Sarah's Keeping It Real With A
£1,500 Budget Wedding

Sarah was keen to keep her budget wedding in April 2009 to a sensible amount and avoid the wedding pantomime that many couples get sucked into. Sarah wrote to me a little while ago sharing their sensible and modest wedding plans, which turned out to be a very memorable day for them both.

For her budget wedding, they held the ceremony in their local registry office which was a beautifully decorated building and cost them only £85 as they're choosing to get married on a Friday. Sarah assured me that this is much cheaper than marrying on a Saturday!

Afterwards, they chose a wedding reception venue with a difference - they went to their favourite country pub for a champagne reception with their twenty guests. This was followed by a luscious three course meal at £25 per head. The pub came ready decorated with lots of flowers and the tables were dressed in white linen and crystal wine glasses, all included as part of the price per head.

The wedding cake was made by a friend of the landlord and cost them just under £100. After the meal, they had several friends join them and they put some money behind the bar to make sure everyone had a few drinks.

Sarah bought her budget wedding dress from the high street and allowed £200, including the accessories. A friend did her hair and nails at a special price of £20 and her fiancé wore a suit he already owns.

Their rings were both 18ct gold and have simulated diamonds. Sarah said 'the stones are fantastic, they look better than the average high street 'real' diamonds and are a fraction of the price'. Her engagement and wedding ring only cost £150 for both.

Following the wedding reception, they headed off for a long weekend in a nice hotel in the UK which cost less than £250.

Their invitations and thank you notes were printed on their home computer and were delivered by hand, so minimal cost there. For photos, they got the guests to take lots of photos as many of them are keen amateur photographers. Since everyone has digital cameras these days, they got the guests to send them their best shots and they made up the wedding album themselves.

Sarah's best tips:

The TV shopping channels QVC and Ideal World have fantastic gold, silver and gem set jewellery for sale. Small pieces start from around £15 and these are perfect as thank you gifts for bridesmaids or mums. Those with simulated diamonds start from just £30. For me, the engagement and wedding rings are symbolic, so they don't have to be 'traditional' and don't have to be expensive...

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