Cheap Wedding Blog

The Cheap Wedding Blog from Cheap Wedding Success is an essential collection of ideas, tips and 'how to' information about having a cheap wedding. Plus, there are questions and answers from other brides-to-be and all the unmissable articles from Cheap Wedding Success.

If you've got a great cheap wedding tip, why not submit it and share it with all our visitors?

Jun 27, 2009, Cheap Wedding With A 1940s Theme

Discover how Sharzilla got creative and quirky with her 1940s themed cheap wedding for under £3,000

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Jun 26, 2009, How Big Should My Wedding Cake Be?

I will be having 120 guests at my wedding. How big a cake will I need? Answer: Depending on the type of cake, will depend on the number of

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Jun 26, 2009, Make Your Own Wedding Veil

How to make your own wedding veil with these helpful tips and save a tonne of cash.

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Jun 25, 2009, How To Ensure Your Wedding Cake Is Really Moist

Many brides make their own cake these days as it's a really easy way to save money. The making of the cake is reasonably easy and there are plenty of tips around to make it simple. But when it comes to storing and feeding the cake, the advice seems to dry up.

So what exactly is 'feeding a wedding cake'? Well, once a traditional fruit cake is cooked and cooled, it's ready to go into storage until it needs to be iced and decorated. During this time the cake is fed at intervals with brandy to moisten it. Some like a nice moist cake laced with lots of alcohol (like me) and others prefer a hint of the brandy flavour and a slightly drier cake. But how much should you feed the cake and how often?

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Jun 20, 2009, Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, Something Blue

On your wedding day, every bride adheres to the old, new, borrowed, blue tradition. You have to, don’t you? But what could you have for each? Here are some quick suggestions:

Old – jewellery, watch, underwear, old piece of ribbon tied in your dress
New – that’s easy!
Borrowed – jewellery, bridal accessories such as tiara, veil or garter
Blue – blue ribbon sewn into the label of your dress or underwear, blue garter or blue flowers

For more ideas on wedding accessories, including tiaras, veils, hair accessories and more, take a look at these articles.

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Jun 12, 2009, Transporting a Wedding Cake

I am making my daughter's wedding cake and as she is getting married in Italy I would like to know how to transport the wedding cake there by plane

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Jun 10, 2009, Making a Sponge Wedding Cake in Advance

I'm making my daughter wedding cake. Bottom and top layer will be traditional fruit cake and the middle layer will be sponge. I know I can make

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Jun 9, 2009, Cheap Wedding Reception Music Ideas

We are getting married in August and we are on a tight budget. I want there to be music at the wedding reception and I want everyone to have a good

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Jun 4, 2009, DIY Wedding Catering: Tips For Preparing Your Wedding Food In Advance

When you're doing your own wedding catering, you need to plan what you're making with perfection. Bringing everything together at the right time can be difficult, but with some forethought and planning you can easily create the perfect wedding buffet.

One way to do this is to make your dishes in advance and freeze them. All you need to do is take them out the day before and let them slowly defrost, while you attend to all your other wedding plans.

But what dishes work well prepared in advance and how can you incorporate them into your wedding buffet?

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May 31, 2009, "Save The Date" Fridge Magnets

I got an idea off the internet (fridge magnet) for my 'save the date' cards, so I copied it. I got some blank fridge magnets quite cheaply and printed

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May 27, 2009, Wedding Dress Trends For 2009 For Budget Brides

These wedding dress trends will help you be a stylish, budget bride.

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May 21, 2009, Wedding Catering For 100 Guests

I'm doing my own wedding catering and I'm planning to do a cold buffet. How do I calculate the amount of food required for 100 people? Answer:

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May 18, 2009, How To Easily Save £360 Towards Your Wedding

Whilst we're all cutting back in our lives in general, what if I told you that you could easily save £360 towards your wedding over a year, without any pain? Well, that latte you have in the morning on the way to work will easily add up to £360 if you didn't have it.

Based on my lovely local Italian deli, if I didn't have my morning latte, priced £1.50 (and that's pretty cheap in comparison to Starbucks and Costa), over a year, I'd rack up a £360! Now, what would I spend that on? Stationery? Photography? A better dress? Or me?

Discover other easy ways to save for your wedding.

(By the way, if that was Starbucks and not my local deli, that would be a £576, based a £2.40 drink – ouch)!

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May 9, 2009, Wedding Reception Games

Get to know the in-laws with these wedding reception games and icebreakers. You’ll finish the evening knowing each other inside out with these classic wedding games.

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Apr 29, 2009, Finding Venues That Allow You To Do Your Own Wedding Catering

A great way to save money on your wedding is to do the catering yourself, but many brides struggle finding venues that will allow them to do so.

Whether you're bringing in the food yourself, preparing it in the venue's facilities or outside caterers, it can be difficult to find a venue that will meet your needs and budget. This is exactly the problem that Lisa from Scotland had when she wrote to me earlier this year and is a question I get asked frequently.

Find out exactly how you can find a venue that provides catering facilities.

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Apr 14, 2009, A Georgian Manor House And A String Quartet On A Budget?

Some brides just manage to eek out their wedding budgets and get lots of fabulous things included, but would you manage to secure a Georgian manor house, string quartet, sit-down four-course meal for 70 guests and professional photographer in a £5,000 wedding budget? I think most of us would find it difficult!

For Amy, from Wigan, it was easy. Not only did she get the fabulous manor house, the professional photographer, the string quartet and the sit-down meal, but included in her £5,000 budget was her dress, transport and all the other wedding bits and pieces. Find out how Amy managed to keep her wedding budget on track and discover some of her best tips.

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Apr 7, 2009, Wedding Reception Planning Countdown

Your wedding reception will be the biggest party you’ll ever plan. It'll take time and a lot of organisation, so get to grips with it as soon as you can. By being organised, you can shop around for the best prices and bag yourself a bargain, keeping your budget in check.

To ensure you start planning in the right order and ensuring you have plenty of time, follow this wedding reception planning countdown.

Take a look at the countdown now.

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Mar 31, 2009, Melanie's Budget Wedding Under £5,000

Melanie worked hard to keep her budget under £5,000, but still managed to have a designer dress, manor house reception and a professional photographer! In the full article, Melanie shares her secrets and best tips for keeping her perfect wedding under £5,000.

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Mar 20, 2009, How To Ice A Wedding Cake

The thought of icing a wedding cake can be terrifying. How do you get it even all over? What if it all goes wrong?

Fear not, help is at hand with this video about wedding cake icing. It takes you through all aspects of icing a wedding cake including how to lay on the marzipan, jam and then finally the icing to create a smooth and perfect finish to your wedding cake.

There are also plenty of tips along the way to make sure that your wedding cake is stunning.

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Mar 20, 2009, It's Been A While...

Well, welcome back to me! It's been a while since I posted and I must apologise! We've just moved house and it's taken three weeks to get our internet sorted out - can you believe it? We're all settled now and I'll be back posting.

I hope all your wedding plans are coming along nicely.

Feb 18, 2009, Tracey's Budget Wedding For £600

These days a wedding under £1,000 is quite an achievement, but more and more brides are doing it. With plenty of advice and help out there on sites like Cheap Wedding Success, you can have a wedding with all the trimmings you expect.

Tracey managed to keep her wedding budget under £600 by doing lots of the elements herself and with a little help from her friends. By getting friends and family involved, it makes for a much more intimate celebration and of course, can save you thousands of pounds. Discover the secrets of Tracey's budget wedding.

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Feb 13, 2009, Tips To Save On Your Wedding Music

Recently, Richard Swan from Cornucopia wrote to me with some great tips for saving on your wedding music, especially if you're thinking of getting a band. Here's what he had to say:

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"I have been running a function band for several years, and here are a couple of little tips which may make some difference to your budgeting...

Firstly, try to book the band directly - if you go through an agency, they will usually add in the region of £400 to the bill. Believe me - I do take gigs through agents, but I do sometimes cringe a bit, as I know that the happy couple are paying SO much more than I would charge them - however, it's not very ethical to then try and bypass the agency once the contact has been made.

If you see a band at an event, and they give you a card which is an agency card (which is technically what they should do, but very very unlikely!), then Google the band name before you contact the agency. If you don't know any bands, try asking people - always try to find a band directly, by word of mouth or recommendation. However, make sure that they are well-organised and know what they are talking about.

Secondly, some bands (including us) will offer a DJ service after the band finish. That may save you a fair sum, rather than booking a separate DJ. We work with some DJs, but will throw in an option where we play recorded music (DJ without all the annoying chat!) until your curfew, for an extra £150 - most DJs are £350 plus...

Thirdly, some bands (again, including us), may offer a discount service for referrals. For example, if you book us for your wedding, and then one of your friends books us for their wedding or party before your wedding day, we will knock £100 off the bill.

I hope this is of some help to you. Good luck with your wedding planning.

Richard Swan
Cornucopia

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Thanks Richard! I'm sure our readers appreciate your tips. You can find more tips on saving on your wedding music here.

Feb 9, 2009, Five Star Wedding Receptions For Under £5,000

We all want our wedding reception to be stunning, the champagne to flow and the venue to be picture perfect, but it all comes with hefty price tag. So how can you have that dream reception at low cost?

There are ways to ensure your reception is within your budget and this article gives you all the detail of exactly how. From late deals to inventive cost-cutting ideas, you'll find some great budget ideas here.

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Feb 1, 2009, Negotating Tips For Your Wedding

Being British, we don’t really have a culture of negotiating, but if you want a cheap wedding you’ve got to be prepared to do a bit of bartering.

As a nation, we don’t like to make too much off a fuss, so we tend to accept what we’re told, including the price tag. With everything in life, most things are up for negotiation, you’ve just got to ask!

Find out more about negotiating your cheap wedding...

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Jan 23, 2009, Easy Ways To Save On Your All Inclusive Wedding Package

The costs of your wedding package can creep up far too quickly. You choose the package you want and then the venue makes a killing on all the little extras you decide to add, which can be crippling for your wedding budget.

You can however, cut your costs with some clever choices. These simple tips to save on your all inclusive wedding package will set you off in the right direction.

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Jan 15, 2009, Adorable Cupcake Wedding Cakes

Ever since Carrie bit into a delicious cupcake in Sex and The City, they've been all the rage. They're such a delicate little nibble, but when you add lashings of icing or frosting they turn into the most scrumptious individual little cake. It's no wonder more and more brides are choosing this option for their wedding cake.

It's easy to make and decorate your own cupcakes and the best part it is, it'll save you a fortune. For the novices out there, this instructional video will show you how to create delicious cupcake wedding cakes. There are also lots of tips on icing, frosting and decorating your little cuppies too.

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Jan 10, 2009, Hatswell Meadows in Devon

We found this wonderful house just outside Tiverton in Devon where you paid for the stay and £350 extra to get married. So for about £900 we have had

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Jan 8, 2009, A New Addition To The Team!

On 31st December 2008, Charlie Ray joined the team, weighing in at 7lb 8oz (3.4kg) after a lovely home birth!

As I'm sure you can appreciate, he's keeping me busy, so things will be a little quiet around here. I will keep you updated on new articles, tips and ideas though... so keep watching.

Jan 8, 2009, Name Place Cards - Recycled!

I made pretty name place cards by using the picture-side of pretty, old birthday cards, guillotining them into the right size, then hole punching one

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Dec 28, 2008, Get Your FREE Wedding Planner

Ensure your planning is easy with the FREE wedding planner from Cheap Wedding Success. With an essential information sheet, guestlist tracker, budget spreadsheet, table planner and wedding countdown - it's easy to keep on top of all your wedding planning.

Simply sign up to Cheap Wedding Tips, the free newsletter filled with ideas, tips and advice on how to have the perfect cheap wedding and then download your wedding planner.

The planner is available as an Microsoft Excel spreadsheet or a printable PDF - both are completely free.

Sign up for the FREE newsletter today and get yourself organised for your cheap wedding!

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Dec 19, 2008, New Years Eve Wedding Venue

I live in Staffordshire and am trying to find a venue which would offer a New Years Eve wedding - do you know anywhere? Thank you Nicky Clark

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Dec 15, 2008, Firm Up Your Wedding Contracts

With the costs of goods, especially food, rising all the time, some brides are finding it difficult to get quotes from wedding suppliers confirmed. In uncertain times, it's more important than ever to ensure that you know where your money is going and that your costs are not going to increase. This is equally the case for suppliers, but when suppliers start messing you around, changing prices and being non-committal when it comes to contracts, should you really use their services?

Recently, Jen wrote to me about her experience with her wedding caterer. Find more about Jen's wedding contract problem and how you can avoid it.

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Dec 7, 2008, Lovely Low Cost Wedding

We recently had a fantastic low cost wedding all done on a tiny budget . We live in Spain but had the ceremony in Gibraltar. We only invited 19

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Nov 27, 2008, How Far Can You Negotiate With Wedding Suppliers?

Being British, we don’t really have a culture of negotiating, but if you want a cheap wedding you’ve got to be prepared to do a bit of bartering.

As a nation, we don’t like to make too much of a fuss, so we tend to accept what we’re told, including the price tag. With everything in life, most things are up for negotiation, you’ve just got to ask!

In this article, I outline some tips to help you negotiate with your wedding suppliers.

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Nov 18, 2008, £1,500 Cash Towards Your Wedding

No, it's not a competition, but you can easily put over £1,500 cash in your wedding bank account by making some simple changes to your daily life. Don't believe me? Well, if you make your own lunch you can save a small fortune.

The average cost of lunch is about £3.50 (based on my office) and consists of a sandwich, bag of crisps and a drink, but if you made your own, then you could save a small fortune.

If you're buying your lunch everyday, then you're spending £17.50 per week or £70 per month, or £840 per year. Add your fiance into the mix and that's £1,680 per year between you!

Making your own lunch will cost you a lot less and along with a few other things will save you a fortune that could easily add up to £1,500. Now how would that change your wedding plans?

Find out other simple ways to save for your wedding.

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Nov 13, 2008, Where Can You Find The Best Secrets To A Cheap Wedding?

Hundreds of brides are chosing to cut their wedding budgets and save on their weddings, but how exactly are they doing it?

In the Cheap Wedding Success Forum, the savviest budget brides share all their secrets on how to have a cheap wedding, so join in the chatter now and start making your budget wedding come true.

In the forum, you can:

• find the best money saving wedding tips
• discover other brides budget wedding stories
• learn the secrets of the industry
• find out the best places to shop for low-cost wedding bargains
• buy and sell wedding items with other brides

Join the forum now, start sharing your secrets and save even more…

Click for more info

Nov 10, 2008, Catering Your Own Wedding

When you’re catering your own wedding there’s a lot to think about. For most of us, we’ve never catered for large numbers, let alone an important event like a wedding. But it doesn’t have to be complicated and difficult as long as you get your planning straight and choose simple dishes. Find out all my tips for catering your own wedding...

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Nov 4, 2008, Are Couples Spending Less On Their Weddings In These Hard Times?

As the financial picture worsens, it seems credit crunch weddings are on the rise. Wedding specialists are reporting that brides are spending less on the traditional components of a wedding with couples making more budget conscious decisions about their special day or even postponing it.

Traditional weddings come with high price tags with the wedding industry knowing that a bride is usually willing to pay an excessive price for the day of her dreams. At least they did. Now you'll find that wedding stores are more accommodating to your needs and to your budget.

Wedding dress boutiques are a perfect example of this. There are more and more sales around, especially with their off-the-peg dresses which can save you hundreds of pounds. Jewellers are reporting that more brides are choosing a white gold wedding ring over the ever popular (but more expensive) platinum. A new wedding ring looks perfect on the finger of any radiant bride, and who can tell the difference between the metals anyway?

A credit crunch wedding can still have a wow factor, but you can make choices that won't turn your wow factor into an ouch factor once the wedding is over!

Increasingly weddings are happening during the week, as brides take advantage of special rates offered by wedding services such as photographers, caterers and wedding car suppliers. Even venues who typically charge high rates on premium days such as Saturdays are happy to negotiate a deal with you so that your credit crunch wedding takes advantage of discounts and extras.

Despite having a tight budget brides are proving it is possible to have a dream credit crunch wedding and vendors are willing to help them achieve that. Think about the priorities for your wedding, and then protect these by making savings on the things that don't really matter or the things that no-one will really notice. What you have to remember is, it's only you and your partner who knows what you originally intended for your big day. Your guests won't have a clue about your budget conscious choices!

Find out more about budgeting for your big day.

Oct 31, 2008, Cheap Venues In Sheffield - Your Ideas Are Urgently Required

What do you do when it all goes wrong and your venue goes bust a few weeks before the big day? Well, that has happened to Leila in Sheffield, leaving her stranded!

If you're an expert on Sheffield or have a great idea for a cheap venue, we need your insider knowledge of cheap venues in Sheffield that Leila can use for her wedding reception. All ideas are welcome – just post them in the comments here.

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Oct 31, 2008, Do You Really Need Catering Staff?

We are having a small-ish wedding with 50 people and really want a caterer to handle the food. The one we just talked to said we need a lead, a

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