Thrifty bride shares how she spent less than £4,000 on wedding
Emma Guinness
Featured Image Credit: Caters
Weddings are notoriously expensive, and as the cost of living crisis tightens its grip, it's an area where many are looking to save.
Now, one thrifty bride has revealed how she was able to have her dream big day for less than £4,000. This is how one sustainable wedding was planned:
Holly McClave, 32, and her new husband Steve, 30, got seriously creative when it came to their wedding, and while it was unconventional, they made some huge savings.
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Hitched reported that in 2021, the average British couple spent £17,300 on their wedding, but this definitely wasn't the case for Holly and Steve, who tied the knot on July 30.
One area where the couple were able to massively cut back was on transport, and instead of opting for fancy transport, they had a taxi take them to the registry office in Liverpool, Merseyside.
After the ceremony, they then visited some of their favourite places via a double decker bus, with the bus itself setting them back a modest £280 for the day.
The couple said that their main aim for the day was to have a good time celebrating their nuptials with their nearest and dearest.
Holly, who is a mum-of-two from Preston, Lancashire, said: "We didn't want anything traditional; we just wanted a chilled wedding with all the people we love.
"We stayed in apartments, so we did a wedding dress reveal before hopping into an Uber to St. George's hall together.
"Liverpool Pride was on so the taxi couldn't drop us straight outside, so we had to walk up the road which was funny in my dress."
The bride revealed that their ceremony was as low key as their transportation, and there were just 19 guests.
She explained: "I didn't have any bridesmaids and Steven didn't have any groomsmen; we only had 19 guests at the ceremony.
"Our son Frank walked me down the aisle and handed the rings over.
"As soon as it was over, I took my pink heels off and put my Nike trainers on!"
The biggest expense for the couple was their reception venue, which set them back £3,000, but it did include food.
This consisted of a simple, but still delicious buffet of fish and chips and burritos, and a cupcake stand instead of a traditional – and typically expensive – wedding cake.
Holly said that the bus took everyone from the registry office to the venue, stopping off for some photo opportunities at murals along the way.
She explained: "The bus was a great way to escort everyone to the venue. We were drinking Prosecco along the way; it was the perfect way to get the party started.
"We spent £3,000 on a room hire at a food and drink market in Liverpool city centre. The price included food and three cupcake stands.
"We didn't want a sit down meal with speeches so we just had an array of food like burritos and pizza.
"We had the best day of our lives and there was no stress. We just went with the flow – we even joined Liverpool Pride for a moment."
The couple had a few more guests arrive for their evening reception, which took the total number of attendees to just 32 of their nearest and dearest.
Another area where the couple managed to cut back was with the entertainment at their reception.
Instead of spending hundreds on a DJ, they simply opted for a Spotify playlist, but that didn't stop them from partying until midnight.
In total, the wedding set them back just £3,925.
Holly's dress cost an additional £120, her shoes were £30, and Steve's suit was £170. They then spent £210 on flowers and £115 on stationary printing.
Holly said their laid-back wedding even inspired some of the guests: "We didn't have a DJ, we just plugged our phone in and listened to a Spotify playlist.
"We partied until midnight and most of our guests said they'd love to have a laid back approach to their wedding too.
"Prior to getting married, other brides had told me their day went super fast because they spent most of it speaking to people.
"I remember every minute of mine as we didn’t have to do that. A wedding is about you and your partner, it shouldn’t be about pleasing everyone else.
"We didn't need to spend thousands to have a good time.
"We haven't got any regrets as it was a wonderful day."