As we approach wedding season, Metro.co.uk has roped in Alison Rios McCrone, venue owner and planner, to help solve your dilemmas in a weekly agony aunt column…
Dear Alison,
I was hoping you could help – I’m worried about the cost-of-living crisis and wedding. My fiancé and I are recently engaged and are planning to get married in September next year.
We’ve sat down and started a spreadsheet to project our outgoings and I’m worried! It’s in the tens of thousands already and we just can’t afford that. From photographers coming up at £2k+, to venues at £7k, and caterers the same again, I don’t know where we can cut costs.
We’re flexible in terms of where we get married but are looking at between 70-120 people and we are pretty wedded (pardon the pun) to September 2024. Do you have any tips on areas in which we can economise? Any services we should just skip entirely? Ideally, I’d like to keep the whole thing under £15,000.
Thanks,
Fred
Dear Fred,
Planning a wedding can be stressful, but it’s important to remember that you don’t need to break the bank for it to be special. There are many ways to trim costs and still have a beautiful and memorable day.
With some careful planning and budgeting, you can make it work easily – and it doesn’t necessarily have to look like the ‘rustic’ big day you imagine when someone mentions cutting corners.
I have been lucky enough to organise hundreds of weddings over the last 10 years at our wedding venue in Scotland and I’m happy to share some of my top tips.
Firstly, know that £15,000 is a really realistic budget. Even for people reading who have less money put aside, you can make it work! And it doesn’t mean having to sacrifice the things that matter most to you both.
The thing you need to do at the beginning is decide what your priorities are. For example, would you rather have more people, but perhaps do a cheaper buffet? Or would you want a sit down meal with fewer guests?
Guests
Opting for a smaller number of attendees can significantly reduce your costs; the more people you have, the bigger the venue, the higher the costs of catering, and the more staff needed.
If you’re set on 120 guests, perhaps invite fewer to the ceremony and wedding breakfast, and the rest to the evening party. That would mean you’d only need to cover their price per head for the evening snack, and a drink, if you wanted to offer one on their arrival.
If you have a smaller number at the day-time reception, you can also get away with a smaller venue.
Date
Another great tip is to look into hosting a mid-week wedding, which will always be cheaper than a prime Friday or Saturday slot.
Although September 2024 is your set date, you could move it to the first week of October, which is often classed as ‘low-season’ by venues. It’s still a beautiful time of year and ideal for stunning wedding photography, with the changing colours of the landscape.
Invitations
Designing, printing and posting invites will set you back a couple hundred pounds – what won’t, is a wedding website. Usually free, you can use them to collate your guests’ emails and send out save-the-dates, invitations and thank you cards.
It’s also handy to have one place where attendees can source all the information they need about your big day, and you can easily keep track of everyone coming.
Do you have a wedding problem you need some advice on?
Weddings are joyful occasions – but they’re also incredibly stressful. Whether you’re a bride or groom, best woman or man, family member or friend of the couple, the run up to the big day can be very tense.
If you need a bit of help with your quandary, Alison, who has run a wedding venue for 10 years and helps couples plan weddings, is here to offer a helping hand.
Email [email protected] to share your issue anonymously with Alison and get it solved.
Ceremony
Another thing to consider is choosing a reception venue that also has a space suitable for ceremonies, or somewhere within walking distance. This will massively help with money as it means you won’t have to fork out for transportation of your guests from one location to another.
When planning your ceremony, consider opting for later in the day – say four or five in the afternoon. The later you start, the less hours you have to fill with entertainment, and you can get away without splurging on canapes.
Venue
When touring venues, make sure to ask them if they come with crockery, glassware and linens, as this is another bonus and can save you the additional cost of hiring the items. Similarly, ask if they have any props you can use – like table stands, centrepieces, chair decorations. They may also offer name places and menu cards for the tables during the meal.
One way many couples choose to cut costs is by dry-hiring a venue, where you bring in your own catering, decor, and other vendors. While this can be a brilliant way to save money, it is also very time and labour intensive as there is far more DIY involved. If you want a relatively stress-free run up to your wedding day, this is not the route to take!
Food
As mentioned before, if you aren’t set on a wedding breakfast style yet, one option is a buffet. This is cheaper as less staff are needed to serve guests.
Another option is a grazing table. They’re something I’ve seen become more and more popular, and like a buffet, guests can go up and serve themselves.
Depending on the theme of your wedding, a food truck could do the job nicely and is often a cheaper choice than a sit down meal. It’s more casual but significantly reduces staff costs and guests can go off to have a bite whenever they want.
Of course, hiring a food truck will often need the approval of your venue, and they may require extra cleanup by the wedding party the next day as they don’t always come with staff who will do that for you.
If you want your guests seated but don’t fancy a formal set up, you could opt for family service meals. Staff are needed to serve to tables, but then guests are able to pass around shared dishes. Depending on food choices, this can be a cheaper option.
If you do go for a plated three courses, I would limit the choice you offer your guests. When you start to increase the number of meal options, costs also increase. Perhaps you could do one meat or fish dish, and then the catering company can accommodate any other dietary requirements and allergies.
Clothing
Societally, a lot of emphasis is placed on the bride’s dress – and rightly so, she wants to feel amazing! But that doesn’t always mean having to buy something new.
Brides can save a lot of money by looking at bridal parlours’ sample sales (with dresses sometimes more than half price), websites like Still White, for second-hand dresses, or buying off the high street and investing some of those savings into having it tailored.
As long as she feels fantastic, what does it matter if the dress cost £200, rather than £2,000?
The same goes for grooms. Hiring suits or kilts will save lots of money, and for something you may never wear again, is a great sustainable option.
Photography
At my own wedding, having great pictures was a priority – and it’s the one area where I would strongly recommend not scrimping! Don’t rely on your mates’ iPhones to get the job done – especially when there’s alcohol involved.
Your memories of your wedding day must be captured and you really need to make sure that you hire a professional who has the experience and ability to take quality photographs.
However, you don’t necessarily need them for the entire day. Some photographers will offer cheaper packages for fewer hours. This might be where a later ceremony really pays off, or you could prioritise what you want pictures of.
Flowers
Usually, floral arrangements are a massive expense, and one that many couples splash serious cash on – but there are ways to make this cheaper by asking: Are there any aspects we can do ourselves?
For example, If you want very traditional, manicured bouquets and boutonnieres, you will likely have to rope in an expert. But do you need equally perfect venue decorations?
Could you get away with buying these flowers wholesale and enlisting your wedding party and your green-fingered aunty to help make more simple arrangements?
Favours
If you are trying to meet a budget then favours may not be necessary. However, DIY options can be lovely gestures.
One of the couples who got married at our venue handed out homemade soap; another, flower seeds. Both went down really well and were taken home by more guests than many less-personalised favours I’ve seen.
One idea that circumvents this problem entirely, is when the couples make a donation to charity on their guests’ behalf and place a card explaining that on each napkin instead.
Cake
You wouldn’t believe how much left over cake I have seen in my days running a wedding venue. When you know how much couples spend on these ornate creations – sometimes in the thousands – knowing it’s just going to end up in the bin is unsettling.
Honestly, I would say just get one from the supermarket. You can get some very tasty plain cakes; pop on some extra flowers, seasonal fruit, and a topper, and its appearance will radically shift. You’d never know the difference.
Entertainment
While a band, DJ, ceilidh, or singer can really liven up the evening, they are not essential for a fun time. As long as there’s good music, your guests aren’t going to care too much about where it’s coming from.
If your venue has the necessary sound system, you could just make and download your own playlist.
However, I would advise keeping your friends away from the music booth to stop them adding rogue songs to your queue!
While you may have to compromise in certain areas, there are so many ways to make your wedding affordable without sacrificing style and elegance.
Good luck and happy planning!
Alison Rios McCrone
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Find out more about Alison here: alisonriosmccrone.com; and find details of her wedding venue here: altskeith.com.
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