The budget

For any wedding the budget is a big thing, I keep a note of all our comings and goings of the wedding and as it’s a big contribution from not only the boy and I but the parents as well I keep a note of who's put in what. Our original budget was about £15,500 and it was divided in the following ways:

 
Of all the deposits and bits and bobs that have been paid so far we've spent about £3,500 which scares me because it makes me realise how much further we've still got to go! From researching, shopping around and some DIY we've managed to save money on the stationary, the decor, the reception, the bridesmaid’s outfits and the photography. However we did go over (but only slightly) on the cake, my outfit, the rings and the entertainment. Overall I’m estimating we're going to make a saving of about £1000 on our original estimations which I think is something positive!

I think we've done really well with the budget we allocated. £3600 of the budget is allocated to our honeymoon and £6000 to our venue so when you consider we got EVERYTHING else for under £6000 I think that’s good. If you had said that to me before I got engaged I would have honestly been horrified but you learn that things in the wedding world can get pretty damn expensive. For example £600 of that amount is just for the registrar and notice and my whole outfit of dress, shoes, underwear, jewellery and head piece has come in at under £800, another figure very good against the standard. 

I just thought I would have a share because sometimes when I look at real brides and real weddings I wonder what kind of budget they're working with so I thought I would lay mine out there in the spirit of full disclosure!