A wedding for under 1k...part one!

So we're getting married in May. Funnily enough this is also the month my maternity pay stops completely, great timing huh? The main reason we chose the date was because Michael has a week off work, the weather is normally lovely and not too hot and it means we can combine it with a nice honeymoon/first family holiday. Me and Michael don't earn a lot and have even less spare cash now we have a little Tilly to provide for so needless to say, my aim in organising this wedding has been to spend AS LITTLE AS POSSIBLE! My goal is to get the whole sherbang for under £1,000 and it seems so far we're doing pretty well. Don't get me wrong, if I had the money I would love a lavish wedding (as you may know from previous posts, we originally planned to wed in Arundel near the castle) but when you break it down, the most important thing is that you are there with your loved ones and they get to share a very special day with you. To us, it's just a piece of paper...it doesn't prove we are any more in love, it's practicalities and of course, it will be lovely to be a wife and a husband. I am also excited to become a Dommett. It's all happening, eeeek! So how have I done it on such a little budget? Here's how so far....

Keeping the numbers small

We are getting married in a registry office and only inviting around 18-20 people, just family and a few close friends. I wish I could invite more people but this is where there has to be super money saving. The registry office is beautiful though and close by in one of our favourite towns. It has pretty gardens and we get to have our own music and vows, all for the sum of £160! Getting married on a weekday has saved some serious wonga.

Using Ebay and the 'high street' for my outfit

I've always wanted a gorgeous long glamorous wedding gown but as money doesn't allow I am sticking to a gorgeous dress from the high street (BHS) for £100, it has everything I want (lace and vintage style) and is simple enough so that I can accessorise with a hairpiece and jewellery. 

My veil was the bargain price of £7 from Amazon, my shoes are £12 from the Debenhams sale .All my jewellery I have bought on ebay! My flowers are artifical and also from Ebay for £15 (see below) so the cost of the total outfit is in the region of £150!

Calling on friends

My friends have been amazingly generous with my wedding planning and I've had so many generous offers of dresses, shoes, jewellery...it's been such a help when we are on such a budget. We have our wedding photography sorted for a fantastic deal thanks to my university friend Jennifer at http://jlrphotography.co.uk/

An old school friend is also helping with the cake,without the help of all these people, we'd be lost! 

Barter with people to get good costs

After lots of discussion with our reception venue, they agreed that they wouldn't charge us a hire fee because we're hiring mid week when they are very quiet (pub function room) and we will be ordering lots of food and drink. Also rather than a set menu they have allowed us to set our own budget per guest so that they can pick what they want from their menu. That way there is a big variety of choice for everyone and we can set what we can afford. The room we are hiring is lovely and we are able to cut costs by not having a dj and just using their ipod speaker system for our own music. Here is the room we are hiring, we get to use their garden too which will be lovely:

We will get all the chairs and tables re-organised so that we have a little space in the middle for anyone who wants a dance hehe! For the music, Michael and I are pulling together all our classic 80's and 90's CDs and will then transfer them to my Ipod.

Being creative

I plan on making my own favours to save money and there are so many gorgeous ideas on websites like Pinterest. Favours can be anything from some yummy chocolates to pretty candles! I haven't decided what I want to do yet but here are some gorgeous ideas:

Little plants

Retro sweet table

Homemade jams

I am very excited to get started and I'm really enjoying all this wedding planning business, even on a small budget! Will be back with part 2 soon.
xoxo