The staggering price of weddings in this country.

We got married at the Anglers Rest in Strawberry Beds and got a solemnizer. You get to decide almost exactly what's in the ceremony, the place is beautiful and barely needs anything done, they put lights and candles included. The food was amazing and they are very helpful. The best part: It was very cheap!

We are having a wedding of 13 people in Dingle between Christmas and New Years. We also had the same problem with the minimum number of guests and then one night we said imagine if we could have it somewhere in Dingle with the live music and a bit of craic so we did!

We contacted a little boutique hotel we stayed in before and asked them would they be interested in a small wedding, they said yes. We are getting a 5 course meal for €55pp. I have my brother taking photos, we're not doing favours, big decorations or any of that stuff. We are paying for everyone to stay one night in the hotel and everyone else is paying their own for the second night. After the dinner we are getting taxi's into one of the pubs in Dingle for a few pints and a laugh. We might get a harp player for the humanist ceremony in the hotel but excluding dresses, rings and honeymoon its all coming in around 3k and that's including paying for 13 guests accommodation for 1 night.

It is difficult to find places as they are generally very expensive, have minimum numbers and I felt like we were on a conveyor belt being moved along and out of the place fairly quickly to allow for the next couple.

If I were getting married in the morning .. It would be a small affair 30-40 people, parents, siblings and very very close friends. None of this Aunts and Uncles/cousins/neighbours/work colleagues, people that you haven't seen in years and/or hardly even talk to.

Rule of Thumb. If I haven't got your number on my phone and used in the last 6 months, You are not coming to my wedding :-)

No need for special invites .. these people will know I'm getting married... because I meet them regularly.

It would be Church/registry office followed by a meal in the local pub for the invitee's... after the meal (and it could even be a buffet effort or a bar-b-que) let whoever wants to hang around, hang around and those who don't, thank you and adios.. Take advantage of the pub's own entertainment for later on ... and any well wishers can come in at that point if they want too.

In fairness it would help if it was a decent pub with maybe a beer garden etc. that does good-ish food and that has live Music in the evening.

Get a proper photographer to take a handful of photos at the wedding ceremony venue and leave it at that. Other photos .. use your mobile phone.

If you do it right, the Pub landlord might even do you a deal on the food ... as he will be happy enough to have maybe 40 extra patrons in his premises all afternoon.

I'd say you should be able to get married for about €2000. (including rings, wedding dress, Groom can wear a regular good suit),

no Groomsmen or bridesmaids,
no Wedding car, drive your own car, or get a mate to drive you.
no Cake
Maybe one Bouquet of flowers.
Maybe stay in a nearby hotel for the wedding night (or if the pub has accomodation)

I obviously would not be expecting €100 cash gifts .. which is madness. Maybe no gifts at all, these are good friends and direct family after all.

Am I off the wall ??

Thanks yeah I've heard the whole village goes mental on that day but sure it'll add to the craic!

€2,000 including a proper photographer would be very optimistic. I priced a good few when we were getting married and some were €2,000 for photos alone, prints and albums were extra. We spent a mid-range amount on ours and they were brilliant, and we have the best photos on the wall and were able to get prints and albums for our parents.
I would be surprised if you can do food for a crowd within that budget along with drinks and photos, and ceremony etc.

lazygal wrote: »

€2,000 including a proper photographer would be very optimistic. I priced a good few when we were getting married and some were €2,000 for photos alone, prints and albums were extra. We spent a mid-range amount on ours and they were brilliant, and we have the best photos on the wall and were able to get prints and albums for our parents.
I would be surprised if you can do food for a crowd within that budget along with drinks and photos, and ceremony etc.

Photgrapher is coming to the actual ceremony part and taking half a dozen photos and then he's gone. We will pick the ones we want printed. (Probably only 1 or 2, how many wedding photos do you want??). Doesn't necessarily have to be a proper 'Wedding Photographer'.. just a guy with a decent camera and some idea of how to use it... and bring the memory stick to a digital printing booth.

At the reception, I'm providing the food and maybe one drink for a toast and that's it. I'm going to be leaning on the Pub owner to do me a good deal also. For example no venue fee .. and maybe even a few bottles of plonk for the toast.

littlevillage wrote: »

Photgrapher is coming to the actual ceremony part and taking half a dozen photos and then he's gone. We will pick the ones we want printed. (Probably only 1 or 2, how many wedding photos do you want??). Doesn't necessarily have to be a proper 'Wedding Photographer'.. just a guy with a decent camera and some idea of how to use it... and bring the memory stick to a digital printing booth.

At the reception, I'm providing the food and maybe one drink for a toast and that's it. I'm going to be leaning on the Pub owner to do me a good deal also. For example no venue fee .. and maybe even a few bottles of plonk for the toast.

Ok, but have you looked into either of these cost wise?

I would skimp on a lot of things, but not a photographer and food. After the day is over the only things you'll keep are the rings and the photos, and the only things people remember are the food and entertainment. We had a talented family member with a good camera take photos of our day, but even though they are fine they do not compare to a professional wedding photographer. Wedding photography is quite specialized. You need someone who's able to corral everyone in for a group shot, who knows where the good spots are to capture some couple photos and who takes some candid shots. We have our photos on the walls and in frames and we see them everyday. Well worth spending a bit of time and money on. I looked at the cheap options and they were cheap for a reason. Professional photography isn't about a guy with a memory stick. The quality of our professional prints is miles ahead of the ones we got from a photo booth.

I'm a wedding photographer and ive picked up a few savvy saving tips from my brides, i'd be happy to share with you.
1) local sale pages for pre-owned gowns or Barnados as someone mentioned above
2) Many people bake wedding cakes in their spare time, you may be lucky enough to get one cheaper if you ask around on local facebook sale pages
3)DIY as much as you can
4)Don't be afraid to haggle, the worst they can say is no, no big deal you just keep looking, wedding planning is meant to be fun
4)Track down a copy of "How to have a champagne wedding, on a bucks fizz budget" plenty of ideas and tips in there.
6) I'm probably biased here as i'm a photographer myself but NEVER scrimp on wedding photography, you will regret it. The day goes by so quickly you will want the fond memories captured to look back on in years to come. Also make sure you meet your photographer and that they are insured.

Best of luck with all the planning, try not to be disheartened by the cost, it can be done on a lower budget if you really get stuck in and shop around.

ps REMEMBER ITS MEANT TO BE FUN - ENJOY X

If you've got 2 grand and want to spend it on white doves (cos that's your thing) then great- go for it... If you haven't got the dosh for a 25 grand wedding ,cut back ,prioritise , save or what ever ! Just don't be amazed that 25 grand worth of wedding costs ..... 25 grand ...
On the rings , I wanted a silver colour ,plain ... I was being sold platinum , white gold ect. One small local jeweler got me to try a silver one on, 30 euro later the ring was bought... And it means as much to me as if it cost 300 or 3000 euro...

Markcheese wrote: »

If you've got 2 grand and want to spend it on white doves (cos that's your thing) then great- go for it... If you haven't got the dosh for a 25 grand wedding ,cut back ,prioritise , save or what ever ! Just don't be amazed that 25 grand worth of wedding costs ..... 25 grand ...

This is what it comes down to - Irish people do not want to be seen to be spending less on a wedding than usual. They often want to spend less, but get the same amount, rather than go with a different format.

I think that may change though as an awful lot of people are fed up of the whole wedding carry on. I've heard anecdotally of a big upturn in refusal of wedding invitiations. Though that may be due to the upsurge in midweek weddings.

Heres a sample and optimistic budget. you get to 15k very quickly

100 guests x 60 euro a head 6000
Ceremony 600
Ceremony music 600
Rings 2000
Dress 1000
Shoes 200
Suit 500
Band/dj 1800
Salon appointments 200
Hotel rooms 500
Transport (may not be necessary) 300
Photographer 1500
Videographer?
Bridesmaids/groomsman attire ?
Gifts for parents, bridal party?
Invitations?
Gratuities 200
Flowers?

MadDog76 wrote: »

Wow, I'm amazed that you could do it for so little .......... fair play to you!!

Not sure about having no rings though ......... how many bridesmaids/groomsmen did you have?
And what kind of honeymoon did you have to stay within that budget??

Neither of us wear rings so they were no loss, married 6 years now and don't miss them. I had two bridesmaids and he had two groomsmen, it was a very casual affair so the guys just wore their own suits the same shade as himself. The honeymoon was heavily discounted, I worked in the travel industry at the time so saved about 80% of the cost. If I'd have to pay full whack we would have just married on our own and put our entire budget onto the honeymoon.

I love parties and I have to say I love big weddings but its easy as a guest. As the bride I hate the idea of being the centre of attention, a huge number of people would have overwhelmed me so we kept it to very close family and friends only. My wedding was small, just 25 people including us, but it was the people in the world I am closest to and anyone on top of that would have been just making up numbers. I don't agree bigger is better and that anyone who goes smaller will feel its second best.