Budgeting for your wedding can appear a daunting task at first. Where does one begin? How much does everything typically cost? How much money do I have to work with?! While we have many blogs that will help you navigate this minefield, such as How to Set a Wedding Budget and How to Stick to Your Wedding Budget, finding suppliers and handy tips to help keep the budget low are often tricky to come by.
We are aware everyone has different priorities when it comes to planning a wedding, so the average £30K wedding budget just doesn't suit the majority of couples. Luckily, the team at Guides for Brides have your back! From vendors to nifty money saving tips, we have the know-how when it comes to planning a wedding with a budget under £5,000.
Ceremony Fees and Giving Notice
Budget depends on your preference and will range from £150 - 500.
In order for you to have a legally binding marriage or civil partnership ceremony, you'll need to account for giving notice and any ceremony fees. Giving notice is £35 per person and you'll need to do this at least 29 days in advance of saying "I Do".
If you are getting married in a church or wedding venue, ceremony fees are around £500, but will vary depending on where you are getting married. No matter what size of wedding you choose, you will still pay these ceremony fees.
If you are looking to save some money, there is an alternative option. You can get the legal bit sorted by having your ceremony in a Town Hall or Registry Office. You'll still need to give notice, but you'll find that having your legal ceremony mid-morning, in the middle of the week will be significantly less than the ceremony fees at a church or venue. We advise budgeting about £150-£200 in total if you are opting for this choice.
Venue and Catering
Image courtesy of Kemp & Kemp Catering
We would recommend budgeting £1,620 for your venue and catering.
As a general rule of thumb, we recommend that about 45% of your overall budget goes towards your venue and catering. The venue and catering tends to be the largest cost in a wedding, hence this budget recommendation.
In order to drastically reduce costs for your venue and catering, it is important to consider when your wedding is being held and who you are inviting. Hosting your wedding mid-week and off-season will quickly cut costs, while having a small guest list can allow for a smaller venue and less people to feed. It is crucial that you are strict with your guest list in order to keep costs low!
Typically, the most budget-friendly weddings are hosted in small hotels, pubs and village halls. If you are lucky enough to have a large garden (or know someone who does), this can also be the perfect venue for a modest wedding! For budget friendly wedding venues, check out our Budget Wedding Venue selection on the Guides for Brides website.
When deciding on a venue, it is also imperative that you check to see if they allow for a buffet-style menu. Swapping out a formal meal for a more relaxed dining experience will drop the cost of catering significantly. In addition, check if the venue is willing to let guests provide their own alcohol and whether there is a corkage charge. Providing booze for all your guests can be an unnecessary expense in some cases and can quickly add up, especially if your wedding guests are known to party late into the night!
Wedding Attire
We would recommend budgeting approximately £950.
Wedding Dress -
Your wedding gown can also be a considerably large cost for something you only wear once! However, having a budget-friendly wedding doesn't necessarily mean sacrificing that designer dress you have always dreamt about. By getting in contact with bridal boutiques, they may be able to inform you of any upcoming sample sales or direct you towards their sample or sale rack. For some much-loved bridal boutiques, check out our Wedding Bridal Wear section on the Guides for Brides website.
However, having a £5,000 wedding is likely to require you to sacrifice that designer dress you've had saved on your Pinterest for years. But this is not the end of the world! We understand that on your special day you want to look your best, therefore we have pulled together a selection of stunning gowns under £200 from some of our favourite high street brands!
Ghost - £195
With a vintage-like in silhouette and style, this Delphine dress from Ghost is an elegant design. The gathered detail around the shoulders and bust, and gentle v-neck, adds to its feminine appeal.
ASOS - £90
Designed for the "It Girl" bride, this wedding dress from ASOS really stands out amongst the crowd. The flirty off-the-shoulder puff sleeve adds a unique touch to a classic silhouette creating the perfect wedding dress combination.
Goddiva - £68
This draped off-the-shoulder chiffon wedding dress is delicate, romantic and elegant. The gown will have you walking down the aisle looking like the most beautiful bride in the world - there will be no dry eye in sight.
Bridesmaids and Groomsmen -
When choosing your bridesmaids and groomsmen, it is important to keep your wedding budget in the forefront of your mind. The bigger your wedding party, the bigger the cost. With a budget of £5,000, we recommend having around 2 or 3 in your wedding party.
If the groom and groomsmen already own a classic suit, just ask them to wear them so you can spend a little extra getting them matching ties to suit the wedding colour palette. Furthermore, you can request your bridesmaids wear a dress with a certain colour in it, or ask them to wear a specific dress shape. This will cut the cost as this will require them to bring in their own dresses. With mismatched bridesmaids dresses being a large and popular trend at the moment, this money saving hack will be very effective and picture perfect. Plus, we are sure your friends will be delighted that they can pick something they love and will wear again!
Hair and Makeup -
Unless this is a priority that you are happy to move money around to afford, when planning for a £5,000 wedding budget limit, hiring a professional hair and makeup artist is often an element that needs to be sacrificed. However, with many helpful YouTube videos at your fingertips this is no cause for concern. Just remember to do a few trial runs before the big day so you know how long you need to get ready and have a set routine in place!
Wedding Flowers
We would recommend budgeting approximately £225.
Wedding florals can quickly add up. In order to allow for your dream flowers, we have come up with lots of helpful tips to achieve beautiful florals on a budget!
It is important to research the flowers that will be in season on your big day. This will allow you to keep costs low. In addition, you may consider going to a local flower market or supermarket to DIY your own florals. You may also be lucky enough to have a generous green-fingered friend that will happily plant and grow the flowers for you! All you will need to do is purchase the seeds. Not only is this cost-effective but is a sustainable way of decorating your wedding venue.
You may want to contemplate the advantages of only having a bridal bouquet and then opting for some cheaper alternatives for your wedding party and the centrepieces. Corsages, instead of bouquets, for your bridesmaids is an ingenious way of keeping costs low while providing your bridal party with something that will make them stand out!
Wedding Cake
We recommend budgeting approximately £100.
The cutting of the cake can be a ceremonial and traditional moment of the wedding day. However, if a tradition feels like an unnecessary expense don't feel pressured into complying with the crowd! A lot of couples are tending to swap out the traditional tiered wedding cake for something less formal, such as cupcakes or brownies! Not only are these sweet treats tasty but they are also considerably cheaper and will help you stick to your £5,000 wedding budget. You could even have your cake as the dessert offering, saving you money on the catering.
However if you love this tradition, don't feel restricted by your budget! There are many ways to avoid spending a fortune on a tiered wedding cake while still maintaining this tradition. For example, you can spend a significantly smaller sum of money on a standard tiered cake by decorating the cake yourself! Etsy, along with other brands, have many cheap cake decorations such as cake toppers and ribbon trimming.
In addition, you can add artificial tiers to your cake by building some layers out of polystyrene and covering it in frosting. It will look just as stunning, and no one will know the difference!
Wedding Photographer
We recommend budgeting approximately £1,000.
You will struggle to find a professional wedding photographer that will service your entire wedding day for under £1,000. However, a student photographer or trainee will come in at a considerably lower price.
You could have the best of both worlds though. You could book a professional photographer and ask them to work for 3 hours instead of the full 8-10. This way you can have important moments such as the ceremony, specific group shots and couples portraits without going over budget. Luckily, with your guests snapping away on their phones for free, there will be no shortage of gorgeous photos from your big day for the moments the professional needs to miss.
Music and Entertainment
We recommend budgeting approximately £300.
Swap out a DJ or live band by curating your own wedding playlists on Spotify or Apple Music. Take a look at our Top 50 Wedding Songs of All Time blog for some music inspiration!
Stationery
We recommend budgeting approximately £50.
With a wedding budget of £5,000, splashing out on expensive stationery can be an unnecessary cost. There are many alternative ways of replacing stationery for a more digital form of communication. This is beneficial as it drastically reduces spending!
One way of completely cutting costs when sending out save the dates would be to create your own wedding website using our Wedding Website planner.
With the help of our Wedding Budget Calculator, it will help you prioritise your money and give you a rough guide on how much you should be spending on each supplier.
