from local college to save money) offer them something for travel, food and prints
horse and cart - 800 Im pretty sure you can get it cheaper
hair/makeup - 100 about right
wedding rings - 1000 (for both, i have to get shaped one to fit round my engagement ring) pretty sure you can get it cheaper than £500 each even if theyre shaped
BM/best man presents - 200 you can go cheaper than this
kids lucky bags - 20 same as what we spent
give notice - 100? its £67 to give notice

the things i want to keep for definite are the shaped wedding rings and the horse and cart, oh adn the video/phots

ive put the prices for everything else right down but its still working out at 6500 and we have 3500

my mam and dad are going to give us some money to help us out but said they cant mtatch what weve put in, theyll prob give us another grand and pauls gna ask his mam for some money to it aswell

HELP!!!

x

have listed above

 

[xLaurax]

I would say the big thing is the venue... are you dead set thats what you definately want?

If you have 3500 then staying at that venue would leave only £1000 for everything else, we're having a church wedding but our reception in the local community centre, having a fish and chip van turning up for our wedding breakfast and for desert we've got mini wedding cakes for everyone then in the evening the local pub does the bar for free and we're gonna provide all drinks for the daytime. Ours comes in at just over 3000 then... I dunno, realistically i cant see any other way of loosing the £3000.... Please dont jump on me for suggesting it xxx

 

[sophxx]

^^ thats a fab idea my friend moved hers to a hall top bring the price down they had a fair come there was rides and candy floss ect it turned out to be really good x

 

[toffee87]

What day is the wedding on? Mon-thurs is cheaper. Also, could you have a late ceremony, and go straight on to evening do?

 

[Tiff]

I told my bridesmaids that instead of a gift for them that if they'd rather I'd put the money towards them getting their hair done or their dresses. That way the money isn't going to some kind of knickknack.

But then again my BMs aren't really into stuff like that and definitely appreciated the money going to their hair. Could possibly save on the gifts?

 

[princessellie]

well ive managed to knock 1000 off and gain a 1500, my dad has offered to pay for my rings and also give me 1500 towards teh wedding, only problem now is we cant have it in august cos stupid mil is going away x

 

[honeybee2]

dont be down honey- bring it forward wooooooooooooo! thats fab news about your dad- but I am so sure you need not spend £1000 on rings!

 

[princessellie]

i need to get one made to fit round my engagement ring cos its like a cluster, im getting them made in turkey :woohoo:

my mam reckons i should tell mil were having our date and if she wants to be there she has to cancel, i normally wouldnt cos id want her to be there but shes really pissed me off, full story is in gs, i cant write it out again, im already fuming enough

 

[honeybee2]

Ye i know its got to fit round but I'm pretty sure Ive seen them somewhere thats cheaper than that, but if thats something your prioritising then thats personal to you. Ooooo how did you get them to be made there?

 

[princessellie]

my dad is turkish and my parents and little brother live there its not as exciting as it sounds x

 

[honeybee2]

oooooooo! how exotic! does that mean you get a free honeymoon? x

 

[princessellie]

yep, although its not like a honeymoon, its just like going back home

 

[honeybee2]

but still- you get to get away from the hustle and bustle of wet UK!

 

[princessellie]

it will be FIT in august aswell, if we do go ahead with august, otherwise if i go in feb itll be alright but nowhere near sunbathing weather we'll be going to blackpool instead then for the fair haha x

 

[honeybee2]

i like blackpool fair!

 

[princessellie]

ive always wanted to go but never got round to it so it seemed like the best idea x

 

[krissie1234uk]

I'd cut the bridesmaid and best man gifts right back, if you're buying the dress for them then you've spent enough really. Can you get them a token gift?
Are you set on a DJ? OH friend is a DJ, but he's just going to set his laptop up to a playlist and is doing it all for nothing. Is there anyone who could do this for you?