13 Ways That We Saved On Our Wedding

Weddings are expensive, there's no way to sugar coat that fact. However they don't have to be as expensive as they can be.

I got engaged back in April and married last week, so I recently found myself planning a wedding in about 5 months. I loved planning it, but was shocked at some of the prices for things and the 'requirements' for others, and found it stressful to contemplate spending so much on one day.
Yes it was the very best day of my life, but that doesn't mean that I should have started my married life with a crippling debt.

Here are 13 ways (lucky for some) in which we managed to save money for our big day, yet still had the most magical and perfect day possible.

1) The Wedding Dress
I purchased my dress back in May on a website called https://www.herdress.co.uk with the mindset of being able to send it back if it wasn't good enough. They asked for my measurements and the dress arrived in the post within a few weeks.
I was so surprised by the quality, the fit and the look of the dress. I honestly couldn't have been happier with it. I didn't have to alter my dress at all, it served me very well on the day and I thought that it looked stunning. The dress itself cost me under £100, I did have to pay a bit for postage but nothing horrendous. It was decently made and heavy but not too heavy that I couldn't dance the night away.

 

2) Hobbycraft Invites
Yes I bought my invites from Hobbycraft. The reception only invites were http://www.hobbycraft.co.uk/vintage-affair-evening-wedding-invitations-10-pack/606807-1000
and the day guest invites I made using a stamper (which I can't find on their website at the moment) and hand wrote them. Yes it took a bit of time but it was only really an evening or two in the grand scheme of things.

3) Bridesmaids and Groomsmen

I don't know if it is because we were particularly lucky win the people that we chose to be in our bride and groom's party, but when we asked them to sort out their own clothing for the day they were more than happy with it. I asked that the bridesmaids wear a black dress, this way they were comfortable in whatever style they wanted, but also could wear it again. It also meant that I didn't have to spend a small fortune buying their dresses. They all looked absolutely beautiful in what they chose and none of them spent too much on their dress. 

The groomsmen were asked to wear a suit (preferably black or dark grey) and again they obliged. They all even wore a purple tie to match the colour scheme. 

4) The Cake

Again, I don't know if this is just because I am ridiculously lucky but my best friend is an incredible baker and was able to make our wedding cake as her gift to us. 

She made three tiers: vegan chocolate salted-caramel, vegan red velvet and vegan fruit cake. 

They were to die for! 

(Side note, my sister-in-law made the darling cake topper using Fimo, it sums us up to a tee!)

5) The Flowers

As much as I am aware how gorgeous they look,  I'm not a huge fan of cut flowers and struggle to justify paying a fortune for something that will die within a few days. So I decided to try making my own bouquets from fake flowers off of Amazon. I just typed in faux flowers and found a company that looked promising. When they had delivered them and I had assembled them, I felt that they looked fine for the day. I can keep them forever and they suited the colour scheme perfectly. My mum assembled some potted purple flowers for the centrepieces and they again, looked amazing. 

6) The Food

Wedding catering can be pretty steep, and after seeing the lack of vegan options we decided to go down a different route. For the day guests, we hired a completely vegan catering company called Hail Seitan, who operate out of Coachwerks in Hollingdean in Brighton, to do a buffet. Lovelier people you wouldn't find anywhere and the food was outstanding. They were much more cost effective that having a sit down meal and it meant that I didn't have to spend hours putting together a seating plan, as people could sit where they wanted. 

For the evening guests we hired a fish and chip van (not vegan but had to make some sacrifices) called Coast to Coast who were superb and everyone loved the chips!

Together, those two food companies still came to less money a head than a 3 course sit down meal (and we got to keep the left overs!)

7) The Booze

For table wine we went to Lidl and for the lawn reception and speeches fizz, we went to Aldi. We didn't hear any complaints and it didn't cost us a fortune. 

8) Hair and Make Up

I'm not a big wearer of make up and didn't want to look like a stranger on my wedding day, I also didn't want to be worrying about my hair being in an elaborate style.  So my bridesmaids all did their own make up, my maid of honour did mine, and one of my lovely bridesmaids did everyone's hair. It worked out amazingly time wise and we all looked fantastic. 

9) No favours

I've been to many weddings in my time, and as lovely as favours can be, I find that they often get left, broken or forgotten about. I didn't want to spend hours making, or pounds buying these, and just decided not to bother. 

We did however, go for a sweet cart and I believe that that was sufficient. We bought the sweets mostly from Amazon in bulk and most of them were (accidentally) vegan. 

10) The Photographers

We decided against hiring a professional photographer in order to save some money. I'm glad we did. We asked for my uncle and one of my husband's uncles to take photos as they love to do it as a hobby. I also asked my best male friend to take photos of my bridesmaids and me getting ready. The pictures look unbelievable and I cannot stop looking through them. They caught all of the best moments, lots of candid shots and it meant that we didn't have to spend time away from the party, posing and looking off into the distance. 

We have used a website called WedPics to upload everyone's pictures to a great (uncompressed) quality. The website is free but you can pay a small amount to unlock them all for everyone, we did this because it was a lot cheaper than hiring a photographer. 

11) Out of Season

We got married in September which is out of season and during term time. Even though it was on a Saturday, it was about £3,000 cheaper than doing it just a few weeks earlier or the following summer. September tends to behave itself so we weren't too worried, though we didn't expect it to turn out to be as beautiful as it was! We were very lucky with the weather as it was gloriously sunny and warm. It did mean that we went back to work on the Monday but that didn't bother us. We got married at Selden Barn in Patching, Worthing and they were the most incredible people with such a good set up. They put our minds at ease all day and it was so smooth and perfect!

12) The Photo Booth

I looked into getting a proper photo booth and instantly dismissed it when I saw the cost of some of them. Instead my dad very kindly made us a frame (he made it a lot more gorgeous than I asked for) and we bought some cheap props from Amazon. Sorted.

13) Thank You Cards

In a similar way to the invitations, I am hand making the thank you cards which I will send out to all of our guests and any other wonderful well wishers that we had, who couldn't make it. I am using alphabet stamps from Hobbycraft and polaroid style photos from lalalab.com. I love hand made and feel that it sums up the whole wedding and us as a couple.

Vegan Food in Cornwall

Vegan Food in Cornwall

I often find that I struggle to find decent vegan food whilst on holiday or away from my normal environment, as I'm sure many others do. My other half and I travel to Cornwall about three times a year because my parents moved down there to retire (lucky things), therefore I am building up a repertoire of places from which I can find decent vegan food. We have jut returned from a lovely 5 day trip where we travelled around the county a fair bit.Since we stay with my parents, breakfast and dinner are standard vegan meals which I can make for myself, what I have been recording are the foods which are bought whilst out and about. 

I've decided on using a key to make it more easy to define:
Bespoke = food which is already vegan and on sale as a vegan item
VIY (Vegan It Yourself) = food which can be made vegan through a fussy order
Chips = nothing to eat but chips

Day 1: Pangenna Pasties, Tintagle -BespokeWe try to visit Tintagle at least once every time we go to Cornwall. We love it because it is stunning and so full of local history, especially that of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table.Whilst there this time, we found ourselves heading straight for our favourite pasty shop, Pangenna Pasties. Now this is a small chain in the West Country with stores in Tintagle, Bude and St Ives, however each shop has the feel of a family run bakery and they are quality products at reasonably low prices (about £4 a pasty). The best thing about this shop is the fact that their vegetable pasty is... VEGAN! and they even say so on the menu! These pasties are delicious, a crispy, good quality crust with beans, potato, carrots, onion, courgette and sweet corn inside. It's a large pasty and very filling for what it cost. I honestly get one every time I visit either Bude, Tintagle or St Ives. 

Day 2: Wheal Coates and Chapel Porth Cove Cafe -BespokeDuring the second day we drove to Wheal Coates Tin Mine at St Agnes on the North Coast of Cornwall, another spot that we visit every time we're in Cornwall. After seeing the spectacular views, we walked down to the beach at Chapel Port, about half a mile away.We actually didn't get around to eating lunch on this day, because we were busy walking and talking, however we picked up ice-cream from the cafe in the car park at Chapel Porch beach. As usual, I didn't expect a vegan ice-cream, though hoped for a sorbet at least, however they did not have any sorbet for me. I did manage to get an ice lolly which was very refreshing, not too sweet and both vegan and gluten free. It wasn't the cheapest ice-lolly ever, at close to £3, but it was appreciated in the warm weather after a lovely walk. 

Day 3: The Lizard Point, The Regent Restaurant and Wave Crest Cafe -VIY and BespokeOn the third day we drove to Kynance Cove on the South Western tip of Cornwall, which looks like it could be a magical mermaids cove; it's stunning! After soaking in the sunshine and fresh air, we walked from there to the village at The Lizard Point (the most southern part of mainland UK). Here we had lunch at The Regent Restaurant, cheap and cheerful burgers and baked potatoes style food. There was nothing that I could eat from the menu without creative ordering, not even the salads. I despair when I see these set ups. I had to VIY my dinner and asked for a plain salad with no egg, no cheese and no dressing, with a side of chips. How boring. After a few funny looks and having to repeat myself to the lady on the til, we got there. I was actually surprised by the size and variety of the salad, I can't say that I was expecting much, and it was really nice, fresh and tasted good. However I really enjoy salad, so for me, it was great, if I hadn't enjoyed them so much, it wouldn't have impressed me.Afterwards we walked to the most southern part of the UK and had cream tea and ice-cream in the Wave Crest Cafe which is a beautiful cafe with gorgeous views and very friendly staff. My other half and I have stopped there before and they had spoken to me about adding vegan items onto their menu, so hopefully that will  happen soon. Whilst the others had a cream tea, I had a refreshing and soft mango sorbet, completely vegan and completely delicious. I love how most ice-cream places that, I have seen, in Cornwall, have a sorbet option, it's usually either mango or raspberry, which is fine by me!

Day 4: Bude, Sizzlers Fish and Chips -BespokeAfter spending time on one of my favourite beaches, Summerleaze in Bude, we hankered for some fish and chips and wondered around the town for a nice looking place. What caught our attention was the sign outside of Sizzlers which boasted a vegan menu and that they would cook it all separately! This was a revelation to me.
In we went, the others had fish or sausage, but I opted for the vegan burger and chips. I wasn't disappointed. It had the look of a chicken burger and was obviously a soy based alternative. It was filling, clean and the fact that it had been cooked separately was a bonus. In fact my chips were tastier that the ones that had been cooked with the fish! Everyone ended up pinching mine because they were crispier!I was so impressed to find a seaside fish and chip shop which catered so well to vegans! 

Day 5: Saint Columb, Cornish Birds of Prey Centre, Olly's Snack Shack -BespokeI often struggle with the idea of caging animals for human enjoyment and find that I try to avoid zoo's and aquariums where necessary, however my partner's younger sister wanted to visit the Cornish Birds of Prey Centre so in we went. Firstly I was amazed by the family run businesses personal touches to the place, they write extremely personal messages next to each bird explaining its previous life and how it was treated or mistreated before coming to the sanctuary. I felt as though the owners had a love for every bird and treated them like family, whilst respecting how dangerous they are. I enjoyed seeing them and knowing that they have good lives there. We didn't have lunch there, because we were so enthralled by the place and were enjoying ourselves, but we did pick up a snack and a coffee from Olly's Snack Shack. I liked that they had a range of Naked Bars and Nine Bars as well as your standard non vegan options. I opted for a Nine Bar with carob, raspberry and chia seeds as I hadn't tried that flavour before. It was lovely!And so ends the trip, we spent the rest of the day and the next day at my parent's house eating their food. During the drive home, I ate a hummus and super food salad from the Marks and Spencer's at Exeter Services, which is something that I actually would eat on a daily basis if I could. Overall I was impressed with how much bespoke vegan food I could eat on this trip.