When planning our wedding, the most important aspect was our budget we had a good idea of the things we wanted but had no idea of what they would cost. We knew what we could afford to save but had no idea if it would be enough, so where to start.
Well we simply divided our expenditure into the following categories
Wedding breakfast + evening reception venue
Church
Cars
Suits
Photographer
Cake
Florist & Room Decors
Table Decor
Rings
Stationery / insurance
Hair & Makeup
Dresses & Bridal
Secret (will reveal later)
Thank You Gifts & Favours
Honeymoon
Contingency Planning
These simple categories made planning our budget a lot easier and knowing how much to spend on each category kept things in perspective, we could spend a little more on bridal wear as we saved a little on the cake etc.
We then sat down and went through each category and decided how much we would like to spend on each item, any bride will give you a rough idea of the cost of the dress she wants, and with a little bit of research you can find average prices for things such as photographers, cars, florists etc and this average will be a good starting point for planning the costs of your day.
After putting a value next to each category it soon became quite clear we could not afford to get married, something had to give, we added everything up and the total of nearly £25000 was a lot more than we knew we could afford so something had to give.
As we were paying for this wedding ourselves we had calculated our monthly income and average monthly outgoings and allowed ourselves a fixed amount of savings of 1000 per month, and with a little over 18 months until the wedding day our 25000 quickly needed to become 180000.
We then made the decision to drop the honeymoon and reduce other outgoings to get our budget down to somewhere close to the 18000 it needed to be, it was sacrifices we needed to make not sacrifices we wanted to make.
We made the decision going in to debt for our wedding was not the way forward, having seen friends and relatives taking this approach we wanted to make sure that the day we get married we have as little debt as possible hanging over our newly married heads.
I will reveal as time goes on just how our budget has fluctuated, but primarily we have stuck to our guns and remained on budget as much as possible.
Friday 30 November 2012
Thursday 29 November 2012
The Venue - Everything happens for a reason
Since long before getting engaged we had chosen our wedding venue, Wynyard hall is a palace like venue a place we fell in love with the first time we ever saw it.
Having attended a variety of events at the hall, when we finally fixed a year to get married it was the first place we visited and met with the wedding coordinator.
We had read the pack from front to back and had a range of Saturdays from June to September in mind ready to secure our special day we were excited to finally have the first item on our list and really starting to think of our wedding day, even though it was 2 years away.
Yes we met with Wynyard hall 2 full years before we were wanting to be married, and after a lengthy discussion of our numbers and which drinks package we would have we came to the date....
.... As confident as you like we claimed not to be "too picky" just any Saturday in the summer two years from now, "sorry we have no Saturdays available"
No Saturdays available ! for a wedding two years time, we were dumb struck ! "oh but you can have a Friday" this was the final straw, the fact we would have to comprimise with our table centres and have to invite 20 extra guests to meet the minimum numbers, now we can't even get married on a Saturday - time for a rethink.
It was now on to looking for wedding venues, something we had never done, we had no need, we were getting married at wynyard for as long as we were getting married.
Now it was like starting from scratch, we quickly wrote off a selection of venues Redworth, Hardwick, Walworth, Manor House, Jersey Farm all had there reasons (which i wont go in to, but for us were just not right)
We then went to view, a couple of places with land with the idea of a teepee tent wedding (this proved more difficult than i would have liked).
Before we knew it we had an appointment at Headlam Hall, a place neither of us had been before (already a winner) and met with a lady who claimed not to be the wedding coordinator but could certainly show us round.
For so many reasons Headlam was perfect for us but below where our real deal makers :-
Location (4 miles from the church we are to be married in)
Style (The style of the venue matched our emerging wedding theme)
Room Size (Not overpowering however not too small)
Candles (allowing open flames on the tables)
Menu (a good choice for all)
Price (within our budget for venue)
With this in mind we had our date pencilled in the very next day still having never met with the wedding coordinator.
We couldnt be happier with our choice, both Andrew and Angela are a delight and the venue really does make me think everything happens for a reason, its perfect for us and we couldnt be happier (providing everything goes to plan on the day)
For more information on this venue visit the website below
www.headlamhall.co.uk
Having attended a variety of events at the hall, when we finally fixed a year to get married it was the first place we visited and met with the wedding coordinator.
We had read the pack from front to back and had a range of Saturdays from June to September in mind ready to secure our special day we were excited to finally have the first item on our list and really starting to think of our wedding day, even though it was 2 years away.
Yes we met with Wynyard hall 2 full years before we were wanting to be married, and after a lengthy discussion of our numbers and which drinks package we would have we came to the date....
.... As confident as you like we claimed not to be "too picky" just any Saturday in the summer two years from now, "sorry we have no Saturdays available"
No Saturdays available ! for a wedding two years time, we were dumb struck ! "oh but you can have a Friday" this was the final straw, the fact we would have to comprimise with our table centres and have to invite 20 extra guests to meet the minimum numbers, now we can't even get married on a Saturday - time for a rethink.
It was now on to looking for wedding venues, something we had never done, we had no need, we were getting married at wynyard for as long as we were getting married.
Now it was like starting from scratch, we quickly wrote off a selection of venues Redworth, Hardwick, Walworth, Manor House, Jersey Farm all had there reasons (which i wont go in to, but for us were just not right)
We then went to view, a couple of places with land with the idea of a teepee tent wedding (this proved more difficult than i would have liked).
Before we knew it we had an appointment at Headlam Hall, a place neither of us had been before (already a winner) and met with a lady who claimed not to be the wedding coordinator but could certainly show us round.
For so many reasons Headlam was perfect for us but below where our real deal makers :-
Location (4 miles from the church we are to be married in)
Style (The style of the venue matched our emerging wedding theme)
Room Size (Not overpowering however not too small)
Candles (allowing open flames on the tables)
Menu (a good choice for all)
Price (within our budget for venue)
With this in mind we had our date pencilled in the very next day still having never met with the wedding coordinator.
We couldnt be happier with our choice, both Andrew and Angela are a delight and the venue really does make me think everything happens for a reason, its perfect for us and we couldnt be happier (providing everything goes to plan on the day)
For more information on this venue visit the website below
www.headlamhall.co.uk
Wednesday 28 November 2012
The Wedding Blog
Today i have decided to begin blogging our wedding plans, in the hope that some of the information will be useful to those who are also planning their wedding and looking for inspiration.
Most of our wedding plans remain a mystery to our guests, however i dont expect a great deal of views to this blog until the wedding is all done and dusted therefore this will hopefully keep the plans under wraps.
I hope you are able to enjoy the blog and find the information contained usefull, if you have any questions please feel free to ask and i will try and provide as much information is possible.
Most of our wedding plans remain a mystery to our guests, however i dont expect a great deal of views to this blog until the wedding is all done and dusted therefore this will hopefully keep the plans under wraps.
I hope you are able to enjoy the blog and find the information contained usefull, if you have any questions please feel free to ask and i will try and provide as much information is possible.
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