We've rounded up seven tips on how you can save on your wedding
Whether you want a Halloween themed wedding or a Great Gatsby inspired big day you're almost definitely going to spend an absolute fortune on your wedding day.
It's previously been reported that bridesmaids spend over £1,000 ahead of a wedding and if you're a guest you'll likely spend £600 on the gifts, food, new clothes, accommodation and stag and hen dos.
Eek!
So you can imagine the eye-watering amount of money the bride and groom have to spend on their big day - venue, clothes, food, drinks, honeymoon... the list goes on.
It's come to light that the most popular day to get hitched is 30 August, and the average couple plans the big day for a year – so now is the time to start saving!
So we've rounded up seven new ways to rein it in for you big day and the tips are all from real brides...
How to save on your wedding - stacked
1 of 7Blag a sample dress
"Consider getting an off-the- peg dress at a bridal store. You may need to shop around more, but you get the bridal quality for a fraction of the price. My dress was £2,300, but because I bought the sample it was £680. It wasn't quite the right size, but I only needed to spend £150 on alterations to get it to fit perfectly."Annabelle, from HerefordSAVING: £1,620
2 of 7Sell old clothes
"Utilise Facebook Marketplace to save up. It's free to sell on there and I've made over £1,000 so far just on selling clothes that would have otherwise gone in the bin. It's also convenient as buyers are local, so you don't need to worry about packing up items and posting them."Jodie, from ManchesterEARNING: £1,000
3 of 7Make it a bake off
"I made my own wedding cake – a simple naked sponge cake – and asked my bridesmaids to bring a cake each to make up a cake table. Our guests loved how informal it was and people were eating the cake all night long."Ceri, from ChesterSAVING: £300
4 of 7Learn make-up tricks
"I was quoted £350 for professional make-up for myself, my mum and my maid of honour. Instead, I watched lots of wedding make-up tutorials on YouTube, spent £100 on some new beauty bits and we did our own. It saved me loads, plus I got a lovely new make-up collection. You can also have your make-up done at department store beauty counters and learn skills."Charlotte, from LondonSAVING: £250
5 of 7Send invites online
"I would say don't bother with posh printed invites, because people don't tend to look at them anyway. We designed ours on the computer and emailed them out. Our guests told us they found it so much easier as they didn't have to worry about losing the invite and forgetting the information."Amy, from HullSAVING: £150
6 of 7Find a trainee photographer
"I asked at the local art college if any photography students would like to be our wedding photographer. So many were interested and we agreed to pay a day rate of £200. Our photographs were incredible and just as lovely as professional shots I've seen, plus it was great for their portfolios."Kelly, from NorthamptonSAVING: £1,300
7 of 7Search freecycle
"I put an ad on Freecycle.org and said I was after rustic wedding items. A lady gave me loads of lace-decorated jars from her wedding for free. So many people are looking to get rid of wedding things on there."Lucy, from KidderminsterSAVING: £100
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