An amazing Harry Potter Themed Wedding on a £2k Budget – Jasmine and Derek
We last spoke with Jasmine a few months ago when her surname was Potter and she was planning her wedding to Derek. Now, we’re delighted to share her wedding day with you and how she rocked it on less than a £2k budget…
Tell us a little bit about how you met your fiancé and how you got engaged?
We worked at a record shop together for a few years and started dating and had been going out for a while when he asked me to marry him at Legoland on my 18th birthday. Derek proposed in a story in my birthday card and the ring was in a Lego ring box designed by him.
What was your favourite part of planning your wedding?
I really enjoyed creating and assembling the programmes. I wrote and designed them and my husband assembled them. They were part of our theme so it was fun working out the design!
Did you have quite a tight budget to stick to and how did you make the most of it?
Our initial budget was around £1k which was later raised to £2k and we ended up spending about £1,750 in the end. We decided against expensive things that we felt we didn't need from the start - like wedding cars and makeup and hair stylists. I got a lot of things for free or cheaply from companies like Vistaprint and started looking for all of the elements almost as soon as we were engaged, so I had enough time to get competitive prices.
What is your best money saving tip for other brides on a budget?
Don't rush into booking things! Take time to look for better quotes and to ask suppliers for deals. If you rush into it, you end up paying a premium but taking say a year or two to plan means you can get far better deals and have more time to make things which will save you further money.
Who were your favourite budget wedding suppliers?
That has to be a tie between our Photographers (1 thousand smiles) and our Caterers (Manor Foods, Grimstone). The Photographers were very reasonably priced and were worth every penny. They even helped me put out the sweets for the sweet buffet! They were lovely guys and captured our day perfectly.
The caterers gave us a gorgeous buffet which was very good value for money. For £225 we got the equivalent of about 25 peoples worth of food ( we had asked for 15 peoples worth) and it wasn't cheap food it was really good quality. Better still it was entirely bespoke. We got exactly what I had asked for right down the mini burgers.
Did you do much DIY?
We made parts of our invites and did the calligraphy on them; we made the programmes, did all the decorating and made up the favour bags. I also wrote a poem for one of the readings and made a poem in a frame for my mother in law.
What did you enjoy most on your wedding day?
I'd have to say when it all came together! I'd spent months trying to work out how to make my ideas reality and on the day when it was all sorted and happening it was amazing. And of course marrying the love of my life! But that goes without saying!
How did you decide on your Harry Potter theme for the day?
I thought of it and my husband went along with it! It was a really fun theme and even though some of the guests hadn't seen the films they still enjoyed it. Also it made decorations far cheaper.
What would be your best piece of advice for all of our other Budget Bride Company readers?
Whether your wedding is big or small, with the right planning and enough time you can save a lot on your wedding. Don't always go for the simplest option if you could make real savings by putting in the effort, as the more you put into your wedding the greater the day will be because you helped create it.
Congratulations Jasmine and Derek! Your day looked like so much fun 🙂
Laura xo
