Weddings on a budget….the average wedding costs the best part of twenty thousand pounds, so how can we reduce this cost significantly?
Here are our top secrets tips to have the wedding that you have been dreaming of- at a fraction of the cost……
The Ring
Ring prices can average anywhere between the £500 and £2000 mark.
Try looking for vintage or pre-loved wedding rings for a great bargain. There is no stigma attached to this as Kate Moss, Scarlet Johansson and Lara Stone all have opted for vintage and pre-loved wedding rings.
Weddinghand.co.uk found a great website called www.preloved.co.uk with many examples on. As an average we saw a ring selling in Ernest Jones this week with a retail price of £2499 and found the exact pre-loved version for £1250
WEDDING HAND’S REAL LIFE EXAMPLE:
Standard Cost: £2499
Wedding hand’s source cost: £1250
Saving: £1249
Vintage ring as seen this week on preloved.co.uk
The Dress.
This is a must for budget slashing without compromising on quality. Wedding Hand found an excellent pre-loved bridal retailer in the Midlands called Dress Me Pretty- www.dressmepretty.co.uk with great choices for designer dress such as Jenny Packham, Alfred Angelo and Benjamin Roberts. A Vera Wang dress with an RRP of £6500 sold on Dress Me Pretty for just £1800!
WEDDING HAND’S REAL LIFE EXAMPLE
www.dressmepretty.co.uk
RRP Cost: £6500
Wedding hand’s source cost: £1800
Saving: £4700
Vera Wang dress at 73% less than its original price at ‘Dress Me Pretty’ in Leicestershire
The Venue
The venue is where large percentage of your budget will be allocated to. There are many ways of squeezing the best out of your venue to save on your budget.
Top tips from our insider for booking venues are follow these simple 3 rules.
– Get married during the mid-week day. Most venues will massively reduce the rate. A Sunday when there is Monday bank holiday the following day can be a crafty way of reducing your budget. Most venues have set prices and don’t take the bank holiday into account, therefore no disruption to your guests for work the next day.
– Go last minute. Book in when the venue have had a previous cancellation.
– Simplify your plans. Ask to see what is standard as part of the package and what is costing you as an add on. For example many venues will recommend you to use there in house D.J and 25% of the cost you pay for the D.J will actually go back to the venue as their ‘booking fee’. Hire in outside suppliers to reduce cost.
We have found a real life example that are offering £3000 off their Saturday wedding costs.
WEDDING HAND’S REAL LIFE EXAMPLE
Castle Wedding Near London
Standard Cost: £13000
Wedding Hand’s source cost: £10000
Saving: £3000
Champagne- Think outside the box….
Champagne is traditionally drunk during the welcome drinks (drinks reception) and also the toast during the wedding breakfast/speeches. Strict legal laws reserve the word Champagne exclusively for sparkling wines from the Champagne region in France which keeps prices of sparkling wine from region high. An average bottle of Champagne can cost around the £30 mark. An average wedding guest will drink maybe 3 glasses during the day so budget on half a bottle per person. For a wedding of 60 guests that’s 30 bottles of Champagne so just under £1000 in Champagne cost.
Does your sparkling wine really have to be from the Champagne region? Recently the Duchess of Cornwall called for a new name for English sparkling wine to match the grandeur of champagne. At Prince William and Kate Middleton’s wedding, wine from English vineyards and costing as little as £8.50 a bottle were served to guests, showing a definite trend in English Sparkling wine.
Giles Miller from Wine Connoisseur states…….”If you opt for a home-grown brand other than Champagne, you will create an interesting the wine in which we have found most people to be complimentary about and pleasantly surprised, whilst if you go with the usual Champagne it’s just the norm and people will take it for granted”
Wedding Hand have sourced this Bronze Awarded 2010 Darnibole Brut Av. Bottle Price: £ 14.00 on sale which may be worth checking out.
WEDDING HAND’S REAL LIFE EXAMPLE
Total Champagne Average Cost: £900
Wedding hand’s source cost: £420
Saving: £480
The Next Big Thing? England’s Sparkling Wine To Rival Champagne
-Marry Outside wedding season (typically April to September)
Wedding Hand interview 20 different wedding suppliers from photographers, florists, musicians, and entertainers, car hire, and all of which offer lower rates outside of ‘Wedding Season’. We found an average of 30% saving across the board some suppliers promising half price on their services.
With an estimated cost of £20000 on you wedding and factoring in a 30% reduction in all services across the board, opting for a wedding between October and March could slam £6000 off your overall budget.
WEDDING HAND’S REAL LIFE EXAMPLE
Average Wedding Cost Between April to September: £20000
Average Wedding Cost Between October to March: £14000
Saving: £6000
Opting For A Winter Wedding Could Save You Thousands
Total Savings Made With Wedding Hand’s Money Saving Tips…..
The Ring
Saving Of £1249
The Dress
Saving Of £4700
The Venue
Saving Of £3000
Champagne
Saving Of £480
Outside Of Wedding Season
Saving Of £6000
Total Saving Of £15429 !!!!!!
Remember you can save again by creating tour own Wedding Website with weddinghand.co.uk
