Weddings can be a huge cost, and to avoid starting married live in a large debt you must take a good look at your earnings and savings and set a reasonable budget. You can still plan magnificent weddings on as little as £2,000 and all it takes is a little more time and effort, and a obviously bit of imagination.

First of all, when you are setting up a budget wedding you need to be ruthless with your guest list. Just think about it, the more people you invite, the more your expenses will escalate. Just invite your close family members and really close friends only, not everyone you know in your local pub, you can make it clear to those people who could be a little disappointed at not receiving an invite that you are just having a small, intimate wedding. If you have a smaller guest list you will be able to reserve a much smaller venue, which will save you a great amount of money.

Civil ceremonies are usually so much cheaper, but remember if you request that the registrar comes to a venue you have chosen, they frequently charge you extra. So why not get married in the registrar's official rooms to keep ceremony costs low? The registrar's official rooms are generally really well-decorated and entirely suitable for smaller guest parties of up to 30 people.

Do some research at local hotels and halls for your reception just so you can reduce the travelling costs. Decide on smaller, more intimate venues that will be so much cheaper to hire out. And this also means you could spend a bit more money on your decorations and flowers for the room. And instead of having an open bar, organize with the venue to have a glass of bucks fizz set out ready for when everyone arrives for the first toast, and after that let the guests order and pay for their own drinks from then on. No one is going to be disappointed about that, usually people are there to enjoy the wedding, not to drink as much as they can because it’s free.

A buffet is surely the cheapest way to feed everybody, and if you have a small wedding party you may want to present a home cooked buffet with the help of your friends or relatives. Just remember people don't need anything too fancy, but they usually expect tasty and generous food.

The cakes made by experienced wedding services can be extremely pricey, for that reason you can ask your friends and relatives if anyone has any baking skills, and whether they could make the cake for you. A plain single layer, white iced cake with a flower decoration top can look beautiful, and as long as you have sufficient to give each person a piece it can be made from any cake base, sponge, cheesecake, fruitcake etc...

Just choose outfits for the bride and groom and don't decide on the expense of providing the main wedding party with matching outfits. Countless of high street shops sell a good variety off-the-rack wedding dresses for affordable prices, so dedicate some time shopping around and you surely will find one that suits you. And if you are happy buying second hand dresses, you can find some wonderful bargains on eBay and a few other online auction sites. Just pick your approximate size, and then get the services of a seamstress to make any required adjustments. You know that buying wedding dresses from bridal shops can be awfully pricey, and you can find the cheaper dresses (still not that cheap!) are very plain, and not as attractive as the high street options. For the groom, there are heaps of high street shops that sell suits, so you should be able to find something very elegant and well fitted for less money.

As an alternative of hiring big fancy car and chauffeur, think whether any of your friends or relatives have a particularly nice car, and ask if you could borrow their services for the day to drive you to the wedding. Anyone would be happy to help you.

Now honeymoons should be extraordinary, but try not to get yourself into debt by booking a honeymoon you can't really meet the expense of. You should never book your honeymoon on a credit card - it could take you literally years to pay it off. Look around travel agents, holiday websites and newspapers for good deals, and remember that holidays in the UK can occasionally be more expensive than popular destinations abroad. Don\'t forget to budget spending money as well, and a few people find it better to book all-inclusive honeymoons, so they don\'t have to be troubled about affording food and drink whilst they are away.