A bride has shared how she slashed more than £23,000 from the eye-watering costs of her wedding and celebrated her dream day.
Madie Murphy, 27, and her husband Dean, from Essex, got engaged in 2020 – and despite initially planning to tie the knot last month, they brought the day forward to December 2021, giving them an excuse for a leaner guestlist due to Covid restrictions.
The couple were also thrifty in their purchases, opting for a self-drive car and even getting stuck in some DIY to make their own décor.
By shopping off the rack for both her day and evening dresses – and opting for seasonal floral choices when it came to bouquets – Madie was smart about stretching their budget.
They axed frivolous spends like paper invites, wedding favours and a programme, so they could spend their money on bringing the people they wanted together for the celebration.
A bride has shared how she slashed thousands off the eye-watering costs of her wedding and celebrated her dream day
‘We soon realised it would be a huge Irish wedding and we’d end up with 300 guests,’ said Maddie, who is originally from County Kerry but lives in Essex.
‘It was going to end up costing us an arm and a leg. I decided I didn’t want to spend an obscene amount of money on a wedding, and that I was going to do it on as much of a budget as possible.’
She explained that they still had everyone they ‘love and care about there’ – and got married on a Friday, which ‘reduced the price even more’.
For a December 2022 wedding at their venue, the couple was initially quoted £23,000 – £77 per head for 300 people – but by slimming their guest list down and moving everything forward, they saved a total of £15,300, instead paying £7,700.
This included meals, flowers in the venue and the drinks reception. She says their package contained a lot more than standard packages because of the time they chose to have the wedding.
‘We got married in a church and then had the reception at a hotel,’ Madie added. ‘I also managed to negotiate the price down with the hotel and managed to get the package to include a drinks reception, flowers, a five-course meal and a piano player.’
The bride also revealed her hack for feeding younger guests by being more practical when it came to portion size.
‘We had ten kids at our wedding, and the hotel was automatically serving them a three-course meal,’ she shared. ‘And realistically kids are never going to eat three courses.
‘So, we asked if they could do one course each for the kids, which some of the still didn’t finish, and it was another way of saving money.’
Madie also didn’t splash out for a ‘made to measure’ wedding attire for herself.
Knowing she wanted two dresses, the savvy spender explained she grabbed both ‘off the rail’ and altered them herself.
She explained: ‘My evening dress cost me £1,500 in total, including all the alterations, whereas if I had bought it made to measure then it would have cost me £2,500. So it was a huge saving and I was still able to have two amazing dresses.’
Madie Murphy, 27, and her husband Dean got engaged in 2020 – and despite initially planning to tie the knot last month – had brought the day forward to December 2021
The couple were also thrifty in their purchases, opting for a self-drive car and even getting stuck in some DIY to make their own idyllic décor
The couple too saved money on decorations at the reception by asking the venue if they had anything she could use
Meanwhile her day dress, which she spent ‘around £800’ on, would have cost some £3,000 had she sought out a similar ‘made to measure’ design.
Madie revealed she ‘shopped around for her bridesmaid dresses too’. While she had an idea of what she wanted, options were coming up ‘really expensive’.
However, she found an American website that made them cheaply and made ‘took a gamble’ with one order.
Once she was satisfied, she got the others.
The couple too saved money on decorations at the reception by asking the venue if they had anything she could use.
Madie received a list of items free for her use, including glass bowls – which she romantically adorned with her own floating candles from Amazon – and a flower wall.
The loved-up pair had even leaned into the festive mood, as the venue also had Christmas decorations up.
By shopping off the rack for both her day and evening dresses – and opting for seasonal floral choices when it came to bouquets – Madie was smart about stretching their budget
Knowing she wanted two dresses, the savvy spender explained she grabbed both ‘off the rail’ and altered them herself. Pictured in her evening dress
And it wasn’t just the pros – the couple got their family involved in the wedding prep too, making everything all the more special. Dean’s auntie made the couple’s wedding cake
The loved-up pair had even leaned into the festive mood, as the venue also had Christmas decorations up
Flower prices could also be kept down as they gave their florist the budget and chose selections which were in season
Flower prices could also be kept down as they gave their florist the budget and chose selections which were in season, as well as using ‘more greenery in the displays’.
‘You could use false flowers too,’ Madie suggested.
The couple also cut costs when came to their getaway ride, wedding favours and paper invites.
Madie and Dean also had a self-drive wedding car, which meant they saved money on a chauffeur – something they weren’t keen on having anyway.
Dean drove himself and his new wife from the church to the reception.
‘We skipped things that we felt were unnecessary such as ceremony booklets and wedding favours,’ Madie said. ‘We didn’t have photobooths or anything like that, but we did make our own sweet cart by bulk buying sweets from a wholesaler and using a cart that the hotel had.
‘You don’t even have to send invitations or save the dates, you can just use a wedding website to communicate with your guests.
‘We preferred to get married in the winter anyway, but it was also because it was so much cheaper than a summer wedding.’
Madie says the key to making the most of your budget wedding is time and research and recommends getting ‘lots of different quotes’.
‘Another great way to stick to your budget is by using up-and-coming suppliers because they are also usually cheaper,’ she explained.
And it wasn’t just the pros – the couple got their family involved in the wedding prep too, making everything all the more special.
‘My family are very musical so they did all the music in the church,’ Madie revealed. ‘And my husband’s auntie made our wedding cake. We asked people we knew had a talent or skill if they would do it for our wedding as their wedding gift to us.
Madie says the key to making the most of your budget wedding is time and research and recommends getting ‘lots of different quotes’. Pictured in the self-drive car
Some of the DIY decor at Madie’s wedding
The couple used up and coming suppliers to help with their budget, and chose to bring their wedding forward
Dean drove himself and his new wife from the church to the reception. The couple saved thousands
‘It was a great idea as we weren’t forking out on suppliers for every single thing, and it also got people involved and made them feel like they were part of the day.’
Finally, getting your ducks in a row in advance in vital, she said, as it gives you a chance to familiarise yourself with the market.
Madie added: ‘It gives you time to shop around, gather bits early whenever you see a deal, visit lots of charity shops, and look through Facebook groups that sell anything and everything.
‘When I first started planning the budget, I made a list of things I was happy to compromise on and stuff I wasn’t prepared to compromise on, such as my hair and make-up.
For more of Madie’s top tips, visit her Instagram: @madie-murphy
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