Be organised - Stay on top of your wedding budget by planning ahead and keeping a record of everything you've spent. See a guide to discussing your wedding budget and style with your partner here.
Get married on a week day - Enquire about better deals from venues, photographers and other suppliers. You might find your day is much cheaper, since you are avoiding popular weekends. Certain times of the year will be much more expensive than others, too. Wedding 'season' is traditionally June to September - ask your chosen venue about prices outside of these times. October to February tends to be the cheapest time of year (excluding Valentine's Day!).
Reduce the number of guests - The reception usually takes up the biggest proportion of the wedding budget. Since the size of your venue and the cost of your food and drink is directly proportionate to the number of guests, consider cutting your guest list, perhaps excluding “+1's”, partners of work colleagues or children. You can book a smaller venue and use the size of the venue as an excuse!
Have a shorter wedding day - The longer your guests stay with you, the more you will have to spend on food, drink and entertainment. Consider a romantic evening ceremony or a 'wedding lunch'.
Have an evening-only party - Similarly, you could have a day ceremony and a sit-down meal with a select group of your nearest and dearest, followed by a party for the rest of your guests in the evening.
Share the budget - Find out if there's another wedding at your venue on the same day and see if you can split the cost of flowers and decorations.
Hire your outfits - If you're not the sentimental type and don't mind parting with your dress after the big day, you can save money by hiring some or all of the wedding outfits.
Use your skills - Consider using your own (and your family and friend's!) skills to save money. Is your cousin a great photographer? Does your auntie make great cakes? Do you have a passion for flowers? Fancy learning dress-making? This might even be a great opportunity to discover a new talent - and have a bit of fun - in an evening class!
Check out your local council website - They usually list buildings available for hire - you might find a beautiful building that has been turned in to a local authority centre for training or education that's available for hire at a low price.
Adopt a 'less-is-more' attitude - Think less-is-more when it comes to flowers and table decorations. One or two large, eye catching flower arrangements can be more impressive than lots of small individual centrepieces.
Have a Sex & The City style cocktail party - Instead of a formal (and expensive) sit-down dinner, have a stylish cocktail and canapés party instead. Serve interesting and classy finger food, cocktails and lots of champagne and everyone will think you're being very trendy!
Serve sparkling wine - Ask your venue to recommend a good sparkling wine instead of serving champagne. Also ask about the venue's house wines, which are usually very good. Or you could serve cocktails named after the Bride or Groom, mixing Cava or wine with soft drinks.
Compile your own music - A solo performer will be cheaper than string quartet. Or you could give live music a miss and use the venue's sound system to play your own selection of music. Putting together a great soundtrack can be time-consuming but will save you money. Alternatively, hiring a DJ can be cheaper than hiring a professional live music band. If you're into live bands, you could seek out a local band who are just starting out and looking for exposure to play for a small fee, or possibly even free - just make sure you see them in action before the big day!
Limit the free bar - You can provide your guests with a welcome drink and wine during the meal and then have a 'pay bar' once the formal meal is over. Most guests these days expect to buy their own drinks at a wedding and won't consider you cheap!
Wear your mum's wedding dress - Wearing the wedding dress of someone you love, whether it's your mum, your sister, your auntie, your step-mum - whoever.. can be a really special and emotional addition to your wedding day. You can have it altered at a small cost to suit your figure or to update it.
Barter! - Don't be afraid to ask for a better price. Larger suppliers, like the venue and the caterers, can often give you a better deal. Don't worry about offending them - as long as you ask politely, no professional supplier will mind you asking! They can always say 'no' but if you don't ask, you'll never know!
Shop around - You want to get the best for your money, so look around at what's available before making a decision. For example, when you're choosing a photographer, ask for examples of their work, and references. It may be that you decide it's worth spending a bit more for a great photographer, but it's also worth taking a look at the newer ventures - there are some great photographers out there who are very skilled but who are just starting out and therefore won't charge as much - you will have to weigh up the pros and cons - and for this, it's worth shopping around a bit.
Compare photography deals - Make sure you ask your chosen photographer about their hourly rate versus a wedding package deal. Most photographers offer deals that include their fee for the day, a certain number of printed photographs and, often, a CD-ROM and the album too.
Ask your guests to take the evening photos! - Provide disposable cameras on the tables for the guests to take photos during the evening, so that you don't have to pay a photographer to hang around all night. You're guaranteed to get some interesting shots too!
Visit wedding fairs - As well as being great for 'shopping around' in one place, companies will often run special promotional deals if you are prepared to book on the day.
Pick 'in-season' flowers - Do a bit of research and opt for flowers that are in-season, as they will cost much less than those that are out of season.
Buy from the high street - You don't have to buy couture to look stunning on your wedding day. Lots of high street stores now do wedding ranges, or you could buy a beautiful dress or outfit that's not a long white gown - you don't have to stick with tradition if it's not your thing. Compare prices of your accessories between high street and bridal wear shops, too.
Use comparison sites - Just as when you buy you car insurance - don't take the first quote you're offered - shop around on the web for your wedding insurance quote.
Ask a friend to help with your hair & make-up - Perhaps you're lucky enough to have a friend who is a beautician? No?! Oh well,you can always ask a good friend to help you anyway. Have some practice sessions and try out some new looks until you find something you're comfortable with. Chances are that a good friend will be more familiar with your own personal style and what looks good on you than a stranger anyway. Use free makeover services in department stores to experiment with new colours without having to buy those that don't suit you. This is a fun money-saving tip to try out even if you decide you can't get the look right and opt to pay for a professional anyway!
Ask a friend to drive you - If you have a friend with a nice car, ask them to drive you to your venue on the big day. If cars are low on your priority list, having your own car valeted will be much cheaper than hiring. Having a close friend or relative drive you, rather than a stranger, is a nice personal touch.
Find out what's on locally on your big day - A large event in the area will mean that capacity at all nearby hotels will be high, so the venue won't 'need' a wedding on that day - if you book at a quiet time, you will have more negotiating power.
Make your own cupcakes - Have wedding cupcakes instead of one large wedding cake. Make sure they look classy and professional - with some practise, they can look great!
Rent from your florist - OK, so you can't rent the flowers (!) but many florists will rent you their glassware so that you don't have to buy vases for the venue, and will rent you their large tropical plants or artificial displays. It's worth asking.
Re-use your flowers - Ask your friends to move floral displays from the wedding venue to the reception venue.
Keep the bridesmaids bouquets small - Apart from saving you money, keeping the bridesmaids bouquets small can look elegant and allows the brides bouquet to shine through as the most impressive. Consider using a single bloom (example, a single perfect rose or orchid) of a type that will be in the brides bouquet.
Use the same venue several times - If you hold your wedding rehearsal, wedding ceremony, reception, and next day gift-opening and guest brunch in the same venue, you will be able to negotiate a better deal than if you use different venues.
Consider something totally different! - Maybe a traditional wedding is for you - in which case, ignore this bit! If you're not sure, and spending so much money on one day doesn't fill you with the joy that it should, consider doing something different - have a small civil ceremony with a few friends and family followed by a nice meal out, elope, get married in your back garden, fly abroad and have a small ceremony on the beach, get married in a hot air balloon, on the London Eye, have a fancy dress party.. the possibilities are endless! It's YOUR day, no-one else's, so have a long think about what is is that YOU want to pay for!
Have an alternative gift registry - Ask your guests to contribute towards wedding services as an alternative to the standard gift list. Some suppliers will offer gift certificates - ask them. Consider paying a membership fee for a site such as www.youbuymywedding.com which allows your guests to go online and choose which part of your wedding they'd like to contribute towards (research the administration and membership fees before signing up). Similar sites allow the guests to contribute towards the honeymoon.
Have a buffet - Buffets typically cost less per head than a sit-down meal - ask your venue / caterer for options.
Buy second-hand - Scour second-hand shops, the local paper and eBay for almost-new bargains. You might not be as lucky as this woman, who bid 5p and received her dream wedding dress, but you might find something nice! Oxfam typically sell designer wedding dresses for up to £250. It's worth asking at bridal wear shops if they have any ex-display dresses, too.
Organise some free entertainment - Compile a 'wedding quiz' incorporating questions about the bride, groom and guests and some wedding trivia. Organise 'ice-breaking' games. Be inventive!
Make your own canapés - Enlist the help of friends and family to prepare some of the food in advance - this will help reduce the cost of your main caterer.
Supply your own alcohol - Find out if buying your alcohol from an off-licence will be cheaper than buying from the venue. Off-licences will often offer a good discount on bulk buys. You could take a ferry trip to Calais to bulk-buy your wine before the big day (great excuse for a booze cruise!!). Check the limits before your return journey. Be aware that some hotels do charge a corkage, though, and consider whether this will outweigh the savings.
Did you find any of these pointers useful? Or do you have any other bright ideas for saving money? Please leave a comment and let me know!
