Advice From Events Expert With 20 Years Experience

Should I call myself an expert? why not. I’ve set up multi million pound events companies. I’ve have managed everything from venue decor, catering, bars, entertainment, flooring. Well you name it I’ve done it. And most importantly made many mistakes along the way. So hopefully you can learn from my successes and my mistakes. 

The cost of an average wedding is £40,000

This takes into account the honeymoon and all the bits and bobs running up to it. And yes many people spend more. But that doesn’t mean you have to. There are options we will run through with you, and offer some industry secrets.

The Wedding Venue

let’s face it the venue is the most important part of the wedding day. And if we could all afford perfect country homes with ample parking, pay for relatives to stay in 5 star accommodation? Well that would be the end of the blog wouldn’t it? But £16000 just for a venue in some cases is simply too much for many people.

Luckily there are many affordable wedding options, from local village halls, to cheaper hotels, and whilst that initially may not seem attractive to some bear with me, it could be the best option for many.

Some venues will dry hire (that means you hire just the hall) for as little as £500, others range from £1000- £2000 but often it’s a case of you get what you pay for. Still a lot cheaper than the £5000 minimum you’ll find many venues want for dry hire.

The Wedding Catering

Another large wedding cost where you can save money, and one you don’t want to get wrong, theres nothing worse than icky food at a wedding, and believe me when I say I’ve seen supposedly top notch venues serve rather mediocre food at sky high costs, so don’t be fooled into thinking you have to spend £65 a head for a tiny bit of chicken with a fancy swirl of bisto.

Firstly as soon as some caterers hear wedding, well the price goes up, now we aren’t suggesting all are that bad, they aren’t at all, but specialist wedding caterers aren't the cheapest or necessarily the best either. Still there are some good ones and if you can afford the budget, then great.

Think About Different Ways to Serve Food

You can have a really good, self service hot buffet, with starters and dessert for as little as £20 a head. Now it may not be quite as fancy looking as higher priced alternatives, but quite frankly we’ve never seen guests complain about it, in fact one of the best weddings we saw was simple yet effective food made well, pesto pasta, sweet potato salad, hand made sausage rolls (and vegan ones, and yes these were super popular) the most popular dish was chicken with satay sauce.

Bring your own cakes and desserts, there are plenty of people always willing to help out, so why not ask a local baker to make some great desserts, this gives you ample options.

Anyway you get the ideas, self service buffet is absolutely fine for the vast majority of weddings, in fact it has so many benefits, it gets friends and family up and talking and each person from the guest list can pick and choose without you haven’t to chase people for menu options.

The Wedding Decor

Of course we’d add the wedding decor, because it really is important. You are having a wedding, it’s your big day so lets make it look the part. The reason it’s so important to ensure your wedding is decorated well, is because it allows you to be a little less picky with the venue. In fact in some cases we can practically hide all the ceilings and walls. In some cases that’s needed. You’ll be amazed as what we can do.

Remember this is a wedding on a budget not a cheap wedding, so we want this to look like a wedding as good as any other, just less expensive. And less you spend on the venue you the more you have for decor, yes good for us, but also good for you. It will look amazing. Speak to Falcon Events regarding dressing your wedding. If your budget doesn't stretch to draping, consider wedding lighting to enhance the day.

The Wedding Drinks

To Open Bar or Not to Open Bar that is the question. Well you can do one of two things to decrease wedding expenses and provide the great wedding experience for you and your guests. And this comes down to the venue again, find the right venue, of which there are many, and you can provide your own alcohol, and that means you can provide guests drinks and even claw back some expenses on the night.

Nowadays many wedding guests don’t expect free drinks, at least not at the bar. Providing a few bottles of wine on the table is kind of expected, but that again doesn’t have to cost the earth.

The Wedding Photographer

Here’s the thing, most of the magic these days is done on the computer. Not at the back on the camera. Digital cameras have come a long way, and they can do most of the magic for the photographer. And whilst they do a lot of work behind the scenes. There’s plenty of software these days that does the magic for you.

Shop Around

As you may have gathered by our pictures, we have hired many photographers in our time. And yes the best ones cost a little more. We’ve also had some great ones for £400 in some cases. If you want a good photographer ? Well there are options out there. In fact we recommend searching outside the parameters of wedding photographer and widen your scope, especially as many of the well priced wedding photographers are booked up well in advance.

The Wedding Cake

Wedding cake is yucky. Traditional wedding cake is not everyone’s favourite. So often it gets left behind with clumpy custard. OK it may look nice. Face facts it tastes disgusting. And the price of them ? £700 and more just to feed that distant aunt who is the only one there who’ll eat it? Have a shop around there are some great options. We love the traditional rustic cake with cream and jam. The cable stall has a traditional quality about it, and the most important thing. They taste great.

Those Little Wedding Extras

It’s so easy to ramp up costs with extras you haven’t thought about. Wedding favours, wedding invitations, the suit hires, planning a wedding can take a little time. Time spent on the planning process can save nasty surprises in the end. Table centres alone can cost another £400 easily. Plate hire, glass hire, runners, flowers. There’s a lot to think of. But done properly and if you are prepared to compromise a little?

The Important Part is You

Well it’s your friends and family members that will be there, so the most important part of the wedding is the two of you. And that’s all that matters really at the end of the day, isn’t it?