Top Ten Budget Wedding Favour Ideas

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I have always been a massive fan of all things keepsake. I still have various shoe boxes filled with cherished items from my childhood and teenage years and opening up the boxes to look at all of the assorted odds and ends from over the years always takes me back and makes me smile! This is one of the main reasons that I love favours… the opportunity to give a little gift to your guests to say thank you for sharing the day with you, and also to give them a reminder of the day in the years to come. Saying that, I am massively partial to a good edible favour – the prettier, the better!

The great thing with many of the favour ideas that we have suggested below, is that they can double up as wedding name place settings, which means you can save even more of your budget to spend on other things…

But, as always, it’s the small things that mount up and when you need to give favours out to lots of guests it’s more important than ever to keep a firm grasp on your budget. Our Top Ten this week is all about budget beautiful Wedding Favours.

 

1. Show your guests how much you love them – write them a poem! The only limit to this one is your creativity. The poem can be cute, sentimental or funny. You could go one step further and make your poem specific to each of your guests; this is truly a big ‘thank you’ to your friends and family for attending your big day and will give them something really special to remember it by. Get yourself some colourful paper from Hobby Craft or Paperchase to match in with your themes and get writing! For presentation, you can tie the poems up with ribbons, wool or string. Or how about popping them in a tiny glass bottle or folding them into a cute origami heart?

2. Hand painted and varnished pebbles. I love this option as it includes a bit of elbow grease from you (collecting the pebbles – great excuse for a pre wedding weekend away to Brighton?!) but results in a really lovely way to let your guests know where they are seated as well as giving them something to take home as gorgeous keepsake. You can stick to writing your guests name on the top of the pebble and perhaps the wedding date and you and your Husband to Be’s names on the back, or go further and paint pictures or use glitter to add a bit of fun and colour to your wedding breakfast tables.

Photo Credit and step by step:  http://www.inspirationrealisation.com/2011/08/my-table-name-tags.html#

 

3. Sweeties in a beautiful box. This is a good one as you get the best of both worlds – some yummy sweets to eat when you fancy on the wedding day, and a box to take home with you at the end. Check out the lovely gift box options from Wedding Favours Delight. These start from 0.31p per box, so certainly won’t break the back. You can then go to town with what you fill the boxes up with: you could go for delicious home-made fudge or marshmallows, or how about stocking up on jelly beans from your local pick and mix?

 

4. Following on with the edible theme, muffins are always a firm favourite. Easy to make at home, these cost saving favours are sure to make your guests smile! Invest in some pretty cases and maybe some glitter or coloured sugar and you can make sure your celebratory muffins fit in well with your wedding theme. Make sure they are baked nice and fresh the day before your wedding and once they’re cool, wrap in cellophane (clear or coloured), tie up with some ribbon and you have one tasty budget favour!

http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/wedding-cake-cupcakes-00420000006351/

 

5. Giving seeds as a favour is a really nice idea – especially if it’s for something that you know your guests will be able to grow into a tree or maybe a really beautiful flowering plant. This is both symbolic and long lasting. You can buy the seeds from Wilkinsons or your local garden centre and then create your own packaging to ensure your favour matches in with your theme. Alternatively, you can buy the seeds all ready packaged up and printed with your details from £1.20 – I like the ones here: http://www.wildflower-favours.co.uk/categories.asp?Sector_ID=11

 

 

 

6. Candle favours can make a great cost effective option. With all of the colours of the rainbow to choose from and the option to package up your candles in boxes or organza bags, or wrapped in string or ribbon, candle favours are a reliable favourite. You can get two tea lights in a presentation bag or box from Partylite for under £2 per person – call Debbie for more information on 07530 484890.

 

7. Are you having a vintage themed wedding? The favour options with a vintage wedding theme are endless, but I love the idea of giving each of your guests a vintage book that might say something about your wedding, or you and your husband to be, or perhaps about the guest! You can find really inexpensive job lots of old books on ebay, ready for you to tie up with twine and label ready for your wedding guest. If you have plenty of time before your wedding, be sure to trawl some local car boot sales and charity shops, where you will be able to pick up old books for pennies.

 

 

8. If you are handy in the kitchen, you could try making up your own jam and sealing in little pots, topped with coloured cloth and tied up with some ribbon or twine. You can add in the guests name on one side of a label and your wedding date on the other side. If you don’t fancy making the jam, why not buy those gorgeous little pots that you always seem to get at B&B’s by the seaside with your breakfast?! You can buy these individually at Morrisons or you can bulk buy on Ebay where I have seen 72 of the TipTree Strawberry jam mini pots for £15 plus P&P. Use patterned material (flowers or gingham would be pretty) to cut into fabric trim tops to go over the jam jar lids. Perfect!

Photo Credit: http://stores.ebay.co.uk/DoMeAFavour Custom made shabby chic jars from £1 each

 

9. Decorated wine glasses make a fun and pretty budget wedding favour. You can purchase wine or champagne glasses cheaply (get the own brand versions) from Waitrose, Tesco or Matalan. You will need enamel paint and some paintbrushes and then let your imagination do it’s thing! There are some good tutorials on www.wikihow.com

 

Photo Credit: www.wikihow.com

 

10. Button Badges take me straight back to when I was Ten years old and I was given a badge making machine for Christmas! Who doesn’t love a badge to show off on their lapel?! You can create your badges as place settings with your guests names, or how about making a couple of smaller ones for your guests to take home – one with their name and one with a keepsake reference to your wedding day on it? You can buy the machines for under £10 on Amazon and you will probably have to buy a refill pack to ensure you have enough materials to make the badges for all of your guests. You'll have SO much fun making them!

 

Badge from http://www.zazzle.co.uk/mr_mrs_1_pin-145521120965714858

Happy favour making!

Laura x

The Gorgeous Guide to Planning a Budget Wedding

Top Ten Budget Busting Wedding Tips

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Top ten budget busting wedding tips

I first met the talented Rebecca Aspin, owner of the Sell My Wedding website, earlier this year at an event run by the RocknRoll Bride in Sheffield. I was inspired to hear Rebecca’s story of how she came to set up the website and the idea behind it. I am now really happy to share a guest post with you from Rebecca – her top ten tips for a Budget Busting Wedding.

 

Four years on from my own wedding, I founded Sell My Wedding – a UK-based online wedding marketplace – as a way to recycle all of my preloved wedding treasures. The website has been live since last July with brides-to-be quick to snap up a bargain, in fact eager buyers currently outnumber sellers, showing that in the current climate brides-to-be are keen to cut down on the cost of their wedding.

Sell My Wedding is ultimately about recycling, reusing and of course saving those pennies {which we all know is so difficult to do when planning a wedding} Here I give you my top ten tips for planning an eco-budget busting wedding… 

#1 Do it yourself  

In an era of recession, which has taken its inspiration from the wartime make do and mend ethos, the trend to ‘Do It Yourself’ does not seem to be losing its popularity. From the invitations to the centrepieces to the food, an element of DIY pops up at most weddings, with some couples opting all out to do it themselves.

Wedding blogs are a constant source of inspiration featuring ‘DIY’ weddings and tutorials helping even the most novice crafter add a hint of DIY to her wedding day.  

#2 Family heirlooms

Since William gave Kate his mother’s engagement ring it has once again become acceptable rather than frugal, to pass on the family heirloom rather than buying brand new. Kate also followed the old fashioned mantra, ‘old new borrowed blue’ when she borrowed the Queen’s tiara to wear at her wedding. 

In this era of nostalgia, make do and mend ethos, and love of all things vintage, when it comes to the most important wedding purchase of them all, many brides are opting to have a dress made using vintage lace or fabric from their mother or Grandmother’s wedding dress.  I think that this is such a lovely thing to do…   

 

#3 Favour friends

By calling upon the talents and creativity of your family and friends you can not only reduce costs, but add that element of DIY to your wedding day. My friend Lucy who had done a course in floristry made my bouquet and my bridesmaids’ as my wedding gift, my Grandma baked a fruit cake which was served with the cheese whilst my friends made up the favours – old fashioned bags of Yorkshire mixture.     

  

 

#4 Crafty Hens

Many hens have turned their backs on extravagant breaks abroad instead opting for a more low key, but equally fabulous, crafty affair in this country. Combine with (#1 DIY) to hold a craft party where you can make your veil or décor for your wedding.   Try crafty wedding blog www.adoreweddingblog. com for more inspiration and details of crafty hen parties.

 

#5 Mismatched bridesmaid dresses 

I must admit I love the look of mismatched bridesmaids dresses particularly in cute floral prints – it is not only a great way to ensure that each bridesmaid is happy with how they look in a style that flatters but most will be happy to buy their own dress if it is something that they ‘love’ and will most likely wear again.  You never know, they may already have something in their wardrobe which is just perfect. 

 

#6 Chalkboards

Chalkboards are cheap to buy in all shapes or sizes; alternatively you can make your own using old frames sourced from car boots sales or charity shops and some chalk board paint or foil. You could then use the chalkboards as table numbers, menus or table plans – the beauty being that you can then reuse them after your wedding, by putting them up at home and using them as a memo board {or of course sell onto another bride via Sell My Wedding.}

 

#7 Jam jars & bottles

The best thing about jam jars and bottles is that they are free! I am a particular fan of the strawberry bonne mammon jam jars as they have a red and white gingham lid. Jam jars can be used on their own or as part of a cluster to display candles or cut flowers. Or how about cutting old champagne or wine bottles in half to display flowers, they perfectly suit a vintage themed wedding with a mix of old labels on show. Or simply use old bottles to display single stems all the way down a trestle table.

The best thing is that when you have finished with them you can recycle at the bottle bank or pass onto another bride.

 

#8 Village Hall

If you are looking for a venue to add your own stamp to, why not check out the village halls in your area, many have undergone a refurbishment and are equipped to host a large wedding party. As well as being a blank canvas, you can then bring in local suppliers to serve up your favourite food and drink.

 

If you have the option to self cater why not source the food from your local butcher or greengrocer or encourage your venue to use one of your favourite local suppliers – not only will it taste fresher but it will reduce the carbon footprint of your wedding.

 

 

#9 Something old something new

Gone is the stigma surrounding secondhand and preloved, brides are happy to source wedding items in charity shops, car boot sales, ebay and preloved wedding sites like www.sellmywedding.co.uk. By using sites like Sell My Wedding you may be able to afford the wedding dress you fell in love with but couldn’t stretch to full price, or afford those centrepieces if you know you can make some money back by selling them afterwards.

 

Items that are being snapped up quickly on Sell My Wedding include bunting, lanterns and decorations, veils and hair accessories and 1950’s style prom wedding dresses – because unlike floor length wedding gowns, these shorter gowns don’t have any marks on the bottom.

I have also noticed that brides-to-be who buy from the site are also coming back to sell their wedding onto another bride.

 

Those sellers who do really well on the site are often those who are selling a large number of items from their wedding, the website also give sellers the opportunity to include the story of their wedding so buyers can not only be inspired by their wedding but also buy the items (at a fraction of the full price).

 

#10 Staycation    

With so many luxury bed and breakfasts and fabulous foodie pubs with rooms in this country, there is no need for an expensive long haul flight to foreign climes when you can cosy away with your new husband in a British bolthole. Many newly-weds are indeed opting to stay local choosing to take a mini moon in this country.  One of my favourite websites is www.boutiqueandbreakfast.com 

 

Thanks so much Rebecca. Don’t forget to log on to www.sellmywedding.co.uk to find fantastic pre-loved wedding items and inspiration for your wedding.

The Gorgeous Guide to Planning a Budget Wedding

A Budget Kent Wedding

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At the Budget Bride Company, we are always on the lookout for gorgeous weddings where a lot has been achieved on a smaller wedding budget. We love showcasing budget weddings with style and I was delighted when this one came up!

 

Chris and Sarah were married at St Mary the Virgin Church in Stone, Kent in June. It was important to the couple that they had an old fashioned themed wedding. “We wanted our wedding to be relaxed with lots of beautiful wild flowers and romantic candles” explained Sarah.

 

Featuring a sky blue and dusky pink theme throughout, there was a wonderful English country garden feel to the day. “The wedding bouquets were home grown in our own garden and the reception flowers were from a company specialising in meadow and garden flowers” said Sarah.

 

 

The couple were able to make great budget savings on their wedding, by making small decisions that made all the difference. “We made savings by only having one bridesmaid and two flower girls. We also bought our dresses in the sales at Monsoon” explained Sarah. “The wedding cars were a favour from one of our friends who have a vintage Jaguar and a Crysler”, she continued. “We managed to keep to a budget of around £6k and touches like having a family friend making the wedding cake all really helped”.

 

 

The reception was held at the Bexley Park Social Club where Chris and his band, The Tumbling Dice, provided the entertainment.

 

What a lovely couple - thank you Chris and Sarah for sharing your day with us and thanks to James Grist for the lovely photos!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ceremony ~ St Mary the Virgin Church: http://www.stmarystone.org/

Evening Reception ~ Bexley Park Social Club: http://www.bexleypark.co.uk/

Photography ~ James Grist Photography: http://www.jamesgristphotography.co.uk/

Dresses ~ Monsoon: http://uk.monsoon.co.uk/

The Gorgeous Guide to Planning a Budget Wedding

Budget Wedding Dress Ideas

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At The Budget Bride Company, we only ever showcase Wedding Dresses costing less than £1k. Thinking along these lines, today’s Top Ten is all about how to get the dress of your dreams on the budget you have available…

 

1. Go pre-loved: This is a brilliant way to get a designer frock at a fraction of the price. If you go to a reputable store or charity shop, then the wedding dresses should be in near perfect condition. It is easy to arrange a low cost alteration of the dress in areas where you might need a slight adjustment to make it the perfect fit for you. Have a look at the lovely specialist bridal stores from Oxfam, where the average price for a gown is around £250: http://www.oxfam.org.uk/shop/bridal .

 

2. Make your own: An incredible way to have total control over your dream dress whilst making the absolute most of your budget. This is a great option if you are handy with a sewing machine or have a relative or friend who is a talented seamstress – perhaps they could make it for you as an early wedding present? Search ‘Wedding Dress Patterns’ on Ebay.co.uk and you should find options for less than £10. There are some great vintage options on Etsy.com if you are going for a retro look. When it comes to choosing your material, you can be as creative as you like. Check out the lovely options on www.bridalfabrics.co.uk where you can choose the basic fabric for your dress, adding on embellishments and appliques to suit your taste and budget.

 

3. Designer label on a budget: I have always been a massive fan of the Biba dresses at House of Fraser. This iconic label gives us some of the most gorgeous shapes and materials for under £600 and you can indulge in that 70’s glamour puss feeling on your big day!

 

4. Go light hearted and summery – the wedding dresses at Monsoon are a big hit due to their flattering feminine shapes and brilliant price tags! Dresses are priced at an average of £200; this is proof that you don’t have to compromise to get an elegant dress on a budget.

 

5. Wear your own favourite dress: Who says that you have to wear a white gown? With the current trends for all things unique, it could be a great time to don your own favourite frock – be it a colourful silk maxi dress or a fun knee length tea dress, you know it fits you perfectly and makes you feel like a million dollars, so go for it!!

 

6. Get creative: Treat yourself to a new dress from your favourite shop and customise it. You don’t have to spend a fortune on a gorgeous dress from Oasis or Topshop and by customising with beads, lace, feathers or rhinestones you could get a really individual look that will turn heads and could end up costing you less than £100.

 

7. Mum’s the word: I loved my Mum’s wedding dress choice – she wore a beautiful gold silk strapless dress that looked so elegant and glamorous. As well as being a massively respectful nod to your family history, wearing one of your relative’s wedding dresses could mean that you get your big day dress for free! You may need to get a couple of amendments made by a seamstress to ensure the perfect fit, but the cost for these adjustments are usually minimal compared to the price of a new wedding dress.

 

8. Trawl the sales: Keep an eye on your local bridal boutique’s sale dates. You can get some fantastic deals on end of line gowns and ex-rental dresses that would otherwise be out of your budget. You can find some real gems if you are patient and it can be worth the hunt to shave £100’s off your dream dress.

 

9. Speak to a student: Students taking wedding dress and fashion design courses are usually on the lookout for models that they can use when creating their pieces. If you’re lucky and ask nicely, they might let you wear the finished article on your big day! Fashion colleges also run end of course fashion shows and sales, where you might be able to find yourself a bargain from an up and coming designer. Check in with local colleges that run fashion courses for more information.

 

10. Hire your dress: The boys hire their outfits, so why shouldn’t the girls? This will be a dress that you only wear once, so why not cash in on the savings potential of hiring your dress for the big day? You will have bags of choice from designers which might otherwise be just out of reach if you were looking to purchase. Have a look at www.SavvyCinderella.co.uk  for dresses to hire from £195 and www.vonleebridalhire.com whose clear three tier charges (£95, £195 or £245) make it easy to choose your dress within your budget.

 

Happy Budget Wedding Dress Hunting!

 

Laura x

The Gorgeous Guide to Planning a Budget Wedding