MONEY SAVING WEDDING TIPS
| How to make your wedding favours more valuable. Donating to Cancer Research UK’s life-saving work on behalf of your guests is a unique way of thanking them for celebrating your wedding. Our personalised favour cards and pin badges are a meaningful keepsake of your donation and the perfect finishing touch to your big day. Cancer Research http://www.giveincelebration.org/favours Stand: F10 Birmingham NEC |
Avoid paying unnecessary excess. Venue prices are generally based on the location, seasonality, the strength of local competition and many other factors including the size of room. Generally speaking the larger the room the higher the price, and many couples overpay for an excessively large room. For this reason, sometimes the easiest savings arise from booking venues that are an appropriate size for the event. Events Angel Stand: F20 London Earls Court |
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| Picking flowers in season I would definitely advise Brides to look at wedding flowers which are in season. There are many beautiful colours and scents out there just ask your local florist. This will make a remarkable saving to the budget. The Wedding Inbox Stand: H58 Birmingham NEC |
Have your ceremony later so that you don’t need to serve food twice. When planning your flowers think about reusing them e.g. Flowers on registry table can be reused on top table If champagne is included in your wedding package with a venue, ask if you can exchange for Sparkling wine and add more glasses – drinks reception is the most likely place you will run out!! You could then use trays of mixed ‘Sparkling Cocktails’ e.g. Kir Royale or Bucks Fizz Jugs of tap water instead of bottled during a dinner – and also greener! If bottled water is included in your wedding package then ask to exchange for extra wine with your meal. “Cheese wedding cakes” that can then be served with crackers, biscuits & fruit later for an alternative evening buffet option. The Royal Horse Guards Hotel Stand: G21 London Earls Court |
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| One idea to save money is to hire a photo booth to cover both entertainment and favours. Guests have so much fun in the booth and photo booth photos are customised to each bride so family and friends can then take the pictures home as a memory from the day. I’ve had a lot of my clients tell me that they have found the photo booths to be great value as people love taking photos and they don’t throw the photos out because they are personal to them , unlike chocolates or other treats often given out as favours. The Photobooth Company www.thephotoboothcompany.co.uk Stand: E19 Birmingham NEC |
2010 will see a further increase in destination weddings, as couples combine their wedding and honeymoon for idyllic ceremony settings, reduced stress and reduced costs. There are some great ‘WeddingMoon®’ deals about at the moment, including our Beautiful Beginnings package, whereby the wedding comes free of charge when you book a stay at one of our Sandals or Beaches resorts in a concierge room category or above. Amanda Lucas, Wedding Supervisor Stand: B61 London Earls Court |
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| If you want beautiful professional wedding stationery at a fraction of the cost, why not go for the DIY option. This is where you get a professionally printed outer card and you just print the inserts and assemble the stationery yourself. It’s incredibly easy to do and depending on the number of invites you have, can be up to half price. Rope your bridesmaid and bestman into helping you assemble the stationery and it can be great fun too. Mandalay www.mandalayweddinginvitations.co.uk Stand: F10 London Earls Court Stand: B21 Birmingham NEC
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A great way to save money on your wedding stationery without compromising on design or quality is choosing DIY stationery from your favourite stationers. You will be given all the components and shown exactly how it’s made to make the whole process simple! Making your DIY stationery doesn’t have to be time consuming either, why not invite your friends to help you and make a night of it! Ivy Ellen www.ivyellenweddinginvitations.co.uk Stand: K40 London Earls Court Stand: F42 Birmingham NEC
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| Credit crunch accessories Opt for clusters of grips or a tiara comb which are much cheaper than traditional tiaras, but still give you the same look. You can then spend the remainder of your accessories budget on a couple of pieces of statement jewellery which will become treasured favourites that you will wear again and again. Julieann Beads design and hand make a delightful range of pretty grips (£5.00 each) and elegant tiara combs (from £37.50) in a range of colours that can be customised to meet your requirements; perfect for budget conscious brides. Julieann Beads Stand: D52 Birmingham NEC |
A hot trend that more and more brides are opting for in the recession is a Weddingmoon or Marrymoon– where they get married and have their honeymoon in the same place. Ionian Weddings Stand: K21 London Earls Court Stand: D11 Birmingham NEC |
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Use silver lettering decorations to dress up a plain cake and make it look special for a fraction of the price of some cakes. Ivory & Co. Tiaras Stand: D31 Birmingham NEC
| Getting married abroad is often much cheaper than an equivalent wedding in the UK and Mintel estimates that 50,000 couples get married abroad each year. Marry Abroad Stand: A42 Birmingham NEC |
Hair combs or pins that don’t compromise the beauty and elegance. Our Swarovski cluster pins are very popular as they only cost £8 each and you can choose how many you want. Our combs are around a 3rd cheaper than buying a tiara or jewelled headband but still have the real wow factor. Sarah Roberts Bespoke Tiaras www.bespoketiarasbysarahroberts.co.uk Stand: D23 London Earls Court
| Many of my clients are looking at off season dates - either midweek or wintry weddings as the choice of date can dramatically reduce ALL the costs from venue hire to catering and beyond. Beautiful Wedding Planner Stand: B19 Birmingham NEC |
- Print your menu on the reverse of your table name/number card - Purchase a Luxurious framed table plan and then re-use the frame for beautiful blown up wedding photo or artwork - Order lace, ribbon and embellishments that match your stationery to decorate your wedding cake or embellish your dress, etc Ghost Orchid Designs Stand: C37 London Earls Court | With weddings costing more and budgets getting stretched further, people want to know that they are getting great value for money, Moss Bros Hire has for many years offered the Groom Goes Free offer on its hire product when more than 4 outfits are hired and now offer this on their retail suits too. This is a great offer for those getting married and gives them the choice of whether they want modern or traditional and whether they want to hire or buy – this also means if the groom chooses to buy suits and is paying for the suits he doesn’t need to buy presents to give on the day for the best man & ushers – they have already got a great suit to keep! So remember if you want to hire or buy more than 4 suits for your Wedding Moss & Moss Bros hire is the place to go. Moss Bros Group PLC Stand: F60 London Earls Court Stand: K31 Birmingham NEC
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When budgeting for a hen party it is important to consider every activity on a price per head basis. Working out what it will cost for each person to participate in the hen party weekend will make it easier for guests to commit, saving you a lot of hassle. Think about opt in opt out activities which will allow all guests to celebrate with the bride to be. If you have to please family and friends of varying ages always consider day time events or activities such as a sophisticated lunch, Spa package or dance workshop. Choosing the right group activities allows guests from all areas of the Hen’s life to bond in a fun and neutral atmosphere without the need for small talk, ensuring the night time partying is enjoyable and relaxed. Dance Experiences Stand: D48 Birmingham NEC | When choosing your photographer, ask them if they are willing to sell you all the images on the disc. That way your guests don’t have to pay a premium on prints and you have the rights to all of your images enabling you to print and display as many as you wish at any time. The Wonderwall Print Company
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With so many styles and sizes available, a live band guarantees a unique experience. There is nothing like live music, it creates an atmosphere that will make your evening go with a swing. Not as expensive as you may think. 4 piece bands can start from just £400. Don’t let this price put you off, these bands are likely to be made up of top music students look for experience. Bulldog Entertainment www.bulldogentertainment.co.uk Stand: B8 London Earls Court | Tailoring All is a professional tailor specialising in tailored bespoke suits at an affordable price. Tailoring All Alts Stand: C43 Birmingham NEC |
Churches hosting the whole wedding day - wedding-with-reception package saves time and money. Janet Gough, Director of Cathedral and Church Buildings, said: “Eighty per cent of our wonderful churches are listed as being of architectural or historical interest, and many have a specially created space or a separate room that’s ideal for a wedding reception. These spaces, and whole churches, are already often used for concerts, parents and toddlers groups, and all sorts of other activities, as churches continue to strengthen their rightful place at the centre of communities, so why not a wedding reception?” Church of England Stand: F53 London Earls Court Stand: C34 Birmingham NEC |
