DIY wedding article

[Susie]

This was in the paper this morning. Is anyone else's immediate reaction the same as mine or am I just a great bit fat cynical old meanie?

(Standard disclaimer: obvs I wish them nothing but happiness and I'm sure it was a lovely day ;-) ).

[oldjerry]

I dont.....pass the sickbag Doris.

[crowsashes]

i read that earlier.... i honestly thought it would have ended differently! i still cant believe that. bridezilla (my sister now expecting spoilt brat mark 2) spent less than that ( admittedly it was a disaster)

im sure between us we could do it for around £500 (including the registrars fee at around £100-£150)

you'd have thought having a YEAR to plan a wedding you could cut costs even more... surely! id have the home brew on the go straight away and keep my guests happy on rocket fuel! but in london i guess that could be considered a 'budget' wedding...

[Nomada]

That's stupid money

[Susie]

That's stupid money

Yes that was my reaction in a nutshell ;-).

[Milims]

If she wanted DIY gifts why didn't she ask her "clearly talented" friends to do a bit more for the wedding instead of making other stuff? She could have saved a fortune! I'm so glad that if we ever get round to it we're going for the town hall with a couple of witnesses option! BTW - the wedding dress has been in a bag on top of the wardrobe for the last 3 1/2 years, since I found it in the charity shop!

[AngeB]

Not exactly a DIY wedding is it. Absolutely love the idea of having home brew.

We spent alot less than that but alot more than I wanted to. Problem is although you have budget ideas, not all your guests appreciate that. I wanted to cater my own wedding, but family were so dead against it that they ended up putting their own money into it to avoid it! Plus anyone who says they don't care if nobody enjoys their wedding are blatantly lying!

For anyone interested in this, I utilised this website http://www.cheap-wedding-success.co.uk/ - the forum has alot of talented inspiring people who plan their weddings on anything from £500 to £6000

[Green Aura]

I don't understand all this - but then it did take us 22 years to decided to tie the knot (our 21 year old DD was one of the witnesses ).

I think people have such unrealistic expectations and obviously pay through the nose for the pleasure.

With regard to this particular article though, I can't help feeling that whoever wrote the titles (would that be one of the editors?) hadn't actually read it! The bride/author herself doesn't say she wants a no cost wedding. She just wanted it to be more personal, not an anonymous off the peg number - and save some money into the bargain.

I suppose she succeeded in that case.

[little blue duck]

she spent more on entertainment then we spent on our wedding!
and no, it wasn't "2 witnesses in the town hall " either!

ok, having a big enough house & garden for the reception (it wasnt full of livestock then!) helped, but really ....
and no, none of our guests had to pay a penny, and we said we didnt want gifts (many gave us money which we used towards a new bed, if you must know!)

its all in the planning. which took us 6 weeks.....

[boboff]

Sorry - we haven't been able to serve the page you asked for

[Susie]

I would worry if I spent that much that it would be like New Years' Eve Syndrome x 200000, i.e. because you're supposed to enjoy it you don't. I'd also be worried I'd get a migraine or something on the day and spend the entire time in a darkened room under a wet flannel imagining money going down a hole. Also however much money you spent it would still be the same family and friends (and indeed groom), they wouldn't all suddenly turn into wonderful stylish sophisticates who all liked each other and didn't drink too much. Even if we had a white tie do at the Savoy I'd still be chasing Aunty Maureen round to make sure she didn't feed my brother's dog sausage rolls (well perhaps if it was somewhere posh the dog would have to stay at home. That would be another can of worms!).

I personally would be much more comfortable with a cheap wedding, they sound more fun, but, horses for courses also no-one is marrying me so it doesn't matter what I think ;-).

[cocobelle]

Can't believe a £12000 wedding was called a 'big fat DIY wedding' - who the hell reads the Guardian? Bankers?
My mate got married in a field in Devon and we all stayed in tents and drank cider - it was really cheap about £700 for food, dress and ceremony, but really fun.
I did like her blue hair though.