Getting married * cheap wedding ideas * secret of a happy marriage * getting married on a budget * money saving ideas for a wedding * getting married on the cheap

Getting married on the cheap doesn't mean that you day has to be any less special than couples who spend a small fortune on their wedding day. Let's get a few things into perspective. Your wedding day will not be the most important day of your life. Getting married is about a marriage that should last a lifetime not about one day that brings you officially together as a couple. Everyday after you get married should be treated as more important than the next and that is one of the secrets to a happy marriage.

Go to the start of this article about planning a wedding.

Previous page about wedding planners.

The important thing here is that you are getting married to the person you love and to whom you are committing the rest of your life. What your wedding day costs is not important compared to the events that are likely to happen throughout the rest of your life. Understand this fact and you will be able to plan a marriage on a shoestring to outclass any wedding you have ever been to.

Some married couples can end up spending £20,000 on their wedding because they lost sight of what their wedding was all about and end up in the divorce courts just a few short years later. If you had that kind of money to spend, would you spend it on your wedding or as the deposit on a new marital home?

There are of course certain expenses that cannot or should not be avoided but the rest is all pomp and circumstance and the following advice will give you a number of ideas of how to put a fantastic wedding together without breaking the bank or getting you into horrendous debt. Your wedding day will be memorable for all the right reasons, your guests will have a great time and your spouse will be the happiest person on the planet. What more could you ask for?

Here are our top tips for a great wedding on a shoestring budget.

• Instead of hiring an expensive venue to hold your reception, have it at your house and garden. If the place isn't big enough, ask a close friend or relative or failing that hire a village hall. Alternatively, you could hold a street party and invite the neighbours to join in. One danger of a street party is the weather but friendly neighbours will always open their doors and guests can mingle by moving from house to house. I went to a wedding reception like this once. It brought neighbours together who rarely spoke to each other and gave them all a feeling of belonging. Tables were arranged across the front gardens, some of the houses even had bunting and good will messages displayed.
  
  
• One of the biggest expenses is the catering costs. At the same wedding, everyone was asked to bring a plate of food. Guests were asked to bring either a starter, main course, salad or desert. It wasn't particularly coordinated and as guests and neighbours came from an eclectic mix of ethnic backgrounds we had everything from Asian to Caribbean to English food. Far too much to eat, but the best self-catering bash I ever went to. Some of us went back the next day for a communal Bar-B-Q and to polish off the leftovers.
  
  
• Everyone brought a bottle or two or three. The couple had supplied sparkling wine for the toast. Not champagne but then champagne is only sparkling wine with an expensive price tag. Did it matter - I don't think anyone noticed or cared.
  
  
• There were no limousines. Everyone met out side the couple's house and drove in convoy to the registry office. The happy couple actually went in the same car.
  
  
• The bride had a simple bouquet and the groom, best man and parents were supplied with button holes. Nothing fancy, nothing expensive. Just a nice touch.
  
  
• When I see old friends and family, this is the wedding that they all talk about. We have all been to numerous weddings since, but none of them bring back particular memories. Other weddings have paled into insignificance and fail to stand out. This wedding was different in many ways. It was relaxed, people felt comfortable, there was more laughter than I can remember at any other wedding and the children weren't bored.
  
  
• When the couple left for their honeymoon, the whole street was there to cheer them on their way. That was a send off to remember.
  
  
• Total cost of the wedding for the happy couple - £240.00. But that was nearly 25 years ago. You could probably get away with £500.00 nowadays.

Their one regret was not hiring a professional photographer although the wedding snaps look pretty good to me. Twenty five years and three wonderful children later they are still married, wouldn't change a thing and most importantly are still very much in love.

Having an expensive wedding doesn't guarantee a successful marriage. You can have the expensive wedding dress, the limousines and all the pomp and circumstance to with it but it is you and the person you are marrying that makes the day. If you know the importance of why you are getting married you are on the way to discovering the secret of a happy marriage.