Clive West has been married to his wife, Damaris, for 18 years. They completely organised their own wedding and bore the costs themselves. You can read more about their current project - restoring an old farmhouse in Umbria and living in Italy or get more free information on their websites.
A cheap wedding does not have to be a second-rate affair. In fact, if properly organised and planned, it can be very much a five-star event. Here are some simple tips to save money and reduce the cost of your wedding.
Why not restrict the number of guests to the main event? Starting with the two simple facts that no matter how many people you invite, you will always leave someone out (who will be deeply offended) and also that the further removed people are from you, the more of them there are, it is an obvious solution to reduce the number attending the wedding ceremony to the bare minimum. A suggested shortlist for a cheap wedding would be the mother and father, siblings and best friend of both parties.
Write (or better still, visit) everyone before the marriage takes place and explain what you are doing and why. Spend quality time with each in proportion to how close they are to you.
Church may (arguably) more 'romantic' but a registry office is more practical and is more relevant if you are looking for a cheap wedding.
If one of the guests is an accomplished photographer, get him or her to come along to take the pictures. Save money on hiring an professional photographer.
Organise the reception for later that day as normal but why not make it a bring-a-bottle affair with a funny theme to it? It may not be traditional but the idea is that it is fun and something that everyone can let down there hair at.
Instead of buying clothes that are likely to be worn only once, wear something smart from your existing wardrobe or buy something practical that you can use again. Likewise go for a simple but appealing bouquet instead of hundreds and hundreds of flowers.
Don't get married in June, July, August or at Christmas or Easter as it will mean you paying a premium price for your honeymoon.
When you are purchasing your holiday, see if the price includes any special deals for newly-weds. If not, try telling the holiday company and ask what they can offer. Most companies will be pleased to include a package for honeymooners in return for a few publicity shots.
When you have chosen your honeymoon location, why not ask for cash presents towards the cost? If you feel it is a little 'too personal' receiving the money yourself, why not ask one of the parents to receive it on your behalf?
Another way of getting a cheap wedding is instead of sending out lots of expensive photographs afterwards and being tied to postcards during your honeymoon, get photos printed by a colour laser printer and send them out with a newsletter. Add in a short personal comment to each.
We hope you will have found these suggestions helpful and, even if not, perhaps given you a starting point. This is your big day and what you say should go. Remember the best wedding is not necessarily the most expensive nor need there be anything wrong with a cheap wedding.
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