April 28, 2008
The Cheap Wedding Tips newsletter brings you the latest money-saving and budgeting tips for your wedding as well as lots of great ideas on how to have a perfect cheap wedding.
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Contents Of This Issue
- Lucky winner!- What you said in our survey
- Your best cheap wedding tips
- Looking for case studies to feature on the site
- Dresses for sale
- Final thought
Lucky Winner!
Well last week the free prize draw to win £50 finished and the lucky winner was Kerry from South East England. Well done!The survey is still live, so if you want to tell us a bit about you and your wedding, please do, we'd love to hear from you.
What You Said In Our Survey
I thought it might be worthwhile sharing with you some of the highlights of the findings, so here’s a quick run down of some of the interesting titbits that came back. Also, if you scroll down, you’ll see some of your own best cheap wedding tips!45% of you are spending between £1000 and £5000 on your wedding. Hopefully with a bit of help from Cheap Wedding Success, you’ll be able to keep to that budget!
Only 17% of you are allowing a 10% contingency. Regardless of what your budget is, you should always allow an extra 10% of your budget for those small things you might have forgotten or for any additional costs. It’ll help you keep on budget and prevent any nasty surprises.
In fact, 44% of you didn’t know what a contingency budget is, so watch this space for more info on that!
The most important thing to most of you is the marriage ceremony. Phew, I’m glad, because I believe getting married is all about the ceremony too. This will help to keep those wedding costs in perspective and your budget down!
Food and drink is costing you the most, quickly followed by the venue. There’s no surprise here really, but it sounds like you need more info on how to do your own catering and how to keep costs down in this area. Again, watch this space...
A phenomenal 68% of you are creating, making or doing things yourselves, which is a great way to lower your costs.
***SHARE YOUR DIY INSPIRATION AND WIN £25!***
Why not share your inspiration with other brides? We're running a DIY wedding project contest to win £25. We’d love to see photos of what you’ve made, so send in your DIY decorations, invitations, favours and flowers to be in with a chance to win!
And now, for the best bit... your cheap wedding tips!
Your Best Cheap Wedding Tips
Be prepared to compromise!Search for a venue that is flexible to what you want, so you don’t have to use their set packages.
Reduce your costs by not using a professional caterer or a photographer. I saved over £2,000!
Don’t do things just because “that’s what’s done” at weddings. Choose the things you want because you like them.
Keep it simple. It’s all about the two people that are getting married. It’s not about anything else so long as you’re happy!
Involve people! We’re asking people to join in, rather than give us presents.
Get all your friends around to help make the favours instead of paying someone to do them.
Shop around, even for the smallest things. I’m creating my own favours using organza bags and chocolates. The organza bags on various wedding websites were nearly £70. I went to Hobbycraft and them on a ‘buy one get one free’ for £9.98 for the lot!!!
Keep a journal of all the things you’ve seen, their price and where they were. Then shop around and find it cheaper.
Getting “daddy” in to help. He’s a fantastic negotiator and we’re hoping he’ll be able to cut the prices down a lot.
Buy things in the sales!
Don’t be afraid to ask! (If you don’t ask, you don’t get).
Read the full list of tips and ideas from readers just like you...
Wedding Under £5,000?
How are you keeping your wedding under £5,000? If you’re planning a wedding under £5,000, I’d like to hear from you. We’re looking for case studies so we can share ideas from brides like you on Cheap Wedding Success. So tell me your stories...Have You Seen The Wedding Dresses For Sale?
Did you know there are second hand dresses for sale on the Cheap Wedding Success website? With prices from £200 for some amazing designers, it’s worth checking out.Final Thought
First of all, thanks to everyone who took part in the survey. I’ve had lots of really helpful feedback from you and it seems there’s lots of information that needs to be added to Cheap Wedding Success. So I’ll be busy for a while.I suppose those of you getting married this summer are getting very busy as well. Wedding season is upon us and with hen-dos and weddings fast approaching don’t get tangled up in the excitement, always think about your budget and what you’re spending.
The last couple of months before the wedding are where you can easily overspend on the little things. A few extra decorations here, a pretty trinket there and suddenly you’ve spent an extra £100. So watch out!
For those of you getting married in May, best of luck and congratulations!
See you next time!
Nicola x