The High-Street Bride’s Guide: How to Plan Your Perfect Wedding On A Budget. Samantha Birch
months, to be exact – that they’ll need to book some time out instead.
The midweek big day is a cunning budget-stretcher and politics-sidestepper in more ways than one. Think about it: all Mum and Dad’s random friends from work won’t be able to get the time off, for starters. That’s a few scoops off the catering bill, plates and cups off the hire price, favours off the list and chairs that don’t need covering – carry on at this rate and you’ll be able to book a smaller venue…
3. Three Hundred’s a Crowd
You can do this. I believe in you. Don’t let fear hold you back and other supportive clichés. Because cutting the guest list is a task so stressful that many a smart, savvy bride has buckled under the pressure, but just look back at tip number two if you’ve ever even thought it’s not worth keeping your numbers under control. And that’s just the start of the savings: there are the invites and orders of service, wine during the photos and wedding breakfast, champers for the toasts and then some. But here comes the good news again: there are ways of keeping your total as svelte as a runway poser without putting everybody’s noses out of joint.
Elope. Seriously. If both of your friends and family won’t kill you, hotfoot it off to Gretna Green and get the job done right now. No? Okay, so you wouldn’t need this book if running away together was really on the cards, but now we’re agreed that there are going to be more than three or four of you, that means there will come a time when you have to look closely at who’s fattening your list up. Guess what? It’s now.
If it’s work people who are ballooning your invitees, opt for the friends and family wedding. Tell them you’re envisioning an intimate day with parents, siblings and friends you’ve had since you were nine, and then go and make it happen. If more and more friends and family push their way onto the list as the wedding develops, there’s no need to keep it a secret – just make sure your colleagues feel like the good guys for not adding to your stress levels.
Have you been to three weddings a year for the last decade, and now ended up with 60 happily married people on your list who you never see? Don’t make yours a ‘payback’ wedding – and the same goes for friends you haven’t heard from in ages. Take a deep breath, and be realistic: there are no hard and fast rules, but don’t be afraid to admit to yourself which friends and couples have drifted out of your life and probably won’t be in touch after your nuptials.
Think about it: if you really want to reconnect with people who have been out of your life for years, is a day when you’re going to be flitting from table to table for thirty seconds at a time really the best way? Or would you be better off calling them up for a visit a couple of months after the honeymoon, when the dust has settled?
4. Give it a Whirlwind
Don’t even think about this one if you’re not good under pressure. Do consider it if you’re looking for a way out of the giant wedding you and your other half never wanted. Presenting the whirlwind wedding: getting married in six months or less – often in under three months. Depending on your venue, you may find that offering to plan your day in next to no time saves you hundreds of pounds.
The pluses: you’ll be married (hooray!) and you’ll have to be decisive. If you panic when given too many options and have a tendency to drag decisions out, this is one way to make sure you both say ‘yes’ more often than ‘maybe…’. You’ll also find a lot of venues that offer whirlwind packages are happy to hook you up with an in-house planner at no extra charge – and they can help you with the likes of recommended local suppliers. Your package may even include things like basic stationery, chair covers and a master of ceremonies too, so there should at least be a little less on your plate.
The minuses: you’ve got to have a seriously open mind to pull this off. Unless you’re going for an intimate wedding, there’s a good chance not all your guests will be able to make it at short notice. Also, the band or DJ you’ve had your heart set on might turn out to have been booked up months in advance – and, *gulp*, most wedding dress shops prefer six months minimum to order, fit and adjust your dress. So your choices on a few things could be limited – but as you’ll see in the coming chapters, there’s more than one way to find everything you’re looking for.
Negotiating for Dummies
Come on, get out from behind the sofa – soft furnishings won’t protect you from the fact that there’s some bartering to be done. If you want to save maximum money without sacrificing style, that is – and let’s be honest, that’s why you’re here isn’t it? But trust me, this isn’t a quick-fire ‘going, going, gone’ scenario, and no-one’s going to bump up your bid if you scratch your nose – you can take your time, mull every offer over and apply as much or as little pressure as you’re comfy with. And not only do you not have to look your opponent in the eye, you don’t even have to meet them.
We only paid full price for about four things for our whole big day, and I didn’t even have to pick up the phone to make the other prices plummet. For me, email is king. You may have noticed that I’m at home with a keyboard – definitely more so than a high-pressure sales call – so I used my way with the printed word to my advantage. Pick your weapon of choice – email, phone or face-to-face – and work in the way that suits you. But bear in mind these handy hints as you do:
Do Your Research
Know the industry-standard prices for the area you’re into – read super-handy guidebooks (ahem, ’hem) and Google local hairdressers/beauticians/cake makers etc. to get rough prices, high and low, so you know when you’re being swindled. Okay, so the stuff at the lower end of the scale might not be up to scratch – maybe the icing on those cupcakes is a little lobsided or everyone comes out of that hairdresser looking like the Cookie Monster, whether they want to or not, but that’s irrelevant, because you’re not going to let the corner-cutting types near your wedding. You’re just going to use the fact that they exist to make it cheaper.
Know Your Supplier’s Status
Now you know your numbers, contact a handful of your preferred suppliers. These are the guys you really would want at your W-day. Explain your big-day using details that will make a difference to them: it’s off-peak, it’s on a weekday, it’s a last-minute thing, you only need them for a couple of hours and not the usual full day, you have a million people coming (and this could be their chance to bake a million cookies…) – all of these affect them. If their books are looking empty for the next two months and you’re offering them a job, they’re likely to take it at less than their usual rate. If you want them on a Wednesday when they’d normally be twiddling their thumbs, they’re more likely to jump at the chance for some extra moolah, even if it’s not as much as they’d get on a Saturday. Explain that you’re not flush and you’re getting quotes from a few places – competition can only be a good thing – then ask them for their best price.
Photographers are a specialist area: they get their names out there via wedding magazines and blogs, and both of those want original, quirky weddings with a lot of personal details, so – and this won’t be the last time I say this – Describe. Your. Day. That’ll get your very-visual snapper on-side with the whole idea of shooting your totally awesome theme, not to mention getting the press potential popping up in front of their peepers. And the more they want the job, the more they’ll be willing to bargain with you.
Keep an Open Mind
The truth: you might not get your #1 dream supplier at your can-it-really-be-real price. But you are likely to get someone similar for a number that’s not too much of a stretch. How? In one of three ways:
A few of the suppliers you