We did. We simply had no money at all at the time. It was a traditional wedding, church, reception, evening do, honeymoon but we were just really careful about everything. Went for the cheapest option we could on everything. When I went out to buy the rings I had 40 quid to spend, so we both have these very thin, cheap white gold bands from Ratnors or something.

Specifically, we saved proper money on the evening do (family got together and made loads of snacks and butties), hired a very cheap hall in Birkenhead. When we phoned up one of the car hire companies, the woman on the phone kept complaining about how these new computers they had never worked so we eventually managed to get the cars for free on the condition that I went round there and sorted out all their computers. 

The honeymoon was in the Lakes, hired a cottage near Keswick.

The place where I;d say never try to save, is the photographer. Any dickhead can take good pictures when everything goes right but if things start going wrong, weather/people/timings, that’s when a true professional shows their worth. And ours was very fast, which when it’s 30 degrees and people are all stoof around waiting, is a good thing.

Wife and I had a rather memorable and low cost wedding.

Stretch limo picked us up from the hotel and took us to our wedding hall. The event was captured on video, webcam (broadcast live), and rather nice photo’s were taken. After Elvis had performed the ceremony we had a reception in a hall at the back of the building with pink champagne and a nice cake, before the limo came and picked us up again to return us to our hotel.

We were treated like royalty throughout, as were the eight or nine close friends and family that were invited. In fact, we enjoyed it so much, we’re going back to do it again in a couple of years when we hit our tenth anniversary.

http://www.vivalasvegasweddings.com/renewalofvows.htm

As I recall, the all in cost was $420 (not counting getting there), and we’ve managed to stick to our vows of , “Being each other’s Teddy Bears” and “Never, ever, ever, have a Blue Sunday” 

Beagy 

We did by luck.
I grew up near a Royal Doulton factory and they supplied China, tables chairs glasses etc all because my mum called the fire brigade when their place was about to go up one weekend.
A local car hire company supplied the Rollers.
My old regiment sorted the reception and made sure the Church pushed the boat out.
My father in laws a master baker and sorted the Catering.
My mum somehow blagged the booze, years of running pubs I guess. So the bar was free (that’s a family tradition) couple of Army blokes ran the bar and were paid in left ofver booze.
It cost us virtually nothing. I think because everyone in my familly is trade it doesn’t cost.
Like now, I did some electrical work for someone and they’re doing some carpentry for me, and another guys doing my drive but won’t want paying.

we had a fairly low key wedding. family lunch and party in the eve with friends. honeymoon in our campervan in scotland. photos by a family friend. family lunch ended up quite big as the missus has a huge extended irish family.

still added up but it was alot cheaper than most we have been to.

When I went out to buy the rings I had 40 quid to spend, so we both have these very thin, cheap white gold bands from Ratnors or something.

My wedding ring was about £20 in Argos, as was my wife’s engagement ring. She’s replaced her, equally cheap, wedding ring 4 times in the last year or so at a grand total cost of about £15 - a £1.50 mood ring, and £8 ring from Portobello Road market and now a £6 ring she saw in a gift shop somewhere.

you mad spendthrifts 

I was on a bare living wage (my take home was less than the dole), registry office wedding, drove there in our Bedford CF van. carvery reception for the mums and dads. cake made by M-I-L. local pub opened specially for our drunken noisy friends  (Turf Hotel , shuts for the winter, opened for us exclusively).

total cost in money feck all - certainly well under a grand.
surrounded by friends and family, lovely sunny day for all, priceless.

I can say without doubt, even if it might sound like a generalisation. The worst weddings I’ve been to have been the most lavish.

We originally planned a big hoohar, but couldn’t justify spending thousands on one day when the money would be better spent elsewhere - new boiler/car/carpets/bathroom/kitchen/nursary etc.

Seeing as we were skint (still are) and the future Mrs was 7 months gone, we had a fast cheap do.
£60 for the registry office wedding, £30 for the wedding dress, £20 for flowers. Asked a local Resturant to open at Saturday Lunch time (gave them rough numbers) and then told everyone when and where. Explained we were going to the resturant for lunch and if they wanted to join us it was every man for himself.
£80 for a room in a hotel in York for the night, that was the honeymoon.

After we’d left for York everyone else went to my sister’s house and partied all night.

9 years on, i’d still do it the same way, afterall it’s still me she’s marrying and no amount of money spent on the wedding is going to fix that 

Do what you are happy with, real friends always love to help out.

Got married 3 weeks after proposing - helped that my dad was local priest, so free church, big vicarage garden for the reception etc, asked guests to bring champagne instead of gifts & family all helped out with the catering & everyone had a blinding day.

imn, we got our rings there. The engagement ring and both wedding rings. For a little more, they’ll do it in Ti-6Al-4V (Grade 5) rather than the normal Ti.

Me and Mrs.TRH got married in Vegas then came back and had a party at the local. Door-2-door including spending money,wedding,rings, pub hire and week in NY cost about £3k

for ours the most expensive thing was the Church (since my dads the sides man there, and my mum was in the choir it’d been rude not to go there)
Missus’s dress was made to measure at a local design studio - cost £150, got my suit from there too.

recpetion was a garden party the missus’ parents backgarden. we home brewed the wine and beer. the local wine and beer circle which her folks were members of provided the glasses and marquee/gazeebo.

we had a great day, weather helped it was redders! local church to local village hall. her mum did the food, my mum made her dress and we went to bournmouth for 4 days honeymoon. was an awsome day and came in at well under a grand! mind you that was 26 years ago but no reason all the same is not possible today.

Ours probably ended up costing just over £1000, most of which paid for by my wife’s dad.

Simple and low key. Registry office in a nice location, everyone back at ours for food and beer. Food prepared by us and our friends, marquees borrowed from another friend, booze from the local brewery, cider place from back home and wine from wherever we could find organic wine.

We had enough for two parties too.

Wedding dress from Ebay, as was my suit. Rings were new and custom made from a girl off http://www.folksy.com

Wifey’s mum mae her dress. The reception was the most expensive part at about £2k for a pleasure boat cruise out of Southampton to the Isle of Wight and back with catering for 50.
Honeymoon was a Sun £10 holiday in a caravan park outside Newquay.
It took a few years of making up before she stopped suggesting that maybe I shouldn’t have gone skiing with my mates earlier in the year………..

We got married in a registry office too, £35 back then.

She bought a dress £400, two rings for £40 and family & friends back at the family home for food and something to drink.

No wedding photographer (I used to be a photographer back then) so we had a few Pro’s taking casual photographs on the day, formal wedding photographs are not for us 

Cake & food made by friends & family.

Looking back at all the weddings we have been to in the past, the best have always been, as above, simple and low key.

Best mate got married couple of years ago.. great day:

married in manchester reg office - wedding pictures around iconic manchester places and buildings (pics by his work colleague), then a champagne (Cava) picnic in a nice park mid morning followed by lunch at a local restaurant, then free time, then they hired the top of a proper boozer in the city centre with snacks laid on and buy your own drinks.. music on a home done mega mix

great day - though would of been less good is the weather had not played ball due…

Ok, here’s my rough breakdown…

We hired the local Liberal club, it was a bit scummy, but TBH with the lights down it looked like anywhere else. That was free to hire, but we gave them £50 for cleaning up for us. Paid £200 on balloons, streamers, glitter stuff and table cloths to make it look nice (and it did). Ceilidh band cost £300 and played a three hour set. DJ was an Ipod through the bands PA for before/after the band/ first dance etc. Venue had their own basic disco lights (ball, three colour flashers etc)

Food from local curry restaurant, £500. More food than our 300 guests could eat, delicious and they provided all their own staff to bring food and take it away again. Only cost so much as it was Eid, and all the staff were on triple time.

Plate and Glass hire cost about £200 all in.

My dad bought loads of cheap champaign from Marks and Spencer (join a wine club/ check offers with credit cards etc) can’t remember how many bottles but there was plenty left over and that lot cost about £300.

Put £250 behind the bar so ushers/ best man were able to “buy” people drinks. Mother in law paid for fancy Bently from church to venue so don’t know how much that cost. other bits and pieces soon add up, probably about £2500 all in.

booked wedding night hotel last minute (£250 room reduced to £80) dad paid for honeymoon to Maldives, but anywhere can be nice depending on what you two like.

Good luck and don’t forget, wedding mgazines will lie to you to make you spend money and you don’t HAVE to spend thousands. People will tell you “if you don’t spend at least X ammount on this, the whole day will be ruined.” they are lying.

At the end of the day, its about you, your fiance, your friends and families getting boozed up, having a dance and celebrating the begining of your life together as a married couple. Flowers/balloons/fancy cars/silver service/ expensive champaign do not make or break the day.

We chose a crap venue as it held lots of people, had a stage and sold cheap beer. It was also close to the church and not in the middle f no where so people could get taxis home or stay in a range of hotels.

Most of the weddings I went to I didn’t speak to the bride or groom, even my brothers, whats the point. So I thought sod spending 10K on a party and buying 40 people a roast dinner and I went to the registy office with 2 close friends and then spend a fair wedge on a nice meal for the 4 of us and a load of expensive booze.

Probably spend under £200 including the ceremony and licence, plus my wifes ring was a good few 00

I never paid a penny, her in-laws sorted that all out