You know what time it is? Time for another edition of Wedding Planning Diaries!
So, last time I posted an update, I told you all about how we booked a snazzy venue, then cancelled it after deciding we didn’t want to spend as much on what is literally one day. I mean don’t get me wrong, we’re still spending loads because lol it’s a wedding, but we reduced the budget considerably. It’s a weird concept because when you first start learning about how much weddings cost, you are literally the *mind blown* emoji, because how can anyone afford this? But then as you get into it, you get quoted £1,500 for a wedding photographer and you’re like, wow, yeah, that is actually such a bargain! It’s a strange world.
Anyway, the hunt was on for a more “affordable” wedding venue.
Finding The Perfect Wedding Venue For Us
I had spent months scouting out alternative wedding venues online, during the mammoth lockdown #3 in Spring this year. During my first wave of venue-hunting it was clear that venues that are specifically for weddings very rarely come cheap. Their whole business model is based on these events, so even though that means that they are very knowledgable and prepared, they do also come with a higher price tag. So I looked outside the box a little and researched boutique hotels, pubs and restaurants that could work.
I came up with 4 venues, visited two of them in mid-April (when were finally allowed to see them IRL) and absolutely fell in love with one of them. I already loved this venue before visiting, but I was hoping Josh would love it too, and luckily he did. It’s a pub. That’s right, I’m having a pub wedding. But it’s in a cute village and has lots of light and lovely decor, so wouldn’t need many decorations. And the rooms upstairs (it’s also kind of a boutique hotel) are glorious. Think roll top baths and wooden beams and insta-glam interiors.
And well reader, we booked our wedding there.
It’s funny because this second lot of venue visits really highlighted to me that what I thought I cared about, most of the time I actually don’t. Example: I was adamant last year that we needed to have an all-in-one venue. A venue where we could get ready, have the ceremony, have the reception and stay the night, all without leaving the premises. And what I ended up with was a dreamy location for the wedding reception, with beautiful rooms to stay in, but our ceremony is in the Town Hall, a 2 minute walk away. I suddenly realised that not only did I not care about that, but I’m actually quite excited for the little pilgrimage to the Town Hall before the ceremony, and all of us pouring out of the Town Hall afterwards. Maybe it’s just because the village is so cute, but I think it will be really lovely.
Another example: Last year, one of my main criteria of what I wanted from our venue was the ability to choose my own suppliers. I’m a creative gal and I didn’t want to be stuck with a recommended supplier I wasn’t totally happy with. Naturally, I wanted full creative control (Am I bridezilla?). I was also keen to be able to choose the food I wanted. I didn’t want to be stuck with a stuffy wedding caterer I didn’t like.
And now? Well, it’s a package deal lol. So literally the exact opposite of having creative control! But it ticked all the boxes. Their food is pub grub but with a mediterranean vibe, which is very us. And they have a pizza oven so we can have pizza as our evening food (which I think makes it feel more relaxed and easygoing, which is what we want on the day). The package also includes all the canapes and wine with the meal and all of the rooms upstairs, and even a wedding cake. Which full disclosure, I wasn’t even thinking of having but they threw it in so I’m happy.
It’s just crazy how a bit of perspective (I’m looking at you, COVID) can completely change what you want from an event like this. I mean in the current circumstances (weddings can’t have dancing for crying out loud) I’m just happy to have a venue where I can invite all of my people, eat food together and celebrate our nuptials. I really don’t need a food truck or the perfect boho table setting.
Setting A Date (Finally)
But (ahem) it turns out finding a date is more difficult than you’d think. I mean, we found the venue – hooray – surely that’s the hard part over? Nah babes, because there are literally thousands of couples whose weddings couldn’t go ahead the last 18 months and everyone in the wedding industry is slammed. So finding a date that our lovely venue were available, and the Town Hall was available for a ceremony, and a registrar was available to marry us, was actually quite hard work. As in, it took a few weeks and lots of phone calls and emails to get right.
But we finally figured it out and officially have our wedding booked in August 2022! It’s a slightly later ceremony time than we wanted, and it’s on a Friday instead of a Saturday, but I’m cool with that. Ahh it’s so exciting now!
Next Adventures in Wedding Planning…
What have I got coming up next in the world of wedding planning? Well a couple of things actually.
Next month we’re going back to our venue to have a menu tasting (yay!) and I’ve also booked my first appointment at a bridal boutique I like the look of. Full disclosure, I am fully intending on buying a budget dress but I figured it would be good to have an appointment, try some stuff on and figure out what I like. This is the part where we flash forward and see that I fell in love with a £2k dress and impulse bought it… I hope not because it’s not in the budget, but I know I could be swayed!!
I’m also scouting out wedding photographers. This is one area I really really care about (the photos are forever!) so I’m very particular abut the style of photographer I want. I’ve found a couple of good ones and I’ve asked for full galleries to look at so I can see all the kinds of photos they take, not just the highlights (a top tip I’m glad I was told as it does make a difference!). And now it’s a case of making a decision really. I think we might have an engagement shoot to test-drive though, as it feels like quite a big investment.
And lastly, we’re working on a Save The Date. We’re actually having a wedding website instead of formal invitations but I wanted to send a Save The Date so that people can stick it on the fridge, y’know? (My fridge is literally covered in Save The Dates and New Baby photos because lol I’m in my thirties, innit.)
Budget Update
I decided that on these lil wedding planning update blogs I wanted to have a little budget check-in. I’m keen to see over the course of this process how vastly my budget differs! So I’m going to jot down any hidden expenses and whether we’re on track in this section.
So, are we? Well, sort of. (I’ll include numbers because I don’t like when people are coy about money and all you want to know is exact figures so you can see if the wedding you’re planning is around the same, y’know?)
The original budget we had, for the wedding venue we cancelled, was around £20-25k. Which just felt insane to me. (Although I should mention the average cost of a wedding in the UK was £32k in 2019, lads, so that’s not even that bad…). Hence the re-think on venue. I ideally wanted the wedding to be £10k, that feels more reasonable to me. That’s £10-15k spared that could go towards our house move or big holidays. But realistically, now I have all my quotes in, it’s going to be £15k. Which I can deal with.
So vs. the £15k budget, yes we’re doing just fine. I did have a hidden cost come up though, when it came to booking our ceremony. During this whole process all I’ve heard or read is that you need to budget around £500 for ceremony costs. But it never occurred to me that that’s only for when you have an all-in-one venue. As our ceremony will be in the Town Hall I also had to hire that room out, which added extra costs. So in total, our ceremony fees came to £1,000. So just casually double the budget… I very much hope this trend does not continue.
So yes, that’s the wedding update! It’s all coming along nicely, huh?
Now tell me, where my other brides-to-be at? How are you finding wedding planning so far?
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