How do I cut the cost of our wedding?

Is this it?
http://www.money.co.uk/article/1007134-8-easy-ways-to-save-money-on-your-wedding.htm

To be honest Lana, the cost of a wedding in the current austere climate should be entirely proportional to what brings you personal happiness on the day rather than what society expects or indeed how many people that you wish to be well fed, watered or otherwise impressed on the day.

I have lost count of the number of financial statements that I have taken where couples still owe anything from ten thousand pounds upwards for their wedding arrangements leaving most of them in long term hock or even under legal redress for recovery of those every costs. And the hurt and pain lingers even deeper when the relationships have already soured or broken down completely.

I got married in a registry office, had the reception at home and a budget honeymoon courtesy of Freddie Laker. And while on a complete budget ( well we simply did not have the money although we had injected our total finances into a safe and loving home ) we felt none the less married.

Having said all of that, and without appearing a scrooge on the subject, it's all down to your minimum expectations on the day. It's nearly two years until you plan to get wed and the current financial climate may well be steadied or we could be in complete meltdown. And if this is your first wedding, then I guess you are looking forward to a lot more than 'the minimum'.

The wedding business is actually suffering in the present climate ... I know of at least two people that have their business based around wedding catering and in the last year they have seen 60-70% of their business cancelled, many at the last minute, where people have foregone their 10% deposit on the basis of slashing their expenditure and having no concern for legal redress. I think the bulk of that is because people have just set their expectations far too high and simply ran scared of the money commitment.

You are right to plan ahead of course. It's probably the most important day of your life. It's just that the economy is in such a state of meltdown that I feel the finer details of reducing expenditure cannot be set at this moment in time. I guess it's like everything in life .... would not having that particular thing reduce my happiness on the day?

When my freinds got married recently she asked for contributions towards the wedding rather than presents (they already had a house together so didnt want the ubiquitous toaster)..a keen amateur made a beautiful wedding cake, someone made the dresses, the invitations, flowers etc..you need some talented friends for that to work..........

Hi Lana, is this the guide you were looking for?

https://my.money.co.uk/guides/guide-details.htm#id=7134

Thanks Fruitcake - yes this was the guide I was looking for! Thank you all for your excellent advice - we have started thinking along these lines now and have sorted a few things out.

We also decided a long time ago that we are not getting any loans or credit cards - we are going to set up a wedding savings account, and if we can't afford everything we would like so be it!

My son had a brilliant wedding reception in a local wine bar which was free if they took £500 behind the bar . He was given the room upstairs .We decorated it with our own cloth bunting and the tables with same material place mats. Apart from a cold buffet done for about £5 each by local caterer we had large jars of penny sweets ,popcorn wrapped in cellophane and ribbon and a large post it note board with pegs to allow people to leave comments and e-mail addresses etc. Wedding cakes are expensive and cup cakes are all the rage and easy to bake especially if icing is done in the main wedding colour .Get a decent photographer to do a more reportage photos as this looks more natural and stops people having to stand around.Monsoon do lovely childrens dresses - a lot cheaper than formal wear and kids can use them for parties afterwards.

Been speaking to an events organiser this week and he was saying that as the recession bites, more and more people are coming to him looking for ways to slash the cost of the wedding reception, almost to the bone.

His top tip for the champagne toast, is that they mix Lambrini with Cava before serving and apparently it passes as a very nice Champers without anyone knowing. Anyone else heard this?

http://www.money.co.uk/action-plans/managing-your-money-better/how-to-plan-your-wedding-on-a-budget.htm

That might help too Lana.