How to plan a budget wedding that looks expensive and is still the best day ever
For budget-aware couples who care about the wedding experience
Here are my top tips for planning a fun wedding on a budget while not sacrificing the wedding day experience for you or your guests
You don’t need a huge budget to have a wedding that feels incredible - but you do need to spend your money in the right places.
This isn’t about doing everything as cheaply as possible. It’s about creating a day that feels like you, while putting your budget into the parts that actually matter - the atmosphere, the experience, and the moments you’ll want to remember forever.
Here are some unique wedding ideas that don’t feel budget.
Where to save vs where NOT to
Save on:
- Over-the-top decor (people notice vibe, not details)
- Favours (most get left behind anyway)
- Big guest lists
Guests notice atmosphere more than styling details
Where NOT to cut corners:
- Photography
- Food / drink experience
- Anything that affects how the day feels
Your photos are the only thing that last beyond the day itself.
My best advice is to pick what's important to you, and think about what you don't care about - and just don't even do it. I obviously think photos are the most valuable thing to spend on, as they're the lasting memories and the most important commodity after the wedding is over.
But maybe music is important to you, and your guests having an amazing party - but you don't care for cake.
Or maybe food is your fave thing ever but you don't need flowers or favours people are going to just leave behind.
Think about what's important to you and what you can get rid of. There are no rules - it's your unique wedding.
Only invite people you really want to be there.
You could always invite your workmates over later in the evening and ask them to bring their own drinks - like a house party when you were a teenager.
Have a mini wedding
Small weekday wedding (intimate + intentional):
Have a smaller guest list so you can create something beautifully intentional.
When you’re not spreading your budget across 100+ people, you can invest in things that actually elevate the day - like incredible food, a relaxed timeline, and photography that captures it all properly.
A weekday wedding isn’t just cheaper - it’s often more relaxed, more intimate, and gives you access to better suppliers who might otherwise be booked.
That means you can have higher quality without increasing your budget.
A weekday town hall ceremony followed by lunch with your favourite 10–15 people is massively more affordable, way less stressful, and often feels more meaningful because you’re actually spending time with everyone there. For these kinds of weddings, I offer shorter coverage of 2–4 hours, which comfortably includes your ceremony, a handful of relaxed group photos, natural couple portraits, and those candid in-between moments (the hugs, laughs, and little interactions over lunch). It’s everything you need, nothing you don’t - and you still walk away with a beautiful, complete story of your day.
Have a twilight wedding
One of the easiest ways to cut costs without compromising the experience is to have a twilight wedding. With a later ceremony (usually around 3-5pm), you naturally reduce how many hours you need across your venue, catering, and photography - while still getting all the best bits. If you’re happy to skip morning prep, you can invest in what actually lasts: your photos. I offer coverage of up to 6 hours at £250/hour, which is perfect for capturing your ceremony, group shots, couple portraits (especially if you opt for a first look to use the daylight), and all the atmosphere as the evening unfolds. You get a full-feeling wedding day, incredible images, and a much more intentional spend. Find out more about Twilight Weddings here.
Fake your ceremony
All a simple ceremony involves is saying you agree with what the registrar says and signing the paper that makes you a married couple (eek ok that's pretty exciting!)
Your official ceremony doesn't have to be any more elaborate than that, and you can do it on the morning of your wedding day, or any day before (or after!) Then you can have a big fancy ceremony literally anywhere you like, without the restrictions of the law saying you can only legally get married in certain places by certain people.
Having a "fake" ceremony is so much more personal and beautiful than a big production with an expensive registrar and it means you can do what you like, say what you like and have it last as long (or short) as you'd like.
Celebrants cost £350-£1200 and they're often so worth it, but if you're on a super tight budget, having a mate or a family member as your celebrant would cost the price of a six-pack of beers (just choose the right mate!). You'll need to go to the town hall to do that legal paperwork, but go on a weekday and have just 2 guests (as witnesses) and it can cost as much as a round of beers.
Choose a different kind of venue
Back garden or field
Do you, your parents or close friends or family have a semi-decent sized house and back garden? If you're not having too many guests (30-60) a normal house is perfectly fine, as long as you have a couple of loos and enough space for everyone if it rains (just get a little gazebo). I've shot weddings in big fancy back gardens and simple back garden weddings - you can do a lot with a back garden! Lay down some picnic blankets, and put out some chairs and tables.
If you don't have a back garden to use, ask locals in your area if they have a field you can borrow - the extra costs would be a large marquee, tables and chairs, a van to transport everything and portaloos. And a few quid to bribe your mates to come back the next day to help clear up.
Warehouse
Aside from back gardens and fields, you could look into warehouses. I have a friend who got married in an old warehouse in London, and her 114-guest wedding came to £5k in total. Mad!
Village Hall
Village halls are a great option too, especially if they don't do many weddings. So many of my couples have booked village halls that don't do weddings yet, and it makes your wedding extra unique!
Pubs
Pub and bar function rooms, such as Oh So Social are great if they're not a wedding venue.
Some bars will let you use the venue for free if you spend enough on drinks.
Brewery/Taproom
Why not think outside the box? You could ask your local brewery if they'll hold your wedding - anywhere they can sell booze to you and your mates and wouldn't normally make much money that day is worth asking. Sally and Leya had their wedding party at Beak Taproom in Lewes and it was so unusual and cosy and fun!
DIY the crockery
A lot of blank space venues, such as warehouses in London, require you to hire/buy your own crockery and cutlery - instead of boring plates, go on a charity shop hunt and gather mismatched plates - then give them back at the end. Then you're also giving to charity!
Their wedding has been and gone and they're left with 100 plates filling their spare bedroom. Get on the Rock n Roll Bride Facebook group and ask in there! I'm sure they'll love you to take a few plates off their hands.
You could also just use your own cutlery if you're having the wedding at home, or serve finger food only. To be eco-friendly, you can buy bamboo plates and cutlery.
Forget the fancy car
If you're getting married in London, having everyone (including you!) catch the Tube is so much fun and great for photos.
Hiring a wedding bus is very expensive and every single time my couples have asked the driver to take them to a certain place to stop for photos, the driver has decided last minute they can't do it due to traffic. Every single time. It's a nice idea to give everyone a bus tour of the city, but the buses are hot and stuffy and no one looks out of the window - everyone just wants to get to the venue so they can be comfortable, get a drink, go to the loo and mingle.
Fancy wedding cars are almost always not worth it as they cost a bomb and no one really sees it as they park out of the way and drop you off at the venue where everyone is indoors or elsewhere so they don't see you. If it's just a short drive, jump in someone's car or get a normal taxi. Or walk!
Look at non-wedding shops for the dress
So many of my brides get their dress from Topshop or Asos! Asos have a fab collection. And they're actually even more beautiful than a lot of "wedding" dresses. Amber's dress (below) is from Asos. Rachel of the Brighton powder paint wedding's dress was from Zara.
Forget the fancy suit
Jeans, Converse, a nice shirt, funky braces and a bowtie will do the job. It's often too hot in summer for a fancy suit anyway. You can buy a cool waistcoat and that will set you apart from the others. Here is some suit inspiration.
Don't match the wedding party - or don't have one at all!
You don't have to have a matchy wedding party - tell them to wear whatever they want (you can always give them a style or colour palette). Then no one has to buy a new dress. Or have no bridal party at all!
Wear your fave shoes
If you're having a floor-length dress no one will be able to see your shoes, so wear whatever you want! If you're having a back garden wedding, barefoot or sandals (or barefoot sandals!) is a good idea, with Converse for the boys. For something extra special, why not both go for special wedding Converse or Doc Martens?
DIY make up
Go to the Boots counter, or just do it yourself! So many of my brides do that.
Hair
Wear it down, and stick flowers in your hair, or wear a fabulous crown!
Cake - get a Colin
M&S do amazing cakes. I mean, everyone loves cake, but it's not the reason your guests are at your wedding (ok maybe it is). Pop down to M&S and pick up some cupcakes or a rainbow cake covered in sprinkles. Or there's always the classic Colin the Caterpillar - they do a giant Colin that serves 40 people. Everyone loves Colin! They even do brides and grooms now!
I've found at about 90% of the weddings I've shot, when couples who cut and serve the cake after dinner, only about 40% of the cake gets eaten. Serve it right after the ceremony and you'll have a 100% hit rate, making your investment worth it!
Have a paid bar and a wedding cocktail
Have a signature cocktail, or do shots that are related to your story as a couple. These guys had fake baby Guiness as favours - you have whiskey and Baileys and pour the baileys on with a tiny spoon! Having one fancy freebie will make people feel better about a paid bar.
Food
Get creative! You could do afternoon tea, canapes, sushi, even dessert platters. Instead of canapes, crisps are always go down well - especially nostalgic ones. M&S does delicious platters for around a tenner, and they're super fancy too.
This is where Twilight Weddings are awesome - you can tell everyone to have a big lunch before the wedding, then just have evening food such as pizza or burgers later on. You don't need to feed them all twice!
Decor
Skip expensive decor and focus on one or two statement areas instead (like your ceremony backdrop or tablescape).
This is what actually shows up in your photos - and makes your wedding feel styled without wasting money on things no one notices.
Spend a few Saturdays lurking around the charity shops and junk stores seeing what treasures you can find. Anything that will work in your home afterwords is a bonus. Or you could save up jars and tins from your dinners, wrap some nice fabric around them and pop flowers in them.
For your order of the day timeline, why not rummage round the back of a local industrial estate and take a palette off someone's hands? You can paint them rainbow colours and paint on the timings, then lean it up against a wall at your venue.
Favours
In my experience, the best favours are edible ones. Bake up a batch of cookies, freeze them til the day, and wrap them individually. Or maybe something cute and already wrapped like Tunnocks tea cakes. You don't need to spend a ton on favours people are going to leave behind.
Entertainment
Get an Instax camera and a few packs of film and some funny masks. Set up a beer pong table and/or Giant Jenga. There are loads of wedding reception entertainment ideas on this post! There are also venues, such as Pangdean Barn in Sussex, that has games already there, such as go karts.
Music
A lot of my couples know people in bands, so if you know one (or are in one) see if they fancy playing a few songs. Another good option is hiring speakers and using a Spotify playlist. The main thing is to play music you like, sprinkled in with some classic bangers. The Spotify link above has the best wedding dancefloor songs!
Flowers
Go on a 4am adventure to a flower market and buy a job lot! If you don't fancy that, try growing your own or raiding your parents' garden. Hang them in bunches around the venue to dry them out, or pop them in vases and keep them fresh. Buttonholes only need to be a few pretty flowers tied together with string and DIY bouquets are fab. Or you could ask all guests to bring flowers instead of gifts, and to leave them on their table, like Jess and Ben did for their Pangdean wedding. Or do what a lot of couples are doing now and just have no flowers at all!
Photography
How to get kick-ass wedding photos on a budget
Weddings go by ridiculously fast. The people, the moments, the atmosphere - it’s all gone in a blur. Your photos are what bring it back.
And a good photographer doesn’t just take photos - we help your day run smoothly, keep things calm, and capture moments you didn’t even realise were happening.
Experience, problem-solving, and consistency are what you’re really paying for, so don't scrimp or you'll have a bad experience on the day and after.
I offer photography, iPhone films, and content creation so you’re spoiled for choice - and budget.
Everything is designed to be flexible, starting from as little as 2 hours, so whether you’re planning something small or just want the key moments covered properly, you’re not forced into a full-day package you don’t need.
You still get a full gallery of edited images (usually 50–100 per hour), a relaxed, natural approach, and someone who knows how to capture the energy of the day without turning it into a photoshoot.
It’s not about adding extras for the sake of it - it’s about investing in something you’ll actually come back to, over and over again.