Nicole's Budget Wedding Abroad
For £3,500

Nicole and Justin from Wolverhampton chose to have their budget wedding abroad. They decided on Malta as it's cheap, it's an English speaking country (so no translation of legal documents) and since it was affordable they could have plenty of guests there too.

They also wanted to get married quickly and you only need to be in Malta for two days before the wedding, so they could do it all in a week - phew! They'd been to Malta before, loved it and couldn't wait to get back.

Nicole booked and organised their budget wedding abroad herself. The holiday was booked through Malta Direct, a package tour company and everything else was done direct with the hotel - Le Meriden. She'd seen the hotel on her first visit and fell in love with it. It was a brand new luxury hotel built in the style of the local architecture, but was built around a 19th century villa, which is now the hotel restaurant and run by a Michelin starred chef.

At first she was a bit concerned about using a corporate chain hotel, but the rustic style restaurant really won them over. For the reception, the hotel closed off the restaurant for them so it was nice and private. They kindly provided music free of charge and were allowed to stay as long as they liked after the waiters finished their shift. They had a feast of a menu:
- Canapés and champagne on arrival
- Prawn bisque or Mediterranean salad to start
- Pork belly with chorizo or Grouper fillet with octopus for the main
- Summer pudding with ice cream for dessert.

The best part was they had bought some extra bottles of champagne from the supermarket and they didn't get charged corkage on them!

Nicole even chose a 'holiday' theme for her budget wedding abroad and asked for the men to wear Hawaiian shirts - as you can see from the photos. There was lots of colour and a really 'fun' atmosphere. The arrival drinks were timed with happy hour in the bar, so everyone had cocktails to get the party going!

Justin wore a linen suit, pale pink shirt and brown shoes which were all from M&S. They used some discount vouchers they had, so his outfit came to £140. Nicole wore a dress from Boden and used some discount vouchers from a magazine to get a better deal. Her total outfit was £180.

They had two witnesses which doubled as bridesmaid and best man and they insisted on buying on their own outfits. They also had a little flower girl who wore her own pretty dress - so the attendants didn't cost them a penny!

They didn't need to buy rings as they inherited Nicole's grandparent's rings since she was the first grandchild to get married (they were married for 67 years)!

There were 24 guests in total and the total budget came to just under £3,500 including flights and accommodation for the bride and groom for a week.

Nicole's tips for a budget wedding abroad:

You've got to know what you want. We found the package company weren't that great and their service was poor. The key was knowing what I wanted, how I could save money doing things myself and not being afraid to put your point across to the hotel staff. I just used the tour operator for their local knowledge and that's it!

When you're using a large corporate hotel, ask for the conference and banqueting beverage package lists as they'll be cheaper than the wedding list. Also, over-cater and pay for the meals in advance to avoid currency fluctuations. Over-catering will ensure that you're in credit with the hotel so you can put that money towards the drinks package later. I actually managed to have money refunded as I had paid too much!

For more tips on how to have a budget wedding abroad see the Beach Weddings section.

Other budget bride's stories:

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