Written by Bethany, PA to Luke Granger Photography

How To Plan A Wedding, With a Twist


As far as life commitments go, choosing to get married is a pretty big decision and I am sure you all agree it is not to be done so lightly. However, what if the thought of being married wasn't what was holding you back, but the wedding itself? Let me explain a little...


You have found someone you love whole heartedly, someone who makes you laugh each day and despite their faults (because believe me everyone has them), you are able to find a happiness and understanding like no other. Together you already share so many aspects of life; a home, a business and a family, but you want to strengthen that bond one step further by becoming united together as husband and wife. However, the idea of a stereotypical wedding does not appeal to you as much as you once thought it would; there are aspects of tradition you wish to include but you want a day without pressure, a day that allows you to celebrate with family and friends in a relaxed and informal way. The more you consider what is important to you, the more you think well why the hell not?


Well, that's where we have decided to take an alternative approach to planning our own wedding and we would like to take you all on this journey with us. Here at Luke Granger Photography, you know we like to do things a little bit different to most; I often tell Luke he is a 'little bit extra' (you could say 'a little boujee'), so what better way to plan a wedding than to create a challenge for ourselves. How to plan a wedding in 3 months with a small budget of around £3000.

How To Plan A Wedding In 3 Months


As far as challenges go, how to plan a wedding in just 3 months is a pretty creative one if we do say so ourselves.

Let me explain how we came about deciding to plan a wedding in just 3 months.


Having been engaged since 2019 we have spoken about getting married so many times but for all sorts of reasons we have never decided that the time was right. It's a well known fact that I would have happily married Luke years ago, but I'm pleased that we have now reached the wedding planning stage together. If you are planning a wedding you may also be able to relate to some of our pre wedding dilemmas and discussions.


Working Within The Wedding Industry

Working within the wedding industry ourselves has made me want to get married even more, whereas to Luke he feels like he goes to wedding's so often that it will be like a busman's holiday. On the other hand, having seen so many of our couples happily tie the knot, we would both like to share the joy and memories of own day together and we also know lots of elements we do and don't want on our own wedding day which means we already have a good idea of what we are after.


Do We 'Need' To Get Married?

Neither of us feel we need to get married to prove our love for each other so at least we are on the same page about that, however, given that we already live and run businesses together we discussed about the need to spend a large sum of money on a wedding. Deciding to plan a wedding on a budget was not a decision taken lightly and we won't worry if we go over budget slightly but we also don't want to be paying for our wedding day in years to come. A larger house is a priority for us so we will be sticking to a small budget, but we are certain we can still create a fantastic day.


A Big Wedding Vs A Small Wedding

Anyone who has met Luke will know that he is not the most affectionate of men, so saying wedding vows in front of lots of people does not come naturally (he is a little scared). Neither of us would have ever wanted a massively large wedding as that's just not us, but the guest list is something that influenced our decision to get married for some time. The more we looked into booking our wedding, the costs associated to having 80+ guests seemed unjustified so a smaller intimate wedding is ideal for us.


When & Where

For a long time we discussed different Kent wedding venues and dates but for one reason or another we changed our minds and then Covid came along to disturb things. Then in the Summer I asked Luke If he could plan a birthday party for my 30th which is in November, it sparked a conversation where he had an idea of combining our wedding and my birthday together (at least he won't forget the date) so we decided to go for it.


So here we are...

We have chosen to invite just close friends and family for a small relaxed registry office wedding and we intend to make it a fantastic day. 7th November 2021 is our wedding date and the whole wedding planning process is very exciting. Below is a list of the elements that went into our wedding planning journey, the suppliers we used and info on how we managed to stick to a small budget.

How We Planned Our Our Own Budget Wedding

The choices we made as part of our wedding day may not suit everyone but that's the great thing about weddings, every single one is different. As Kent Wedding Photographers, we photograph elaborate weddings, we photograph intimate weddings, we visit rustic wedding venues and grand ones and we love each one. If you are planning a wedding in Kent my best advice is to take control of what you want and make choices that make you as a couple happy, just like we did.

Registry Office Venue in Kent

Regular readers will know that Danson House Registry Office is one of our favourite Kent wedding venues. It's grand, beautiful and truly the most stunning registry office I have ever seen and we love photographing weddings there.


Fitting perfectly within our plan for a budget wedding, and being available on our chosen date meant that our ceremony venue, Danson House in Bexley was the first part of the wedding ticked off of our list. The room we have chosen is The Salon which hosts 45 guests (+ Children on laps) which fits perfectly with our guest list and are over the moon. We have photographed a few weddings at Danson House before, so do check out what it looks like from outside; it's beautiful.


I have a little story to share with you...

Back when we were first dating, Luke took me for lunch one day and decided that as we were passing we should visit Danson House. Having never visited before, I fell in love with the place immediately and enjoyed wandering around all the different rooms as they all have such different styles. One room in particular stood out to me with its beautiful ornate walls and stunning gold chairs so I asked Luke to stand still. Looking at me confused, he asked why and my response was "So I can take a picture of you in the room we will get married", as you can see we laughed it off at the time but I remember the moment like it was yesterday. In this photograph, Luke is standing about a metre away from where we said I Do, I guess it must be fate.

Luke Granger in The Salon at Danson House, Bexley. September 2018

Wedding Reception Venue

Having booked Danson House Registry Office, our attention then turned to a location to host our wedding reception. Thankfully our first choice of Danson Stables was available and the team were very helpful in making the b process easy for us.


We chose Danson Stables for its proximity to Danson House but also because their food is always such great quality. Being food lovers ourselves, ensuring each of our guests enjoy their meals is important and we wanted a menu that meant everyone could choose something they would enjoy. Although the full menu was available if we wanted, to stay practical we chose a smaller selection of options that we felt covered everyone (scroll down a couple of photos to see the choices on our invites).

Guests could choose a hearty roast dinner, a burger or fish and chips, and before the wedding had happened we received so many compliments about the food choices and how so many people were excited for their meal.


With 45 guests each needing a 3 course meal on a Sunday in November, I was delighted to hear that the £250 room hire fee could be waived and instead the agreement was that there would be a minimum spend of £1000.

Once the RSVPS and food choices had been received, we were also given a small discount on the standard pricing meaning we paid just shy of £800 to Danson Stables in total. Guests then purchased their own drinks on the day which covered the total needed.


The control freak in me visited the private hire area of Danson Stables a few weeks before the wedding to measure up and plan table placements. I was met by the lovely Nisha from Silk & Comfetti Events who very kindly set the room up for us on the day, so we talked through the decorations etc and then I designed the table plan myself. The stables is a slightly unusual layout with steps, dividing walls etc (as you would expect from a building that used to be stables) but we used the partitions to create an area for our first dance and although a tight squeeze we managed to fit everyone in.

Final Table Plan of Wedding Reception at Danson Stables, Bexley

Designing Our Own Wedding Invitations

We decided to make our own invites to keep our wedding stationary budget friendly. We chose an adobe illustrator design on Envato Elements, a content library that we already subscribe to as part of our business (you will find some of the Envato licensed music tracks featured in our video projects).


We chose the design initially because it worked well with our Grey and Midnight Blue theme, perfect for a November wedding in Kent and tweaked elements to suit our needs. Here are the budget friendly Wedding Invites and RSVP cards we designed together, not too bad if we say so ourselves.


For a premium quality we used our 12 colour Canon Image prograf commercial printer to print the wedding invitation design. This was then mounted onto super thick 500gsm white card using professional spray glue and left to dry overnight. Once cut and each bundle tied with ribbon, our invitations were placed in midnight blue envelopes and ready to deliver/send to our guests.

Handmade Wedding Invitations

In terms of our wedding budget, we spent £29.85 on the card and envelopes (both purchased via Amazon). Photographic paper and spray glue were items we already had in stock, as were a book of stamps that had been in my purse for about a year. We intend to hand deliver the majority of our wedding invitations to again reduce postage costs and will be using the remaining card to create table numbers, place cards, a table plan and activity mats for the children.


Naturally we are perhaps a little more comfortable about designing and printing our invitations ourselves and owning our own printing workshop means we have the resources available but if you're planning a budget wedding yourselves, consider speaking to a local printers who may be able to help keep create your invitations.


I also designed a basic a table plan for our wedding day using Adobe Illustrator, printed it off and popped it in a cheap frame from The Range that was in the garage. Place cards were very simple to make, I used gift tags I already had with each guests name handwritten on in silver pen, my handwriting is certainly not the neatest but for keeping efficient, it did the trick.

RSVP and Menu Choices

Finding A Wedding Photographer

As you can imagine, our wedding photography was a really important choice for us. As a Professional Photographer himself, Luke knows a large network of fellow wedding photographers within the industry so you would think it would be easy right? Not exactly when you are planning a wedding at such short notice.


In our search for finding the perfect wedding photographer, we had a few strict criteria that we needed to meet, alongside wanting someone we trust and feel comfortable with

Our Criteria for a Wedding Photographer

  • Our wedding photographer must be happy to work under our brand on an associate basis - For those who do not work within the industry; this means that they are hired by Luke Granger Photography, not us as a couple. Similar to how a second shooting contract works, a photographer can be hired to photograph the wedding on our behalf, however the ownership, editing and rights to all the files remain that of Luke Granger Photography and these are handed over at the end of the day. This is a typical arrangement for all sorts of photography work, so it's not unusual however, I imagine most photographers wouldn't do so for their own wedding.


  • As we will be be completing the editing ourselves, the style of our wedding photographer was not necessarily an area we were concerned by, however their composition and creativeness was important.

Ornate Detailing, The Salon, Danson House, Bexley Registry Office

  • We wanted someone who doesn't typically photograph weddings in Kent themselves. We welcome healthy competition and appreciate there are a lot of fantastic wedding photographers right here in Kent however, as the photographs are being taken under our brand we felt that there could potentially be a conflict of interest.


  • We always intended Alex, who is our apprentice to work a little on our wedding day; after all the more experience he gets the better, so we also wanted to ensure our photographer would be someone that would work well alongside him.


As with everything we do we set out finding our wedding photographer in an open and honest way, knowing we would find the perfect photographer for our wedding day and I am pleased to say we chose to use Geraint


Geraint is based in Wales (Tick), is a fantastic wedding photographer who keeps it natural and has great composition (Tick). Having previously worked with Luke he is happy to work under our brand (Tick) and is available and happy to travel (Double Tick). If you happen to be reading this blog and need a Cardiff based wedding photographer, Geraint definately has our recommendation.

Geriant in action captured by Alex

Here Comes The Bride


Despite choosing to plan a wedding on a small budget, there was one thing I made certain I was not going to give up and that is having an amazing wedding dress.


Knowing that with just a 3 month planning window I would have less choice when visiting bridal stores I focussed my attention online early on and soon fell upon a website/app called Still White. A platform for real brides and stores to sell preloved or sample dresses, Still white is the largest online bridal marketplace and I knew If I searched I would find myself a bargain. Being able to filter down sizes, wedding dress designers, location and styles, I soon found a beautiful wedding dress that I knew was the one.


A handful of messages back and forward with the seller helped answer a few of my questions and despite never seeing the dress in person, I committed to purchasing a beautiful Justin Alexander for a bargain price of £350 (It retailed at £1600!)

After a stress free and protected payment made was via StillWhite, two days later the postman arrived bearing a very large box and as Luke was out, I enjoyed 10 minutes swishing around the living room feeling very smug about my bargain of a lifetime. My wedding dress needed minor alterations but it is the most beautiful dress I have ever seen, the rose/sand/ivory colour is stunning and the style suits my shape so I felt fantastic.

Justin Alexander Wedding Dress

Wedding Dress Alterations

Obviously I love my wedding dress (or I wouldn't have purchased it) but I have always preferred a corset back as opposed to buttons so I was in need of some wedding dress alterations. A lace up back is more suited to women with a curvaceous figure so wanting to look my best, I was on the search of a specialist who could fit my dress to my body perfectly, plus I am only 5ft 3 so I needed a good few inches taken up so I don't fall over.


Having looked around a little, I chose to use the alteration service at Jodi's Bridal Wear in Maidstone. Having dropped in to visit and leaving feeling comfortable with their customer service and expertise, I was happy to hear that their prices were reasonable too. When the day came round to visit for my fitting I was so excited; My Mum & Sister came to see my dress for the first time and we headed to lunch after.


I needed to have 2 follow up fittings as I also requested a panel to be added to the bust and once the corset had been added, the straps needed an additional adjustment too. It's important you feel comfortable on your wedding day so be sure to speak up during any alteration appointments, the ladies at Jodi's were really helpful and no one will think you are a bridezilla, they just want you to spend the day uncomfortable and will do what they can to make that happen.

Wedding Dress Alterations at Jodi, Maidstone

Budget Wedding Planning Tips & Tricks

Not every couple will choose to host a grand wedding and that is absolutely fine, everyone is different and we are proof that budget weddings can still be fantastic. We selected the elements of the wedding that mattered to us the most and chose to invest more of our attention and budget in these, the other elements that mattered less to us were not disregarded completely but we got creative to find the right solution for us. To learn the budget wedding planning tips and tricks we used and some peeks into our wedding day, take a look.

Handmade Table Plan designed by Ourselves

The Wedding Guest List

Choosing wedding guests is probably the biggest dilemma for most couples planning a wedding; I am a strong believer in that just because someone is blood, doesn't mean they are entitled to an invitation nor should you invite people out of obligation. If someone does not bring joy to your life then they should not attend your wedding full stop but equally if I was not invited to a wedding I wouldn't create drama over it or be upset. Many couples choose to keep numbers small or struggle with venue limitations, so I would simply wish the couple well and be happy for them.


We always intended to keep our guests list fairly small as not only had we chosen to have a budget wedding, we wanted to keep a fairly close atmosphere, hosting a gathering where everyone could have a catch up and feel relaxed. A small selection of people we invited were unable to attend, so the final total was 45 including us.

Personalised Suit from Moss Bros

The Groom's Suit

We chose to visit Moss Bros in Ashford and were well looked after by Paul (who is the husband of one of my friends). Being tall but broad, Luke used their Tailor Me service to have a custom 3 piece suit made and I must say he looked very handsome.

Luke was able to chose the fabric and lining from a large swatch selection, then customised the style of the lapel, vent, pockets and stitching to suit what he liked the most which was a really nice experience. In true Luke fashion, he even went a bit extra and his name embroidered into the lining.

We have not included Luke's suit or shoes as part of our calculations as he needed new for work anyway, we aren't intentionally cheating our budget. For a guideline the 3 piece suit (plus an extra pair of trousers) cost around £350, Luke wears a waistcoat and trousers to all the wedding's he photographs so its important he is both comfortable and looks great, if you see him in grey check then he is bringing some extra wedding day luck to you.

The Brides Family - Ann, Martyn, Bethany, Luke, Jessica, James, Jack, Abbie & Isla

Maid of Honour

My sister, Abbie

My sister and I quite often have similar tastes in clothes so choosing dresses for her was actually quite simple. I had heard good things from EverPretty about their affordable quality so we chose 4 different styles for her to try and we used the measurement guide as recommended, not standard dress sizes. The selection arrived after 2 weeks and our initial front runner was our favourite in the flesh too. A midnight blue maxi with floaty sleeves and sequin detail on the bust. With a 25% discount code, Abbie's bridesmaid dress was a bargain at £30 and I love that the style is really wearable so she will get use out of it again, I may have to borrow it one day.

Bridesmaid

Luke's Daughter, Jessica

Jessica was a couple of months short of turning 10 when we got married and having inherited her Dad's long legs we needed to find a bridesmaid dress that fits her comfortably, alongside being age appropriate. Initially we selecting grey bridesmaid dresses for her but after having a dress up session, we decided that with fair skin and red hair the midnight blue would suit her better. We chose a maxi style (she loves how it swishes), with a floaty sleeve that compliments Abbie's dress perfectly and was a bargain at £18.00 from Chictry (via Amazon). With a cardigan and shoes from Ebay plus a Shein headband she was ready to go.

Flower Girl

My Niece, Isla

Isla had just turned 2 at the time of our wedding day and naturally I wanted to be part of my bridal party. I stumbled across a little dress on Ebay that I thought would be perfect so threw in a bid and forgot about it until a few days later when my phone pinged. It's the perfect colour match to Abbie & Jessica's dresses and has a floral design over a light pink silk so will look lovely, plus is cost just £8.00.

Abbie accessorised her with pink boots and a hair band plus tights and a fur shawl as we didn't want her to get chilly when outside.

Page Boy

My Nephew, Jack

Jack loves a Bow Tie so I was delighted to find a grey waistcoat set in a local charity shop for £2.00 and paired it with some stretchy jeans, shirt, jacket and his school shoes for a smart casual vibe. Children are always desperate to run around and play at weddings so I wanted to keep him comfortable and not be worried if he ended up getting messy. Luke would have preferred wearing Jeans too but I wasn't allowing that.

Father of The Bride

My Dad, Martyn

I asked my Dad to wear the grey suit he already had as we didn't feel he and Luke needed to match, just coordinate. We added his buttonhole and a tie that featured our midnight blue colour theme but also mimicked the paisley lining within Luke's suit. Having my Dad give me away on my wedding day was one of the most important things to me and although our ceremony was short and sweet, he did the job perfectly.

Bridal Hair

I chose to use the lovely Becky from Becky's Unique Creations to do my bridal hair and she was so lovely, helping keep my nerves at bay as we all got ready. Jessica & Abbie both opted for plaited styles similar to mine and we added simple headbands to Jessica and Isla as accessories. I chose a simple curled half up half down style with curls framing my face and she did a great job as that is exactly what I got... that was until I stepped out the door at the hotel and a gust of wind attacked me but never mind, at least it didn't rain!

Bridal Make Up

Not an expert at applying make up myself, I booked Rosanne Make Up Artist based in Meopham to give me a classic bridal look on my wedding day. I chose against having a trial and she followed my brief of keeping a natural look.

I regularly get classic lash extensions done by Tudos Lashes in Ebbsfleet, so this helped bring a little glam to my look but I loved that I still felt myself. I'd had a microdermabrasion treatment from Louise at Simply Be Skincare a few weeks beforehand to ensure my skin was in the best condition. I also had my nails and my eyebrows waxed by Timeless Beauty by Hannah. I went with Moonstone colour gel nails which I loved; a little nod to the nickname my parents gave me before I was born, "Moonbeam".

Bridal Hair & Make Up

Simple Table Decorations at Danson Stables, Bexley

Table Decorations

The decor inside Danson Stables, with its mismatched chairs and rustic tables worked fairly well with our theme so the decorations we used were really minimal. I was gifted a selection of glass domed jars which we filled with pinecones, rattan stars and fairy lights, then added a garland (bought from Amazon) to each of the larger tables. Alongside the midnight blue napkins, we spent around £55 on all the decorations for the day and Nisha from Silk & Confetti set them up for us. Annoyingly, this is the only photo I have of the tables and without the cutlery they look unfinished but never mind.

Bridal Bouquet and Button Holes by The Kentish Wreath Company

Wedding Flowers

My wonderful friend Katie has her own artificial florist business called The Kentish Wreath Company so I knew exactly who should be in charge of making my wedding bouquet, wrist the corsages and buttonholes. Katie and I visited Whittingtons in Lordswood where we chose the flowers we needed (spent £75.00) and she worked her magic to create my bouquet, 2 wrist corsages and 4 buttonholes as part of her gift to us. The fantastic thing about going for artificial flowers is that they last forever so my bouquet proudly sits in a vase and Luke's button hole is still attached to his suit jacket.

Bethany & Luke cutting their Wedding Cakes

Our Wedding Cake

As much as I do love cake, it is quite a common element of a wedding day that can go to waste as often guests are full from their meal to truly enjoy a slice.

We explored a few options but chose to pay a visit to Sainsbury's the day before our wedding where Jessica helped us choosee two cakes for a grand total of £24.00.

On the day they were displayed on glass cake stands (one was actually my great grandmothers) and used a cake topper from eBay that cost £1.50. Bargain!

Wedding Rings

The Wedding Rings

We chose plain white gold wedding bands and purchased these from H Samuel in Bluewater for £300. Mine is a thinner band that sits nicely alongside my engagement ring and Lukes is thicker with a rounded inside edge as he found this more comfortable.

Not being a jewellery wearer, It has taken Luke some getting used to wearing his but I get such a happy feeling when I catch a glance of it on his finger, does anyone else get this?

Children Dancing At Danson Stables

Entertainment

We chose against any wedding entertainment and instead had a Spotify playlist in the background and a space for the children to dance if they wished. For a casual wedding, everyone enjoyed engaging in conversation with each other, general mingling and having a catch up. It was great to not feel rushed by scheduled timings and everyone was safely on their way home at 7pm. A short wedding day, but perfect all the same, getting married is quite tiring you know!

Signing of The Register at Danson House, Bexley

Witnesses

We each chose our Mum's to be our witnesses as we felt that this was a nice way to include them with a role on the wedding day. With button holes made by The Kentish Wreath Company they both looked great and signed their squiggles with pride. Although the register is now electronic, we were given a ceremonial certificate to take away with us on the day.

Father of The Bride Speech

Speeches

There were just two speeches at our wedding and we chose to do these before we ate as I feel this helps the day flow better and means the speakers can eat without nerves. My Dad initially told the room about a rather embarrassing moment I caused him when I was younger and then Luke kept his speech extremely short, however he did have a very special announcement to share with the room.

First Dance at Danson Stables, Bexley

First Dance

Luke was not keen on having a first dance but after some encouragement we did have a little spin on the dance floor to John Legends "One Woman Man". I have always felt the lyrics could have quite easily be written by Luke so it felt like the perfect choice. We then played "My Girl" where I danced with my Dad and Luke danced with Jessica, I imagine the next time they will dance at a wedding it will be when she gets married herself.

Homemade Confetti

Wedding Confetti

Using circle hole punches and tissue paper that I had in my wrapping paper stash, Jessica and I handmade the confetti and placed it in a wicker basket that I also already had. We quite enjoyed making up a basket full and she did a great job handing it out on the day.

Bubble Blowing

Wedding Favours

Given that we go to so many weddings and see favours left behind, this was a wedding tradition we knew from the beginning we could do without. I did however make up some activity bags for the children to give them something to do in between dinner. Jack Thoroughly enjoyed the bubbles

Luke Peeking at Our Wedding Gifts

Wedding Gifts

We chose not to give gifts to significant family members as being a budget wedding we planned ourselves we felt it unnecessary. We also chose against having a wedding gift list, as the fact our nearest and dearest joined us for the day was all we wanted but we were grateful to receive so many lovely cards and gifts.

A windswept bride

The Night Before The Wedding

Wanting to stick to this tradition, we chose to stay apart the night before the wedding so Jessica and I spent the night in the Bexleyheath Premier Inn (adjoining rooms with my Sister, Brother in law, Niece and Nephew so we could all get ready together).

The children thoroughly enjoyed their sleepover and although not a luxury choice, we had enough room and comfy beds for the night.

Taxi Selfie for Jessica and Beth

Wedding Transportation

Not being car enthusiasts and wanting a practical travel solution, I opted to book a traditional black cab to drive Jessica and I from our hotel to Danson House together at a cost of £30. It was a short drive and she was very helpful getting me and my dress in carefully. Luke drove himself to our wedding (he even arrived early), and drove us back home afterwards - Groom, photographer, taxi driver all in one day!

A Cave Room at The Cave Hotel in Canterbury

Minimoon

We were very kindly gifted a 2 night stay at the wonderful Cave Hotel in Canterbury for our Minimoon and had a fantastic time. We ate plenty, took a dip in the pool and even visited the driving range so it was great to get away for a couple of days to celebrate being husband and wife. More details about our stay will be in the main blog

Our Kentish Ceremony Feature, Winter Edition 2021

A Kentish Ceremony Feature

Our wedding featured in the A Kentish Ceremony Magazine as a feel good story about planning a wedding in such a short time. We were the first wedding suppliers to feature our own wedding and have had a fantastic response from readers shocked at how we managed it on such a short budget, hence why I have written this blog to help others.

How We Planned Our Wedding On A Budget

Some costs have been rounded up/down but as a general ballpark these are the costs spent on our wedding day and the suppliers we used.


Total Cost - £3510.50


Registry Office - Danson House £915.00

Reception Venue & Catering - Danson Stables £798.00

Photographer - Geraint Roberts and Alex Kitchener working for Luke Granger Photography £400.00

Wedding Dress - Justin Alexander Purchased Via StillWhite £350.00

Alterations - Bridal Alterations Maidstone £250.00

Jessica's Dress - Chictry Via Amazon £18.00

Isla's Dress - Ebay £8.00

Jack's Waistcoat & Tie - Charity Shop £2.00

Hair (Beth & Jessica) - Becky's Unique Creations £75.00

Bridal Make Up - Rosanne Make Up Artist £40.00

Underskirt - Ebay £12.00

Rings - H Samuels £300

Flowers - Design Gifted by The Kentish Wreath Company Materials only £75.00

Invitations & Stationary - Handmade £30.00

Table Decorations - Amazon & Facebay £55.00

Cake - Sainsburys £24.00

Cake Topper - Ebay £1.50

Children Goody Bags - £6

Father of The Bride Tie - Amazon £6

Accommodation - Premier Inn Bexleyheath (2 Rooms) £115

Bridal Transport - Richard Ashley £30

Spotify Playlist - Homemade

Venue Set Up - Gifted By Silk & Confetti Events

Minimoon - Gifted by The Cave Hotel Canterbury


There were also a selection of items we utilised for our wedding that we already had so If you are planning your own wedding, you may consider using some existing items

As my dress was full length, I chose to wear a pair or leggings underneath to keep warm, plus a pair or lace up boots that I find really comfy. I am not a huge high heel wearer and I see far too many brides hobbling around on their wedding day and did not plan to be one of them. My earrings were borrowed from my sister and I chose against any additional jewellery, plus my veil was paid for as a gift. I haven't counted my lashes or nails either as I have these done regularly throughout the year so these are standard expenses for me. Luke chose to wear a shirt and belt he has had for a couple of years, he also wore his everyday watch and did his own hair for the wedding day.

We are yet to design and order our wedding album and will use some of the money we were gifted to purchase this.


A huge thank you to each of our suppliers and guests for being a part of our wedding day. We had an amazing day and are proof that a budget wedding can still be fantastic. We loved the relaxed vibe of the day and truly enjoyed seeing all our guests thoroughly enjoy themselves.