Wedding on a budget of €2k. Tips/ideas?

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remey

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hi all,

My best friend is getting married next Spring. They are very anxious to keep it low cost and low key. There will be approx 30 adults and 15 children. Budget is €2k. They live in Blessington and a home wedding (garden) is not really an option.
They will either have it in a registry office and then back to a venue or if the venue allow the civil ceremony to take place tehre that may happen.

Please let us know any tips on how to cut costs, save money, venues, rings etc. Anything.
I know its probably better posting on one of the wedding sites but I spend half my day browsing this site :D so I can check in regularly.

Thanks
 
Does that budget include her dress, photos etc? A meal alone for the guests will take a large portion of that. Unless she can borrow a dress, get somebody she knows with a good camera to do the photos, she may have somebody in mind to do the cake, if its springtime there will be plenty daffodils which would be lovely as the flowers, get a few good local musicians for the music. No doubt it can be done depending on what she wants.
 
Hi there,
I'm the best friend! My dress is hopfully sorted - littlewoods.ie (can't go wrong) so thats not a huge portion of the budget as was less than 100euros. HTB is wearing a lovely suit that he got last year and hardly worn. No bridesmaide/groomsmen (civil ceremony) Will get friends and family to take pics. Am making my own cake or possibly Marks and Sparks cake and decorate myself. Daffodils are a lovely idea - very cheery and not too expensive. Music is an Ipod and speakers.
As we said cheap and cheerful!
Anymore ideas would be so appreciate. Also was thinkin a trip to Ikea and hickeys to buy stuff to decorate the room..?
x
 
It's also worth bearing in mind that if you choose a hotel/function room type reception in general you're under no obligation to tell them it's a wedding but they do charge extra when they know it's a wedding.

Good friend of mine got married but the day of the wedding was also the groom's 30th birthday so it was a double celebration but they only told the hotel that it was a birthday party, €40 a head in the difference. Bride was wearing a non-traditional gown so it wasn't blaringly obvious that it was a wedding. When it came for cake time there was two cakes, wedding cake and birthday cake, and when the waiting staff saw the wedding cake they called in one of the managers who thought it was their place to have stern words with the bride and groom. In the end the manager admitted they were in the wrong (nothing in their terms and conditions or policy etc stated there was anything wrong with this kind of practice) and allowed us to get on with it.
 
Nikkit I hope you have a great day as I'm sure you will and all the best for the future. If you had some hurricane vases which you might get cheaply in Dunnes around Christmas,put some sand or fancy stones at the bottom then put in a candle and a few pieces if ivy around the candle and they look lovely lighting. You can also get nice artificial rose bushes etc which look very real and are very effective for corners or wherever.
 
Hello Nikkit - congratulations to you and I hope you have a lovely day too!

I got some good DIY wedding decoration ideas for our recent wedding on this website. As Ash 22 above has suggested above, look out in some of the big stores or garden centres for homeware products (i.e., hurricane lamps, vases, display stands etc.).

You can pick up items like this quite cheaply to decorate the venue and they can really add to the atmosphere. I bought a number of lanterns like this and asked the hotel to place them in the garden during the evening reception and they were really lovely. Also, you have them afterwards (or you could give them as gifts to family to remember the day).

You might also consider contacting a local flower-club to ask if they could do any floral arrangements for the venue and/or ceremony (probably a good bit cheaper than contacting a florist).

It's also possible to print wedding invitations, menus, place-cards etc and do wedding favours all yourself, just don't forget to ask for help!
 
Hi there, some great suggestions thanks a mill.
Foxylady, thats an unbelievable deal in Maples. They're living in Blessington, so its a bit of a trek but its a great price.

CMCR thats a great website & the bride to be is very creative so she'd be able to pick up good tips. Good idea on contacting a flower arranging club

Ash22 I really like the idea of the hurricane vases, and even though the room in the venue that they're looking at isnt huge, it would still require a bit of filling around the walls maybe and artificial rose bushes sound quite nice. Where could you pick them up?
 
I've seen the rose bushes from time to time in discount stores for about 15 euro and they're very nice, especially in white. Check www.centralfloralsupplies.com I don't see any of them on it but you might find it interesting for other flowers and candles etc,
 
hi girls, thanks so much for the fab suggestions. We are so delighted with all your amazing advice! I have decided to go for a spring theme as having no bridesmaids etc we had no colour scheme in mind. Im thinking daff's are in season around then so we can raid our gardens to help with the decor!
Also someone told me that if you buy a roll of wallpaper and blue tak it up onto one of the walls in the function room its a nice centre piece....any thoughts on that? Its a small room with bare walls so it may help in cosying things up. Plus we will rob some old branches from the local forests and put fairy lights on them around the room.
The venue we have chosen has come back very reasonable - they have lowered the cost of the meal if we use the wedding cake as desert and they will give strawberries and cream to go along with it. Cant go wrong for €30pp and also their wine is only 11euros per bottle..recession session!
xx
 
Great price on food and wine, NikkiT.

If you're only getting a reasonably small number, you could buy pre-made wedding invites from Easons or the likes. Alternatively, you could get packs of note cards, blank inside, and just write the invitations yourselves. I'm sure you could get cards with daffodils (if you'll be using them) or something else suitable. After all, there's no point in buying craft supplies in bulk if you're only making invitations for 30 people.

One thing I'd recommend is to have a look at the absolutely essential fixed costs (price of registering the marriage or paying the registrar, for example) and take that cost out of your budget. That should give you a better idea of how much you can spend on the fun things like food and decorations.
 
Far and away the biggest cost is food and drink but it looks like you are sorted there and in budget.

To keep other costs there ask people to provide a service rather then a gift.

For my wedding I had so much input from friends and family - invites, flowers, music etc all provided by friends and family and I can honestly say that on the day it was fabulous to look around the room and see all this "stuff" provided for us from the hands of loved ones.

I'm unsure about the idea of blu tacing up wall paper to be honest - could look pretty dodgy if it falls down but branches and fairy lights should add some character. Tea lights in a variety of different sized jars and containers can look lovely and adds atmosphere. Just start asking people to donate some.

Congratulations, you sound pretty chilled out about it. Hope you have a wonderful day.
 
Oscaresque said:
Tea lights in a variety of different sized jars and containers can look lovely and adds atmosphere. Just start asking people to donate some.

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Ikea would be a good place to look for different candles and jars.
Also check out weddingsonline.ie for wedding realted advice, i found it very handy!
best of luck!
 
Ask everyone you know to save large glass jars (coffee / jam jars / beans etc etc) They look great with tealights inside, you can decorate very simply with a wild flower / daffodil tied around it and placed on tables / around the room etc. Won't cost you anything extra at all... and you can recycle them after if needs be!
 
hi girls, lovely ideas - thanks a million. i have thought of a nice idea for the wedding favours - instead of spending money on sweets etc. for the favours, we are going to donate the money to our favourite charities - Breast Cancer Ireland and Irish Heart foundation (both our families affected by these diseases) I am going to put a little note on each plate saying "In memory of our parents x and y - we have made a donation to these charities on your behalf, Love Nicola and Karl"
 
Thats a lovely idea Nikkit. As well as the money going to good cases the thought of your parents being mentioned is really nice and it includes them so much in your big day.
 
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