How to plan a wedding on a small budget

Weddings can be expensive, but you don’t necessarily need to spend tens of thousands of pounds in order to have the best day ever. If you want to be a little more frugal when it comes to your wedding days, here’s some ideas and inspiration that you can use.

Choose your venue carefully

The venue will be a big focus of your day and it will likely feature in many of your wedding photographs. You want to choose a venue that not only reflects your personality, but that will also match the theme of your day.

There are plenty of venues that don’t have to cost the earth. You could choose a small village hall in an idyllic village or a small boutique hotel. if you’re wanting to hold a wedding on a budget, then expect to be hosting a small wedding – the bigger the venue and the more people you want to invite, the more the cost goes up.

Don’t forget – it might be better to hire a venue and spend more money on decor and dressing than it is to spend all of your money on an expensive venue.

Consider wedding packages

Now, lots of hotels are geared up to host weddings. In fact, hotel weddings have become so popular, many hotels will have a package that you can choose for your big day. The package normally includes the venue hire, food and drink, a cake, all the linen and crockery, the venue dressing, chair covers, etc. Not only is this minimal organisation for you, but you could save a lot of money by allowing the hotel to do everything. All you’d need to do is hire a wedding photographer and choose the bridal party outfits and wedding planning is complete!

Plus, by hosting your wedding at the hotel, you’ll be saving on the cost of a church wedding, which could add an extra £1,000 to your wedding costs.

Re-loved wedding dresses

Some brides don’t like the idea of a second-hand wedding dress, but there are plenty of companies in the UK that offer amazing quality dresses that have previously been worn at a discount price. They’re still in pristine condition and will have been thoroughly cleaned, ready to be worn again. You could save around 50% compared to the price of a new dress, plus you’re doing your bit for the environment by re-using something that was made to be worn once.

Choose in-season flowers

Did you know that flowers are at their cheapest when they’re in season? Different flowers prefer different climates, temperatures and humidities. This means some thrive in early spring, others in late summer. Flowers that are in season can be locally grown and will be in the best condition for your day. If you choose flowers that are out of season, you may need to pay extra to have them imported from abroad and they may not be as good quality. Below, we’ve listed a few of the most popular flowers and the time of year they’re at their best:

Spring

• Roses
• Tulips
• Hydrangeas
• Peonies
• Lily of the Valley
• Jasmine

Summer

• Clematis
• Sunflowers
• Phlox
• Iris
• Chrysanthemum

Autumn

• Lily
• Camellia
• Dahlia
• Begonia
• Physalis

Winter

• Hyacinths
• Juniper
• Ivy
• Pieris
• Snowdrops

Cater for one meal

Food and drink is one of the biggest costs associated with weddings. Therefore the more food and drink you want, and the more people you invite, the more the cost will shoot up.

You might want to consider a late wedding. By having your wedding at 4pm, you can serve just one evening meal. But if you wanted to get married at 12pm, you’d need to provide an afternoon meal as well as an evening buffet. This could cause the price to shoot up.

You may also want to think about serving your wedding cake instead of dessert – this could save you a bit of money and the cake will all get eaten, instead of living in your freezer for the next few months.

Get married during off-peak months

Peak wedding season is thought to be from around the start of May to the end of September. It’s during this time frame that the cost of everything will increase, including your wedding venue. If you want to try and save some money, consider having an Autumn or Christmas wedding.