Melanie’s Budget Wedding

Melanie wrote to me earlier this year about her budget wedding. She explained her frustration at see lots of wedding programmes where people were spending in excess of £15,000 on a wedding. Convinced she could do it for less; Melanie set her budget to £5,000 and is doing really well.

Melanie’s managed to keep her budget wedding on track by doing lots of things herself. She’s a DIY queen and is making her own table centrepieces, favours, stationery and cake – which is all saving her a fortune. She’s even had a go at doing her own bridal bouquet and her local florist where she bought the flowers from was impressed!

The outfits
For wedding dress, Melanie had a budget of £300 and everything she saw that price or under looked cheap. So, she had a look around at the styles and colours she liked and did specific searches on eBay to find exactly what she was looking for. After a lot of patience, her perfect dress came up – a £1,500 Alice James wedding dress, usually priced at £1,500, in the exact colour she wanted. And she won it! It looks like eBay pays!

Best of all, it came with all her accessories including the tiara, veil, hoop and garter – all for £250 delivered.

Her bridesmaid’s dresses are from Next and have cost her between £20-£27 each. They’re nylon, but look like silk and are really pretty (I can’t wait to see the pictures). The male attendants are wearing smart trousers and waistcoats as it will be hot in August!

The reception
Melanie’s reception is at Burley Manor Hotel and they’ve chosen the ‘simply perfect wedding package’. The package costs £2,000 and includes evening room hire, sit down meal for 40 guests, reception drinks, toast drink, wine, evening buffet for up to 60 guests and their room for the wedding night.

Burley Manor Hotel, Hampshire. Photography used with permission.

Melanie’s having a magician to keep the little and big kids entertained – she managed to negotiate £300 off the normal cost. He’s also going to throw in some kid’s entertainment for free!

Hair and beauty
Luckily, Melanie’s got some friends helping out with her hair and make-up. They’ve kindly offered their services in return for an invite to the wedding.

Photography and music
Melanie’s found a photographer who will do all day from when she gets ready to the end of the evening for £500. He’s supplying her with a DVD, complete with special effects and ALL the original pictures, so she pull together her own wedding album. She’s enlisted the help of another friend to do the videography.

Now, she’s only got music left to do and is hoping either a family friend’s band or her a friend who’s into DJ’ing will be able to help out – both of which will be minimal cost.

To end with a quote from Melanie:
“All in all you don’t have to spend a fortune on a wedding. By getting friends and family involved, you bring people closer together, make it an event that everyone is part of and you save a fortune to boot!”

It’s clear Melanie’s been pretty resourceful and made considered purchases. She’s done her homework, stuck to her budget and is coming out with what looks to be a pretty lovely day.

For me and clearly for Melanie too, getting friends and family involved with the big day makes such a difference. It reduces your stress and brings people closer together – so don’t be afraid to ask.

So far she’s spent £3,985! The only things left to pay for are the hotel room for the wedding night and a couple other small things.

Other budget bride's stories:
Amy's Northern Wedding On A Budget
Hayley's Budget Beach Wedding Under £6,000
Caroline's Budget Wedding Under £5,500
My Wedding Under £5,000
Harriet's Cheap Wedding Under £1,000
Lisa's Wedding On A Budget In The North East
Jane's DIY Wedding

Why not tell other readers how you managed on your budget? Contact me.





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