Weddings are expensive and today Our Rustic Bride is telling us about how she has been cutting down on the costs. Over to you Kristy!
Our Rustic Bride
The countdown continues…149 days!!
This month we have COMPLETED operation “plan a wedding”….how did this happen? We have so long until the day arrives and we have nothing more to do. I am going to enjoy this break because I am pretty sure it’s all going to start again in a couple of months, probably with the chasing of RSVP’s!
So I thought I would tell you all about the money saving and DIY-ing that we have done, to try as best we can to keep to our budget (so far anyway!). We didn’t have a strict budget but always said we would aim to spend as little as we can. So in terms of money saving…did you know you can haggle!!?? I didn’t and have been mortified on more than one occasion as Kieron has bartered with suppliers for a better price. I am terribly British in these moments and become shy, embarrassed and very red in the cheek area. I tend to not say a word and let Kieron do the talking. How he does it I have no idea! But what I have learned is that people are more than ready to take an offer and usually take it with good spirits. Even if we get £50 off something it all adds up in the end.
One thing we decided on pretty early was that we wouldn’t offer our guests a choice of food for the wedding breakfast. We chose each course (with vegetarian options too). We didn’t do this to be awkward or mean, it simply reduced the price of the catering so much that it made more sense to us. The way I thought of it was; it’s a selection of our favourite foods that we want to share with our nearest and dearest. We have gone for a bespoke menu, which looks very yummy!
Another way we have managed to save a few pounds is by bargain hunting and buying things when they are on offer. Our wedding rings were bought during a 15% off wedding bands offer! Which again doesn’t sound like much but between the two rings, we saved £100! Recently, we saved on our wedding fragrances too. Sometimes these offers haven’t come around at the best time, but I know I will regret it if I put the purchase off. So I’ve gone for it every time and I haven’t regretted it once! 
We have had a few mini DIY projects between us and a few friends have been involved too. Kieron and I made our save the dates and invites. Kieron was in charge of this, he is a designer so that just made good sense. I helped with the wording but he was in charge of making them look pretty. He went for a kraft card and handmade paper with cornflowers pressed into it from the Anglesey Paper Company. The paper was beautiful and although I was sceptical at first they really do look fantastic. He tied the little invite packages together with silver string and buttons too…just gorgeous! 
I have been busy decorating jam jars! We will have a mix of hessian, lace and paper decorations. Some will carry small bunches of flowers and some will carry candles – simple, rustic and delicate. We will have about 60 by the end. They will be everywhere! I don’t know how much this is saving per jar when hiring from a company but every little helps. My mother is decorating small candle holders. We have a friend making centre piece decorations and Kieron is making the most wonderful cake stand which sums us up completely. It’s so difficult not to go into huge amounts of detail when talking about our decorations! But I want our guests to get a few nice surprises on the day. 
Weddings can be so expensive and sometimes it is very easy to get carried away. I have my little spread sheet that goes with me everywhere so I can always remind myself where we are with the wedding spend. A little reality check before each purchase! That way I don’t get the dreaded buyer’s remorse!
That is one very organised lady! I can’t wait to find out more. ~ Kate
